Ralph Keeler (also Keiler) (1613 – September 10, 1672) was a founding

settler A settler is a person who has migrated to an area and established a permanent residence there, often to colonize the area. A settler who migrates to an area previously uninhabited or sparsely inhabited may be described as a pioneer. Settl ...

of both

Hartford Hartford is the capital city of the U.S. state of Connecticut. It was the seat of Hartford County until Connecticut disbanded county government in 1960. It is the core city in the Greater Hartford metropolitan area. Census estimates since t ...

, and Norwalk,

Connecticut Connecticut () is the southernmost state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It is bordered by Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, New York to the west, and Long Island Sound to the south. Its capita ...

, United States.

Early life

Ralph Keeler is thought have been born in

Lawford Lawford is a large village and civil parish in the Tendring district of northeast Essex, England. It is approximately northeast from the centre of Colchester and west of, and contiguous with, Manningtree. Mistley merges with the east side of M ...

Essex Essex () is a county in the East of England. One of the home counties, it borders Suffolk and Cambridgeshire to the north, the North Sea to the east, Hertfordshire to the west, Kent across the estuary of the River Thames to the south, and Grea ...

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

in 1613, perhaps the son of another Ralph Keeler who died in Essex in the early 17th century.

America

He settled at

in about 1639.The memorial history of Hartford County, Connecticut, 1633-1884, Volume 1
/ref> His home-lot was on what is now the West Park, north of the present site of the

Capitol A capitol, named after the Capitoline Hill in Rome, is usually a legislative building where a legislature meets and makes laws for its respective political entity. Specific capitols include: * United States Capitol in Washington, D.C. * Numerous ...

. He was chimney-viewer in 1645. In 1647, he brought Nicholas Gynings to court for "a miscaridge, beateing of isCow". An Historical Discourse in Commemoration of the Two-hundredth Anniversary of the Settlement of Norwalk
/ref> In 1648, he was accused of slander by John Webb, but the jury found in favor of Keeler. He was one of the signatories to the agreement for planting Norwalk in June 1650. He sold his lot in Hartford, and moved to Norwalk in 1651 or 1652, where his brother Walter Keeler also settled. On October 21, 1662, he sold his four-acre lot to Richard Raymond. On September 1, 1665, he bought the house, barn and lot of Thomas Ward. He was named a

freeman Freeman, free men, or variant, may refer to: * a member of the Third Estate in medieval society (commoners), see estates of the realm * Freeman, an apprentice who has been granted freedom of the company, was a rank within Livery companies * Free ...

in 1668. He, along with

Walter Hoyt Walter Hoyt (also seen as Haite, Hayte, Hoit, Haight) (September 6, 1618 – 1698) was a founding settler of Norwalk, Connecticut. He served as a deputy of the General Court of the Connecticut Colony from Norwalk between 1658 and 1662, and, when ...

, was contracted by the settlement to cut the timber and build a house for Reverend Thomas Hanford. At a town meeting in September 1668, he was contracted to build forty rods of fence.

Legacy

He is listed on the Founders Stone bearing the names of the founders of Hartford in the Ancient Burying Ground in Hartford, and he is also listed on the Founders Stone bearing the names of the founders of Norwalk in the East Norwalk Historical Cemetery.

Notable descendants

* Edwin O. Keeler, first mayor of Norwalk after the city's incorporation from 1893 to 1894,

Lieutenant Governor of Connecticut The following is a list of lieutenant governors of the State of Connecticut. Lieutenant governors of the State of Connecticut, 1776–present Notes References ;Constitutions * * * ;Specific External linksOfficial website of the L ...

from 1901 to 1903. * Anson F. Keeler, mayor of Norwalk from 1927 to 1930, member of the

Connecticut Senate The Connecticut State Senate is the upper house of the Connecticut General Assembly, the state legislature of the U.S. state of Connecticut. The state senate comprises 36 members, each representing a district with around 99,280 inhabitants. Sen ...

in 1931,

Connecticut State Comptroller The State Comptroller is the chief fiscal guardian of the State of Connecticut. The duties and responsibilities of the state comptroller include, among other things, overseeing state accounting, preparing state financial reports, paying and adminis ...

from 1933 to 1935 *

Norman Rockwell Norman Percevel Rockwell (February 3, 1894 – November 8, 1978) was an American painter and illustrator. His works have a broad popular appeal in the United States for their reflection of Culture of the United States, the country's culture. Roc ...

, American painter

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Keiler, Ralph 1613 births 1672 deaths American carpenters American Puritans Founders of Hartford, Connecticut Founding settlers of Norwalk, Connecticut People from Tendring (district) People from Essex (before 1965)