Biography (Evidence-Led)
This biography is built from primary documents and contemporaneous records. It assumes the best about Keely's work while keeping a transparent evidentiary trail. Where documentation is missing, the gap is labeled clearly.
What We Can Anchor Today
- Keely was active in the public record during the 1870s-1890s, with extensive press coverage of his motor claims.
- The Keely Motor Company appears in Pennsylvania corporate records (initial filing 12/02/1874).
- Primary corporate imagery exists: a 1879 corporate certificate print and stock certificate scan preserved by the Library of Congress.
- Bloomfield H. Moore's 1893 book provides a supportive contemporary narrative of Keely's work.
- A 1895 photographic portrait of Keely is preserved via an institutional image source.
Each item above is backed by a specific file in `research/sources/` and logged in `research/sources/sources-log.md`.
Portrait
Portrait of John Ernst Worrell Keely (ca. 1895).
Open Biographical Questions
- Birth and death records (exact dates, locations, and family details).
- Education, training, and early technical work prior to 1874.
- Residential and business addresses (city directories, census, tax records).
- Contemporaneous interviews or profiles that describe his background.
These items will be added as soon as primary documents are secured. If you can locate a record, capture the URL and date so it can be logged with provenance.
How This Page Will Evolve
As new sources are added, this biography will expand into a dated narrative with citations. The priority is official records (census, obituaries, city directories, court documents) and institutional archives. Secondary narratives will remain clearly labeled.