December 7, 1894: Sudden Death of Daniel Keim at a Friend's Funeral Causes Controversy

By Margaret Leidy Harner from her book One Day at a Time: A Social History of Boyertown, PA.

December 7, 1894: While attending the funeral service of his friend Harry Conrad, Daniel Keim, a wealthy eccentric bachelor who had been pleasantly chatting with friends before the service, slumped over in distress, deathly pale.

Although a doctor was summoned to the church, all efforts to revive him failed; it was an instant death of heart failure. The body was then carried out of the church and the funeral services were concluded. It had been removed to the home of the sexton, William Noll, adjoining the church.

When Keim’s brother Benjamin came to claim the body, Noll demanded $50 fee for this trouble before releasing it. Refusing to pay, Keim instead consulted an attorney and the next morning a policeman arrived at Noll’s house. Noll resisted until he was threatened with arrest and then reluctantly surrendered the body to the undertaker.

Among Berks County Farmers, Daniel Keim was considered to be one of the more interesting, peculiar characters: 70 years of age, his hobby was attending almost all of the funerals in Eastern Berks County, all of which he walked to. He had walked the seven miles to Hill Church for his friend’s funeral.

He frequently walked to Boyertown from his home in Pike Township and was quite well-known here. He dressed and lived like a tramp, although he owned 18 properties in the county and left an estate of around $18,000, an impressive sum in 1894.

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