Calaveras
County
Biographies
ADAM KEILBAR
Adam Keilbar
is the proprietor of a meat market at Murphy’s.
A native of Germany, he came to the United States in 1854, arriving in
Wisconsin with only five cents left in his pocket. He possessed a determined purpose, however,
and sought and obtained a position on the Milwaukee & La Crosse
Railroad. In 1856 he went to Chicago, by
way of the Illinois Central Railroad, proceeded to
Cairo, then to New Orleans, and on to Havana and to Aspinwall. Crossing over to Panama, he took passage on
the Golden Age for San Francisco, and when he reached California his capital was entirely exhausted, nor had he an acquaintance in the
country. He was willing to accept any employment which would yield him to an
honorable living until he could better his financial condition. He worked at dishwashing in the Philadelphia
Hotel for three years and then took a position on a Stockton boat, working as a
deck hand for his passage to the city of Stockton, whence he walked to
Vallicita, where he obtained a position as a cook, serving in that capacity for
two and a half years. On the expiration
of that period he was receiving eighty-five dollars a month for his
services. With the capital which he had
acquired through his own efforts he then opened a meat market at Vallicita and
also at Murphy’s, conducting his stores in both towns through the past
forty-three years.
He is a man of unquestioned business
integrity and unfaltering energy, and by his honorable endeavor he has made a
success of his business, steadily advancing in the public regard and in
financial circles until he is now so favorably known that his check for any
amount is accepted anywhere in this section of the state. In addition to his commercial interests he
owns a number of farms and holds a number of mortgages on farms, and through
the careful conduct of his affairs he has become a wealthy man in this county,
owing his prosperity entirely to his unaided efforts.
In 1868 Mr. Keilbar
was united in marriage to Miss Bessie Thompson, a native of Long Island, New
York. They were married in Murphy’s, and
unto them nine children have been born, all natives of that place. In order of their birth they are as
follows: Ida, who is a teacher and
resides in Oakland; Effa, also a teacher; Ollie,
Theodore, Alice, Florence, Leland, Clarence and Eda.
In his political views Mr. Keilbar is a Republican, but he has never sought office,
nor has he become identified with any society, preferring to devote his time
and energies to his business affairs, in which he has prospered beyond his
expectations. His desire of attaining
success in America has been more than realized, for in this land where energy
and ambition are not hampered by caste or class he has worked his way steadily
upward and today his record is such as to command the respect and excite the
admiration of all who are familiar with his history.
Transcribed by
Gerald Iaquinta.
Source:
“A Volume of Memoirs and Genealogy of Representative Citizens of Northern
California”, Pages 589-590. Chicago Standard Genealogical Publishing Co. 1901.
© 2010
Gerald Iaquinta.
Golden Nugget Library's Calaveras County Biographies