Whitehead / Keevil

[Richard R]

From the Telegraph of 16 December 2011:
Mr A.M. Whitehead and Miss K.E.A. Keevil
The engagement is announced between Andrew, son of Pamela Whitehead,
of Swindon, Wiltshire, and the late Martin Thompson, and Katharine,
daughter of Richard and Caroline Keevil, of Clevancy, Wiltshire.

Katharine Elizabeth Adele (b 1982) is the dau of Richard James KEEVIL
of Clevancy, Calne, Wilts and Caroline Elizabeth (b 1950) dau of Sir
Horace Algernon Fraser RUMBOLD KCMG CIE (1906-93), scion of the Bts of
that name, and Margaret Adel (1916-2001) dau of Arthur Joseph HUGHES
OBE of Pages, Chigwell Row, Essex.

(Note: there is a Keevil gentry family but I've been unable to find a
connection to it for Miss Keevil.)

[G. Willis]

This is a duplicate of my post here: https://groups.google.com/forum/#!searchin/peerage-news/Keevil%7Csort:date/peerage-news/EY4tUZTf8Ds/UnlYuo-hAgAJ

just in case someone doesn't happen across that but wonders about a link with the gentry Keevils and those mentioned here.

(Forgive the longwindedness of this post, but it was difficult to try and corral everything in; this is mainly should anyone refer to this thread in future with an interest in the Keevil family)

In the course of looking at the gentry Keevil family, I've managed to establish a link with the Keevils treated in this post. Tracing back from Richard James Keevil (as above) as follows:

Richard James Keevil s. of James Arthur Keevil (1897-1974), of Chippenham, Wilts., miller and his wife (m. 1935) Kathleen W., dau. of - Wright.

James Arthur Keevil s. of Walter Edward Keevil (1860-1930), of Berhills Farm, nr Calne, Wilts. and his wife (m. 1887) Ezit Elizabeth, dau. of - Charlton.

Walter Edward Keevil s. of John Richard Gibbs Keevil (1825-1905) of Berhills Farm, and his first wife (m. 1856) Elizabeth, dau. of Edward Francis.

 

The link to the gentry Keevil family is that in the gentry family's pedigree is shown Peter Keevil (1843-1926), of Overcourt, Hampstead, who married 1866, Stella Frowd

(1844-1910), youngest dau. of John Richard Gibbs Keevil, of Farleigh, Wilts. Not stated in the pedigree is the relationship- if any- between John Richard Gibbs Keevil

and the Keevil family to whom the pedigree belongs, but some research has led me to believe that he is indeed a cousin of his wife, as follows.

John Richard Gibbs Keevil was born at North Bradley, Wilts., son of John Richard Keevil and (m. 1821) Ann Frances (1800-), dau. of George and Anne Frowd, of North

Bradley, Wilts. Unfortunately, I couldn't find a birth record for John Richard Keevil; there are however very strong hints of a relationship. The 1856 marriage of John

Richard Gibbs Keevil and Elizabeth Francis is recorded alongside that of Enock (sic; his name elsewhere is, unsurprisingly, given as 'Enoch') Keevil and Martha

Francis. The record shows her father to be Edward Francis; given this fact, one can tentatively conclude Elizabeth and Martha to be sisters- the census corroborates this, with both Keevil wives born at North Bradley, and shown in the same household in the 1851 census as daughters of Edward Francis, farmer. Enoch Keevil's birth record shows him to be son of Peter Keevil, of Overcourt, North Bradley (from which his son evidently took the name of his house at Hampstead) and Karenhappuck Haines, who both appear in the gentry Keevil pedigree- the parents also of the Peter Keevil (1843-1926) mentioned above who married Stella Frowd Keevil. Enoch is not mentioned in the pedigree, with only Peter and his younger brother John Joyce Keevil (1845-1928) featured, the latter presumably because of some fairly distinguished descendants.

The Peter Keevil who married Karenhappuck Haines is shown to be son (no others are described; only 'with other issue' is given) of Job Keevil (1774-1866), of

Cutteridge House, North Bradley, and his second wife, Jane Aylmer. Job Keevil's first wife was Margaret Gibbs (-1803), of Westbury, Wilts. (no details, however, are

provided of her father). Neither marriage is given a date in the pedigree, but records show he married Margaret Gibbs (again no father's name provided) in 1797.

Given John Richard Keevil's wife Ann Frances Frowd was born in 1800 according to her baptismal record, his own birth could not unreasonably be estimated to have taken place between 1797 and 1803, making him possibly son of Job Keevil and Margaret Gibbs. Alternatively, Job Keevil's brother Peter (1768-) - both were sons of Richard Keevil (1737-), of Beckington, by his wife (m. 1760) Elizabeth Kemp- married in 1801 an Anna (records give 'Anne' or 'Ann') Gibbs (possibly sister of Margaret; again no details are given, and the marriage record provides no further information).

EDIT: The 1851 census has John R. Keevil and wife Ann F. Keevil, resident at Westbury, Wilts., he a farmer of 180 acres employing five labourers; although it gives her

birth year as 1806- almost matching her marriage record (which appears in the Hampshire Parish registry, stating the marriage took place in 1820, and in England Marriages 1538-1973 on Family Search, providing only their names and the date of marriage, 20 Sep. 1821) gives 1805; 'given the marriage took place in 1821, she would have been only 15, but I'm not sure of how things would have worked back then, so perhaps it's not impossible for 1806 to be correct? All other census records, plus her death registration, give 1806/7)- his birth year is stated to be 1804.

The options, then, for the relationship of John Richard Keevil to the individuals shown in the pedigree, given the above and that Peter Keevil who m. Anna Gibbs and

Job Keevil who m. Margaret Gibbs both 'had issue', of whom no details are provided:

1)

Richard Keevil 1737- of Beckington

            Peter Keevil 1768- m. 1801, Anna Gibbs

                        [John Richard Keevil c. 1804 m. Ann Frances (1800/6-), dau. of George Frowd]

                                    [John Richard Gibbs Keevil 1825-1905]

            Job Keevil 1774- m. 1797, Margaret Gibbs (d. 1803)

                        [issue]

            m. 2nd, Jane Aylmer

                        Peter Keevil m. Karenhappuck Haines

                                    Enoch Keevil 1830- m. 1856, Martha, dau. of Edward Francis

 

2)

Richard Keevil 1737- of Beckington

            Peter Keevil 1768- m. 1801, Anna Gibbs

                        [issue]

            Job Keevil 1774- m. 1797, Margaret Gibbs (d. 1803)

                        [John Richard Keevil c. 1804 m. Ann Frances (1800/6-), dau. of George Frowd]

                                    [John Richard Gibbs Keevil 1825-1905]

            m. 2nd, Jane Aylmer

                        Peter Keevil m. Karenhappuck Haines

                                    Enoch Keevil 1830- m. 1856, Martha, dau. of Edward Francis

A reasonable question that arises is: would marriages between the two Francis sisters be more likely to occur with two first cousins of the Keevil family than with two second cousins? Of course, given how kinship networks appeared to be far more wide-ranging than they tend to be today, Enoch and J. R. G. Keevil might have been raised just as closely as second cousins as they would as first cousins, but is it not (perhaps considerably?) more likely that the association between the two was the closer of the two options?