Ralph Keeler (abt. 1613 - 1672)

Descendants of Ralph KEELER

Generation No. 1

1. RALPH1 KEELER was born 1612-1613 in Noddingham, England, and died 1672 in Fairfield Co., CT. He married (2) SARAH Aft June 1662 in Hartford, Hartford Co., CT.

Notes !(Ref. Boughton' "Rockwell and Keeler Genealogy") In reference to the early history of Ralph Keeler, who was one of the first settlers of Norwalk, Conn., (the writer refers to the mention of him in the Whitney Genealogy, which is regarded as one of the best authorities on the events of those times), it says (p.79) Ralph Keeler was born in England about 1613 and owned a lot in Hartford, Conn., to which he went about 1639. His first wife not known, second wife married after 1651, was Sarah, Widow of Henry Whelpley, of Norwalk, Conn. The following was copied by the compiler of this work from the Fairfield Probate Court records from the will of Ralph Keeler, Sr., which is filed there. Will dated 20 Aug 1672 and probated the same year, thus proving his death to have occurred in the latter part of that year. He begins by saying he is about 59 years old. First, he bequeaths one third of his estate to his wife, Sarah; Second, to his sons John Keeler and Ralph Keeler, Jr., Samuel Keeler, Jonah Keeler, and Rebecca and Elizabeth Keeler, the remainder of his estate, to be apportioned as afterwards designated. Ralph Keeler (from whom as ancester is traced all of the Keelers embraced in this work) came from Hartford, Conn, where in 1639 the public records show that he was one of its early Puritan settlers and sold out his estate there and moved to Norwalk, as an informant says, 1651/52, where the first mention of him is in a list of those to whom grants of land were made as settlers by the town authorities. Hall's history of Norwalk says that the public records of that act bears no date, but that it is accepted that said grants were made in 1652, which was about two years after commencement of the settlement of Norwalk, Conn. He is next mentioned 18 Dec 1653 as the contractor to whom the town awarded the contract to cut the timber and build a house for Mr. Hanford the pastor of the church there at that time, said house to be 16x26 ft. He is next mentioned in a list of estates in Norwalk, in which his was valued at 150 Pounds, dated 1655. At a town meeting held at Norwalk September, 1688, he contracted to build forty rods of fence. On 20 Feb 1672 an enrollment of the children: Three were mentioned as Keelers. On 16 Dec 1684 it was agreed to aportion home lots to the inhabitants, three acres to hundred, to be drawn for, in which Ralph Keeler, Jr., received two and John Keeler three. On 3 Jan 1687 another valuation of estates was made, in which Ralph Keeler, Jr., is recorded at 170 Pounds 10s and John Keeler 100 Pounds; Samuel Keeler 103 Pounds 10s. 16 Jan 1694 Ralph Keeler, Jr., was named one of a town Committee to procure a minister and dispenser of the Gospel in Norwalk. 25 Oct 1697 Ralph, Jr., and Samuel Keeler and John Whitney were appointed to erect a support to the gallery in the meeting house--the above the last mention on public records at Norwalk of Ralph Keeler as given in Hall's History of Norwalk.

I.B. Barbour, "Families of Early Hartford, Conn.," 1977 states that he was a chimney viewer 1645, one of the signers of the agreement for planting Norwalk June 1650 and there 1652; freeman 1668: died 1672 between Aug 20 & Sept. 10.

Frost, "The Strang Family", 1915, p 150-151,

Frost, "Keeler-Wood Family", 1939, p 1-8.

Jacobus, "Faidrield CT History", 1930, Vol 1: 355-357.

Holmes, "Directory of the Ancestral Heads of New England Families 1620-1700", page 36.

!RESIDENCES: England 1613-1639 Hartford 1639-abt 1652 Norwalk 1653-1660 Jamaca,LI 1663-abt 1665 Norwalk 1665-1672

His father was probably Ralph Keeler.

Wesley Keeler, "Ralph Keeler of Norwalk, CT", Albany NY, 1980. Vol 1.

From "Ralph Keeler of Norwalk, Conn. and his Descendants" Vol 1, Compiled by Wesley B. Keeler, Albany, NY., 1980. Beginning on page 3:

"The identity of Ralph's first wife, the mother of his children, is unknown and Selleck commented that the discovery, 'if ever made ....will be an interesting disclosure.' In his unpublished "History of Wilton, G. Evans Hubbard said Ralph's wife "seems to have been a daughter of Stephen Beckwith who was also a purchaser of Norwalk". He did not say how he reached his conclusions. this Stephen Beckwith had no sons, but may have had daughters. Ralph's second wife was SARAH WHELPLEY, widow of Henry Whelpley. Sarah, whose maiden name is unknown, was married to Edward Treadwell of Huntington, L. I., when he died in 1660 ("Descendants of Edward Treadwell,". New York Genealogical and Biographical Record, 42:177). She then married Henry Whelpley of Fairfield, Conn., who was dead by 6 June 1662. Sarah then married Ralph and after his death in 1672 she married Thomas Skidmore of Fairfield, who died in 1684. Sarah died 14 days later. The Keeler-Wood genealogy (Frost, Josephine C., "Ancestors of Evelyn Wood Keeler", privately printed, 1939) overlooks the fact that Whelpley married the widow of John Whitlock "before" he married the widow of Edward Treadwell (Jacobus, Donald Lines, "History and Genealogy of Families of Old Fairfield" I:684) and assumes that it is Whitlock's widow who later married Ralph Keeler. This leads the author to the faulty conclusion that it was not Sarah Whelpley who was married to Ralph Keeler at the time of his death.

On 27 October 1662 Ralph Keeler of Norwalk sold to "Richard Raimond" of Salem his homelot, dwelling house and four acres adjoining [Norwalk TR 1:64-65]. "The Great migration Begins", Robert Charles Anderson, 1995, Vol. III, p 1564.

Children of Ralph KEELER are: i. REBECCA2 KEELER, b. Hartford, Hartford Co., CT; d. Aft 1699; m. (1) BENJAMIN TURNEY, November 16, 1671, Fairfield, Fairfield Co., CT; m. (2) JOHN HULL, September 21, 1699, Wallingford, New Haven Co., CT. ii. RALPH KEELER, b. 1646-1648, Hartford, Hartford Co., CT; d. Abt 1721, Norwalk, Fairfield Co., CT; m. GRACE LINDALL, Abt 1673, Norwalk, CT. iii. ISABELLA KEELER, b. 1648, Hartford, Hartford Co., CT; d. Aft 1682; m. THOMAS MOREHOUSE, November 05, 1672. 2. iv. JOHN KEELER, b. Bef 1650, Hartford, Hartford Co., CT; d. Bef May 03, 1720, Norwalk, Fairfield Co., CT. 3. v. SAMUEL KEELER, b. 1656, Norwalk, Fairfield Co., CT; d. May 19, 1713, Ridgefield, Fairfield Co., CT. vi. JONAH KEELER, b. 1658, Norwalk, Fairfield Co., CT; d. 1673-1674. vii. ELIZABETH KEELER, b. 1660, Norwalk, Fairfield Co., CT; m. (1) SAMUEL HAYES, Aft July 1673; m. (2) JAMES PICKETT, July 17, 1673, Norwalk, Fairfield Co., CT. SOURCE: http//www.keiller.org

Generation No. 1

1. RALPH1 KEELER was born Abt. 1613 in Lawton, Essex, England, and died 1672. He married (1) UNKNOWN Abt. 1645. He married (2) SARAH Abt. 1663. She died 1684.

Notes for RALPH KEELER: --one of the first settlers of Norwalk, Connecticut circa 1651; came from Hartford, Connecticut;--"He m. (2) about 1663, Sarah, widow of Henry Whelpley, and formerly widow of Edward Treadwell. She m. (4) Thomas Skidmore of Fairfield, and d. late in 1684.";--[this is not the way I have it and I believe Sarah may not have been the mother of his children];--perhaps his other wife was mother of his children;--

Notes for UNKNOWN: --perhaps a daughter of Stephen Beckwith?;--I believe Elizabeth (Stanley) StJohn was the widow of Mark StJohn--I had Ralph Keeler as marrying her. I really do not think that is correct;--I gather the misconception is from the following: " Joseph [Keeler} was grandson of the imigrant Ralph Keeler through his father, Samuel Keeler; and grandson of Elizabeth (Stanley) StJohn through his mother, Sarah (St John) Keeler, daughter of Mark and Elizabeth (Stanley) St.John."-----a statement appears in the Keeler family record that Joseph Keeler was the grandson of Ralph Keeler and Elizabeth (Stanley) StJohn.---The identity of the first wife of the emigrant Rallph Keeler remains unknown;--this was taken from "The American Genealogist.";--

Notes for SARAH: --Sarah Howes?;--Sarah died fourteen days after Thomas Skidmore;--

Marriage Notes for RALPH KEELER and SARAH: --marriage dates differ circa 1653, circa 1663 -perhaps it was circa 1653 and Ralph and John were born later;--

Children of RALPH KEELER and UNKNOWN are: 2. i. RALPH2 KEELER, b. Abt. 1646, Hartford; d. Abt. 1720, Norwalk. 3. ii. JOHN KEELER, b. Abt. 1648, Hartford; d. Abt. 1720, Norwalk. 4. iii. ISABEL KEELER, b. Abt. 1649, Norwalk, Connecticut. 5. iv. REBECCA KEELER, b. Abt. 1650. 6. v. ELIZABETH KEELER, b. 09 Feb 1654, Hartford. 7. vi. SAMUEL KEELER, b. 1656, Norwalk; d. 19 May 1713, Ridgefield, Connecticut. vii. JONAH/JOHN KEELER, b. Abt. 1658; d. 1676. SOURCE: Descendants of Ralph Keeler - familytreemaker.genealogy.com