Will County IL Archives Biographies.....Keith, William F 
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File contributed for use in USGenWeb Archives by:
Deb Haines ddhaines@gmail.com November 10, 2007, 12:20 am

Author: Genealogical and Biographical Record of Will County

WILLIAM F. KEITH. Few of the citizens of Elwood have been identified with its 
history for so long a period as Mr. Keith and none has been more influential 
or progressive. In the fall of 1863 he purchased a small mercantile business 
in the town, which then contained only three dwellings and several shanties. 
From that day to this he has been foremost in enterprises for the upbuilding 
of the village. He prepared the charter for the town and after it was 
incorporated, by a special act of the legislature, he was made police 
magistrate. A number of times he has been chosen to serve as town trustee, and 
twice he was president of the board. In 1866 he was commissioned notary public 
by Governor Yates, and has since held the office, by successive appointment. 
He is also serving his fourth term as justice of the peace. In the building up 
of schools and churches he has taken a leading part. In fact, every movement 
for the benefit of the community receives his co-operation and aid. During 
1868 he disposed of his general merchandise and, erecting a business block, 
opened a drug store, which he conducted personally for years. He is still a 
member of the drug firm of W. F. Keith & Son, but in 1894 practically turned 
over the management of the business to his son. Besides his other interests he 
has considerable business as an attorney, also handles real estate and acts as 
agent for fire insurance companies. Near Rome, in Lewis County, N. Y., William 
F. Keith was born August 11, 1827, a son of John T. and Maria (Miller) Keith, 
of whose three children he alone survives. His father was educated for the 
ministry and became a member of the Methodist conference, in which he 
continued until, through the failure of his health from overwork, he was 
obliged to go south and remain until he regained his strength. His wife died 
while he was pastor at Mount Morris, and he died shortly after his return from 
the south. His father, William Keith, a native of Easton, Mass., was a 
minister in New York City, where he died at the age of thirty-four years. He 
married Sarah Tibbetts, a member of an old family of Rome, N. Y. The Keith 
family descended from three brothers who came to this country in an early day 
to escape religious persecution in their home country, Scotland. It is 
supposed that they settled in Bridgeport, Mass. The mother of our subject was 
orphaned at an early age and was taken into the home of an older brother, 
Isaac Miller. She was born in Connecticut, where her ancestors were early 
settlers. At the time of his mother's death our subject was ten years of age. 
He was given a home with his grandmother Keith in Lewis County, N. Y., but 
after two years went to live with an uncle in Buffalo. His education was 
obtained in the common schools of the latter city and at Rich Academy, Attica, 
N. Y. When eighteen years of age he went to Cattaraugus County, N. Y., and 
began his apprenticeship as carpenter and builder, studying the principles of 
architecture. In 1848 he married Miss Rachael Mackey, daughter of David 
Mackey, who held many offices of trust in Cattaraugus County and was a 
successful farmer. His ancestors settled in that region when the entire 
country was a dense forest, through which roads had not yet been opened. Two 
children were born to Mr. and Mrs. Keith, of whom the daughter, Ada, is 
deceased. The son, Clarence A., is a general merchant in the village of 
Cattaraugus. Hoping that a change of climate would benefit his wife's health, 
in 1856 Mr. Keith came to Illinois. He settled at Naperville, where his uncle, 
Aylmer Keith, was a banker and prominent business man. However, his wife was 
not improved by the change and in a few months he returned with her to New 
York state, where she died. Leaving his children with her parents, in the fall 
of 1857 he again came to Naperville. During his first visit there he had been 
chosen architect for the Naperville bank and superintended the construction of 
the building. On his return he formed a partnership with a cousin and 
established a notion and confectionery store in Naperville. One year later his 
older cousin, who was cashier of the Naperville bank, sold out and removed to 
Twelve Mile Grove, Will County, where he purchased a farm and embarked in 
sheep-raising. After a year, however, he sold out and went to Joliet, where, 
with Mr. Keith, he embarked in the drug business. In 1860 the two went to 
Pike's Peak and established a saw-mill business. Seven months later they 
retureed to Joliet, and soon afterward sold the drug business. In 1861 Charles 
W. Keith, the cousin, formed a company of artillery, of which he was made 
captain. Our subject enlisted in the Nineteenth Illinois Infantry and was made 
a member of the regimental band, which was organized in Lockport. He was sent 
to Nashville and Murfreesboro, Tenn. During the winter he was taken ill and 
sent to the hospital at Elizabethtown, Ky., where, as soon as he recovered 
sufficiently, he was appointed apothecary. In the spring of 1863 another 
illness caused him to be returned to his regiment at Nashville, where he was 
discharged and sent home, but for a year or more he remained an invalid. In 
the spring of 1863 Charles W. Keith came to Elwood and purchased a farm, and 
our subject made his home with him for a time. As soon as he was able to 
engage in business he opened a store at Elwood, and here he has since been a 
prominent business man. In politics he is a Democrat, and for two years he 
served as deputy county treasurer under Treasurer Donahue and eight years 
under Mr. Spangler. He is identified with the Presbyterian Church and for ten 
years served as an elder. In 1866 he married Miss Hannah T. Leverich, who was 
born in Waterford, Pa. To their union three children were born, viz.: William 
H., who is chief clerk and cashier in the freight department of the Chicago & 
Alton Railroad in Joliet; Edward E., who has charge of the drug business in 
Elwood; and Eva M., who is with her parents.

Additional Comments:
Genealogical and Biographical Record of Will County Illinois Containing 
Biographies of Well Known Citizens of the Past and Present, Biographical 
Publishing Company, Chicago, 1900

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