Background
Keightley was born on a farm near Scott in Lagrange County, Indiana.
United States representative lawyer politician
Keightley was born on a farm near Scott in Lagrange County, Indiana.
Keightley attended the local common schools, Lagrange Academy, and Valparaiso Collegiate Institute. He was graduated from the law department of the University of Michigan at Ann Arbor in 1865 and was admitted to the Barometer
He commenced practice at White Pigeon, Michigan, several miles northwest of his family home in Scott. While practicing law, he was also editor of the White Pigeon Republican, a staunch advocate of Republican Party views and policy. In 1872, he was elected prosecuting attorney of Saint Joseph County, serving until January 21, 1874 when he was appointed by Michigan Governor John Jay Bagley to be judge of the 15th circuit court of Michigan, comprising the counties of Saint Joseph and Branch County.
He was elected to the position in the spring of 1875.
In 1876, he was elected as a Republican from Michigan"s 4th congressional district to the 45th United States Congress, serving from March 4, 1877 to March 3, 1879. Keightley was appointed by United States. President Rutherford B. Hayes as the Third Auditor of the United States Treasury Department and served from April 30, 1879 to April 30, 1885, when he resigned.
He resumed the practice of his profession in Chicago, Illinois. He moved to Constantine, Michigan, in 1899 and engaged in agricultural pursuits until his death there.
He was interred in Constantine Cemetery.