Genealogy of the Woodcock Valley

We put the flags on the Union Cemetery last Sunday for Memorial Day.  This week, as my father-in-law was mowing the cemetery, he noticed a new flag and marker on a grave that had never been there before.  He couldn't wait to tell me and my husband.  He said it was a Revolutionary War solder.  I was a little doubtful and went to see for myself yesterday.  The grave belongs to Adam Keith, and he was definitely old enough to be a Revolutionary War soldier.  However, I had some questions:

• Why did a flag and marker just appear?
• Who placed the flag and marker?
• Where was Adam Keith buried originally?
• Why can't I find a record of his service?

Adam Keith is buried in a part of the Union Cemetery where graves were relocated from the Raystown Lake area.  The only grave close to him is an "Unknown" from the Donelson Cemetery.  There is no record of Adam Keith in any of the U. S. Army Corps of Engineers relocation records.  The Donelson Cemetery was originally in Lincoln Township, so it makes sense to me that this may have been where Adam was buried originally.

The stone is somewhat hard to read, but my best guess is:  Adam Keith, died November the 2 1808, aged 69 y 11 m & 2 day.  I spent yesterday trying to do some research on Mr. Adam Keith.  First of all, there were many Adam Keiths in the Woodcock Valley area.  References to this Adam Keith have him being born about 1718.  So, is it 89 years of age rather than my transcription of 69 years?  The date of death matches, so either I'm transcribing it wrong or they have other records or something.  I'm having trouble finding a reference that has him being a soldier during the Revolutionary War.  Biographies of his subsequent generations say he was a blacksmith during the Revolutionary War.  So, does this warrant a flag?  Is being of service and fighting the same thing?  I certainly do not want to begrudge Adam Keith a flag...I'm just asking...

Here is his grave with it's new Revolutionary War marker and flag!

We'll add Adam Keith to our list of soldiers in the Union Cemetery.  However, he is now quite the mystery man for us, so if you know more about him or his family, please post or contact me!  His grave has been in the Union Cemetery for almost 40 years, so who just realized he needed a marker and flag?

We had a nice reunion in the cemetery as we all walked out to visit the grave of Adam Keith.  Here are three generations of Riley men who have maintained the cemetery and helped to place flags.

After visiting the Union Cemetery, we also made the trek up the hill to the Frank Cemetery, where I took photos of all the inscribed stones.  You can visit the Frank Cemetery page and click on the links to see the photos.

From our family to yours, Happy Memorial Day!  Adam Keith, we will continue to honor your blacksmithing service during the Revolutionary War.