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Our 3rd great grandfather Jacob Keesling was born May 21, 1783, in Berks County, Pennsylvania. He was the youngest of at least nine children born to Johann Georg Kisling and Anna Maria Muller.
We believe Georg and Anna Kisling moved their family to Montgomery County, Virginia, about the later part of 1785, at which time Jacob was less than three years old. Jacob grew up in Montgomery (now Wythe) County.
Jacob married our 3rd great grandmother Catherine "Caty" Phillippi on December 20, 1804, in Wythe County, Virginia. Catherine Phillippi was born 1788, in Montgomery (Wythe) County, Virginia. She was the daughter of Christopher Stophel Phillippi and Elizabeth Steffey.
Jacob (listed as Jacob Keasler) first appears on the Wythe County, Virginia personal property tax list on March 27, 1798, when he paid tax on one tithable (male over 16) and 2 horses. He then appears on each tax list through March 28, 1811, when Jacob Kisling paid tax on one tithable and 3 horses. He did not appear on the 1812 Wythe County tax list.
The 1810 Wythe County census shows Jacob Keesling, a male 26-44 years of age; two males under 10; one female 45 & over (probably his mother, Anna); one female (Catherine) 26-44; one female 16-26 (probably a family member of Jacob or Catherine); and two females under 10 years of age.
Jacob and Catherine moved their family to Greene County, Tennessee in the summer of 1811.
Catherine died February 10, 1816, in Greene County, Tennessee. She was only 28 years old when she died.
Jacob married Mary Harmon on May 18, 1817, in Greene County. Mary Harmon was born 1797, in Greene County.
Deed books show that Jacob made several property transactions in Greene County.
Jacob Keesling died in 1826, in Greene County, leaving several minor children.
Michael E. Keesling relates that Jacob's estate was settled between 1826 and 1829, in Greene County. "In 1826, Moses G. Alison and Joseph Davis of Greene County were appointed guardians of Jacob's older children. Mary Harmon Keesling was appointed guardian of her four young children. During this period on January 24, 1827, Mary Harmon Kisling (Keesling) was charged with having a illegitimate child. Recorded in the Wythe County, VA Court Order Books on June 12, 1827, Peter, Rosanna, and George Keesling, orphans of Jacob Keesling, upwards of age 14, chose John Keesling (Kisling) (older brother), guardian and he was appointed guardian for Jacob Keesling, Jr., under age 14. Mary Harmon Keesling married Andrew Smilie on Oct. 27, 1829.
Keesling also relates that "early writings state that most of Jacob's descendants moved west to Indiana, Missouri and Iowa. However, many descendants did stay in Tennessee. Tradition also claims that those descendants whose loyalties were with the Union during the Civil War later changed the spelling of their name to Keasling.
The 1810 census tells us that two sons and two daughters were born between 1804 and 1810. The 1827 court record mentioned above listed Peter, Rosanna, and George as being above the age of 14, and choosing their older brother John as guardian, and younger brother Jacob being under the age of 14. No other children were listed as being minor children. We do not know the identity of the four children born to Jacob and his second wife, Mary.
Children of Jacob Keesling and Catherine Phillippi
1. John Keasling was born Oct 23, 1805, in Wythe Co, VA. (our line)
2. Unknown Daughter Keasling was born about 1807, in Wythe Co, VA. She was one of the two females listed as under 10 years of age on the 1810 census. She probably died young.
3. Peter Keasling was born Jan 10, 1809, in Wythe Co, VA. Court records show that Moses G. Alison and Joseph Davis of Greene Co. were appointed guardians of Jacob's older children after his death in 1826. On June 12, 1827, Peter, upwards of 14, chose his older brother John who had come of age to be his guardian. Peter married Delilah Kettering on Oct 11, 1834, in Johnson Co, IN. Delilah Kettering was born Mar 4, 1814, in TN. The family appears on the 1850 Boone Co, IN census. They moved to Benton Co, IA about 1855. The family appears on the 1856 Benton Co, IA Special census, the 1860 Benton Co census and the 1870 and 1880 Buchanan Co, IA census. Delilah died May 28, 1882, in Benton Co and is buried in Evergreen Cem, at Vinton, Benton Co. Peter Kisling, 76, widowed, is listed with his daughter Sarah Burkhead and her family on the 1885 Benton Co, IA Special census. Peter died May 18, 1894, in Benton Co and is probably buried beside Delilah. Their children (all born in Boone Co, IN, except for the youngest child) included: (1) Andrew Keasling, b. Aug 7, 1835; (2) Joseph C. Keasling, b. Dec 8, 1836; d. Jan 6, 1863, Helena, Phillips Co, AR in the Civil War; bur. Mississippi River Nat. Cem, Memphis, Shelby Co, TN; (3) Elizabeth Keasling, b. 1838; (4) Sarah Ann Keasling, b. Mar 1, 1841; m. George W. Burkhead; (5) Lydia Caroline Keasling, b. Apr 16, 1843; m. William Alvord; (6) Roseann Ellen Keasling, b. June 29, 1845; m. William Polk; (7) Jacob D. Keasling, b. Feb 20, 1847; (8) Susannah Keasling, b. Apr 15, 1849; d. May 30, 1865; (9) Mary Jane Keasling, b. 1852; and (10) Amanda Melissa Keasling, b. 1856, Buchanan Co, IA; m. Fred Fowler
4. Rosanna Keasling was born 1810, in Wythe Co, VA. Court records show that Moses G. Alison and Joseph Davis of Greene Co. were appointed guardians of Jacob's older children after his death in 1826. On June 12, 1827, Rosanna, upwards of 14, chose her older brother John to be her guardian. Rosanna married Henry Massey on May 2, 1837, in Greene Co, TN. Henry Massey was born 1810, in NC. Henry died about 1847-1848, in Boone Co, IN. Rosanna married Nehemiah Monticue on Feb 19, 1849, in Boone Co, IN. Nehemiah Monticue was born 1807, in KY. The couple appears on the 1860 & 1870 Boone Co, IN census. Rosanna died prior to 1875 in Boone Co. Rosanna's children by Henry Massey included: (1) Hiram Massey, b. Mar 28, 1838, Greene Co, TN; (2) Benjamin Henry Massey, b. Oct 1839, Greene Co, TN; and (3) Rhoda Massey, b. abt 1847, Boone Co, IN; m. Charles Wilson. Rosanna's children by Nehemiah Monticue included: (4) Samuel Rodman Monticue, b. abt 1850, Boone Co, IN; and (5) Samantha Ann Monticue, b. abt 1852, Boone Co, IN
5. George Keasling was born May 31, 1812, in Greene Co, TN. Court records show that Moses G. Alison and Joseph Davis of Greene Co. were appointed guardians of Jacob's older children after his death in 1826. On June 12, 1827, George, upwards of 14, chose his older brother John to be his guardian. George was married three times and outlived all three wives. He first married Esther Wampler on Jan 9, 1833, in Greene Co, TN. Esther Wampler was born June 8, 1813, in Greene Co. The couple had four children before Esther died Oct 4, 1842, in Greene Co. George then married Hannah Parks on July 8, 1845, in Grayson Co, VA. Hannah Parks was born July 2, 1815, in Grayson Co, VA. The couple had five children. Hannah died before 1867, in Greene Co, TN. George married Mary Ann Cobble Mace on Oct 9, 1867, in Greene Co, TN. Mary Ann Cobble was born May 22, 1820, in Greene Co, TN. Mary Ann first married Jackson Mace, by whom she had ten children. Mary died before 1880, in Greene Co. George appears on the 1850 Grayson Co, VA census, and the 1860, 1870, and 1880 Greene Co, TN census. Prior to 1900 George moved to Webster Co, MO, where he appears on the 1900 census living with his son William and his family. The census listed George Keesling, father, born May 1812, 88, widowed. George died June 29, 1902, in Webster Co, MO. He is buried in Lutheran Church Cem, at Rader, Webster Co, MO. Children by Esther Wampler (all b. Greene Co, TN): (1) Susanna Keasling, b. 1834; m. John W. Ross; (2) Jane Keasling, b. July 13, 1835; (3) Martha Keasling, b. 1838; d. 1868; (4) Lucinda Keasling, b. 1840. Children by Hannah Parks: (5) Sarah Elizabeth Keasling, b. May 26, 1849, Grayson Co, VA; (6) Esther Lavina Keasling, b. May 11, 1846, Grayson Co, VA; m. Andrew Jackson Mace (son of Jackson Mace and Mary Ann Cobble); (7) James Alexander Keasling, b. Mar 25, 1848, Grayson Co, VA; (8) William Hancher Keasling, b. July 2, 1851, Greene Co, TN; m. Barbara Elizabeth Mace (daughter of of Jackson Mace and Mary Ann Cobble); and (9) Jacob H. Keasling, b. Nov 1852, Greene Co, TN
6. Jacob Keasling, Jr. was probably born about 1814, in Greene Co, TN. The only thing we know about Jacob, Jr. is that he was apparently the youngest of Jacob and Catherine's children. Wythe County, Virginia Court records show that Moses G. Alison and Joseph Davis of Greene Co. were appointed guardians of Jacob and Catherine's older children after Jacob's death in 1826. On June 12, 1827, Jacob's older siblings, Peter, Rosanna, and George, who were above the age of 14, chose their older brother John Keesling to be their guardian. John was appointed guardian for Jacob Keesling, Jr., who was under age 14 at the time.