Brimfield
Erasmus Darwins of Massachusetts

Brimfield: Erasmus Darwin Keyes

06/15/2009 15:45
Erasmus Darwin Keyes was born in Brimfield on 5-29-1810. His parents were the renowned surgeon, Dr. Justus Keyes (1780-1835), and Betsey Corey (d. 1826). Erasmus was the second of three children, and the first son. He grew up in Brimfield, and at age 15 moved to Maine to stay with an uncle. At 18, Erasmus wrote a letter to the Secretary of War, and received an appointment to West Point. He served in the Indian pacification in the western states, and later in the Civil War.

Erasmus retired from the Army a Brigadier General, and bought land in the Napa Valley, where he planted a forty-thousand vine winery. (1) Erasmus was vice president of the California vine culture society, 1868-72. He died in Nice, France, in 1895, at the age of 85. (2) Keyes wrote extensively about his experiences, including Fifty Years’ Observation of Men and Events (New York: Charles Scribner’s Sons, 1884).

1. Charles M. Hyde, Historical Celebration of the Town of Brimfield, Hampden County, Mass. (Sprinfield: Clark W. Bryan Company, 1879), p. 425ff.
2. Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Erasmus_D._Keyes

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