Melvina Keller (maiden name: Wolleat) was born around 1833 in Pennsylvania to Michael Wolleat and Adeline Davidson. The family moved to Harrison, Indiana, sometime in the late 1830s, and her father worked as a farmer there. He reported no property in 1850, and a decade later, he owned $300 of real estate and $160 of personal property. Melvina attended school in Harrison, and she married Samuel J. Keller on March 14, 1852. They had at least eight children: William, born around 1853; Samuel, born around 1855; Mary, born around 1858; Catherine, born around 1861; Emma Adaline, born around 1866; Rebecca, born around 1868; Lydia, born around 1871; and John, born around 1874.
The family moved to Rice County, Minnesota, around 1854, but they returned to Indiana in 1858 and settled in Bluffton. Her husband worked as a brick maker and farmer, and by 1860, they owned $1,200 of real estate and $200 of personal property. A decade later, they owned $4,500 of real estate and $1,200 of personal property. They moved to San Jose, California, in 1876 and settled in Portland, Oregon, soon afterward. They returned to Bluffton around 1880, and Melvina died sometime that year.