Burlington County NJ Archives Biographies.....Morris H. KEELER, 1836 - 1914
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Joy Fisher http://www.genrecords.net/emailregistry/vols/00001.html#0000031 November 8, 2008, 4:35 pm

Author: Mary Depue Ogden, Editor  (1917)

KEELER, Morris H.,
Useful and Honored Citizen.

  When there were performed over the body of Morris H. Keeler the last sad rites
which had been held under his direction over the remains of so many hundreds of
Burlington county's people, Mount Holly and the county sustained a loss that was
borne with sincere sorrow and regret. Although Mr. Keeler was far beyond man's
average age, he occupied so sincere a place in the hearts of Burlington county's
people and was the recipient of such earnest affection that the realization of
permanent separation came as a universal grief. In church, in social life, and
in his fraternities he held a place of honor and respect, and his long life was
passed in ways of usefulness and service. For more than three score years he was
engaged in undertaking in Mount Holly, first under his father's direction, then
as a member of the firm of Thomas F. Keeler & Sons, and finally independently,
and at his death in 1914 it was written that he had directed the funerals of as
many persons as were at that time resident in Mount Holly, more than three
thousand. Seven months prior to his death he retired from the active management
of his business, placing the responsibility upon the shoulders of his grandson,
Morris Keeler Perinchief, who for several years had been his trusted and capable
assistant.

  Morris H. Keeler was born in 1836, two years after the business of which he
became proprietor had been founded in Mount Holly by his father, Thomas F.
Keeler. He was educated in the Mount Holly schools, and when a youth of sixteen
years of age began as his father's assistant in the undertaking business. The
elder Keeler was likewise engaged in lumber and retail furniture dealings, and
when Morris H. Keeler had gained sufficient experience to enable him to assume
full charge of the undertaking department, a condition at which, because of his
natural aptitude, he soon arrived, the firm of Thomas F. Keeler & Sons was
formed. The sons were Morris H. Keeler and Samuel B., and under that caption the
business was conducted until 1885, when Morris H. became the sole owner of the
undertaking and furniture departments, the latter of which he abandoned a few
years afterward. His career as an undertaker, covering a period of nearly
sixty-three years, was noteworthy not only because of the great number of
Burlington county's residents he laid in their final resting places but also
because of the long strides that have been made in that profession. Improved
methods and modern inventions in the art and science of embalming have created a
wide gulf between the undertaker of the past and the funeral director of the
present, and in all things Mr. Keeler kept fully abreast of the times.
Reliability and proficiency marked the work of his house, and his establishment
maintained worthy place as a leader in its line.

  Successful as a man of business, Mr. Keeler was in intimate touch with the
life of Mount Holly through many connections, chief of which was his close
identification with the Baptist church, which he served for forty-five years as
a member of the board of deacons. He was also at one time treasurer of this
church organization, and had performed much service and had filled many
positions in the work of the congregation. He was a devout and generous
churchman, and was also a member of the Mount Holly lodges of the Benevolent and
Protective Order of Elks and of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows. As rugged
in character as he was in physical strength, he won and held the respect and
regard of his fellows, and further endeared himself to them by a personality and
manner with which it was a joy to come into contact. The comfort and solace that
he was able to bring to the many families, stricken by grief and saddened by
woe, into whose circle he came at the most dreaded of hours, cause many to
remember him as one who, with kindliness, tact, and consideration, lifted, as
far as mortal could, the cloud of gloom that had fallen upon their homes. His
instincts were many generous impulses, and as through the years he translated
these impulses into actions he gained for himself the love and reverence of all
who knew him.

  In January, 1914, but a short time before his death, which occurred in Mount
Holly, his birthplace, July 27, 1914, Mr. Keeler transferred the business,
founded by his father and continued by him, to his grandson, Morris Keeler
Perinchief. Mr. Perinchief was his grandfather's assistant during the last few
years of Mr. Keeler's life, and since becoming the active head of the business
has remodeled and refurnished the parlors on Main street, making them an
ornament to that section of the city. Mr. Keeler was one of the managers of the
Mount Holly cemetery, and there he is buried.

  Morris H. Keeler married Anna Barton and is survived by one daughter, Laura,
who married Rev. Percy Perinchief, deceased, a former superintendent of the
Trenton district of the Methodist Episcopal church.


Additional Comments:

Extracted from:

MEMORIAL CYCLOPEDIA OF NEW JERSEY

UNDER THE EDITORIAL SUPERVISION OF MARY DEPUE OGDEN

VOLUME III
MEMORIAL HISTORY COMPANY NEWARK,  NEW JERSEY
1917


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