Address: 725 Queens Avenue
Built: c. 1910
1912 householder: Richard Keeler, grocerThis was the home of Elizabeth (née Mallett) Keeler, a widow, and her two adult sons, Richard and Henry (Harry) Keeler in 1912. The late Richard Keeler, senior, was a teamster and goods delivery man. He died in 1907, at the age of 59 years, and is buried in Ross Bay Cemetery.
In the early 1900s, the Keeler boys worked as “helpers” at the Thorpe & Co. soda water works on David Street, near the Gorge Road. By 1911 they had established their own firm, Keeler Brothers, and opened a grocery store at 1002 Hillside Avenue, on the north-east corner of Quadra Street. Each of the brothers earned nearly $900 from the business, according to the 1911 census. They sold the business a few years later and in 1917 were working for the long-established grocery firm of Dixi H. Ross & Company on Fort Street.
Richard Keeler married Lylia (aka Lyla) Myrtle Graham in 1913. His Manitoba-born bride was the daughter of a Victoria building contractor, Robert Henry Graham.
Richard and Lyla Keeler lived here until about 1915. A few years later, brother Harry Keeler moved to Esquimalt and matriarch Elizabeth Keeler moved to Oak Bay. The house at 725 Queens Avenue then became the home of William Beeston, a clerk in the main branch of the Post Office on Government Street, who lived here until the early 1920s.
This building is now encased in stucco and all of the its original ornamental elements are gone. However, the Edwardian style of the building can still be seen in the high front gable and the inset front porch.