Elias Disney
| Elias Disney | |
|---|---|
| Born |
Elias Charles Disney February 6, 1859 Bluevale, Turnberry Township, Ontario, Province of Canada, British Empire |
| Died | September 13, 1941 (aged 82) Hollywood, Los Angeles, California, U.S. |
| Nationality | Canadian, American |
| Spouse(s) | Flora Call (m. 1888; d. 1938) |
| Children |
Walter Elias Disney Herbert Arthur Disney Roy Oliver Disney Raymond Arnold Disney Ruth Flora Disney |
| Parent(s) | Kepple Elias Disney Mary Richardson |
| Relatives | See Disney family |
Elias Charles Disney (February 6, 1859 – September 13, 1941) was the father of Roy and Walt Disney. His death at age 82 occurred when Walt was age 39.
Disney was born at the rural village of Bluevale, Ontario, Canada, to Irish Protestant immigrants Kepple Elias Disney (1832–1891) and Mary Richardson (1838–1909). Both parents had immigrated from Ireland to Canada as children, accompanying their parents.
He became a farmer and a businessman with little success. He moved to California with his father in 1878 in hopes of finding gold. Instead, Kepple was convinced by an agent of the Union Pacific Railroad to buy 200 acres (81 ha) of land near Ellis, Kansas. Disney was an ardent socialist and a supporter of Eugene Debs.
In Ellis, Elias attempted to live as an orange grower and failed.
Disney worked on his father's new farm until 1884, when he left to find another job. He was hired in a railroad machine shop (one of his co-workers was Walter Chrysler), then he joined the railroad crew building the Union Pacific line through Colorado. After the railroad contract was over, he became a professional fiddle player in Denver. Again he was unsuccessful, and he returned to his father's farm. He also worked for a short time as a mailman in Kissimmee, Florida, close to the eventual site of Walt Disney World. Disney did also attempt to make a career as an orange grower in Florida, but he was unsuccessful As one can see from his attempts at being self-employed, Elias had entrepreneurial tendencies—tendencies that his son, Walt, later would inherit and develop.
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