San Joaquin County
Biographies
JOHN KELLER
JOHN KELLER, of Elkhorn
Township, was born September 30, 1840, in Crawford County, Ohio. His parents,
John and Christine (Rosmann) Keller, were natives of
Germany and occupants of the farm. John, senior, was brought up to agricultural
pursuits, and in 1833 emigrated to America and settled in Ohio, purchasing land
upon which he resided until his death in 1887, at the age of eighty-four. The
subject of this sketch, who was also reared to agricultural pursuits, left home
at the age of nineteen years; in 1864, he came overland with horse-teams, with
a company of nineteen, starting March 14, and arriving in Sacramento on June
20, with only $50 in greenbacks, which when exchanged for coin amounted to only
$20. His first engagement was cutting hay on Staten Island, for which his wages
was $40 a month. Going thence to El Dorado County he engaged in mining for
three months, and then returned to the San Joaquin valley and was employed
during the summer upon a farm; and in the fall he began cutting wood. The
following spring he rented land and followed farming upon his own account until
the fall of 1874, when he went East. Coming again to
the Golden State in 1875, he rented land in partnership with Mr. Harshner and continued until 1881. In the fall of this year
he purchased his present property, consisting of 160 acres, being the northeast
quarter of section 1, township 3 north, range 5 east,
which is four miles from Woodbridge. Here Mr. Keller has made all the
improvements that are now upon the place; and his premises are as neat and tidy
as any in that part of the county. His fine residence was erected in 1884, and
is indeed an ornamental structure.
In 1884 Mr. Keller married Miss Dora Brack, a native of this State, and their children are: Christin E. and John Cleveland.
Transcribed by: Jeanne Sturgis Taylor.
An Illustrated History of San Joaquin County,
California, Pages 399-400. Lewis Pub. Co. Chicago, Illinois 1890.
© 2009 Jeanne Sturgis Taylor.
Golden Nugget Library's San Joaquin County
Biographies
Golden Nugget Library's San Joaquin County
Genealogy Databases