A collection of correspondence and journals of the American master millwright and Mormon Bishop, Frederick Kesler.

Frederick Kesler (1816-1899) was born in Meadville, Pennsylvania. At the age of 15 he was apprenticed to Abram Clark, a master millwright and builder. When Kesler was 19 he began his own career as a master millwright. He married Emeline Parker in 1836 and both became Mormons in 1840. In the spring of 1851, Kesler and his family migrated to Salt Lake City, Utah. After arriving there, Kesler was set to work by Brigham Young to build mills for the territory. He served as bishop of the Sixteenth Ward from April 7, 1856 until his death in 1899. In addition to Emeline Parker, Kesler had two other wives: he married Jane Elizabeth Pratt in 1854 and Abigail Dow Snow in 1857, and was the father of 30 children; in 1872, both Emeline and Abigail divorced him.

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