The Keeling Family |
A story from Joy Risley Tilton -When Mom and Dad married in 1946, they decided to move to California for better wages. They lived there until 1949, then returned to Lead Hill and built a house on the farm. It had to be a wonderful feeling to be back home, close to family. That house eventually would be home to my Grandparents, Clay and Selva Keeling and at retirement became Mom and Dad's once again. The Keeling's had owned the farm since 1860, when Abel Keeling came to the area from Tennessee. Abel and son's Thomas Weldon and Franklin Robert are mentioned in the Silas Turnbo Manuscripts talking about the homeplace in Locust Hollow, "They lived in a hollow that mouthed into Sugar Loaf Creek near the mill. The old country road lead up this same hollow from the mill to the crossing of White River at the mouth of Trimble’s Creek." My Dad's family were from the Peel area, his Mom and Dad were Virgil and Nola Smith Risley. They were both school teachers. There are many accounts of the Risley's in the Silas Turnbow Manuscripts, "Silas Risley was the first settler on the land known now as the sand field which is on the west bank of Little North Fork just above where Paton Keesee lived many years ago known now as the "Dug" Price Place. Here in this sandy bottom Silas Risley cleared one acre of land and planted it in corn and I am reliably informed that he raised 100 bushels of corn off of this acre of land."
This is a picture of Grandpa (Clay Keeling's) Grandfather William Abel Keeling (b.1822 d.1911), his second wife Catherine Bowman, aunts and uncles. On the back: he wrote Grandma(2nd wife Catherine Bowman), Aunt Liz (Mary Elizabeth), Uncle Will(William Weldon), Uncle Tom(Thomas Weldon), Gand Pap(William Abel Keeling) Uncle Frank(Franklin Robert). Abel's first wife was Martha Jane Keeling. Don't you love that... Gand Pap!
My Grandpa Clay Keeling and Grandma Selva Milum Keeling were lifelong residents of Lead Hill. They farmed the land and Grandpa had a grainery that served the area. The farm has been in our family since 1860, first owned by his Grandpa Abel Keeling!
Abel and sons Tom and Frank are mentioned in the Turnbo Manuscripts by Silas Claiborne Turnbo. They are a wonderful compilation of Ozark stories that depict the area as it was 1844-1925.
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Selva Mae Milum and Clay Keeling
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Mom often talked about the "Dust Bowl" years, when most of her family were unable to grow any crops and moved to California, for a chance to start over with better wages and rain, precious rain. Mom's parents stayed and withstood years of failed crops before things got better. Coupled with the Depression it was an understatement to say, "Times were hard."
1st photo Clay and Selva Milum Keeling, the combine was bought for wheat crops that they grew for the war effort WWII.
2nd photo Clay Keeling, he was very proud of the fact that he owned the first Farm All tractor in the county! That tractor represented his determination to make a go of farming during those very rough years.
3rd photo Selva Milum Keeling and sister-in-law Ida Keeling Riggs. Ida's husband Almus was the barber at Lead Hill during the 1930's.
1st photo Clay and Selva Milum Keeling, the combine was bought for wheat crops that they grew for the war effort WWII.
2nd photo Clay Keeling, he was very proud of the fact that he owned the first Farm All tractor in the county! That tractor represented his determination to make a go of farming during those very rough years.
3rd photo Selva Milum Keeling and sister-in-law Ida Keeling Riggs. Ida's husband Almus was the barber at Lead Hill during the 1930's.