In his youth in Lincoln, Oldham’s father was a grocery dealer as were his grandparents J.B. and Emma Oldham who lived in a home only two doors away on Pekin Street.
By the 1910 census, W.O. Oldham had moved his family to Omaha, Nebraska and was managing an agricultural exposition. Oldham was 17 and still completing his education. The family lived at 2711 Capitol Avenue with his grandmother Lizzie Oldham, a 60 year old widow.
By 1915, Oldham had completed four years of college and the family had migrated to Marion, Illinois and purchased a home at 202 E. Thorn St. It was in this year that W.O. and his son Oldham purchased the two year old Republican-Leader newspaper. In 1913, A.C. Hentz had acquired a controlling interest in the Republican Leader of Marion which was the official Republican County paper.
In 1916, Mr. J.H. Siekman, Principal of Brown’s Business College, led in the organization of Marion’s Business Efficiency League, and was elected its first president. Oldham Paisley was selected secretary. With twenty-two local businessmen participating at the first meeting, a committee consisting of W. O. Paisley, chairman; Earl B. Jackson, and W. S. Charles was appointed to draft a set of by-laws.
In June of 1915, when Oldham registered for the WWI draft, he listed that he had Reserve Officers Training, presumably obtained while finishing his college degree. He was described as 24 years old, single, medium height, medium build, grey eyes and brown hair. He listed being city editor and living at 202 E. Thorn St.
Only one month later, on August 18, 1917, Oldham returned to Omaha to marry Annetta R. Nourse whom he had met while living there earlier. Annetta was born in Indiana on the same year as Oldham.
Oldham and Annetta purchased a home at 412 E. Thorn St. in Marion and the following year had their first child named Elizabeth “Betty” Jane Paisley. His parents, around this same time, moved to 406 S. Madison St.
With the onset of World War I, Oldham enlisted on May 15, 1918 as a 2nd Lieutenant at Ft. Sheridan and was later promoted to First Lieutenant while with the staff of Gen. Andrews, 172nd Infantry Brigade, 86th Division as Brigade Adjutant. The Division went to France September 3, 1918. Oldham was later assigned to Pershing’s headquarters for duty. He was discharged from active duty at Camp Grant, Illinois on April 30, 1919 and commissioned to Captain in the Reserve Corps on June 19, 1919.
Captain Oldham Paisley became one of the organizers of the Williamson County War History Society in March 1919, which served to document the activity and involvement of the county in the World War, culminating in the publication of the book “Williamson County in the World War”.
The first post of the American Legion to be formed in this county was that formed at Marion, Illinois, in September, 1919, when the name of Williamson Post was selected of which Oldham Paisley was a charter member.
Oldham Paisley was editor of the Daily Republican newspaper during the violent years of the 1920’s caused by striking miners, gangsters, the Ku Klux Klan, and prohibition enforcers in Southern Illinois. Paisley used some of his newspaper clippings for his anonymously published book The Life Story of Charlie Birger (1927).
Paisley originally donated his scrapbooks of news articles to the Marion Carnegie Library in 1945, but they were taken to the Chicago Historical Society (Chicago History Museum) by Paul Angle during his research for Bloody Williamson: A Chapter in American Lawlessness (1952). Copies are available at the Williamson County Historical Society in Marion.
By the 1930 census, the couple had just sold their home on Thorn Street and moved to a new home located at 700 S. Virginia Street. Oldham and Anne were both aged 36 and had three children at home. Betty Paisley now aged 11, Anne Paisley aged 7 and Joe Billy aged 6. They had a 20 year old, divorced lodger living in the home by the name of Daisy Ward.
Paisley was appointed Postmaster of Marion, Illinois in 1932 and served for one year.
During this time Paisley was active in the Army Reserve, attaining the rank of Lieutenant Colonel while commanding the 344th Infantry Reserve Regiment.
Oldham served as editor for the Marion Rotary Club’s “Rotascope” periodical and contributed to the national Rotarian magazine. He served as Rotary President in 1941-42.
With the beginning of World War II, on September 5, 1941, Lt. Colonel Paisley was called up for one month duty in the Army Infantry Reserves and on April 1942,was transferred into active duty from infantry to the Inspector General’s Department in Washington, DC where he served for six months.
At this time, his daughter Anne was student at DePauw University in Greencastle, Indiana. Bill Paisley was an engineering student at Purdue University at LaFayette, Indiana and Betty Paisley was teaching speech in the Carmi, Illinois High School.
At the end of April 1942, Oldham was transferred to Chicago with Sixth Army HQ and then transferred to Ft. Sam Houston at San Antonio, Texas serving with the Third Army where he and his wife lived just two blocks off base.
In May 1943, their son Bill entered the Army but was discharged due to a perforated ear drum.
In June 1943, Oldham was assigned to Australia where he was assigned with General Walter Kreuger’s Sixth Army’s Inspector General Department. He spent about one year in Australia and then was moved to New Guinea where he stayed for four months.
On May 19, 1944, Betty Jane Paisley, married T/Sgt Kendrick Bangs of Lostant, Ill. Betty was a graduate of William Woods College in Fulton, Mo and the University of Iowa.
June 13, 1944, 76 year old William Orion Paisley, President of the Republican-Leader, publisher of the Marion Daily Republican and the Marion Weekly Reader passed away in his sleep at Herrin hospital where he had been a patient since June 5th.
On July 26, 1944, Oldham took 30 days leave from Holandia, New Guinea to take care of his father’s business. At that time, Bill Paisley was at Purdue University, Anne Paisley was working at Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota and daughter Betty Bangs was living in Virginia.
He permanently returned from the south pacific to the U.S. in late November 1944 and was assigned at Chicago Sixth Army HQ Inspector General’s Office handling inspections and investigations for the army throughout Illinois, Michigan, and Wisconsin, serving on the staff of Gen. Russell B. Reynolds.
He was awarded the Bronze Star for meritorious achievement during his 16 months service in the South Pacific.
On February 3, 1945, Lt. Col Oldham Paisley, who became editor and manager of the Republican Leader following the death of this father, W.O. Paisley, returned home to take over active control of the corporation, which published the Marion Daily Republican and Marion Weekly Leader and conducted a job printing business.
On August 15, 1945, in celebration of Victory over Japan and the end of war, the First Methodist Church was filled to capacity with Marion citizens giving thanks and praying over their losses. Lt. Colonel Oldham Paisley and Rev. James McKinney were the keynote speakers.
A victory celebration was held on the public square in Marion on Sept 6, 1945 and Oldham again spoke to the crowds.
In 1948 the Paisleys purchased the Marion Evening Post from Harry L. Crisp and consolidated the two newspapers.
In 1954, Oldham’s mother Georgia Oldham Paisley passed away.
The month of May 1957 marked a European tour of Britain and France for the Paisley couple departing Cherburg, France and arriving back in New York harbor aboard the Queen Elizabeth on June 11, 1957.
In May 1965 the annual dinner for Daily Republican employees which marked the 50th year of the newspaper’s ownership by the Paisley family highlighted recollections of a half century of history for a newspaper and the community it served.
Oldham suffered a coronary in August of 1969 and decided to retire from the paper business. In June of 1970, Paisley sold the Republican-Leader to a group of Pennsylvania newspaper publishers.
On October 31, 1972, Annetta Paisley, wife of Oldham, died followed by Oldham Paisley in May 1977.
Paisley was a retired Colonel in the United State Army Reserve, active in two wars, Marion postmaster, an active church worker, Illinois Press Association Editor of the Year; Southern Illinois Press Association “Master Editor”; member of the Masons and the Rotary Club.
(Photos from Williamson County Historical Society and 1989 Sesquicentennial History, WCHS;Data from Williamson County in the World War; Federal Census Records; Marion City Directories; Marion City Cemetery Records; Illinois Archive; Marion Daily Republican articles compiled by Harry Boyd in his book “Williamson County’s Greatest Generation”; compiled by Sam Lattuca on 05/19/2013)
Sam’s Notes:
After having read numerous articles related to Oldham Paisley, it is clear that he went out of his way to contact fellow Williamson County soldiers while he was active military just to make sure that they were alright and to see what he could do for them. He often acted to relay messages home to put their parents minds at ease.
The first origination of the 4-Minute Men in Williamson County was perfected in June, 1917, with R. R. Fowler as Chairman. The members of the organization were, respectively, R. R. Fowler, Ed. M. Spiller, Geo. R. Stone, L. A. Colp, John I. Gunn, Rufus Neely, John M. Reid, W. 0. Paisley, W. W. Skaggs, and Wm. H. Warder.
The primary purpose of the organization was to make four-minute talks at the different theaters in the city of Marion on subjects furnished by the Government, and these talks were to be made under the direction and instruction of the Government, thereby giving to the people as nearly as possible the truth with reference to matters important that they should understand. One of the main purposes of the organization was to combat German propaganda, which was rife throughout this section of the country at the beginning of the war.
The Williamson County Chapter of the American Red Cross was organized on August 28, 1916, with a charter membership of seven. The first officers were Chairman, Mrs. W. S. Charles; Vice-Chairman, Earl B. Jackson; Secretary, Mrs. Georgia Paisley; Treasurer, Dr. W.E. Reid. This was first called “Marion Chapter,” but at the request of the National organization, the name was changed to Williamson County Chapter, and the jurisdiction expanded to cover the county.
The first organization was made long before our country was in WWI, and was through the efforts of Mr. and Mrs. F. Karl Lamb, the latter having assisted in Red Cross work on the Mexican border. A talk given by Mrs. Lamb before the Marion Woman’s Club, through an invitation by Mrs. Georgia Paisley, was the means of starting this chapter, which was the first in the southern part of Illinois. ——-Williamson County in the World War