William M. Keen Died Of Rifle Shot
Sumner County Coroner - Says Bullet Wound Was Self-inflicted.
Gallatin, Tenn., May 24. - Wm. (Keeno) Keen, 51, former peace officer of Sumner County for many years, died of a self-inflicted rifle shot tonight at his home in South Tunnel, according to Coroner L. C. Guild. Keen, who lived at the South Tunnel home with three daughters, was alone with one of the daughters about six o'clock while the other two were visiting a neighbor, Guild said, when he called the daughter into the room and handed her a note which he asked her to be delivered immediately to her sisters. The note, Guild said, informed the girls that Keen's body would be found in his barn. He had been shot through the head with a 22 caliber bullet, the charge entering directly under his chin and ranging upward. Keen at one time had served as a driver for the fire department here in the days when the fire trucks were drawn by horses. He later became a constable, workhouse keeper for 15 years, and eventually served two terms as sheriff. He retired from public service several years ago.
Genealogist's Companion to Research in Sumner County, Tennessee