A man of sound judgment and excellent business ability, Ulla S. Staley has for many years been an active force in advancing the financial prosperity of Wayne county, as cashier of the Fairfield National Bank of Fairfield being intimately acquainted with the material resources of this section of Southern Illinois, which are being rapidly and wisely developed. A son of Samuel Martin Staley, he was born July 30, 1854, in Grayville, White county, Illinois, where he grew to man's estate.

 Samuel Martin Staley was born in Tennessee, in 1823, and as a boy came to Southern Illinois. Beginning life for himself in White county, Illinois, he carried on general farming on rented land for a time, and then went to Grayville, where he was engaged in mercantile and milling business until 1875, meeting with fair success. Coming then with his family to Wayne county, Illinois, he first embarked in the hardware business, and later, as an orchardist, cultivated fruit on an extensive scale, having under his care one hundred acres of apple and pear trees, mostly apples. For a few years after retiring from horticultural pursuits he carried on a grocery business in Fairfield, remaining a resident of this part of the state until his death, February 13, 1908, when past eighty-five years of age. He was a man of deep religious convictions,  and a valued member of the Methodist Episcopal church. He married, first, Harriet Melrose, who died in 1859. Of the five children born of their marriage three died in infancy and two are living, as follows: Ulla S., the special subject of this brief sketch, and George A., a real estate dealer in Fairfield. Samuel Martin Staley married for his second wife Rebecca Melrose, who died in 1869, leaving three children, namely: Charles M., in the patent office at Washington, D. C., has been in the government employ since 1881; Mrs. Harriet S. Craig, of Dallas, Texas; and John E., of Portland, Oregon. Mr. Staley married for his third wife Mrs. Sarah J. Allen, who survives him. They had one child, Ella, who died in 1899.

 Obtaining his preliminary knowledge in the public schools of Grayville, Ulla S. Staley attended the Illinois Wesleyan University, in Bloomington, for two years. At the age of twenty-one years he began his career as a teacher, and taught successfully one year in McLean county and one year in White county. Coming to Fairfield in 1877, he immediately accepted a position in the bank of E. Bonham & Company, and remained with them as assistant and cashier until their failure in 1893. The bank with which he is now connected was first organized as a private institution, on March 1, 1894, by twelve prominent citizens of Fairfield, and conducted as such until February 4, 1903, when it became the Fairfield National Bank of Fairfield, The bank is in a flourishing condition, and has for its officers men of ability and good standing, Adam Rinard being president; George W. Johns, first vice-president;

 E. W. Pendleton, second vice-president; Ulla S. Staley, cashier; and Asa F. Keene, assistant cashier. Its directors at this time are as follows: Adam Rinard, George W. Johns, E. W. Pendleton, Harry K. Johnson, E. Steiner, C. W. Summers, John M. Rapp, Jacob R. Creighton, C. C. Boggs; and James H. Kramer, all of whom, with the exception of Mr. Boggs, were members of the original company. The bank is capitalized at $70,000, and has deposits of $280,000, with surplus resources of $425,000, and pays two and three per cent interest on time deposits. Mr. Staley is likewise one of the directors of the Farmers Bank at Mount Erie, Illinois. He is also interested in farm land, owning, with three other men, six hundred and forty acres near Sims, and having title to one hundred acres in Arkansas.

 Mr. Staley has been three times married. He married first, in April, 1879, Elizabeth Jlhnson, a daughter of Mrs. Barbara Ann Johnson, who was born in Ohio eighty-seven years ago, and is now living in Illinois, having come to this state with her parents when a child. Mrs. Eli~beth Johnson Staley passed to the higher life in 1881, leaving one child, Mrs. Libble Byer. Mr. Staley married, in May, 1886, Ida M. Morey, a daughter of John Morey, who was born in December, 1828, and is now living in Watertown, South Dakota. She died in 1894, leaving two children, Mary Morey Staley and Harriet Florence Staley. In 1898 Mr. Staley married for his third wife Anna M. Melrose, a daughter of Frank Meirose, and of their union three children have been born, namely: Janet M. Staley; George Frederick Staley, who lived but six short years; and Samuel M. Staley. Mr. and Mrs. Stalcy are members of the Methodist Episcopal church.