James Benton Keeney (1836 - 1911)

Born 12 Apr 1836 in Fayette, Indiana, United States

Ancestors

Husband of Susan Delaney (Swank) Keeney — married 20 Oct 1859 in Linn, Oregon, United States

Died 13 Jun 1911 at age 75 in Linn, Oregon, United States

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This profile is part of the Brownsville, Oregon One Place Study.

Biography

James came with his father's family to Oregon in 1846 and settled near the present site of Brownsville.

He married Susan Delany Swank in 1879 and moved to Vale, Oregon, soon after. The family moved back to Brownsville in about 1865.

They had four sons and five daughters. Mary Evelyn Keeney Geiger, twins George and Jerry b 1863, Jasper b 1865, William b 1868 and Bessie Keeney Stewart b 1872.

"In Brownsville there seemed to have been little gunplay of the kind seen in Western movies. Once in a while, however, the Keeney twins, George and Jerry, came down from around Holley to shoot up the town. They did not try to hurt or kill anyone. Rather they were just mean and came down to scare the daylights out of the Brownsville people."

"Their father, Jim Keeney, owned large sections of the Calapooya watershed above Holley, which he dominated. He turned his cattle to run loose and feed there. The family had a reputation for pulling off holdups in their territory. Peddlers were often the victim of these robberies and covered bridges were one of the favorite places for accosting a victim."^[1]

Sources

1. ↑ Stanley Linn Robe collection of Brownsville pioneer anecdotes, collected 1953 from his parents and brothers, transcribed by Margaret Robe Summitt, Everett, Washington.

• https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/26045989/james-benton-keeney