Hello Everyone,
The message below came to me from Evelyn Keller Wickie ewicke(a)gvec.net . In a second
posting to me, I got the feeling that she is not subscribed to any of the K-L-R lists.
So, if you can help her, please address your message directly to her (not to me).
Leslie Kohler - List Owner for most of the K-L-R lists
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---- "Evelyn Keller Wickie" <ewicke(a)gvec.net> wrote:
Joseph Keller was born 1820 in Switzerland to a John J. Keller and Verena Klingenfuss.
One source says they lived in a small town near Zurich, and they certainly lived in the
northern German-speaking part of Switzerland. I know a good deal about them in the U.S.,
but have been unable to locate him in Switz. or definitely identify him on a passenger
list.
What I know is he married Elisabeth Steinmann (1st husband, Baumgartner) in Memphis, TN
in 1845. He died in 1864 and she in 1874. They are buried in Elmwood Cemetery in Memphis.
I have the census showing them in Memphis in 1850 and 1860. There are lots of Joseph
Keller's on various ship passenger lists, and some are the right age, but it is
difficult to definitely identify him. I searched the naturalization papers in Shelby
County, TN,. but he is not there. One odd fact, I did find a Joseph Keller who applied for
citizenship in NY city and he is living with a family by the name of "Uhl". I
would dismiss this immediately, except that years later Joseph's sister marries a man
named "Uhl". NY is pretty far from Memphis. Why would he have gone to N.Y. to
apply?
Joseph's sister, Anna Maria Elisabeth Keller came from Switzerland to visit him in
1856 in Memphis. She stayed, married, had children, husband died, she married Uhl, and she
died in Memphis and is buried in the Joseph Keller plot.
There is a George Keller who is probably the brother of Joseph and Elisabeth Keller. He
is shown in a Memphis Directory as working next door to Joseph's place of business in
1855/1856. Joseph witnesses his application for a marriage license in 1860, and George
married a woman having the same surname as Elisabeth's first husband. After
Joseph's death, his two late teen aged daughters make their home with George and his
family. When George moves to St. Louis between 1860 and 1870, they move with him.
Another problem I have, after Joseph's death, I can no longer find his wife,
Elisabeth. She is not on the 1870 Memphis census. Although she may have remarried and
changed her name, she is buried next to Joseph on 1874 and the cemetery records say her
name is "Keller". I am particularly concerned about her whereabouts because my
grandfather was 8 years old when his father died. There is a big gap from 1860 until 1880
when I find him on the Laredo, TX census.
If you have any information you think might be useful to me, I would appreciate it.
Evelyn Keller Wicke