THE TOWN OF LEWISBORO. 423 



In the possession of the Keeler family is the following deed for the 

 church lot, which is still styled " Chapman's garden and meadow : " 



DEED FOR CHURCH LOT. 



14th of March, 1796, between John Lewis Moorehouse of Charlton in the 

 County of Saratoga to Jeremiah Keeler all that certain parts, pieces and parcels 

 of land situated and lying in the town of Salem in the County of Westchester and 

 State of New York, on the north side of the road leading from Ridgefield to 

 Bedford, opposite to the road leading from the south part of South Salem to the 

 north part of the same and is bounded as followeth, viz. : Beginning at the 

 said Bedford road at a stake and stones around the same and thence runs 

 northerly six rods to a stake with stones ; thence easterly by said Bedford road 

 so far as that a line of equal length to and parallel with stones, &c."# 



"In the spring of 1777, a party of the enemy having burnt Danbury, 

 and proceeding through Ridgefield on their work of destruction, were 

 opposed by a small company of militia. Mr. Keeler was aroused to 

 patriotic ardor by witnessing the short engagement that followed ; and at 

 the solicitation of Col. Bradley, eagerly enlisted in the army — being at 

 the time, not seventeen years of age. With the Connecticut Line he 

 shared the fatigues and dangers of the three memorable years that im- 

 mediately followed, Shortly after which, being selected by Baron Steu- 

 ben, he joined the Light Infantry commanded by General de La Fayette, 

 under whom he held the post of Orderly Sergeant. He was frequently 

 appointed to execute difficult and responsible duties ; and on an occasion 

 of this kind the Marquis presented him with a sword and his thanks, as 

 a testimonial of his regard for a faithful and courageous soldier. At the 

 memorable siege of Yorktown, when La Fayette's Brigade was employed 

 to storm one of the British forts, Sergeant Keeler was one of the first 

 who, in the midst of a murderous fire, scaled the breastworks, and com- 

 pelled the enemy to yield. He witnessed the surrender of Cornwallis, 

 which virtually terminated the war ; but he remained faithfully at his 

 post, until the disbanding of the forces in 1783, having participated in 

 the reverses and successes of the Continental Army, without interrup- 

 tion since his enlistment. As a vivid illustration of the sufferings which 

 the brave soldiers endured, Mr. Keeler relates that he was sometimes so 

 tormented by hunger as to be tempted to gnaw the flesh from his own 

 shoulders ! " b 



a Copied from original documents in possession of the late Thaddeus Keller's family. No 

 lien was filed in those days ; usually the Trustees mortgaged the church building and lot. 



b A Discourse occasioned by the death of Jeremiah Keeler, a soldier of the Eevolution, 

 delivered in the Presbyterian Church of South Salem, Westchester County, N T., Feb. 2T 

 1853. 



