USA > Indiana > Newton County > Biographical history of Tippecanoe, White, Jasper, Newton, Benton, Warren and Pulaski counties, Indiana, Volume I > Part 18
USA > Indiana > Benton County > Biographical history of Tippecanoe, White, Jasper, Newton, Benton, Warren and Pulaski counties, Indiana, Volume I > Part 18
USA > Indiana > Pulaski County > Biographical history of Tippecanoe, White, Jasper, Newton, Benton, Warren and Pulaski counties, Indiana, Volume I > Part 18
USA > Indiana > Warren County > Biographical history of Tippecanoe, White, Jasper, Newton, Benton, Warren and Pulaski counties, Indiana, Volume I > Part 18
USA > Indiana > Tippecanoe County > Biographical history of Tippecanoe, White, Jasper, Newton, Benton, Warren and Pulaski counties, Indiana, Volume I > Part 18
USA > Indiana > Jasper County > Biographical history of Tippecanoe, White, Jasper, Newton, Benton, Warren and Pulaski counties, Indiana, Volume I > Part 18
USA > Indiana > White County > Biographical history of Tippecanoe, White, Jasper, Newton, Benton, Warren and Pulaski counties, Indiana, Volume I > Part 18
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made him promise never to leave the Lutheran church, which he never did. It took him eight weeks to cross the Atlantic ocean, but at length he reached his destination in safety. Prior to his departure he converted all his belong- ings into money, and it made a sack of coppers with just enough gold to cover the mouth of the sack. On shipboard he was indiscreet enough to show it to some of his fellow passengers, and before the end of the journey he was robbed of all he had. Landing in New York city without a cent or a friend in America, he made his way to Easton, Northampton county, Penn- sylvania, where he found a kind man who loaned him enough money to pur- chase a calf. This he slaughtered and sold the meat, which was his first business venture in the New World. Though without money he had great energy and became a successful business man, accumulating a capital of three hundred thousand dollars as the result of his enterprise and foresight. He never retired from business, but continued in active commercial life until his labors were ended in death, in August, 1869.
In 1825 he was united in marriage to Miss Mary Ann, daughter of Jacob and Elizabeth Grotz. She was born in Easton, Pennsylvania, March 16, 1804, and was baptized in the Lutheran church. During her early girlhood her parents removed to Springtown, New Jersey, where she was married to Christian Godfrey Flemming, and this union was blessed with the following children: Susan, born April 3, 1826; Charles Frederic, born December 27, 1827; Elizabeth, born March 23, 1830; John Christian, born April 15, 1832; Mary Ann, born February 13, 1834; Henrietta Sabina, born January 30, 1836; Emma Frances, born August 14, 1840; and George Dallas, born Aug- ust 30, 1844. All of this number are now deceased with the exception of Elizabeth Flemming and Emma Frances Apple, wife of Dr. S. S. Apple, of Easton, Pennsylvania. Of the family, Susan became the wife of Dr. Samuel Sandt, December 23, 1845, and to them were born eight children, six of whom are living. Charles, married Susan Evans, and they had three chil- dren, all living. Emma Frances was married March 15, 1877, to Dr. S. S. Apple, then of Allentown, Pennsylvania, and they had one child, Flemming Livingstone, who was born August 12, 1878, and died in infancy. The members of the Flemming family were all reared in the Lutheran church, and those who have passed away died in that faith, while those still living retain their membership in that denomination. The sturdy characteristics of the German race found exemplification in their lives, and the various members of the family commanded the highest respect in the various locali- ties in which their lives were passed.
Dr. Keiper's mother was a woman of slender build, dark hair, and of a very energetic temperament. She inherited the peculiar characteristics of her father and possessed his keen business sense and foresight to a remarkable
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degree. In fact this tendency is inherited by the children now living. What- ever was left to them has been increased by careful and judicious manage- ment. The Doctor's mother was a very lovable woman, wrapped up in her husband and children. Nothing was too good for them and her care of her chil- dren revealed the remarkable traits of the woman. With good counsel and advice she guided their early steps until now, although she has been dead for nearly twenty years, their success in the various walks of life attests the worth of her early training of her children. Her life was brought to a sudden close in May, 1879, and her remains were interred in the cemetery in Easton, Pennsylvania, in a lot provided by her father in order that all his children might be buried together. In a letter Dr. S. S. Apple writes of Mrs. Mary Ann Keiper as follows:
"Among the recollections of your mother I recall with pleasure her many good social qualities. It required but one occasion to bring these to the front. She enjoyed society and was pleased with the company of friends. She was fond of books and usually found time to devote to reading. Had she enjoyed greater advantages in the schools of her day she would in all probability have made very considerable advance in English literature. She respected her conscience. Her religious convictions were strong. She believed in the teachings of the Christian church. This was the crowning edifice of her life and consequently overshadowed all other good qualities of her life."
On the paternal side of the house the same interesting genealogy may be traced. The Doctor's father was Dr. Christian Butz Keiper, a native of Easton, Pennsylvania, born December 4, 1816. His father was Peter Keiper and his mother Mary Butz Keiper, and both were natives of the Keystone state. The father was born in Allentown, Pennsylvania, and the mother in Northampston county. Born on the 27th of January, 1785, his death occurred December 21, 1855, and his wife, whose birth occurred June 7, 1793, departed this life August 21, 1878. Of their children, John, born June 2, 18II, died September 8, 1849; Mary K., wife of Charles Mixesell, who was born August 14, 1813, died March 16, 1875; Christian B., who was born December 4, 1816, died April 14, 1890; Elizabeth, wife of Charles Lock, was born November 12, 1819, and died May 3, 1873; Charles, born May 31, 1822, died April 20, 1862; Susan Dickson, wife of Dr. Dickson, of Knightsville, Indiana, was born in 1824, and died in 1893; and David, born in 1826, died in 1895. The remaining survivor of this large family is Dr. George F. Keip- er, of Norfolk, Nebraska, where he holds the responsible position of super- intendent of the Norfolk Hospital for the Insane. The subject of our sketch is his namesake.
The maternal grandparents of Dr. Christian B. Keiper were born in Germany and emigrated to this country before the Revolutionary war, the
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grandfather serving as a loyal defender of the colonies in that strugggle for independence. In fact the most loyal soldiers of the army were these native Germans. It may be remembered that England, prior to the war, attempt- ed to compel every German to translate his name into the English equiva- lent, so that Snyder or Schneider would become Tailor or Taylor, and Stein would become Stone, etc. This measure of course was bitterly opposed by the Germans, and the result was that when the war broke out large numbers of the sons of the Fatherland enlisted under Washington's standard, and con- tinued through the war brave and fearless soldiers, fighting against British tyranny and oppression. Such were the characteristics that on his moth- er's side were transmitted to Dr. C. B. Keiper.
His paternal grandparents were natives of Bavaria, Germany, and on coming to America located in Allentown, Pennsylvania. To them were born a numerous family, one of whom was Peter Keiper, the subject's grandfa- ther, who early located in Easton, Pennsylvania, and there opened a whole- sale tobacco manufactory, making considerable money in that enterprise. He desired all his boys to learn the trade, but they all refused, preferring to follow other occupations. He was married early in the century to Mary Butz. The Butz family has always been noted for its longevity. Her brother, Michael Butz, died a few years ago, at the age of ninety-five years, and his widow is still living at the advanced age of ninety-five, in full possession of all her mental faculties.
Dr. Christian B. Keiper remained at home until he was seventeen years of age, in the meantime receiving all the advantages afforded by a common- school education. He then learned the carpenter's trade. In those days when a boy reached a certain age, he was bound out to a master who was under obligation by the terms of the contract to teach the boy a good trade, clothe and feed him, and give him a good place in which to sleep and a small salary for his work. This lasted until the time of apprenticeship expired. So, after following his trade for a few months in Easton, he went to Philadelphia and was bound out to a cabinet-maker and there learned that trade. His master was cruel, and he determined to run away, seeking a favorable opportunity, which came to him at last through meeting with a gentleman to whom he related the story of his hard lot. This gentleman told him if he would go to Pittsburg he would give him employment, and accordingly, in 1836, he ran away from his cruel master and went to the city in which his new-found friend lived. His absence was soon discovered and he was advertised for in the daily papers, but having told no one, not even his mother, of his intentions, he was never found and punished-the penalty for the offense in those days being imprisonment.
In the summer of 1836 he went to Cincinnati, Ohio, and in the fall of
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that year made his way to New Orleans, where he engaged himself to finish and set up billiard tables at high wages. New Orleans was in those days a very tough city. It was infested with gamblers, thieves and murderers, and no one considered himself safe without a pistol and a bowie-knife. In fact, to secure greater safety men banded themselves together for mutual protec- tion. During these times Dr. Christian Keiper several times saved the life of a steamboat captain, who became very much attached to him and who afterward attempted to reward him. After the failure of his employer, and the consequent loss of much of his wages, Mr. Keiper went to Nashville, thence to Tuscaloosa and later to Huntsville. He saved sufficient money in the meantime to enable him to think of attending college, which was then the height of his ambition, and to which event he looked with longing eyes. Going to Ohio, he entered Marietta College, in 1838, and worked Saturdays at his trade in order to enable him to get more money. In the summer vacation of 1839 he went to Louisville, Kentucky, where he accidentally met his old friend, the steamboat captain, whose life he had saved. The captain persuaded him to take the position of second clerk on his boat, which posi- tion was then vacant. This Mr. Keiper did, and for three months ran on the river between Louisville and New Orleans, Louisiana, but becoming dis- gusted with river life, and desiring again to return to college, the term of which was now about to begin, he resigned his position at Evansville, Indi- ana, expecting to go to Marietta, Ohio. A friend, however, persuaded him to go to Greencastle and enter the Indiana Asbury University. After yield- ing to his persuasion he made a river trip to Terre Haute, and thence pro- ceeded on foot to Greencastle, where he arrived in the fall of 1839 and entered the university there. The Indiana Asbury University, now De Pauw University, was then two years old, and at its head was a man who was just beginning to show remarkable ability as a preacher and executive officer. This was Matthew Simpson, who afterward became the senior bishop of the Methodist Episcopal church, while his fame as a preacher was world-wide. Simpson was a man who had considerable influence over his students and left on them an impress which lasted as long as life. There Dr. C. B. Keiper got much of the enthusiasm which characterized his after life. For three years and a half he remained in college there, but money failing he deter- mined to study law, and practiced at the bar of Putnam county for about six months. His talents, however, seemed to incline him to the medical profession, so he abandoned the practice of law for the practice of medicine. He studied under Dr. Cowgill, of Greencastle, and later under Drs. Preston, Ballard and Talbott, who were then directing the reading of several students, who were banded together for the purpose of mastering the principles of the science of medicine. During this time an amusing though grewsome incident
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occurred. They felt that to study anatomy right, they should dissect a body. For a long time they waited for a favorable opportunity to "resurrect" a body. At last an old shoemaker died in Greencastle, who was friendless and was buried at the county's expense. This was their opportunity, and so the shoemaker's body was "resurrected " and conveyed to a room in the rear of Dr. Preston's office. There, under Dr. Preston's instruction they began the study of practical anatomy and progressed fairly well until Dr. Preston was taken ill, and the rats then began to gnaw the body. It soon became evi- dent that they must dispose of the remains. So one dark night they put the body in a barrel and covered the barrel's head with canvas, and the four medical students made their way to the swimming hole of Walnut creek, where they sunk the barrel. They then bound themselves by a solemn compact never to tell about the "resurrection" of the body and its later disposal, and it was never revealed until the subject of this sketch, Dr. George F. Keiper, made up his mind to attend the University at Greencastle, when his father told him of the occurrence. This was in 1883.
Several days after the body was thus disposed of, a number of boys from Greencastle concluded to go fishing at the swimming hole. The hook of one of the boys caught. He stripped and waded into the water to loosen it, and in so doing he pulled the canvass off the barrel and out rolled the shoemaker's head! The boys were thoroughly frightened, and returning to town informed the authorities of the discovery. Court, which was then in session, adjourned in order that the supposed murder might be investigated. After the body had been laid out on the bank of the creek, the great excite- ment which had prevailed was finally allayed by one of the crowd recog- nizing the body by a defect on the little finger. The grave of the shoemaker was examined and the discovery made that the body was gone. It was replaced then and the excitement abated.
In 1883, when at college in the presence of some of the oldest citizens of the town, Dr. George F. Keiper related the incident. The old men all knew of the facts in their boyhood days, and for the first time in long years the story had been related to them by one whom they supposed knew nothing about it. This certainly astonished the old-timers, and in the small company were two of the boys, now old men, who had found the body. Thus was revealed the name of one of the medical students who in this way had prose- cuted his studies of practical anatomy.
In 1845 Dr. C. B. Keiper began the practice of medicine in Alaska, a town located at the junction of Putnam, Morgan and Owen counties, Indiana. There he remained until 1860, when he turned over his very large practice . to his brother, Dr. George F. Keiper, now of Norfolk, Nebraska. He had acquired from his practice a considerable competence. In the meantime he
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attended lectures in the medical department of the University of New York, and the New York Medical College, graduating from the latter in 1852. In 1860 he went to St. Louis to locate, continuing in that city until 1861, when he came to Lafayette. He practiced here until his health failed, in 1874, and he was compelled to put aside business cares and seek needed rest. Feeling that he could not get this amid old surroundings, he took his family to the home of his birth, Easton, Pennsylvania, and there remained until 1881, when he returned to Lafayette, having traveled extensively in the meantime. Here he resumed the practice of medicine, which he continued until April, 1890, when his death occurred. He was then in the seventy- fourth year of his age.
On the 6th of May, 1882, Dr. C. B. Keiper wedded Mary Ann Flemming, of Easton, Pennsylvania, and to them were born five children: William, born January 15, 1865; George Frederic, born March.26, 1866; Charles Chris- tian, born December 21, 1867; Elizabeth Flemming, born February 18, 1869; and Frank, born June 12, 1870. Of this family William and Charles died in infancy. The other children are yet living. On the 3d of September, 1898, Elizabeth became the wife of Dr. Leslie J. Meacham, of New York city. Dr. C. B. Keiper was a man who prided himself on being well informed on the latest discoveries and ideas in medicine and kindred sciences. Intellectually he displayed great vigor, which he manifested to the very day of his death. He was a man of indomitable energy, fearless in the expression of his convic- tions and left the impress of his individuality upon the pioneer people among whom he labored, and who had great admiration for his superior qualities. The great ambition of his declining days was that each child should have the advantages of the best education that the country could afford. He was particularly careful to instruct his children in the mistakes which he had made, and which all are liable to make, so that they might be averted. Physically he was a giant in strength and the boast of his early days was that no one ever threw him in a wrestling match or could touch him in a box- ing match. He never knew fear. In early days he was a Whig, and he joined the Republican party upon its organization. In religious faith he was a Presbyterian, though early reared in the German Reformed church. Socially, he was a Master Mason, belonging to Lafayette Lodge, No. 123.
Dr. C. B. Keiper's only brother living is Dr. George F. Keiper, of Nor- folk, Nebraska, where he holds the position of superintendent of the Nor- folk Hospital for the Insane. He served for four terms in the Nebraska leg- islature, two in the house and two in the senate. He is a Democrat in poli- tics, and the only Democrat ever elected from that district to the Nebraska assembly.
The three living children of Dr. C. B. Keiper are as follows: Frank,
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who is now a patent examiner in the patent office at Washington, District of Columbia, makes his home in that city. He graduated with the degree of Bachelor of Arts, in Wabash College, of Crawfordsville, Indiana, in 1890, at Purdue University, in 1892, with the degree of B. M. E. In 1893 he received the degree of A. M. from Wabash College and the degree of M. E. from Pur- due University. In 1893 he took the civil-service examination which led to his appointment at Washington, District of Columbia. There by working at odd hours he graduated in law from the law department of the Columbian University, in 1897: He was married in October, 1897, to Miss Elizabeth Grace Pitman, of Knoxville, Tennessee. Elizabeth F. Meacham, who lives in New York city, is the wife of Dr. Leslie J. Meacham. She graduated at the Moravian Seminary, of Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, in 1888, and afterward took a post-graduate course there.
Dr. George F. Keiper, the subject of this sketch, was born in Lafayette, Indiana, March 26, 1866, and was named for his uncle, Dr. Keiper, of Nor- folk, Nebraska. He received all the advantages that the public schools of his native city could offer, and also attended the public schools of Easton, Pennsylvania, whither his father removed for rest in 1874. In January, 1884, he entered the freshman class of DePauw University, at Greencastle, Indi- ana, and graduated therefrom in 1887, having finished the classical course, and received the degree of Bachelor of Arts. In the fall of 1887 he entered the department of medicine and surgery of the University of Michigan, at Ann Arbor, and graduated therefrom in 1890, receiving the degree of Doctor of Medicine. In the same year DePauw University, his alma mater, con- ferred upon him the honorary degree of Master of Arts. He returned to his native city to practice his profession, and after a year's successful work in the general practice he retired therefrom to limit his practice to the treatment of diseases of the eye, ear, nose and throat.
On the 9th of July, 1890, he was married to Miss Mary Alma Lloyd, stepdaughter of Mr. John Dougherty, who, while living, was a prominent citizen of Lafayette, holding large landed interests in Benton county, Indiana. The Doctor and Mrs. Keiper have one child, Margaret Lloyd, born September 15, 1891, a bright and lovable child, a splendid type of her splendid ancestry.
The Doctor was made a Master Mason in Lafayette Lodge, A. F. & A. M., in November, 1890. He became a Royal Arch Mason in Lafayette Chapter, No. 3, in 1892, and a Knight Templar in Lafayette Commandery, No. 3, in 1894. In 1895 he received the degree of Royal and Select Master in Crawfordsville Council, R. & S. M., and attained the thirty-second degree of the Ancient and Accepted Scottish Rite, Northern Masonic Jurisdiction, at Indianapolis, in March, 1898. He is thereby a member of Adoniram Grand Lodge of Perfection, 14°; Seraiah Council, Princes of Jerusalem, 16°; Indian-
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apolis Chapter, Rose Croix, 18°; Indiana Consistory, S. P. R. S., 32º. He was made an Odd Fellow in Lafayette Lodge, No. 15, in October, 1890, a member of Wabash Encampment, No. 6, in 1892, and a chevalier in Ex- celsior Canton, in 1895. The Doctor has been greatly honored in Freema- sonry. After filling in a most creditable manner the various offices of Lafay- ette Lodge, No. 123, he was elected its worshipful master in 1893 and filled the office the following year. He was re-elected in 1894, and reinstalled in 1895. For the third time he was chosen in 1895, but declined the honor. In 1896 Tippecanoe Council of Royal and Select Masters was organized and he was elected its first illustrious master, which position he held by re-election in 1897, declining to serve for a third term in 1898. After holding several subordinate offices in Lafayette Chapter, No. 3, he was elected to serve as high priest in 1898, and is now filling that office. In Lafayette Command- ery he is the present senior warden, which is in the line of promotion for eminent commander. To him Masonry is a science upon which he has be- stowed considerable study. As presiding officer he has represented the vari- ous Masonic bodies in the grand lodge, grand chapter and grand council, and was a member of these grand bodies during the tenure of office.
In his profession Dr. Keiper has also been much honored. He has held the responsible position of secretary of the Tippecanoe County Medical So- ciety since 1891. In 1898 he was elected vice-president of the Indiana State Medical Society, and in addition to these organizations he belongs to the American Medical Association, the Mississippi Valley Medical Association and the Western Ophthalmological and Oto-Laryngological Association. In 189.I he was appointed expert eye and ear pension examiner to the bureau of pensions of the department of the interior, at Washington, District of Columbia. The Doctor is eye and ear surgeon to St. Elizabeth's Hospital, St. Joseph's Orphan Asylum, the Children's Home, the Indiana State Sol- diers' Home and the Peoria Division of the Lake Erie & Western Railway. He is one of the corresponding editors of the Annals of Ophthalmology, pub- lished at St. Louis, Missouri. He has contributed numerous articles to med- ical journals and has invented several instruments such as' ophthalmolo- gists use.
In religious belief Dr. Keiper is a Methodist, belonging to Trinity Method- ist Episcopal church, in which he is serving as a member of the official board. He is also one of the lay trustees of the Northwest Indiana Con- ference. In the spring of 1898 he was elected one of the trustees of De Pauw University, his alma mater. He is also a stockholder in the Battle Ground Camp Meeting, which owns a tract of land at Battle Ground, six miles north of Lafayette. He is one of the trustees of the institution and treasurer of the same. He gives some attention to literary affairs, being a
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member of the Ethical Club, of Lafayette. In politics, he is a Republican and a member of the Lincoln Club.
In 1896, in memory of his father, he endowed the C. B. Keiper Alcove of Biology in the library of Purdue University, and in St. Elizabeth's Hos- pital he has endowed a room in memory of his mother, Mary Ann Keiper.
Dr. Keiper's wife, Mrs. Mary Alma Lloyd Keiper, was born May 26, 1870. Her father, James S. Lloyd, was born in Charlotteville, Virginia, and was of Welsh descent. His mother was, before her marriage, a Miss Spray, and was born in South Carolina, but at an early day she removed to Ohio on account of her opposition to slavery. The Sprays were Quakers and came originally from England. Before her marriage Mrs. Keiper's mother was Miss Margaret E. White. She was born in Rappahannock county, Virginia, and was a daughter of William and Margaret (Compton) White, natives of Culpeper county, Virginia. The Whites are of Scotch origin, but emigrated to Virginia before the Revolution. They fought in that war under Washington, and some of their descendants may now be found in Warrenton, Staunton and Richmond, Virginia, and some in Ken- tucky. On the Compton side, Mrs. Keiper's maternal grandmother was a daughter of William Clarke, of Virginia, who came from England to occupy a grant of land given him under the crown as his royal inheritance. His father was an English lord, but William Clarke turned rebel and fought under Washington. Mrs. Keiper's other great-grandmother was Miss Eliza- beth Elgin, before her marriage, and came from Elgin Place, England. Her father was a son of Lord Elgin, but not being the eldest son did not inherit the title. The Compton and Elgin families removed from England to Annapolis, Maryland, and after the Revolution went to Culpeper county, Virginia. They were all Episcopalians in faith, and afterward members of the Methodist Episcopal church. Mrs. Keiper's great-grandfather Clarke built the first Methodist Episcopal church in Culpeper, now Rappahannock county, Virginia. He gave the ground and took his negro men, and with them erected a two-story, hewed-log building, the second story being built as a gallery for the negro slaves. He called the church Shiloh, and in the history of Methodism it is prominently mentioned. Just a few years ago it was removed to make room for a new and handsome church which still bears the name of Shiloh.
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