John Keith
John Keith was born in Van Wert County, August 27, 1844. Mary Electa Partello was born in New Haven, Huron County, April 23, 1852. They were married December 23, 1869. They have two children--Albert Guy, born in Lima, December 29, 1870, and Lillie, born in this county, June 10, 1872. Mr. Keeth's father, Johnzey Keeth, came from Maryland to Van Wert County, Ohio in 1832. His mother, Priscilla (Arnold) Keeth, came to Van Wert County from Fayette County, in 1835. They came to Allen County in 1854. Their children are, Rachel E., John, Samuel, Anderson, Jacob A., Mary, Albert (deceased), Emma (deceased), and Francis M. Mrs. Keeth's parents, Washington A. Partello and Sophia (Stewart) Partello, came to this county from Huron County, in 1859. Their children are Sarah, Mary E., Clara, and Frank. Mr. Keeth has been justice of the peace.
From 1875 Historical Atlas of Allen County, Ohio, by H H Hardesty & Co. Publishers, Chicago.
John Keith, civil engineer and formerly county surveyor of Allen County, now lives in a beautiful home at Lima, and owns one of the finest farms in Perry township. Mr. Keith was born August 27, 1844, in Van Wert County, Ohio, and is a son of Johnzey Keith and a grandson of John Keith.
The Keith name has been one of prominence in Northwestern Ohio for many years. John Keith, the paternal grandfather, migrated from Maryland to Van Wert County, Ohio, among the early pioneers in 1833, and became one of the prominent men of his day. Johnzey Keith, the father of our subject, was born at Baltimore, Maryland, and accompanied his parents to Van Wert County. With his father he entered government land, which was long known as "Keith Island," because of the fact that then the land was covered or surrounded by water. He became a leader in public affairs and served in many responsible positions, holding local offices and serving two terms as county commissioner. Hs name was given to localities, streets and buildings, and it has been one which has been held in esteem in all this part of the State.
When John Keith, our immediate subject, was seven years of age, his parents moved to Mercer County, where they lived until the fall of 1854 when they settled in Allen County, at a time when Lima was but a village. The father owned a farm and reared his son to agricultural pursuits, but the latter early turned his attention to civil engineering, and subsequently became so thorough and competent a surveyor that, in 1879, he was elected county surveyor of Allen County. In 1882 he was reelected to the office and on one occasion polled the second highest vote on the Democratic ticket. It was during this term of his public service that many important public improvements were made, one of these being the inauguration of an extended system of ditching. He was civil engineer of the work, while the Court House was being built. When it became a subject of vital import that Hog Creek, should be ditched, it was Mr. Keith who drew the designs for this important work. After his term of office expired, he returned to the farm, where he resided, with the exception of two years' residence in Spencerville, until he retired to Lima in 1902.
On December 23, 1869, Mr. Keith was married to Mary Partello, a daughter of Washington R. Partello, who located at Lima in 1860, and later was elected for two terms as treasurer of Allen County. They have three children, viz.: Albert G., who is one of the chief clerks for the Hollingsworth & Whitney Paper Company, of Boston, Massachusetts; Lillie, who is the wife of Harry R. Post, of Laflin & Rand, of Haskell New Jersey; and Donald Roscoe, who is a civil engineer in the county surveyor's office of Allen County.
In politics, Mr. Keith is a Democrat. In 1900, while a resident of Amanda Township, where he owned 500 acres of land, he served as land appraiser. In 1902 he sold his property there and bought the old Ross Crossley farm of 340 acres in Perry township. For over 30 years he has been a member of the Masonic lodge at Spencerville.
From History of Allen County, Ohio and Representative Citizens, Vol. 1, Edited by Charles C. Miller. Richmond & Arnold, Publishers, Chicago, 1906