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    A typical Irishman, a lover of his birthplace and as a lover of his adopted country, was born in 1830 at Swineford, county Mayo, Ireland. At the age of 18 he left his father's house with the intention of coming to America, walking 21 miles to Sligo at night, and then boarding a sailing vessel. Early in the year 1849 the vessel safely made a landing at New York. From where Mr. Gallagher went to Philadelphia and later to Baltimore, where he engaged in railroading on the B. & O. Afterward he went to steamboating on the Ohio, which he followed but a short time, leaving the river at Madison and coming out to Vernon where he worked for some time in the quarries of John Dixon and Chris Herman. This was the year after the election of Franklin Pierce as President. In the fall of that year, 1853, he went to work for the O. & M. and for more than thirty years gave his service in different capacities to that Company, sixteen years of the time with John McFadden Patrick Wickens and Frank Quinn, foremen on the section just east of town. Five years of this period he walked the track at night to see that all was safe for the passage of trains. When he came to North Vernon there were not more than half a dozen houses here. Archy Colter was the one merchant, and Ed Arnold kept a hotel or boarding house. He has witnessed great progress in the town since and has been an aid in building it, as he is now the owner of several of its houses. In 1860 he was married to Miss Mary Kilgannon, who still keeps him comfortable. When the war broke out he was patriotic, as all American citizens should be, and with many of his fellow countrymen enlisted in the 82 regiment Volunteer Infantry, Co. F., commanded by Capt. George Kendrick a brave man who laid his life on the altar of his country. Gallagher remained with his regiment fighting the battles for the flag until the last armed rebel had laid down his gun, and was discharged in June, 1865. At Triune, Tenn., he was captured and after twenty-five days of life in Libby Prison was exchanged. Later, at Resaca and again at Kenesaw Mountain he was wounded. The rebel raider Wheeler captured his company while guarding a provision train near Chattanooga, and he was a prisoner again for two weeks. Since the close of the war he has been a railroader until within two years past, when he retired from the servicce. He was one of the participants in the laying of the Branch track and again in narrowing from its old broad gauge style. Mr. Gallagher is now 64 years old and has a host of friends because of his genial and happy behavior, and is respected and honored by all who know him. He thinks once in a while of going "over to the old country," but of course he would find few that he knew and almost his only satisfaction would be placing his foot on the "ould sod" again.

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