| Other People | Frank J. Bradley | Olive Rambo Cook | Jerry Litton | | |||
|
Past and Present of Livingston County Volume 2. Biographies by Major A. J. Roof. 1913 |
|||
Pages 281-283
J. F. Kessler, who is one of the representative and progressive agriculturists of Jackson township, where he owns a splendid property comprising two hundred and eighty acres located on sections 17, 20 and 21, is a descendant of one of the old pioneer families of Livingston county. Being born on the place where he is now residing, on December 26, 1875, he is a son of Daniel and Sarah A. (Faulk) Kessler the grandfather, Daniel Y. Kessler, having settled one mile east from where the present homestead is located, in 1839, at the time when this part of the country was raw prairie land. He was one of the first settlers in the county, The father, also one of the pioneers cars of this section, was well known and highly esteemed in the community. Taking up the farm on which our subject now resides, he broke and improved the property, following successfully agricultural pursuits until his death on April 12, 1910, his wife passing away only about six months later, on November 16th of the same year. Both were esteemed for their many high qualities of mind and character and during their long residence in the county enjoyed the good-will and confidence of their many friends. They are buried side by side in the Jamesport cemetery. Of their family four children grew to maturity, those beside our subject being: E. A., a farmer who makes his home in this vicinity; Ida M., the wife of J. W. Thompson, an agriculturist of Daviess county, Missouri; and D. W., a resident civil engineer of Washington, D. C.
J. F. Kessler was reared on the home farm and received his education in the district schools of the neighborhood which he left at the age of twenty years, having during that time, however, assisted his father with the work on the home place. Early he became acquainted with thorough methods of agriculture and the details of the work, and the instructions which he received in that line have stood him in good stead ever since in attaining to success. His large farm is in a high state of cultivation and by its appearance bespeaks the prosperity of its owner. Beside general farming he largely engages in stock-raising and by mixed methods has succeeded in making the property one of the most productive in Jackson township.
On September 30, 1906, Mr. Kessler was united in marriage Sampsel, Missouri, to Miss Della Tye, a daughter of Thomas and Nancy (Buchanan) Tye. Her father, one of the old settlers of Sampsel township, where he attained to prominence and is widely and favorably known, is a veteran of the Civil war and has served with distinction for a number of years as director of the school board. Highly esteemed for his commendable standards of citizenship, he enjoys the confidence and regard of his many friends and neighbors. Mr. and Mrs. Kessler are the parents of three children: Mildred V., Grace A. and Frances M.
In his political affiliations Mr. Kessler is a democrat and although he is not a politician in the office-seeking sense of the word, has served efficiently as member of the township board. His fraternal relations are confined to the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, in which organization he has served in all the chairs of the local lodge. Beside his agricultural connections he has interests in another direction which connect him with the financial institutions of Jamesport, in which city he has served for a number of years as director of the People's Exchange Bank, of which he is one of the largest stockholders. By industry and energy, and using progressive and scientific methods, he has not only succeeded in bringing about his individual prosperity but has been a force in the general development of agricultural standards in the section. His farm stands as a monument to his skill and his labor and by its improvements bespeaks the progressive tendencies of its owner. A worthy representative of an old German family and a descendant of one of the first settlers of this section, Mr. Kessler enjoys a position of distinction among the agricultural fraternity of Livingston county.