For years I have been hoping that the Solon would place old newspapers online. And they finally DID!
Try searching for mentions of your family names, Ely businesses. Or search for "town of Ely".
There is news from Ely, Western, Shueyville, Fackler's Grove, Big Grove township as well as Solon.
A lot of it is "who visited who" but I have found an1882 ad (below) from my husband's great-grandfather's harness shop in Ely! There are also mentions of the deaths of early pioneers in the area that may not appear anywhere else. You never know what you may find if you take time to look. - Barb Horak
Solon and area newspaper archive: https://solon.advantage-preservation.com/
Other newspaper archives in which to run searches include:
Cedar Rapids and area: https://cedarrapids.advantage-preservation.com/
Iowa City and area: https://iowacity.advantage-preservation.com/
Mount Vernon and area: https://mountvernon.advantage-preservation.com/
Marion and area: https://marion.advantage-preservation.com/
In addition these books are available to search online:
*The History of Linn County - (1878-1878) 812 Pages
*Pioneer Life In and Around Cedar Rapids - (1839-1839) 258 Pages
*1907 Linn County Atlas - (1907-1907) 175 Pages
And, in this Atlas:
Photos of people in Putnam Township
Photos of people in Monroe and Putnam Townships
Photos of people in Putnam Township
Photos of people in Monroe and Putnam Townships
Here is a list of all US newspapers on-line at The Ancestor Hunt -
80 Million Historic U.S. Newspaper Pages Now Available from Advantage Archives
80 Million Historic U.S. Newspaper Pages Now Available from Advantage Archives
