Keech

September 26, 2026, 10am - noon, the Lowell Area Historical Museum will be hosting an educational cemetery tour at the Alton Cemetery, at the intersection of Lincoln Lake Ave NE, and 3 Mile Rd NE. This is a sneak peek into the families who lived there and now rest there.

William H. Keech (Henry) married Jennie Sarah Carver in 1868 in Vergennes Township, and they lived the rest of their lives there. Jennie was the daughter of Barzillai Benjamin and Sarah Northrup Carver. William was born in New York, and he served in the Civil War in Company K of the 1st New York Light Artillery. After he was discharged in 1865, he moved to Michigan. The Keech family added two sons, Frank and Charles.

The Keech family lived in Alton, on Three Mile Road, west of Lincoln Lake, near the mill pond that supported the sawmill run by Ed Ring. One hundred years later, a neighbor around the corner on Alden Nash Avenue told of an incident that happened soon after he had moved in. An older man who had lived in their house as a child stopped by one day to see the house and the land. He told the story of when he was a child. He said the neighborhood children would run through the neighborhood, disregarding private properties. He pointed to where the Keech home had stood and told how an old man, obviously Henry Keech, would tell the children to get off his land. He told them that he used to shoot a cannon in the civil war and told a horror story from his wartime, using it as a way to encourage them to stay off his land. Needless to say, it accomplished the desired effect! In telling the story as an old man himself, he was impressed with Keech’s wisdom in dealing with young hooligans.

The Keech family operated a grocery store in Alton. In 1888, during the peak years of Alton, the store advertised “H. Keech and Son, proprietors - where you can get your groceries as cheap as at Lowell.” The store was located on Three Mile Road, just east of Lincoln Lake Avenue, directly across from the Alton church building. The perfect accompaniment to a grocery store was the area post office. In April of 1889, Jennie Keech was appointed as postmistress for the Alton Post Office. In 1902, upon her death, her son Frank was appointed as Postmaster. Until Henry was unable to work because of his health, he ran the store and son Frank took a grocery cart around the countryside. Women would sell their butter and eggs to Frank Keech as he conveniently drove his grocery cart to them or trade their farm products for other staples.
Goldie VanDenBroeck, who grew up in Alton, wrote how she remembered playing outside while her mother was in church. She went to Keech's store across from the church. Her friend told her she could charge candy and pay for it later. She paid the bill when Frank Keech came through with the wagon the next week. The only problem was that he was so impressed that she paid her bill, he gave her some more candy and Mom saw what was going on. Goldie says she got her legs switched good, and from that day on she was afraid of debt.

Frank married Margaret (Maggie) Oesch, daughter of Karl Oesch. Frank’s brother Charles first married Annie Haring and then Elgie Ford.

In 1900 the railroad came through and did not follow through with the promised depot at Alton. Instead, a depot was established half a mile from Alton, which was the beginning of the village of Moseley. The primitive road was improved from Lincoln Lake Avenue, now known as Four Mile Road. Gradually, businesses from Alton moved up Moseley. In 1909 Frank Keech bought land on the north side of Four Mile Rd in Moseley and moved the Keech Store. Frank also opened a Gleaner Hall in Moseley. The Gleaner Hall was very important to the community as a gathering place for dances and other social functions.

Jennie died in 1902, and Henry in 1921. Their grave marker is a metal marker made by the Detroit subsidiary of the Monumental Bronze Company. Fittingly, these could be ordered through the local grocery store. These markers have customizable plates that have the capacity to hold a lot of information. They were very popular for a time and have held up very well over the years, as evidenced by the graves of Henry and Jennie Keech. Keech family descendants still call the Lowell community home.
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Images:

Frank Keech General Store, Moseley

Jennie Carver Keech

William H. Keech

Keech home no longer standing on 3 Mile between Alden Nash and Lincoln Lake

Keech home no longer standing on 3 Mile between Alden Nash and Lincoln Lake
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Keech metal gravestone