MALONEY CATTLE COMPANY

The Maloney farming operation was started by Kevin’s great-great-grandparents Daniel and Sarah (Daily) Maloney. Daniel was born in Ireland in 1839 and came to America in 1849 with his parents Arthur and Catherine (Casey) Maloney. They entered the United States at New Orleans and made their way up the river to the Pond Settlement community in Gallatin County, Illinois where they were included in the 1850 census. Daniel later served in the Civil War and was discharged in 1865. He then returned to Pond Settlement to take up farming. He married Sarah Daily in July 1859 and they had two sons and six daughters. The two sons, William and Arthur, continued farming separately and each of them continued to grow their operations.

Great-grandpa Arthur was born in 1867 and married Eliza Doherty in July 1895. They were blessed with one son and four daughters. Arthur was known as a large cattle feeder and stories are recounted of him telling Eliza that it was “time to go feed” soon after a nearby Sunday family dinner. Arthur and Eliza are listed in the 1920 edition of the “Prairie Farmer’s Reliable Directory of Farmers and Breeders in Saline and Gallatin Counties, Illinois” as owning 672 acres as well as purebred Hereford cattle. Arthur is also listed as a director of a local bank.

Grandpa Daniel J. was born in 1903 and married Margaret Luckett in June 1926. Grandpa D.J. continued and increased the farm size until his retirement in 1968. He bought land and added more cattle, at one time he had as many as 2000 head on the ground and expanded the farmland to 1,200 acres. D.J. and Margaret had three sons and four daughters. The sons, Patrick, Richard and David took over upon D.J.’s retirement. They doubled the farmland when they purchased about 1,500 acres in Union County, Kentucky when the United States auctioned off the Camp Breckinridge property in the mid-sixties. After D.J.’s retirement and the Kentucky land purchase Pat, Richard, and David decided to discontinue the cattle feeding enterprise as returns were erratic and labor was short. The youngest brother David and his family built a new home and moved to Union County in 1971 to better manage the farm there but all of the land was farmed as a partnership between the three. In 1978 Pat and his wife Doreen were killed in an automobile accident and by 1984 Richard and David decided it was time to pursue their farming careers separately.

Kevin’s Dad, Richard, was born in December 1931. He married Alice Naas in January 1955. To this union were born three sons and three daughters. The three sons, Shaun, Kevin and Mike all continued in their forefathers’ footsteps. With the help of their parents, they were able to grow the home farm again by adding 750 acres of purchased land and renting an additional 400. Shaun died in an automobile accident in December 1998 and once again life changed in an instant. Kevin and Mike continued to farm together with Dad until his death in 2014. In 2016 the two brothers decided it was time to strike out on their own.

Kevin was born in 1957 and in 1981 married the love of his life, Kay Sageser. They have been blessed with one son and two daughters. Lucas has been bitten by the cattle bug and has greatly expanded the feeding enterprise in a few short years. He began this operation as a separate business but it is highly complementary to the grain farm. We continue to reap the synergies of the two businesses. In 2018 we have added a truck and livestock trailer and are now able to haul our own as well as for hire. Kevin’s youngest, Molly, came back to the farm in 2018 from a career in digital marketing and she continues to drag us into the 21st century. Kevin’s oldest, Meghan, works in a local bank and advises us on current trends in the banking industry. Kevin and Kay look forward to slowing their pace in the next few years and spending more time with the grandkids and other family and friends.