Charles Alexander Keith

As printed in 1910

CHARLES ALEXANDER KEITH.

While yet young in years, Charles Alexander Keith has won an envied place among the legal fraternity of Lexington and Lafayette county, and during the years of practice here he has acquired a compensating and permanent clientage, which is steadily increasing, widening with his experience and fuller, more intimate acquaintance with the public. In his profession he is characterized by signal industry, plodding investigation, scrutinizing research, a determination to familiarize himself with the legal principles in trial causes, and as an attorney and citizen he is deserving of the high esteem in which he is held by all classes.

Mr. Keith is a native of this county, having been born at Mayview, November 2, 1871, and is the son of William P. and Annie (Cumming) Keith, one of the sterling and highly honored old families of Washington township. The father is a native of the famous land of heath and weather, thistle and bluebell, his birth having occurred in Scotland, March 25, 1838. When fourteen years of age he accompanied his parents to Quebec, Canada, there grew to maturity and finished his education, starting in life by serving as an apprentice to a miller, serving seven years. Upon leaving Canada he came to Leavenworth, Kansas, in 1868, then came to Lexington, Missouri, in 1870 as miller for Marshall & Easter, which firm built another mill at Mayview, of which Mr. Keith was placed in charge. He finally purchased this mill and operated it successfully until 1881, when he leased it for one year, during which time it was destroyed by fire. He then turned his attention to farming and is now engaged in fruit growing. He has been rewarded with a fair measure of success in whatever he has undertaken and is a man who commands the confidence and respect of all who know him as a result of his life of industry and honesty. He is a Presbyterian and a Democrat.

William P. Keith married, in Canada, November 7, 1865, Annie Cumming, a native of Murrayshire, Scotland, where her birth occurred in 1839. To this union four children were born, named as follows: William is farming near Mayview, this county; John is a farmer near Odessa, Missouri; Isabell married J. W. Staley and they live at Trinidad, Colorado; Charles A., of this review, is the youngest child.

Charles A. Keith's youth was devoid of especial incident and was spent at his parental home at Mayview, where he attended the common schools. Later he entered the State University at Columbia, where he made a very commendable record, graduating from the law department in 1891, but on account of his minority his diploma was held up for a period of two years.

He decided to devote his life to the legal profession when a mere lad and accordingly began preparation for the same and he made rapid progress. The two years following his graduation he spent as commandant of cadets at Salisbury Academy, Salisbury, Missouri, and studied law the meanwhile with W. S. Stockwell. He then went to the Southwest and opened a law office at Roswell, New Mexico, where he remained five years and enjoyed a very satisfactory practice. Returning to his native county, he began practice at Higginsville, Missouri, where he remained nine years, during which time he gained a wide reputation as an able and painstaking attorney and rose to the front ranks of the Lafayette County Bar. Owing to his worth and his loyalty to the principles of Democracy, party leaders saw his availability for responsible public office and he was selected for the candidate for prosecuting attorney of Lafayette county, and duly elected in 1908, having made a most excellent showing from the first as a faithful, conscientious public servant and a champion of the right at all times, giving the utmost satisfaction to his constituents and to all concerned, irrespective of party alignment. He takes much more than a passing interest in fraternal affairs and is a member of the Masonic order, having attained the Royal Arch degree; he is also a member of the Knights of Pythias and the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks.

The domestic life of Mr. Keith began on June 20, 1894, when he led to the altar Rosa H. Smith, a lady of talent and refined tastes, who was born near May view, August 20, 1869, the daughter of Wesley L. and Rosa (Hutchens) Smith, a highly respected family of Lafayette county. This union has been graced by the birth of two children, Naidine F., who is in school and will graduate with the class of 1912, and Aileen, who is also attending school.

Mr. Keith is a close student of the books, familiar with the elements and fundamentals of the science of the law, and is so adjusted in his mental composition as to be able to comprehend, discriminate, analyze, digest, practicalize, and professionalize, if you will, the difficult propositions and principles of the acknowledged and authoritative legal expounders. His careful and discriminating preparation for the contest on hand forestalls surprises by opposing counsel, assures him of the highest probabilities of success, and affords him a solid vantage ground against the ingenuities and assaults of adroit and tactful adversaries. He is a forceful, convincing and often an eloquent leader, and his past excellent record would indicate that future years have much in store for him in the way of success and higher service for his fellow men.

As printed in Young's history of Lafayette County, Missouri (1910). See the original pages. Wording is the original; obvious scanning errors have been corrected, and a few may remain.