The Irish Origins of the Keating Family
Since we began this journey in 2020, I’ve stated that we believe the Keatings to have come from “Tipperary,” as it is one of the few locations specifically mentioned on Keating records. Even so, the definite origins of the Keating family largely remained a mystery. It certainly appears that the Keatings may have been in…
Last Will and Testament of Edward M. Keating, father of John and Michael
Edward M. Keating is the father of Michael and John Keating. Edward brought his children to the United States from Tipperary, Ireland, with his wife Honora in 1850. They settled in St. Louis, and then Honora passed away in 1862. Edward took his children to Cincinnati after his wife passed away. Their oldest daughter Mary…
Recent Restoration Work on the Keating Dollhouse
Restoration work on the Keating Dollhouse began in 2020. Mark Smith of Gravestone Transformations has been hard at work the past three years making the incremental changes that are necessary to keep the Keating Dollhouse standing for another 150 years. The first step was to clean the exterior of the dollhouse with D2 solution and…
A Work in Progress on the Keating Dollhouse ~ 2022
Our cemetery memorial expert Mark Smith of Gravestone Transformations has been hard at work restoring the little house. In early 2021 he discovered that the “spalling” occurring on the inside walls of the house was increasing – likely due to the moisture held on the interior of the house, particularly when softer object are placed…
Ethel Keating Gerbus ~ the “Little House”
Contributed by Patrick Gerbus, descendant of John Keating and grandson of Ethel Keathing Gerbus Ethel Keating Gerbus is John Keating’s granddaughter through his son Nicholas E. Keating, Sr. She was born in 1909 in Cincinnati, Ohio, and passed away in 2011 in Los Angeles, California. She typed this history of what she called the “Little…
The poem on the Keating Dollhouse
Contributed by: Patrick Gerbus, descendant of John Keating The poem inscribed on the side of the Keating Dollhouse is as heartwrenching as the monument itself. It appears to be the shortened version of an elegy for infants published around same time. A page of elegies that might be used for a variety of people, including…
Death records for the children buried at the Keating Dollhouse
There are three children commemorated on the Keating Dollhouse itself, but there are eight children buried there. Many people have asked about the cause of death of the children. A recent search of the University of Cincinnati Library’s Cincinnati birth and death records collection, 1865-1912, yielded some useful information. The records are accessible here.…
The Keating Dollhouse in the 1970’s/1980’s
Contributor: Patrick Gerbus, descendant of John Keating My grandmother was John Keating’s granddaughter and took special interest in what she called the “Little House”. She notes that it originally had real windows, tiny furniture, and front steps that were all gone by 40-50 years ago. Her pictures from the 1970s or 80s also showed a…
A Study of the Keating Dollhouse’s Materials
One of the most notable characteristics of the Keating Dollhouse is its warm color. Amidst a sea of mid to late-1800’s monuments made primarily out of the cool-toned white Vermont marble, the Dollhouse’s warm sandstone stands out. Due to the limitations on transportability of stone in the early 1800’s, monuments were most often made…
The Little House and Its Forgotten Children
People who take interest in the “Little House” have, no doubt, become familiar with the three names on it – Mary Agnes, Mary Julia, and Eddie. In addition to the inscriptions on the dollhouse, there are five headstones surrounding the dollhouse which mark the graves of Michael Keating, his wife Lizzie (it says “Mother”), Michael’s…
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Keating Dollhouse 