William Keairnes is a native of the Hawkeye State, having been born in Grove Township, Shelby County, on the old Keairnes homestead, in Keairnes's Grove, March 15, 1854. He is a son of Wilson and Sarah Keairnes, whose biography will be found on another page of this work. Our subject was reared in the township in which he was born, and received his education in the common schools of the neighborhood. He remained under the parental roof until he was twenty-two years of age; then he started for himself, renting a farm for two years. In 1877 he purchased a tract of forty acres of wild land in section 28, which he began to improve; he also rented land which he farmed in connection with his own land. He has since added 320 acres to this first purchase, so that his farm consists of 360 acres, all in Grove Township. It is all under cultivation except the last eighty acres which he bought. He has a good frame residence, and barns for stock and grain. He has done much for the advancement of the community in which he lives, and although a young man, he has risen to a position in the county of which he may well be proud. He is a self-made man, having started with nothing but will and determination to succeed. Mr. Keairnes is a staunch Republican, and has represented the township as trustee, and is now acting treasurer of the school board. He was married August 9, 1879, to Miss Margaret, daughter of Patrick and Hannorah Tierney. She was born in Clinton County, Iowa, February 14, 1860. They are the parents of four children - Nellie M., Clarence P., Bessie E. and Blanche H. They are members of Saint Mary's Catholic Church.