Richard Augustus Keen worked as a blacksmith in Logan, Indiana (Dearborn County). In March of 1852 he went to California to search for gold and later turned to lumbering. He returned to Indiana in 1853, resumed blacksmithing, and in 1858-59 was director of the Logan School District. Richard Augustus Keen and his wife, Mary Temperance Jolly Keen, moved to Iowa City, Iowa from Indiana in 1861. Mary's brother, William Jolly, died during the Civil War while serving with the 83rd Indiana Infantry Regiment. Other family members documented in the collection include Charles Jolly, father of Mary and William, and Hiram O'Keen, brother of Richard. Correspondence from George O. Keen of Fulton County, Indiana is included but his relationship with other family members is not clear. The collection also includes some items related to Richard Keen Adams, Ebenezer M. Adams and Sarah J. Adams, wife of Moses Adams. Addresses appearing on mailing envelopes indicate that the Adams family members had ties to Solon, Iowa.
From the description of Keen family papers, 1854-1904. (Iowa Sate Historical Society). WorldCat record id: 68112000
