David Dean O'Keefe

Authors

Benjamin Linton

Files

Description

David Dean O'Keefe was born in Middletown, Ireland, where little is known of his younger years. He came to the United States in the 1860. A seaman by trade, he sailed between Liverpool and Savannah on the ship William Gregory In 1869 David was married to Catherine Masters, a native of St. Augustine, Florida, whose family was living in Savannah. After his marriage, O'Keefe began working on small vessels around the city. In 1871, in fear of killing a man, O'Keefe left Savannah on the Belvedere which was heading for Chicago. The ship was wrecked in a typhoon around the Caroline Is­lands. Fortunately, O'Keefe, the lone survivor, washed ashore on the island of Yap, a small island in the Caroline chain. It was on this tiny island that "King O'Keefe", as he is popularly referred to created his island kingdom and the acclaimed wealth that became a point of fantasy to Savannahians and a controversy to his family in•1901 after his mysterious disappearance.

Publication Date

3-1-1983

Recommended Citation

Linton, Benjamin, "David Dean O'Keefe" (1983). Savannah Biographies. 169.
https://digitalcommons.georgiasouthern.edu/sav-bios-lane/169