C. V. Hickman

This week in Amy Johnson Crow’s 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks, the prompt is Context.

A few weeks ago I wrote about Jack Keetley, a “Legend”, who rode for the Pony Express in Missouri and had a town named after him in Utah. In this post I will write about some of the family members that I have found so far. I hope to be able to follow them down through the years at some point soon to see if they come up as DNA matches.

In Jack’s obituary in 1912, it mentions he has a sister, Mrs. Elizabeth Richards who was living in St. Joseph, Missouri. So I started there and looked for a 1910 census. I found a few Elizabeth Richards but nothing conclusive.

I searched for a death certificate next at Missouri Digital Heritage, part of the Missouri Secretary of State website. There were 16 results but only one mentioned Keetley in the name.

The death certificates states that Elizabeth was born in January 1837 in England, was a retired nurse, and was divorced at the time of her death in 1913 in St Joseph, Buchanan County, Missouri.

Her parents are listed as John Keetley and Louisa Parrott, both born in England. (Jack’s death certificate also mentioned John as his father, with the mother’s name unknown).

Armed with this knowledge, and Jack’s obituary that listed his mother as dying in about 1902, I looked for a 1900 census for Louisa. I found her listed with 2 daughters in Washington Township, St. Joseph, Buchanan County, Missouri.

Louise was 90 years old, born in England in September 1809 and immigrated in 1850. She was widowed, a nurse, and a mother to 14 children, only 5 of whom were still living by 1900. She also owned her own home. Maybe there would be property records to look for!

In the household with Louise was Helen Keetley, a daughter. Helen was born in January 1853 in New York. She was 47 years old and single. Helen was not listed as a surviving sister to Jack when he died, so she must have passed before 1912.

I went back to the Missouri death certificates, and found one for Helen. This record states that she was 65 years old and born in 1844 in England. (Obviously something is wrong with the date and location of birth when comparing it the census). She passed away in March 1910, in Washington Township, Buchanan County, Missouri. Her parents names are listed as John Keetley and Louisa Parrott, both of England, and the informant was Elizabeth Richards.

The third person listed in the 1900 census was Emma Richards. She is a daughter of Louise, aged 63 and widowed, having been married 20 years. Her birth is listed as January 1837 in England, which is the same date as Elizabeth. She is also listed as a Richards. Is this Elizabeth? It also says that she is a mother to 4 children, 1 still living.

I searched the Missouri death certificates and couldn’t find an Emma Richards.

In 1880, Elizabeth was living with H. K. White, presumably this is the same man as listed as the Informant on her death certificate, and the Executor of her will. He is living with his mother, S. K. White, and he is working as an Attorney at Law. Elizabeth is 43 years old, working as a Domestic/Servant and is divorced.

I looked for a will for Louisa, Helen and Elizabeth, unfortunately Elizabeth’s was the only one I found.

Elizabeth wrote her will on 9 May 1905 and added a codicil on 10 May 1905 and listed several people by name and relationship.

1. daughter, Julia Richards
2. son, John Richards
3. sister, Louisa Riley
4. sister, Hettie/Harriett Keetly
5. niece, Cappie Cyle
6. daughter, Alice Fisher
7. executor, Henry K. White
8. witness, Emily B. White
9. witness, Sarah K. White
10. children of Henry K. White:
    1. Hilda K. White
    2. Anna White
    3. Sarah White
    4. Mildred White
    5. Marion White
    6. Jean White
11. witness, C. V. Hickman
12. witness, Sidney S. Wilson (died in the latter part of 1911)

Elizabeth then added a second codicil on 23 September 1910, due to the death of her sister, Hettie/Harriett. She also revoked the inheritance to her niece Cappie Cyle and adjusted the inheritance to her daughters Julie Richards and Alice Fisher. Witnesses to this codicil were C. V. Hickman and Lloyd E. Thompson.

Hopefully this outline of the family so far shows how it all fits together. Most of the information corroborates other sources, with only a few discrepancies that will possibly be answered with more research. For now, without knowing if Jack’s family are actually related, it’s hard to invest more time. Maybe one day someone will read this post and have the answers I need, or even if I need future blog post ideas I can revisit this.

If you are related to any of the Keetley, Parrott, Richards, Riley, Fisher or Cyle names in these posts, please send a message. I’d love to hear from you. Thank you!