Tim and Mark’s Database of Keesling's

The History of Mechanicsburg, 1907:
"January 10, 1849 Thomas B Keesling bought of George Keesling about three acres of land comprising the lots from W. H. Keesling's lot on the north-west corner westward to John L Swain's lot, Indianaclusive. The
consideration was $25.00. July 14 Th. the same year Thomas Keesling was appointed first post-master of Mechanicsburg. He had built a residence on the corner lot, and in this he lived and kept the post-office. The mail was brought once a week from New Castle to Cadiz; was carried thence on
horseback to Mechanicsburg, Ovid, Huntsville and Pendleton. Mr. Keesling is now living in San Jose, California."

"A steam saw mill was built in 1850 by Thomas B Keesling, Elihu and Ezra Swain. It was run the first time on July 4th.of that year. The machinery was bought of Chandler and Davis, Indianadianapolis, and was brought from that city on trucks. At the time a circular saw superceeded the old-fashioned "sash" saw the three owners were John R Elliott, Amos Kisling and William McCormack. Mr. Kisling sold his interest to Martin Pring in 1872. William McCormack sold his interest to James McCormack in the spring of '73. Martin Pring sold his interest to representatives of a patent water-carrier, and Elliott and McCormack soon bought this interest. In 1882 or '83, McCormack sold to Elliott who now became sole owner. This was one among the first steam saw mills built in the county."
[2001 KLS note: The use of the word "trucks" in 1907 as a means of bringing the machinery from Indianapolis to Mechanicsburg is interesting. Knowing that the "truck" as we know it did not exist in 1850, it is fascinating to see how quickly new terms were assimulated into the everyday language.]

"Thomas B. Keesling in 1852 built a house on West Street. This he soon sold to James Small who occupied it until 1857 when he sold to Dr. Joseph Weeks."

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Excerpts and paraphrases from his son's Biographical Sketch in the History of the State of California ..., published 1904:
... in Preble Co., OH, Thomas B. Keesling, father of Edwin E., was born in May 1824. ... Reared in an abolition home, he early espoused the cause of anti-slavery and with his father assisted assisted more than one slave in an effort to cross the over the country into Canada. In 1848 President Taylor appointed him postmaster of Mechanicsburg, and he held the office for eight years, meanwhile carrying on a general store and a steam sawmill. ... 1856 ... he sold his interests in Indiana and moved to Minnesota, settling on the present site of Minneapolis. ... Purchasing 12 acres, he devoted the land to gardening and at the same time worked in the sawmills. The land cost him $,1400 ... its value increased to such an extent that he sold part for $35,000 and later was offered $50,000 for the balance.
... In 1872 he came to California ... At the expiration of a year he purchased twenty acres for $500 an acre, the property lying in the Willow District, on Willow Street with the residence opposite of Cherry avenue. Later he acquired a mountain ranch of fifty acres planted in grapes and prunes, also forty acres three miles west of his homestead, planted in fruits of various kinds. Near his house he set out an acre of grapes, ... advancing years led him to retire ....
Thomas B. married in 1848 Elizabeth Hasty (born in Preble Co., OH and moved with her parents to Indiana - father Thomas Hasty born in KY and mother Anna Raper born in VA) The children of Thomas B. and Elizabeth Keesling are: Martha Ann m. George E. Hanson res. Willows; Francis M. with Wells-Fargo; Leander B. settled near Glenwood in the Santa Cruz mountains; Horace G a fruit grower at the Willows; Alva C. fruit industry in Santa Clara; Oliver M. fruit industry; Carrie E., George C., Thomas C., Emma Edith, and Edwin E. (last two are twins).
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The Valley of Heart's Delight
santaclararesearch.net

THOMAS B. KEESLING

BIO- Pen Pictures
SURNAMES: BULLS, HASTY, RAPER, HANSON,

THOMAS B. KEESLING, one of our most successful fruit-growers, has a beautiful home in the Willows, on Willow Street opposite Cherry Avenue. The place has an area of about twenty acres, planted mostly in cherries and apricots,
with about an acre of grapes near his house, and cost him in 1873 $10,000, or $500 an acre. In 1887 he had about seven tons of grapes, which sold for an average of $15 a ton. The cherries produced about seven and one-half tons to
the acre, and apricots also bore a very full crop. Mr. Keesling has two ranches in Santa Clara County, one a mountain ranch of fifty acres planted in grapes and prunes, and forty acres about three miles west from his residence in
various kinds of fruit.

Born in Preble County, Ohio, in May, 1824, his grandparents, John Keesling,a native of Wythe County, Virginia, and Melinda (Bulls) Keesling, a native of North Carolina, having moved into Ohio in its earlier settlement. The family removed to a point near New Castle, Indiana, where the subject of this sketch went to school and worked on his father's farm. Commissioned Postmaster of Mechanicsburg, Indiana, in 1848, by President Taylor, he held that position
for eight years, meanwhile conducting a general store and steam saw-mill, the post-office being in his store. His old sign, painted by himself, still hangs over this store.

His father's farm having been on the wagon road between Cincinnati and Chicago, he had heard as a boy many and wonderful stories of the great West beyond. These did not decrease as to the great development of that section while
he was merchant and Postmaster of Mechanicsburg, so that in 1856 he resolved to cast his fortune toward the setting sun. Selling out his interests in Indiana, he took his family and settled where Minneapolis now is. At that time
there were but few shanties on the west side of the river, although on the east side was the town of St. Anthony's Falls. He bought twelve acres of land now in the center of Minneapolis, and remained there for sixteen years, during
which time he worked in the saw-mills and at gardening. This land, for which he paid $1,400, appreciated so much in value that he sold off $35,000 worth, and has been offered $50,000 for what he still holds! Having always had a
fondness for horticulture, which he undertook in Minnesota with unsatisfactory results, owing to the intense cold, he made a trip to California, settling in the Santa Clara Valley in 1872. Here he worked during the first year for
James Lick, purchasing at the end of the year the home place in the Willows.

He was married, in 1884, to Miss Elizabeth Hasty, a native of Preble County, Ohio, her parents also removing into Indiana during its early settlement. Her parents were Thomas Hasty, a native of Kentucky, and Anna Raper, a native
of Virginia. This union has been blessed with a numerous progeny, numbering eleven: Martha Ann, now the wife of George W. Hanson, a resident of the Willows; Francis M., connected with Wells, Fargo & Co.'s Express in San Jose; Leander B., residing near Glenwood, in the Santa Cruz Mountains; Horace G., now a fruit-grower in the Willows; Alva C., a fruit-grower in Santa Clara County; Oliver M., fruit-grower in the Willows; Carrie E., George C., Thomas C., Emma E., and Edwin E., the five latter still attending school and occupying the paternal home.

Mr. Keesling has been always a believer in the principles from which the Republican party sprang, and which carried it on in its successful career. In these he but followed in the footsteps of his father, as he has been followed
by his sons. His father was in favor of the abolition of slavery, and helped every slave who escaped from thralldom and came within his reach. Death called the old gentleman before the day of Emancipation, but his spirit battled
for liberty and union in the persons of a son and nephew, who gave up their lives that their country might be saved. The son, Isaac B., died at Vicksburg, and the nephew was killed at Richmond. Other relatives also lost their
lives during the war.

SOURCE: Pen Pictures From The Garden of the World or Santa Clara County, California, Illustrated. - Edited by H. S. Foote.- page 517
Chicago: The Lewis Publishing Company, 1888.

SANTA CLARA COUNTY BIOGRAPHIES

SANTA CLARA COUNTY- THE VALLEY OF HEART's DELIGHT