Page:Appletons' Cyclopædia of American Biography (1892, volume 3).djvu/537

Rh saved a small sum of money, invested it during the financial crisis of 1837 in depreciated currency, which, upon its subsequent rise, yielded him a handsome profit. He then bought Canadian bank-notes at a discount from residents of the American frontier, and cashed them at par in Canada. In this way he amassed sufficient capital to establish a bank at Watertown, N. Y., and afterward founded several other country banks. He then removed to New York, and became largely interested in railroads and railroad stocks. In 1861-'3 he was treasurer of the Michigan Southern railroad, and for six months of 1866 was president of the New York Central railroad. From June, 1868, until the time of his death, he was president of the Chicago and Northwestern, controlling manager of the North Indiana, and president of the Cleveland and Toledo railroad.

KEEP, John, clergvman, b. in Long Meadow, Mass., 20 April, 1781 ; d. in Oberlin, Ohio, 11 Feb., 1870. He was graduated at Yale in 1802, studied theology, was licensed to preach in 1805, and for sixteen years was pastor of the Congregational church at Blanford, Mass. He removed to Homer, N. Y., in 1821, and was pastor there till 1833, when he resigned. The year following he organized and became pastor of the 1st Congregational church, Cleveland, and in 1835 became agent to raise funds for Oberlin college, leading the subscription by his own donation of $10,000. Soon after his election as a trustee of Oberlin, he gave as president of the board the casting vote that admitted colored students. In 1837 he returned to pastoral work, then went on a mission to England to raise funds for Oberlin, and in 1850 settled in Oberlin. He was the last surviving founder of the American board of commissioners for foreign missions.

KEESE, John, auctioneer, b. in New York city, 24 Nov., 1805; d. in Brooklyn, 30 May, 1856. He received an academical education, and at the age of eighteen entered as clerk with a book-publishing house in his native city. Several years afterward he became partner in the concern, and from 1842 until 1853 he was engaged in the book-auction business. In 1854 Mr. Keese received the appointment of appraiser of books in the New York custom-house, which office he filled until his death. While in office he devoted many evenings to his former vocation of book auctioneer. During his career Mr. Keese became widely known among literary men and booksellers as a humorous off-hand speaker, editor, and wit. He was the author of many verses that appeared anonymously in the periodicals of his time. In 1852 he delivered a lecture on &ldquo;The Influence of Knowledge&rdquo; at the Broadway tabernacle in New York city. After the formation of the auction firm of Cooley, Keese and Hill he began his opening address at the book-trade sales, saying: &ldquo;Gentlemen: You have a right to know something about our methods and plans of business. First, we shall on all occasions take everything Cooley. As for the security of your goods, they will always be under the protection of excellent locks and Keese; and you may rely on our stability, for we rest upon one of the granite Hills of New Hampshire.&rdquo; At another time he offered a collection of poems by some unknown author, remarking: &ldquo;This is a book by a poor and pious girl, who wrote poor and pious poetry.&rdquo; Again a parcel of books was knocked down to one Owen Phalen, with the remark: &ldquo;Don't know about selling to a man who is always Owen and Phalen.&rdquo; Mr. Keese edited &ldquo;The Poets of America&rdquo; (2 vols., New York, 1839-'40); &ldquo;The Poetical Remains of Lucy Hooper&rdquo; (1842);

&ldquo;Poems by Elizabeth Oakes Smith&rdquo; (1843); &ldquo;The Mourner's Chaplet&rdquo; (Boston, 1844); &ldquo;The Winter-Green,&rdquo; an annual (1844); &ldquo;The Opal,&rdquo; an annual (2 vols., 1846-'7); &ldquo;The Forest Legendary&rdquo; (1848); and &ldquo;The Floral Keepsake&rdquo; (1850). He also furnished a large part of the text for &ldquo;North American Scenery,&rdquo; by Whitefield (1845). See &ldquo;John Keese &mdash; Wit and Litterateur,&rdquo; by William L. Keese (New York, 1884). &mdash; His son, William Linn, b. in New York city, 25 Feb., 1835, was educated at schools in Brooklyn and New York, and received a mercantile training. He has frequently written in prose and verse for newspapers and magazines, and contributed articles to &ldquo;Actors and Actresses of Great Britain and the United States&rdquo; (5 vols., New York, 1886). He has published, besides the memoir of his father, mentioned above, &ldquo;William E. Burton &mdash; Actor, Author, and Manager&rdquo; (1885).

KEHR, Gustav Herman (kair). German botanist, b. in Freysingen in 1581; d. in Magdeburg in 1639. He was professor in the universities of Tübingen and Halle, and afterward librarian of the Prince of Lippe-Detmold, who sent him in 1621 to America to study the plants of that country. Kehr went first to New Spain, and after several years crossed the Isthmus of Panama, and, sailing for Patagonia, studied the plants of the country that is now the Argentine Republic from 1624 till 1629, visiting afterward Chili, Brazil, and Peru. On his return he published, among other works, &ldquo;De Sexu plantarum&rdquo; (Magdeburg, 1631); &ldquo;Aphorismi botanicae&rdquo; (Tübingen, 1633); &ldquo;Historia generalis plantarum Americanarum&rdquo; (3 vols., Halle, 1635); &ldquo;Grundlehren der Anatomie und Physiologie der Pflanzen von Amerika&rdquo; (Magdeburg, 1636); &ldquo;Sertum Patagonicum et florula peruviensis&rdquo; (2 vols., Dresden, 1636); &ldquo;Criptogamæ Brasilienses ab Gustavius Kehr collectæ&rdquo; (Magdeburg, 1632); and &ldquo;Reisen in Amerika&rdquo; (2 vols., 1639).

KEIM, William High, soldier, b. near Reading, Pa., 25 June, 1813 ; d. in Harrisburg, Pa., 18 May, 1862. He was educated at Mount Airy military academy, Pa., was mayor of Reading in 1848, was elected to congress as a Democrat to fill a vacancy, and served in 1858-'9, and then became surveyor-general of the state. In 1861 he was commissioned major-general of the Pennsylvania volunteers that were sent by order of the governor, under Gen. Robert Patterson, to defend the towns of Chambersburg, Pa., Hagerstown, Md., Harper's