Michael Keefer and Margaret Matilda Bucher were born, married, raised their family, and passed away all within the radius of a very few miles. The town of Sunbury, in Northumberland County, Pennsylvania, was the focus for all the events of their lives. The farthest they seemed to have roamed was to Upper Augusta, the rural township adjacent to Sunbury.
Michael was born in 1815, the son of Daniel Keefer and Evaline “Eva” Arnold. Both of Michael’s parents were born in Berks County—70 miles as the crow flies southeast of Sunbury—but they were married in Northumberland County and made their lifelong home there. Daniel and Eva were both of German stock.
Michael was the fifth child of eleven. First came Michael’s three older sisters, Mary, Catherine, and Elizabeth. Michael and his twin brother, Samuel—the only boys in their entire family—were born next, to be followed by Anna, Juliana, Margaret, Matilda, Amelia, and Rosanna.
Margaret Matilda Bucher was born in 1827, when her husband-to-be, Michael Keefer, was short of thirteen years old. Matilda’s parents, John Henry Bucher and Elizabeth Mantz, were both native Pennsylvanians. Six siblings preceded Matilda: George, Harriet, Martin, Charles, Henry, and William. Two more, Mary and John, followed her. Matilda and her siblings would mourn their father’s passing when they were mere teens.
Michael and Matilda lived a relatively commonplace life, rarely, if ever, venturing far from home. At forty-seven years old, Michael was too old—by two years—to be required to take part in the Civil War draft lottery of 1862. However, participating in the grand events of history was part of both their families’ heritages. Two of Matilda’s grandfathers and one great-grandfather had served in the Revolutionary War—John Conrad Bucher had fought at age 44, Henry W. Bucher had been a captain; and Nicholas Mantz, a private, had been listed as a prisoner of war. On Michael’s side, his grandfather Peter Keefer had served in the 1st Pennsylvania Regiment.
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