David Keeler was the son of John and Sarah (Pardee) Keeler. He was christened on 6 May 1753 in Wilton, Fairfield, Connecticut. David was living in Newbury Parish (southern part of New Milford Township) by the time he was married and when the Brookfield Township was formed in 1788. He married Sarah Bearss about 1785. He served in the American Revolution, and received a Revolutionary War pension of $7.33 per month for life from March 1828 and was listed as a Revolutionary War pensioner, in the federal census of 1840 for Brookfield. David's name was among those who had enlisted in the 4th Brigade of Connecticut Militia commanded by General Gold Silliman and were drafted 1 May 1778 to serve in the Continental Army under General Washington.
David owned property on the Housatonic River in the Hop Brook area of Brookfield, which is north and slightly east of Brookfield Center. He already owned property near the river when the first deed was recored to him in Brookfield, 20 June 1789, in which Gideon Treat of New Milford conveyed to him 2 1/2 acres in Brookfield, westerly on the road that leads to the ferry; the property was west of David's land and south of [his father] John Keeler's (Brookfield Deeds 1:61). He owned other property in the area over the years would deed his property to family members or to a neighbor Eli Ruggles with the understanding that he could still use the land until he died.
David must have been prominent in the state of Connecticut because his death notice appeared in five newspapers throughout the state: Connecticut Herald, New Haven Palladium, Columbian Register, Hartford Times, and American Sentinal and Witness. He died in Brookfield, Fairfield, Connecticut on 16 December 1843 and is buried in the Old South Cemetery, Brookfield, Connecticut. He and his wife Sarah had seven known children from federal census records of Brookfield.
