My Genealogy Hound

James L. Keeling, successful merchant and prominent citizen of Oliver, Ind., is a native of Posey county and was born on January 7, 1870, a son of Charles L. and Angeline (Downen) Keeling. The elder Keeling was also a native son of Posey county, having been born in Black township on March 7, 1843. His parents were natives of Virginia, who settled in Posey county during the early years of its development. Charles L. Keeling spent his early life in assisting his father to clear and improve land for farming. His after life was passed in agricultural pursuits. He died in Mt. Vernon on December 29, 1912. Of the family, which consisted of six children, but one is living, a sister, Martha, the widow of W. C. Allen, who was a farmer in Lynn township. He married, when a young man, Angeline Downen, and of this union seven children were born, viz.: James L. Keeling, the subject of this sketch; Timothy, born June 27, 1873, a farmer of Eldorado, Ill.; Gertrude, born August 22, 1875, the wife of Ollie Maize, a railway employee of Poplar Bluff, Mo.; Elizabeth, born December 15, 1878, the wife of Henry Overfield, also of Poplar Bluff; Mary, born December 20, 1881, the wife of Walter Compton of Mt. Vernon, Ind.; Otis, born December 20, 1884, a railway employee of Mt. Carmel, Ill.; and Martha, who died in infancy. James L. Keeling was reared on his father’s farm in Black township, acquired his education in the schools of his native county, and learned the carpenter’s trade. He was next employed as a clerk and in 1904 established his present business, that of a general merchant, at Oliver. This enterprise has been successful. Its growth has been continuous, it has been profitable, and Mr. Reeling’s business methods have been such as to draw trade from a large district. He is a director in his school district and a member of the Masonic order. Mr. Keeling married, on December 29, 1892, Miss Eva Barton, a daughter of Samuel and Rachel (McKinnier) Barton, each a native of Posey county, where their daughter was born on April 29, 1876. Three children have been born of this union, viz.: Rachel, born October 28, 1893, who married on February 10, 1912, Thomas Menikheim, and they have one son, Earl James, born April 20, 1913; Earl Keeling, born January 29, 1895, a salesman in his father’s store; and Veral, born April 14, 1906.