Kate Shelley (also spelled Shelly) was born in Ireland about 1864 to Michael and Margaret (Dwan) Shelley. The family immigrated to the United States in 1865 and settled on a homestead on Honey Creek near Moingona, Boone County, Iowa.

Michael Shelley found work on the Chicago and North-Western Railway, and was eventually made foreman of a section crew. He died in 1878, leaving his wife Margaret to care for the family. Kate helped her mother maintain the farm and look after her younger siblings.

On the night of July 6, 1881, a strong storm brought extensive flooding and weakened the railroad bridge over Honey Creek. A pusher engine had been sent out to check the tracks for damage, and the bridge collapsed when the engine was crossing it, killing two of the crew and leaving two men stranded in the water. Kate Shelley and her mother heard the bridge go out, and knowing that an express train was scheduled to cross the bridge, Kate decided to warn the station at Moingona to stop the express train. She went on foot and had to crawl across a railroad bridge over the Des Moines River to reach the Moingona station. In addition to bringing the warning that the Honey Creek bridge was out, Kate assisted a rescue party who went after the crew of the pusher engine.

Newspaper accounts of Kate Shelley's heroism brought national attention. She received numerous recognitions including a gold medal from the Iowa State Legislature and a watch and chain from the Valley City Division, no. 58, of the Order of Railway Conductors. In 1901, a new bridge over the Des Moines River was named the "Kate Shelley Bridge." This bridge was the highest and longest double track bridge in the United States and though it still stands, rail traffic was diverted to a new bridge completed in 2009.

In the years following her heroic act, Kate continued to assist her mother with the family farm. She attended Simpson College for one year, and taught in various schools in Boone County. She held the position of Bill Clerk for the Iowa State Senate from 1902 to 1903, prior to taking the job of station agent for the Moingona train station in 1903. She continued in that position until ill health forced her resignation in 1910.

Kate Shelley died on January 21, 1912.

This collection (1865-2006, undated) contains correspondence, legal documents, teaching certificates, newspaper clippings, and other items related to Kate Shelley and her immediate family.

Materials related to Kate Shelley include correspondence from family, friends, and fans. Additional correspondence documents business dealings with a number of firms that wanted her to promote their products. Of particular interest is the correspondence related to invitations and gifts recognizing her heroism, as well as correspondence regarding her candidacy for the job of Bill Clerk for the Iowa State Senate. The collection also includes her teaching certificates and related items.

Materials related to other family members includes correspondence from relatives in Ireland and the United States. Of note are the letters from Michael Shelley to the family while he was working at the Chapin Railroad Station. Materials from Kate's sisters, Mary (Mame or Mayme) and Margaret (Maggie), include teaching certificates and correspondence. The "important documents" file (box 1, folders 4-6) includes a list of birth dates, Michael and Margaret Shelley's marriage certificate, and Michael Shelley's citizenship certificate. The collection also includes documents related to the Shelley family home and land.

Typed transcripts are available for most of the items in the collection. Printouts of the transcripts are filed immediately following each set of original documents. Transcripts do not exist for Mary (Mame or Mayme) Shelley's correspondence and diary (box 3, folders 13-14) and transcripts are also lacking for a few items such as theatre programs and newspaper clippings. There are transcripts for a few miscellaneous items that were not donated to the Special Collections Department; these transcripts are filed at the end. A CD with electronic versions of the transcripts is also included in the collection.

Related photographs may be found in the University Photograph Collection, RS 4/8/L (boxes 373, 377, and 380).

The collection is organized in general categories as received from the Shelley family. The files are listed alphabetically.