Thomas Keachie
ID # 4646, (1776-1834)
| Father | Andrew Keachie (1743-1831) |
| Mother | Margaret Adair (1752-1822) |
| Birth | Thomas Keachie was born on 27 December 1776 at Scotland. |
| Marriage | He married Margaret Kelly. |
| Death | He died on 2 August 1834 at Galt, Gore District, Upper Canada, at age 57. |
| Note | Thomas receives an unhappy mention in James Young's History of Galt and Dumfries (see page 104) in that he is said to have died in Galt in 1834 of the cholera which was of epidemic proportions at the time and killed a significant portion of Galt's population. The date of Thomas' death is as provided in Franklin Keachie's chart. Thomas was Franklin's ancestor and so the date may come from a family source. Even if it isn't exact, going by the narrative in James Young's book, the date will be close. As to The place of burial for Thomas, initially some victims were buried in the existing local cemeteries - two of them, both Presbyterian. Rev. Strang's cemetery receives particular mention in Young's history. Very shortly, however, the numbers of dead were such that they were hurriedly buried in unmarked graves in what is now Soper Park. There is little written reference to the exact location, but the H. Spencer Howell letter of 1899 to the Dumfries Reformer comes to mind. The Spencer letter tells of William Lyon McKenzie passing through Galt under the cover of night after the failure of the rebellion against the Family Compact and mentions the burial of a leather satchel near where the cholera victims were buried. This may be dismissed as a guess - it is - but the dead are probably buried to the south side of the park, under what is now Dundas Street where it comes down past the Gore Mutual Insurance and forms a sort of causeway. Certainly, it was the most logical place for what passed as a roadway at the time. The McKenzie tale may be dated to 1837. Andrew Taylor, in his Todays and Yesterdays (see page 191) rather dismisses the story of McKenzie's presence in Galt, but one or two local families have stories that add to the lore so the story shouldn't be entirely disregarded. Some grave contents and stones that were in First Church cemetery in what is now High Park were moved to Mountview Cemetery in the 1880s, or new family stones erected. No surviving gravestone has been found for Thomas. Just how the early family members prounounced their name is uncertain, but Mr. Franklin Keachie pronounced it to rhyme with Peachy. Rather more typically, however, the Galt area family pronounced it as Ket-chy. A date for the arrival of the Thomas Keachie family in Galt or Dumfries Township has yet to be found, but Franklin Keachie maintains that his ancestor, James Baillie Keachie, a son of Thomas and Margaret, was in Beverly Township by 1820. This has yet to be researched, however Thomas Keachie appears on the list of communicants of First Church (Presbyterian) at Shade's Mills (later known as Galt). This list is dated July 8th, 1824. This being the case, once again, Franklin Keachie's narrative won't be far off. |
Children of Thomas Keachie and Margaret Kelly |
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| Last Edited | 1 Dec 2022 |