Keegan, Frank Champion

The following data is extracted from Biography and Genealogy of Western Massachusetts, 1639-1925.

FRANK CHAMPION KEEGAN - His course of training in a school of practical experience in the department of electric light and power has brought Mr. Keegan in close affiliation with a number of long-established public utilities in both western and eastern sections of the State of Massachusetts, wherein his services as accountant and official have substantially aided in the business progress of such concerns. His duties as assistant treasurer of the Greenfield Electric Light and Power Company in their value and efficiency are in series with similar positions in other establishments in which his methods have been distinguished for accuracy and thoroughness. In both the business and social worlds, he has made and maintained enduring friendships, and he is held in high esteem in the fraternal orders in which he is a prominent member. He is a son of George and Emily (Champion) Keegan, the two generations of paternal ancestry from the time of establishment in America being as follows:

(I) John Keegan was born in the county of Roscommon, Ireland, in 1837, and coming to the United States he settled in Springfield, in 5862, and was employed in the Springfield Armory until a short time before his death, which occurred in 1902. He married Margaret Keegan, who died in Springfield at the age of seventy years. They were the parents of : George, of whom further; Harry, Nellie, who married William Walker: Margaret, who married William Murray.

(II) George Keegan was born in Springfield January 23, 1862, and he received his education in the public schools of his birthplace, and for a while he was employed in the Newell Button Factory. Removing to West Pittsfield he was there employed for two years in the woolen mill of Baker Brothers, and afterwards for twenty years he was an employee of Crane Brothers in their Westfield paper mill, where he obtained his expert knowledge of the manufacture of paper. During the three years that followed he was in the employ of L. L. Brown at his Adams paper mill, after which he went to Turners Falls, where he became associated with the Keith Paper Company, so continuing for the past sixteen years, and where he is now foreman of the manufacturing department. He is a member of the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks, and his religious fellowship is with the Congregational Church.

Mr. Keegan married, September 15, 1886, Emily Champion, who was born in England, a daughter of Joseph and Harriet (Croak) Champion, and who had come to the United States in 1874; and they were the parents of: i. Frank Champion, of whom further. 2. Norman, deceased. 3. Gertrude, who married Charles Hosmer. 4. George, an electrician associated with the Turners Falls Electric Light and Power Company.

(III) Frank Champion Keegan was born in Westfield March 7, 1890, and his elementary education was received in the public schools of his birthplace. Graduating at the Turners Falls High School with the class of 1911, he matriculated at the Massachusetts Agricultural College, where he graduated with the class of 1916. He then entered the employ of the Turners Falls Power and Electric Company as an accountant, and after his World War service he received the appointment of cashier for the Gas and Electric Light Company at Newburyport, a concern that is part of the holdings of the Turners Falls Power and Electric Company. He remained there in that capacity from December, 1918, to March, 1920, when he became associated with the Greenfield Electric Light and Power Company as assistant treasurer, which office he continues to hold.

In 1917, at the call of the World War, Mr. Keegan entered the service of the United States Government, and being assigned to Camp Devens, he remained there until September, 1818, where he received the appointment of sergeant of his company; thence he went to Camp Zachary Taylor, at Louisville, Kentucky, in the Artillery Officers' Corps, and there he received his discharge from the service in November, 19r& His fraternal affiliations are those of Mechanics' Lodge, Free and Accepted Masons. at Turners Falls, and of the Royal Arch Masons; and he is a member of the American Legion, and of the Greenfield Club, Kiwanis Club, and secretary of the Country Club. His religious fellowship is with the Congregational Church.

Mr. Keegan married, June 10, 1919, Helen Wadleigh, of Hampton Falls, New Hampshire, and they are the parents of : Frank C., born October 20, 1921; and Howard Wadleigh, born November 17, 1923.

Source: Biography and Genealogy of Western Massachusetts, 1639-1925

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