Lake County IN Archives Biographies.....Keilman, Leonard 1833 - ************************************************ Copyright. All rights reserved. http://www.usgwarchives.net/copyright.htm http://www.usgwarchives.net/in/infiles.htm ************************************************ File contributed for use in USGenWeb Archives by: Joy Fisher sdgenweb@yahoo.com December 10, 2006, 2:16 pm Author: T. H. Ball (1904) LEONARD KEILMAN. Leonard Keilman, agriculturist, merchant and general business man of Dyer, St. John township, is the foremost man of affairs in this town, and has been identified with its commercial prosperity and general development for over forty-five years. He belongs to the family which is perhaps the most prominent in the industrial and commercial history of St. John township, and its members have played their various parts in Lake county for the past sixty years, from the primitive pioneer times to the progressive present. Mr. Keilman has numerous interests, from those purely agricultural to financiering and banking, and throughout his career he has been to a high degree successful and at the same time has used his influence and efforts for the advancement of the community along lines of material, social and intellectual good. As were the rest of the family, he was born in Hesse-Darmstadt, Germany, on May 4, 1833, being the youngest of the seven children of Henry and Elizabeth Keilman, further mention of which worthy pioneer couple will be found in the sketches of the various other members of the family appearing in this work. When Leonard was seven years old the family came to America, and for a little more than four years lived in Portage county, Ohio, coming to Lake county in 1844. He was between eleven and twelve years of age when be arrived in this county, and for several years more attended the early schools of the county. He remained at home with his parents until twenty years of age, and then started out for himself by engaging in farming. In 1854 be was married, and then at once located on the farm where he has ever since made his home, and where be continued his farm operations exclusively for several years. In 1858 he branched out into the mercantile enterprises which have since occupied so much of his attention. He established a store in Dyer and at the same time added, a lumber yard. About i86o he began the buying and shipping of hay and grain, and later took tip the milling business at Lowell, where he still owns the mill and also the lumber and grain yards and elevators. In 1903 he was one of the organizers of the First National Bank at Dyer, and is one of its stockholders. His son Henry is its president and a director, and John L. Keilman is also a director. Henry Batterman is a director and vice-president. William F. Keilman and John A. Kimmet are the other directors, and Augustus Stumel is cashier. The capital stock is twenty-five thousand dollars, and it is already one of the important financial institutions of this part of the county. Besides all the enterprises just mentioned, Mr. Keilman owns about seven hundred acres of Lake county land. He has taken a good citizen's part in the public affairs of his community, and in national affairs has always voted the Democratic ticket. He and his family are members of the Catholic church. In 1854 Mr. Keilman married Miss Lena Austgen, who was born in Germany and came to America when about twelve years old, locating with her family in Lake county during the same year. Mr. and Mrs. Keilman are the parents of eight children: Henry, who is a farmer and also mentioned in connection with the bank; Margaret, wife of J. A. Kimmet, of Lowell: Catherine, Mary, both single; Frank, a farmer: Ellen, a sister in St. Joseph's order; John L., a merchant and in partnership with his father; and Lizzie, single. All the children were born in Dyer. Additional Comments: Extracted from: ENCYCLOPEDIA OF Genealogy and Biography OF LAKE COUNTY, INDIANA, WITH A COMPENDIUM OF HISTORY 1834—1904 A Record of the Achievements of Its People in the Making of a Commonwealth and the Founding of a Nation. REV. T. H. BALL OF CROWN POINT, EDITOR-IN-CHIEF ILLUSTRATED CHICAGO NEW YORK THE LEWIS PUBLISHING COMPANY 1904 File at: http://files.usgwarchives.net/in/lake/bios/keilman438gbs.txt This file has been created by a form at http://www.genrecords.org/infiles/ File size: 4.4 Kb