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| − | {{Infobox Biography
| + | '''William Swift Keyser''' was a lumber magnate who established the [[William S. Keyser & Company]]. He was also a [[Pensacola City Council]]man, a leading director of the [[American National Bank]], and a large real estate holder. |
| − | | subject_name = William Swift Keyser
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| − | | image_name = WSKeyser.jpg
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| − | | date_of_birth =[[August 13]], [[1856]]
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| − | | place_of_birth =Santa Rosa County, Florida
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| − | | date_of_death = [[July 30]], [[1934]]
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| − | | place_of_death = Benton, Alabama
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| − | | occupation = Lumber magnate<br/>Real estate developer
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| − | | spouse = Mary Eliza Campbell
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| − | | parents = William Judah Keyser<br>Harriet Swift Keyser
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| − | | children = Nellie Atkin Keyser<br/>William Judah Keyser<br/>Richard Lewis Campbell Keyser<br/>William Swift Keyser<br/>Mary Campbell Keyser<br/>Katharine Turquand Keyser<br/>Ainslee Hall McCord Keyser
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| − | '''William Swift Keyser''' was a lumber magnate and real estate developer who operated [[William S. Keyser & Company]] (formerly Keyser, Judah & Company), one of the world's largest exporters of pitch pine timber. | |
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| − | He was also a member of the [[Pensacola City Council]] and a leading director of the [[American National Bank]].
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| − | ==Early life==
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| − | The Keyser family, originally from Holland, emigrated to the United States in 1688, settling in Pennsylvania. William Swift Keyser's grandfather moved to the Pensacola area in 1818.<ref name="Appleyard">[http://www.stjohnsdb.com/burial_records/print.php?more=4852 Account by John Appleyard]</ref> Keyser was born in Santa Rosa County and attended [[Wikipedia:Yale University|Yale University]], graduating in [[1880]].<ref name="Journal 1934">[https://www.newspapers.com/clip/32162223/william_s_keyser_dies/ "Death Takes Former Local Business Man"]. ''The Pensacola Journal''. August 1, 1934. p. 1. Retrieved June 1, 2019 – via [[Wikipedia:Newspapers.com|Newspapers.com]]</ref>
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| − | Keyser's father died in 1877, followed by his business partner in 1879, causing control of the business to fall to Keyser while he was still studying at Yale.
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| − | ==Business career==
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| − | By the mid-1890s, William S. Keyser & Company owned two lumber mills outright, along with operating interests in some twenty others, with foreign exports of over 150 million feet of timber annually. In 1904, [[James Muldon]] became a partner in the firm, which was renamed Keyser-Muldon & Company.<ref name="Appleyard" />
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| − | From 1910 to 1912, Keyser built the [[Keyser Building]] on South Palafox Street.
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| − | In early January 1914, the Liverpool-based lumber brokerage Crow, Rudolf & Co., into which Pensacola's First National Bank had invested nearly half a million dollars, announced it would not be able to pay its debts. The bank failed on January 8, causing a cascade of financial upheavals throughout Pensacola. The Liverpool firm also served as the sole foreign agent for Muldon-Keyser, and the company filed for bankruptcy the following week on January 13, 1914.<ref>[https://www.newspapers.com/clip/32163392/keysermuldon_bankruptcy/ "Keyser-Muldon Co. Bankrupt; Three Other Firms Involved"]. ''The Pensacola Journal''. January 14, 1914. p. 1. Retrieved June 1, 2019 – via [[Wikipedia:Newspapers.com|Newspapers.com]]</ref> Within a month, Keyser himself declared bankruptcy, but almost immediately reentered the export business, forming the W. S. Keyser Export Company. Keyser, who held significant stock in the failed bank, was later indicted along with three bank officials on federal charges of misuse of funds.<ref>[https://www.newspapers.com/clip/32165408/first_national_bank_indictments/ "Four Indictments Returned Against 1st Nat'l Officials"]. ''The Pensacola Journal''. August 2, 1914. p. 1. Retrieved June 1, 2019 – via [[Wikipedia:Newspapers.com|Newspapers.com]]</ref> Keyser and the other defendants were acquitted after a lengthy trial, with Judge [[R. M. Call]] finding that the government had failed to make a case.<ref>[https://www.newspapers.com/clip/32169745/first_national_bank_acquittal/ "Acquit Local Bankers"]. ''The Pensacola Journal''. May 26, 1915. p. 1. Retrieved June 1, 2019 – via [[Wikipedia:Newspapers.com|Newspapers.com]]</ref>
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| − | ==Personal life==
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| − | Keyser married Mary Eliza Campbell, the daughter of a local judge, in 1888. The couple had seven children, including who died in infancy and another who died at age 16. The family were members of [[Christ Church]].<ref name="Appleyard" />
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| − | In 1909, Keyser built [[The Moorings]], a stately home situated west of the city on the bayshore. Keyser sold The Moorings in 1924 to the [[Pensacola Country Club]], which remodeled the house for use as a clubhouse. The home, by then significantly altered, was destroyed by [[Hurricane Ivan]].
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| − | ==Death==
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| − | Keyser died in 1934 after a long and serious illness at his family's plantation near Benton, Alabama. Keyser is buried in [[St. John's Cemetery]].<ref name="Journal 1934" />
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| | ==References== | | ==References== |
| − | {{reflist}} | + | {{refbegin}} |
| | + | *J. S. Glass, editor. ''The Southern Manufacturer'', Volume V, Number 3. New Orleans: June 1901. |
| | + | {{refend}} |
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| | [[Category:Pensacola City Council members|Keyser, William Swift]] | | [[Category:Pensacola City Council members|Keyser, William Swift]] |
