His health improved somewhat, and by Sept. 1895 he was a working real estate agent at age 66. In 1907 his pension was increased to $20/mo. In the 1910 U.S.A. census, William, at age 81, is shown as still living in Eden. In 1912 he was described, in a medical report, as being 5ft. 6in. tall, having a dark complexion, black eyes and black hair. His pension had been increased to $30/mo.

In 1913 he entered Sisters' Hospital, Main St., Buffalo, N.Y. and died on 24 Apr. 1914 at age 84 years, 4 months. The listed cause of death was chronic interstitial nephritis (death certificate). This condition, caused by heavy metal poisoning over a long period of time, results in kidney failure and death.

His death certificate contains a great deal of misinformation, indicating there was no close family member present to provide the accurate data. His wife, Emily, had died in 1910 and his three children had left Buffalo some years earlier. Apparently, William died alone supported only by his Civil War pension. He was buried beside his wife in Buffalo's Forest Lawn Cemetery (photo of gravestone).

William was a swashbuckling man willing to take risks and strike out to make his own way. He was a persuasive leader of men, unafraid of the unknown. Perhaps because he was well educated and most probably well-spoken, he was trusted by others. People followed him and readily entered into business ventures with him. He never made a lasting mark in his business life and was never a rich man, but he left his mark on others wherever he went.

His personal life was a series of tragic disasters. Between 1857 and 1880 he lost his mother, a wife and four children. After 1884 he was dreadfully ill and disabled, yet he lived until 1914. He left this world under the same circumstances as his father had in 1832 - dreadfully ill and with minimal resources.

Notable Oddity
By sheer coincidence, William Keays, the brother of my 2Xgreat grandmother on my mother's side, lived a few doors away from my great grandfather on my father's side here in Niagara Falls, Ont. in 1881. From the ages of the children in the two families, it is likely they attended school together.

Descendants of Wm. Keays
Their first child, Daisy was born in 1872, and her descendants (last name Bass with "Keays" used as a first or second name) live today in Atlanta, Ga. and Florida. Daisy lived until 1957. She died in Florida and her remains are buried in Maple Grove Cemetery, Frewsburg, N.Y. (grave marker) Here is a photo of me with Daisy's grandson, William Keays Bass, taken in Florida in March 2004. William and Emily's second child was Reginald Horton Keays. Reg was a civil engineer responsible for the construction of waterworks in Athens, Greece that replaced the old aqueduct system built in Classical times. He lived to age 99 and died in Santa Clara Calif. without having had children. William and Emily's third child born about 1876 died in infancy. Their fourth and final child, William Jeremiah Keays Jr. moved to California and left several heirs. His son, William Jeremiah Keays III retired as Deputy Chief of Police, San Francisco. He died in March, 2003 and is survived by his wife, Dorothy, son Robert and grandson Robert Keays Jr.