Greenbrier County, West Virginia HISTORY OF THE KESLER FAMILY. This biography was submitted by Sandy Spradling, E-mail address: This file may be freely copied by individuals and non-profit organizations for their private use. All other rights reserved. Any other use, including publication, storage in a retrieval system, or transmission by electronic, mechanical, or other means requires the written approval of the file's author. This file is part of the WVGenWeb Archives. If you arrived here inside a frame or from a link from somewhere else, our front door is at http://www.usgwarchives.net/wv/wvfiles.htm History of Greenbrier County J. R. Cole Lewisburg, WV 1917 p. 108-109 HISTORY OF THE KESLER FAMILY. Peter Kesler came from Germany about the year 1750 and settled in the Shenandoah valley, in Virginia, and reared a large family, all girls but two, Jacob and Frederick. Jacob married Betsy Funk, a sister of Joseph Funk, who was a music publisher of Rockingham county, Virginia. Jacob settled in the Richlands, in Greenbrier county, West Virginia, near where Tobe Stuart now resides. Frederick settled in Nicholas county and owned a large farm where Keslers Crosslanes now are. He reared two boys. Andrew and Alex, who moved to Arkansas in 1850. Jacob Kesler reared a family of eight girls and five boys, and after they were partly grown, moved to Fayette county and bought a farm of 640 acres. He was a successful farmer and cattle dealer. His family all lived and died in Fayette county except Frederick, who married Mary Groves, daughter of Col. John Groves, and settled in Nicholas county and reared a family of nine children, four girls and, five boys. John G., of Williamsburg, Greenbrier county, West Virginia; Austin, a prosperous farmer and stock raiser of Webster City, Iowa; William, of Stanhope, Iowa; A. D. Kesler, or Nicholas county, West Virginia; John G. Kesler, married Elizabeth Hughart, of Williamsburg, W. Va., where he reared six children, three girls and three boys; Ida Whitman, of Richwood, W. Va.; Ada L. Harrah, of Ft. Maginnis, Mont.; Etta M. Judy, of Williamsburg, W. Va.; Walter S. Kesler, of Lawton, OkIa.; Elmer G. Kesler, of Williamsburg, W. Va.; Ray Kesler, who is now a student in the Mountain State Business College. Dr. Elmer G. Kesler was born at Williamsburg, W. Va., December 8, 1885. He attended school at Williamsburg till 1902, when he attended school at Cincinnati, Ohio, graduated from high school in 1906, and entered the Eclectic Medical College, from which he graduated in 1910. He passed the West Virginia State board in 1910 and located at Williamsburg, where he has had a very large and successful practice. On April 25, 1906, he was united in marriage to Miss Nadie J. Black, of Van Wert, Ohio. To this union, on October 12, 1911, was born one daughter, Alice Mary Kesler.