By the Keizertimes staff
His name is spelled 15 ways in historical records, but one fact is without dispute: Thomas Dove Keizur left his mark on what would later become Keizer.
The community is invited to a party in his honor Friday, Nov. 15, at the Keizer Event Center. The public event runs from 4 to 6 p.m. with light refreshments.
Hosted by the Keizer Heritage Museum, a new display of Keizur’s life will be unveiled. The exhibit runs through Jan. 31.
And so will a rare artifact from his—wedding socks made for him by his wife.
Keizur was an early pioneer in Oregon, arriving in the state in 1843 – five years before it would be declared a territory and 16 years before statehood.
He was born Nov. 20, 1793, in North Carolina—the same day as his future wife, Mary Gurley.
For their wedding on Nov. 13, 1813, she spun yarn from the cotton her family raised and knitted the white socks for him to wear at the ceremony. Three more generations of Keizur decedents would wear the same socks for their weddings.
The family donated the socks to the Oregon Historical Society in 1903, which transferred them last July to the Heritage Museum.
Tammy Wild is a Keizer historian and researcher who traced the family, resulting in the book, “Image of America – Keizer.” There is only one known photo of him.
Keizur and his family joined a wagon train for Oregon in May 1843, leaving Independence, Missouri, and arriving in the Willamette Valley six months later. Along with his wife he brought five sons, five daughters, two sons-in-law and eight grandchildren.
He soon established himself a leader in among the settlers in Oregon. About a year after his arrival, citizens formed a mounted rifle company to protect themselves. Keizur was made captain of what was known as the Oregon Rangers, a military unit that never saw action.
Keizur also had a hand in forming government in Oregon, winning the third-highest vote total in 1844 among candidates for a new legislative committee in what was then the Champoeg district. The Oregon Territory form in 1948, covering what is now Oregon, Washington, Idaho and parts of Montana and Wyoming.
“Keizur was an industrious man who took the lead when there was need whether on the trail or in the new settlement, yet he seemed content to remain home and work his farm with his family close by,” Wild wrote in a recent email.
In 1852, he claimed 608 acres of land that was bounded by what is now River Road on the east, the Willamette River on the west, Cummings Lane on the north and Salem Industrial Drive to the south. His family staked claims to other land north of his farm. He brought some of the first apple trees to the valley.
His wife died in 1853 and was buried on the family farm. Keizur died on June 19, 1871, on his farm. He was buried on a spot overlooking the river, according to Wild.
