William A. Keleher (1886-1972) founded the Oldest and Largest Law Firm in New Mexico, Keleher & McLeod, P.A. The William Keleher site WilliamKeleher.com contains over 300 Rare Photographs of numerous Pioneer Southwest Luminaries like Elfego Baca and Conrad Hilton. Internationally Famous William A. Keleher authored some of the premier works on the Southwest: "Maxwell Land Grant,"1942; "Fabulous Frontier," 1945; "Turmoil in New Mexico, 1846-1968," 1952;"Violence in Lincoln County," 1957; and "Memoirs" 1969. and "New Mexicans I Knew." Purchase the Books of William A. Keleher in .pdf format online through Google Books at WilliamKeleher.com



Scholarships: Arts & Sciences:

Additionally the William A. Keleher Memorial Journalism Scholarship was established in 1980 at the University of New Mexico College of Arts and Sciences.The UNM fund had at the time 126 Endowment Funds with an investment value of $8,000,000 as of June 30, 2001.

UNM collections open for researchers:

The Center for Regional Studies Fellows presented work on the UNM Libraries Collections. William A. Keleher: Maker and Marker of History. William A. Keleher's papers an archives continue to be a rare glimpse into that bygone era of the Pioneer Southwest. Keleher, an author of several books on history of the southwest and a practicing attorney at Keleher & McLeod, P.A. left an extensive collection of history and territorial publications along with his correspondence and research materials.

Scholarships: Gifts that Grow.

In the 1920s in Albuquerque New Mexico, with subdivisions proliferating, developers pressured City Hall to annex their subdivisions, and the City Commission, led by Tingley, obliged. In 1925 the city added nine sections, doubling Albuquerque's land base overnight. The land stretched from Mulberry to San Pedro and Gibson to Constitution. The last annexation before the Depression was the Huning Castle Addition, 156 acres of pastures and drained swampland acquired from Franz Huning's heirs by contractor A.R. Hebenstreit and attorney William Keleher.

In 1928 lawyer William Keleher and contractor A.R. Hebenstreit acquired land from Franz Huning's heirs and platted the Huning Castle Addition. Swamps made much of the land unattractive for development, but that was remedied after the Middle Rio Grande Conservancy began projects to drain marshy lands and control the river. Albuquerque Country Club moved from the East Mesa to its current location in 1928, which added prestige to the development. They only got a few homes built before the Stock Market Crash of 1929. (Most of the homes in this affluent subdivision, which came to be known as the Country Club neighborhood, were built after World War II.

Securing a Place in New Mexico History:

William A. Keleher was a newspaperman, lawyer, internationally known author and historian who lived in Albuquerque for 84 of his 86 years. UNM awarded him two honorary degrees. His five books about the frontier era in the Southwest include an authoritative chronicle of the Lincoln County War. Keleher died in 1972.

Zimmerman Library: received Keleher's impressive collection of southwestern books and archive of papers and manuscripts, which is still being inventoried. This gift is from sons William B Keleher, Michael L Keleher, John G. Keleher and Thomas F. Keleher, and from the children of W. A. Keleher's late daughter, Mary Ann Keleher Rogers: James W. Rogers, Junior, Susan Rogers Schenkelberg, Ann Rogers Rothman and Michael Rogers