Abraham Lincoln Keister

Abraham Lincoln Keister (September 10, 1852 – May 26, 1917) was a Republican member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Pennsylvania. He was born on September 10, 1852, in Upper Tyrone Township, Pennsylvania, then a largely rural area of Fayette County. Raised in southwestern Pennsylvania, he came of age in the post–Civil War era, a period of rapid industrial and economic development that would later shape his professional and political interests.

Keister pursued higher education at Otterbein College in Westerville, Ohio, an institution affiliated with the Church of the United Brethren in Christ, and graduated in 1874. After completing his collegiate studies, he read law and prepared for a legal career. He was admitted to the bar by the Supreme Court of Ohio in 1878 and commenced the practice of law in Columbus, Ohio. His early legal work in Ohio provided him with experience in professional practice and exposure to the legal and commercial issues of a growing Midwestern state.

In 1882, Keister returned to his native region, moving to Fayette County, Pennsylvania, where he entered the burgeoning coke industry, an essential component of steel production in western Pennsylvania. His involvement in the manufacture of coke placed him within the industrial expansion that characterized the region in the late nineteenth century. Demonstrating a talent for business and finance, he expanded his activities beyond manufacturing and into banking and local civic affairs.

In 1889, seven years after his move to Fayette County, Keister organized the First National Bank of Scottdale, Pennsylvania. He served continuously as its president for twenty-eight years, overseeing the institution through a period of substantial economic growth and financial change. In 1901, he further extended his influence in local finance by organizing the Scottdale Savings & Trust Company, with which he remained actively connected until his death. Alongside his business leadership, Keister contributed to local education, serving as a member of the Scottdale Board of Education for more than twenty years, where he participated in the oversight and development of the community’s public schools.

Keister entered national politics as a member of the Republican Party representing Pennsylvania. Elected as a Republican to the Sixty-third and Sixty-fourth Congresses, he served two terms in the U.S. House of Representatives. His service in Congress occurred during a significant period in American history, encompassing the early years of the Woodrow Wilson administration and major debates over tariff policy, banking and currency reform, and the nation’s posture toward the emerging conflict in Europe. During these two terms, he participated in the legislative process and represented the interests of his constituents from southwestern Pennsylvania, bringing to Congress his background in law, industry, banking, and local education.

In 1916, after two consecutive terms, Keister was an unsuccessful candidate for renomination to the House of Representatives. Following his departure from Congress, he resumed his former business pursuits in Scottdale, continuing his long-standing roles in banking and community affairs. He died at his home in Scottdale, Pennsylvania, on May 26, 1917, at the age of sixty-four. Abraham Lincoln Keister was interred in Scottdale Cemetery, leaving a record of service that spanned law, industry, finance, education, and national legislative office.