The town of Keels is on the northwest corner of Newfoundland in Bonavista Bay and it is tempting to speculate that it may have been named after the Keel family.
2863 In early days it was also known as “Keel’s Harbour”. However, although there are still
families here with the surname Keel, the community pre-dates their arrival. It was a fishing station in 1675 and appeared on maps almost a century before that. One of the local traditions has it that Cabot left a keel-mark here while stopping for water. Others have speculated it might be Kialarness mentioned in the Viking sagas.2864The assignment of Samuel Keels as father of Moses Butler Keel is based on the circumstantial case that he was given the middle name Butler, probably after his mother’s surname. The marriage of Samuel Keel to Eleanor Butler in Bonavista was recorded on 3 Feb 1809 and the baptism of their son Moses Keel was recorded on 23 January 1812.
In early records he was referred to as Moses
Butler Keel or Moses
B. Keel. This may have been to distinguish him from another Moses Keel, who was born 9 Jan 1815, son of Moses and Martha Keel.
The town of Keels is on the northwest corner of Newfoundland in Bonavista Bay and it is tempting to speculate that it may have been named after the Keel family.[S:1353] In early days it was also known as “Keel’s Harbour”. However, although there are still families here with the surname Keel, the community pre-dates their arrival. It was a fishing station in 1675 and appeared on maps almost a century before that. One of the local traditions has it that Cabot left a keel-mark here while stopping for water. Others have speculated it might be Kialarness mentioned in the Viking sagas.[S:1355]
The assignment of Samuel Keels as father of Moses Butler Keel is based on the circumstantial case that he was given the middle name Butler, probably after his mother’s surname. The marriage of Samuel Keel to Eleanor Butler in Bonavista was recorded on 3 Feb 1809 and the baptism of their son Moses Keel was recorded on 23 January 1812.
In early records he was referred to as Moses Butler Keel or Moses B. Keel. This may have been to distinguish him from another Moses Keel, who was born 9 Jan 1815, son of Moses and Martha Keel.