Randolph  County,  Indiana

Simon  B. Keckler


            Lumbering has been one of' the chief industries of the section of the Middle West with which this history deals for many decades and the vast forests found here by the pioneers have furnished lumber for many states, employment for thousands of men and made a vast number of people wealthy. It has always been regarded as one of the most desirable lines of business, yet not everyone has succeeded who has essayed this precarious field of endeavor. Many things are necessary to insure success, not the least of which is perseverance, courage, keen foresight and indomitable industry. These and other necessary characteristics seem to be possessed by Simon B. Keckler, proprietor of the most extensive lumber yard in Randolph county, his place of business and residence being at the town of Parker.
            Mr. Keckler was born in Fairfield county, Ohio, May 29, 1860. He is a son of John and Julia Ann (Dunaway) Keckler, and is one of a family of eight children, five sons and three daughters, namely: Ephraim who died at the age of forty-three years, married Fannie McCarthy; he was a commercial traveler, and his family consisted, of four children; Elizabeth, of Weaver Station, Ohio, married David Dull, and they have two children, both grown and married; Marie A. is the wife of W. H. Scofield, of Eaton, Ohio, whose union has been, without issue; Simon B., of this review; William H., who died in 1906, was a lumber dealer, married Mary E. Lambertson and they had one child; John W., of Yorkshire, Ohio, married Emma Hall, of Pickaway county, that state, and they have one child, Cyril C.; Emma who married Wills E. Ayers, a school teacher and farmer, died some time ago and left nine children; James D. a farmer of Angola, Indiana, married Nora Rupel, and they have three children.
            John Keckler, father of the above named children, was born July 11, 1826, near Bremen, Ohio, was a blacksmith by trade in his earlier years, but devoted most of his life to farming. He moved to Darke county, Ohio, in 1861, buying a farm near Greenville, on which he spent the rest of his life. His death occurred August 1, 1897. His wife was a native of Fayette county, Pennsylvania, born there January 1,1828, and she was brought to Ohio when an infant by her parents who settled in Fairfield county. She was nine years old when her parents moved to Wells county, Indiana, where they purchased a farm of one hundred and sixty acres, all timber, so heavy that the father was compelled to clear a place before he could erect his log cabin. By hard work he cleared his land and established a good home there. Our subject's mother was twice married. First to George Reynolds, and after his death married on May 26, 1859 to John Keckler, our subject's father. Her death occurred June 15, 1900, at the age of nearly seventy-three years.
            James Keckler, grandfather of our subject, was a cooper by trade, and he lived in Fairfield county, Ohio. Jacob Keckler, the great grandfather, was a Revolutionary soldier under George Washington. The Dunaways, the mother’s people, were of English descent and lived in Pennsylvania before coming to Ohio. The father of the subject of this sketch was left an orphan when four years old.
            Simon B. Keckler was reared on the home farm and there he worked when a boy. He received his education in the public schools. On March 21, 1882, he married Susanna May Mote, a daughter of Elias Mote, a farmer of Ansonia, Ohio. To our subject and wife three sons were born, namely: Cleo Earl, who married Margaret Vineyard, of Eaton. Indiana, on August 24, 1910, is with his father in the lumber business, and owns a fine home opposite their yards in Parker; William Gale, born December 2, 1886, is connected with a house furnishing store in St. Paul, Minnesota; Paul F., born October 20, 1895, is also with his father in the lumber business. He is a graduate of the Parker High School with the class of 1914.
            Simon B. Keckler came to Parker, Indiana, in October, 1904, and purchased the lumber yard here of A. Fletcher, which he has conducted to the present time with great and ever increasing success, carrying one of the largest, most complete and carefully selected stocks of lumber at all seasons to be found in this section of the state, and he does a very extensive business over a large territory. He has a fine home in Parker and is one of the town's most substantial and popular citizens.
            Mr. Keckler is a Democrat politically, and he belongs to the Free and Accepted Masons, the Knights of Pythias and the Independent Order of Odd Fellows. He attends the Methodist church.
Past and Present of Randolph County, Indiana, 1914.
Contributed by Gina Richardson

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