KEENEY, Elizabeth (1864-1946)

KEENEY

Posted By: Karon Velau (email)
Date: 6/22/2020 at 12:16:34

Elizabeth Ann Keeney
(November 1864 - June 23, 1946)

Funeral Of Mrs. S. G. Keeney Is Tuesday At 2
A long and useful life, nearly 66 years of which were spent in Warren County, came to a close Sunday when Mrs. Elizabeth Ann Keeney, 81, died at the Indianola hospital. Funeral services were held Tuesday afternoon at 2 o’clock at the Overton Funeral Home, conducted by the Rev. Walter T. Martin, pastor of the Presbyterian church, of which she had been a member most of her life. Mrs. Keeney had been in failing health for several months. There came a change for the worse a week or 10 days before she entered the hospital May 21. She continued to sink until her death June 23.
Children Present
All of her children were present at the time of her death. Three of them, Mrs. M. B. Comerford, Alcatraz, Calif., Don Keeney, Burbank, Calif., and Mrs. C. B. Mosher, Fontana, Calif., had remained here for three weeks. Another son, Fay Keeney, is a resident here. The traditions of the family are deeply rooted in the history of Warren County. She was a daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Thomas A. Davis, who settled here in 1880. Her father was a miller at a time when flour mills flourished in most of the towns in Iowa. He was employed in the old Hirsch mill which was located on the block at E. Ashland and N. Jefferson. There was another mill here at the time. It was owned by Jesse Bryson. Both employed several men.
Married in 1882
She married Silas G. Keeney May 17, 1882. The Keeney tradition dates even farther back. Mr. Keeney’s father was A. P. Keeney who operated the old Madison House which burned down in the nineties. Mr. Keeney’s mother was a sister of Cap. Bryant, a Warren County pioneer who, as an auctioneer, was widely known and cried sales in many parts of Iowa. Sile Keeney, as he was generally known, operated a livery stable here during the time of horse-drawn vehicles. He was in partnership later with his brother, Frank Keeney. The Keeney stable for years was located at E. Salem and N. Howard St. Later the two brothers bought and sold horses at the building at E. Ashland and N. First St. Mrs. Keeney came here from Georgetown in Monroe County with her parents. Her greatest interest centered in her home and her family of four sons and two daughters. Two of the sons, Ed and Foster, died several years ago.
Interested in Church
In spite of her duties at home, Mrs. Keeney found time to enter into the life of the Presbyterian Church. Earlier in her life she was prominent in various church activities but in her declining years she spent most of her time at home. She was also a member of the Eastern Star and was much interested in lodge work. She was the oldest living member of the Presbyterian Church. Many Indianola residents will recall her sisters, Mrs. Bud Fortney (Phoebe) and Mrs. Elvira Davis Hartzler, mother of Billy Hartzler, and her six brothers, William A., Albert, Henry, and Lawrence, all deceased, George G. of Huntington Park, Calif., and E. S. of North Platte, Neb.
Surviving Relatives
Besides her two sons and two daughters, Mrs. Keeney is survived by seven grandchildren: Silas, Thomas and Lewis Keeney, and Mrs. Barbara Dixon of Des Moines, all children of Fay Keeney; Mrs. Isador Haskings of Lansing, Mich., daughter of Ed Keeney; and Mrs. Elizabeth Helm of Plymouth, Ia., and Don Keeney of Manley, Ia., children of Don Keeney. There are also three great-grandchildren, Margaret Ann, Naudine and Don Keeney Jr. [Copied from a scrapbook at the Warren County Historical Society Library, Indianola, Iowa]