Catharine Lampman Keefer (1773-1813)

The Catharine Keefer plaque on the Keefer family monument, Lakeview Cemetery.

Catharine Lampman was born on the 26 April 1773 to Peter and Elizabeth (Haines) Lampman of New Jersey.   The Lampman family were of German origins.  By the late 1790s, the Lampman family was already living in Upper Canada, likely in Thorold Township.     On 6 February 1797, Catharine Lampman married George Keefer and had nine children before her untimely death on 14 July 1813 of "army fever". 

It is likely that Catharine was first buried at St. Peter's Church cemetery, sometimes also referred to as the Old German church cemetery in Thorold.   Today's tombstone in Lakeview Cemetery in Thorold memorializes Catharine Lampman Keefer, her husband George Keefer, and his three subsequent wives, Jane McBride Emory, Mary Swaize, and Madeline Secord.

The Keefer and Lampman families prospered in the Niagara Region and their name can be seen applied to streets, University residences, inns and mills. 

The original log building of St. Peter's Church, Thorold

The cemetery of St. Peter's church, Thorold

Learn more about Catharine Keefer during the unsettled and precarious times presented by the War of 1812.  

The Keefer family monument situated in a lovely grove of pine trees, Lakeview Cemtery.