Kelser, Robert

Name: Kelser, Robert
Occupation: Educator, Funeral Director, Entrepreneur, etc.
aka:
Sex: M
Birth: 1857
Death: 1 Apr 1914
Marker: Yes
Spouse(s): Mary Lewis Kelser
Parents: Daniel and Amanda Kelser
Children:
Affiliations: Member, Knights of Pythias, Odd Fellows, Good Samaritans; President, Piedmont Industrial and Land Improvement Company
Notes: Obit – Undertaker – Irving Way Hill Co.

Robert Kelser (1857-1914) was a Farmville, Prince Edward County native and longtime Charlottesville resident active in local business, church, and social affairs. A classmate of Booker T. Washington’s at Hampton Institute (1874-75), he embraced the uplift/self-help philosophy and entrepreneurial spirit of his generation. Kelser taught for many years in local schools, most notably Charlottesville’s Jefferson School. In 1885 he married Mary M. Lewis, the widow of Rev. M.T. Lewis. (The three share a burial plot near the Oak Street entrance to Daughters of Zion.) In 1894 Kelser and James Barcus formed an undertaking business with offices at 266 W. Main St., in the heart of Vinegar Hill. Their hearses and hacks carried many local residents to their final resting places. (See the illustrated ads below for Barcus & Kelser). Kelser was active in several local fraternal orders (Knights of Pythias, Odd Fellows, Good Samaritans). He was a founding member of the Piedmont Industrial and Land Improvement Co., a state-chartered investment company dedicated to extending “aid and assistance, financial and otherwise, to persons of limited means in purchasing homes.” He served as a manager and traveling agent for the Negro Department at the 1907 Jamestown Exposition. He died in April 1914 of complications from tuberculosis.
— Professor Scot French, July 15, 2022