Peter Percel Kehoe was born in Portsmouth, Ohio in 1845 as one of 11. He and two brothers came to Kansas and worked a drug store in Manhattan.
After it closed, Peter came to Clay Center along with his brother, James, a Civil War veteran-turned physician. James died locally at just 32. Prior to coming to Clay Center, Peter learned telegraphy in school and worked as a train dispatcher in Milwaukee after becoming an expert operator. He remained a dispatcher until 1870, and he moved to Manhattan. In 1873, he married Emma Peckham and in 1875, the Kehoe Brothers closed their store, when Peter and Emma went to his hometown. However, they came back to Kansas after a year, in 1877, this time in Clay Center, where Emma had ties. Her brother, Will Peckham, owned a grocery business, and her sister, Allie, managed the telephone company.
Peter established a dry goods store, which sold clothing and shelf-stable foods. It was named the Farmer’s Store of P.P. Kehoe and sold boots, shoes, hats, and capes, in addition to clothing and food items. In 1881, it was reported that he would go east to “buy the largest stock of dry goods ever brought to Clay Center.”
In 1885, he ran for County treasurer on the democratic ticket. In 1886, he received a carload of Michigan apples.
The Kehoes lived on the 1500 block of 5th Street in what was called one of the finest residences in the city. That home, listed of “assuming lordly proportions,” no longer stands.
He was also a business partner of Nathan Gollober (of Ginger’s Uptown building fame); the pair bought and sold land, fed cattle and lent money.
Kehoe’s brother-in-law, Will Peckham, was also a business partner.
Peter and Emma had three children: Emma Belle, who died as a toddler, William Frank Kehoe and Margaret Sheffield Kehoe, both who lived into adulthood.
William attended the St. John’s Military Academy in Salina and married Jennie Dawson from Junction City in 1904. Her father was the proprietor of the Hotel Bonham, where the pair were wed.
Kehoe was associated with three local banks in Clay Center. The first was Farmers and Merchants (established in 1877), where he served as a director. He was also a director for Citizens’ State Bank, which opened in 1901 and later became People’s National Bank. Kehoe helped establish this bank.
He also served as a cashier of the First National Bank, which evolved from the Republican Valley Bank, from 1895 until his death. Kehoe was also a director for branches of First National in Clay Center, Wakefield, and Stephensville, Texas.
He died of stomach cancer in 1906. The funeral is said to have been attended by hundreds; it was held in the family home.
In 1912, the Kehoes’ daughter, Margaret, married Dr. Edwin Clyde Morgan at the St. Paul’s Episcopal Church. The wedding was scheduled for 8:30 pm with a reception at 9 at Emma’s residence. Dr. Morgan worked with his father, Dr. B.F. Morgan, at their Clay Center medical practice.
Emma died in 1935 and is buried alongside Peter in Greenwood Cemetery. Their son William was placed next to his parents just five years later when he died of heart problems. Margaret and Dr. Morgan are also buried in Greenwood Cemetery, at a separate location.
Pictures: Top, an engraved cornerstone from the former Clay Center Hospital. Photo via the Clay County Museum. Middle: letterhead from Peter P. Kehoe’s brother’s store, Frank. Bottom photo: Kehoe’s grave marker in Greenwood Cemetery
