Collection Information
Biographical Sketch
Scope and Content Note
Folder Listing
Cataloging Information
Processed
by
Alexandra S. Gressitt
20 November 1993
Updated 14 May 2004
Manuscript and Visual Collections Department
William Henry Smith Memorial Library
Indiana Historical Society
450 West Ohio Street
Indianapolis, IN 46202-3269
VOLUME OF COLLECTION: 4 folders
COLLECTION DATES: 1852-1863
PROVENANCE: Mrs. Elizabeth Adams Ebbott, 409 Birchwood, White Bear Lake, MN 55110, November 1977
RESTRICTIONS: Correspondence, 1853-1863 copied from collections in the State Historical Society of Iowa may not be reproduced or published without permission from and credit to the State Historical Society of Iowa.
REPRODUCTION RIGHTS: Permission to reproduce or publish material in this collection must be obtained in writing from the Indiana Historical Society.
ALTERNATE FORMATS: None
OTHER FINDING AIDS: None
RELATED HOLDINGS: Jolly Family collection, M 0170
ACCESSION NUMBER: 1977.1110
NOTES: None
Richard Augustus Keen (1829-1905), also known as Gus, was born 23 January 1829 in Augusta, Bracken County, Kentucky, the son of George O. and Mary [Rees] Keen. Early in life he taught at Snowhill (possibly in Fulton County, Indiana) and worked as a blacksmith in Logan, Dearborn County, Indiana. In March of 1852 Keen left Indiana to search for gold in California. After trying his hand at gold digging he turned to lumbering. Keen kept a detailed record of his California experiences in his diary.
Returning to Indiana in 1853 he resumed work as a blacksmith in Logan, Indiana and later became active in education, serving, 1858-59 as director of the Logan School District. By 1860 he was living in Fulton County, Indiana, and later moved to Iowa where he died in Iowa City, Johnson County, Iowa, 31 August 1905.
Richard Keen married Mary Temperance Jolly, daughter of Charles and Martha [Southard] Jolly, 18 June 1854, in Dearborn County, Indiana. They had two children, Henry (25 January 1855-27 April 1857) and Isabel (21 January 1857- ).
Sources: Materials in collection
This collection is composed primarily of copies of records. It includes genealogical material on the Keen family, a certificate of enlistment for William H. Jolly [brother of Mary], undated photograph of a portrait of Richard Keen, a typed mimeographed copy of Richard Keen's diary "Trip to California 1852" and miscellaneous correspondence with family members including George O. Keen, William H. Jolly, and Benjamin Southard.
Folder Contents
1 Collection Guide/Biographical Data
(VC) photograph
2 Diary, pp. 1-44
3 Diary, pp. 45-91
4 Correspondence, 1853-1863
For additional information on this collection, including a list of subject headings that may lead you to related materials:
1. Go to the Indiana Historical Society's online catalog: http://opac.indianahistory.org/
2. Click on the "Basic Search" icon.
3. Select "Call Number" from the "Search In:" box.
4. Search for the collection by its basic call number (in this case, SC 0897).
5. When you find the collection, go to the "Full Record" screen for a list of headings that can be searched for related materials.