h/o Isabell Ely

This venerable couple have lived for the last twelve years at Curtis with their daughter, Mrs. Elizabeth Pressley, and have more than one hundred descendants. On the 8th of March, 1920, they will have been married sixty-five years. Out of their thirteen children, eight are still living.
Their oldest son, T. E. Keith, has been prominently connected with the history of Eastland since 1863, when he "scouted for Indians." On July 4, 1865, he was married at Mansker Lake to Miss Caroline J. Arthur, daughter of William J. Arthur, and now lives near Curtis. "Uncle Tom," as he is familiarly called, has served the county as Commissioner and Justice of the Peace many times. When he realized that he needed the education the he had been deprived of by having been born and reared on the frontier, he set to work with rare energy and tenacity of purpose to remedy the defect, and at the age of fifty-four was admitted to the bar after satisfactory examination. Honor to such persistent effort! History of Eastland County, Texas. by Mrs. George Langston, Dallas, Texas, A. D. Aldridge & Co., Stationers, Printers and Book Binders, 1904

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Captain J. J. Keith, born in Alabama in 1822, and Miss Isabel Ely, born in Virginia in 1823, were married in Arkansas March 8, 1839, and emigrated to Titus County, Texas, in 1844, thus becoming citizens of the Republic of Texas. While here, on December 10, 1846 their oldest son, T. E. was born. In 1860 while living in Erath County, this family with the O'Neals and others fortified themselves at Dublin ( thus founding that prosperous town) and remained there until April, 1863. They finally located at Mansker Lake, where Mr. Keith engages in stock raising. Here their daughter Ellen, Mrs. Dernnngton of Sabanno, was born, who was the first girl baby born in the county. While residing in Erath Mr. Keith raised a company of Rangers and was made their Captain. History of Eastland County, Texas. by Mrs. George Langston, Dallas, Texas, A. D. Aldridge & Co., Stationers, Printers and Book Binders, 1904