Questions and discrepancies relating to the Keever research
In looking at the will of Peter Keever(c. 1775-1849), given as a note in his entry, a
question arises. It was customary to list children in the order they were born. In
Peter's will, James is listed first, then Elias. That would seem to indicate that Elias
was born later than James. In the 1830 census James was married and listed separately,
while Peter had a male between the ages of 20 and 30 in his household. That seems to
indicate that Elias was probably born after 1800, although his headstone gives a birth
date of 1799.
Charlotte is not mentioned in her father's will. She died in 1846, before Peter.
However, she was married in Fountain County, Indiana in 1835, which would seem to place
her between Sally and Abbey.
Maybe we're attaching too much importance to the order they're listed in the will, but it
would be unusual if that was not their birth order. If that is the case, then
Susannah should be between Sally and Abbey.
We have been given a birth date of abt. 1824 for George. That would make him 15 years old when he
married for the first time. That's not impossible, but seems improbable. For now, I have
left out his birth date until we can get some documentation, if we can.
We find a George Keever on page 104 of the 1850 census for Jefferson Twp., Louisa County, Iowa.
Actually, the index lists two George Keevers on page 104. Sure enough, there are two of
them, both in the household of Chauncey Lamphear. One of them is at the bottom of a page
and very difficult to read, the other is on the next page, a little easier to read. We
had always assumed that the census taker had decided that it was too difficult to read the
first one and had decided to add George again at the bottom. (Yes, we realize the census
taker didn't know it would be microfilmed someday). That still seems the most logical
explanation, but the unclear copy we saw appears to have slightly different information on
the two lines. The first one appears to be 25 years old, a farmer, and born possibly in
Illinois (Chauncey Lamphear was born in Illinois and this George appears to have ditto
marks for the birthplace). The second entry appears to show an age of 21 and a birthplace
of Indiana (Ia).
In either case, we don't believe this is the same George Keever who died in Hangtown,
California in 1850. The census was taken September 7, 1850 and George reportedly died in
California in September. Also, George went to California with another brother (Peter,
Jr.) and his sister Margaret. We can't find them in the 1850 census for Louisa County
either. If they were already gone, as it would appear, then Peter and Christina's son
George must have been gone also.
We also show a couple of marriages for George Keever. One in 1839 to Pamela Wainright and
one in 1844 to Adeline Massey. There is no wife shown for the George (or Georges) living
with Chauncey Lamphear. If the George who married Pamela Wainright in 1839 is the same
one who was living with the Lamphears in 1850 he would have been 14 when he married her.
That seems unlikely.
It had been speculated that James Keever and Mary Corwin had a son named George.
In looking at the census information for James and Mary we can account for only
three children. We can't find evidence of a son named George in that family.
In the 1820 census the Peter Keever family shows 1 male under 10, 1 male 16-18 and two
males 18-26. We show four sons for Peter and Christina, that matches the total count from
the census. The youngest son would have a birth date between 1810 and 1820. The male
16-18 would have a birth date between 1802 & 1804, the two oldest males would have birth
dates between 1794 & 1802.
The 1830 census for the Peter Keever family shows 1 male 5-10, 1 male 10-15 and 1 male
20-30. One son, James was living on his own by this time. The male 5-10 would
have a birth date between 1820 & 1825, the male 10-15 would have a birth date between
1815 & 1820 and the male 20-30 would have a birth date between 1800 & 1810.
The two males listed in 1820 between 18 and 26 would be James and Elias, born between 1794
and 1802.
The male listed in 1820 between 16 and 18 was, perhaps, George, born between 1802 and
1804.
The male listed in 1820 under 10 was, perhaps, young Peter, born between 1810 and 1820.
The male listed in 1830 between 20 and 30 would be Elias, born between 1800 & 1810.
The male listed in 1830 between 10 and 15 would be, perhaps, George, born between 1815 &
1820.
The male listed in 1830 between 5 and 10 would be, perhaps, young Peter, born between
1820 and 1825.
The 1830 census for James Keever lists 1 male 20-30, which would indicate that his
birth date was between 1800 & 1810.
The two censuses for Peter's family don't agree. If, in 1820, there were two males born
between 1794 and 1802 then in 1830 there should be one 20-30 or 30-40. James is gone,
then Elias must be the one 20-30, making his birth date between 1800 and 1810. No
problem there between the two censuses. If, however, there was one male in 1820 who was
born between 1802 and 1804 then the 1830 census should show that male as being between 20
and 30, but there is only one in that age bracket, presumably Elias. If there was one
male in 1820 born between 1810 and 1820 then he should show up in the 10-15 or 15-20
bracket. There is one male in the 10-15 bracket for 1830. The male listed as being
between 16 and 18 in 1820 is not accounted for in 1830. If the 1830 census is correct
then 1820 should have 1 male under 10 to account for the 10-15 male in 1830. The male
between 5 and 10 would not show up in 1820, or might show up in the under 5 category if he
was born in 1820 - could have been counted as 5-10 in 1830.
The females look okay.
The 1880 census for Nathan Shaw has his mother, Abbey, living with him. Her parents were
Peter Keever and Christina Rogers. We have never been able to pin down where they were
born. Abbey's entry is blank for her parents' birthplace. The 1880 census for Samuel
Phillips, whose wife was Susannah Keever, another daughter of Peter and Christina, lists
"Penn." as the birthplace of her parents.
We have Martin H. Keever born in 1727 in Maryland, and Michael Keever born in 1730 in
Frederick County, Maryland. Michael died in Bedford County, Pennsylvania. Talma Klaassen
has information that indicated that both Martin and Michael lived in Bedford County at one
time (see Miscellaneous unclassified data on this web
site). Frederick County, Maryland and Bedford County, Pennsylvania are less
than 100 miles apart. Some of us believe that Peter may have been the son of one of these
men and possibly the nephew of the other.
We have Phlem Keever married to Estella Luella Nott in 1893, and show four children.
The Louisa County cemetery book shows her birth date as 27 Jul 1878. It lists her as the
wife of Phlem Keever. Delpha Blint, in her recent book, shows the same
information and provides an obituary for Phlem with the same information.
Then we ran across a 1910 census for Phlem Keever, wife Stella L. In addition to the four
children we have as being the children of Phlem and Estella, there was a child, Floyd
Ashby, listed as being 1 year old, and was listed as a stepson of Phlem.
The census showed that this was Phlem's second marriage and Stella's third, and that Phlem
and Stella had been married less than a year. It also showed Stella as being the mother
of 6 children, 5 of whom were still living. If the census is correct, and the obituary is
correct, then Phlem and Estella must have married in 1893, divorced, then married again in
1910.
Then I ran across other information - a Clarence Ashby, who died in 1909, married to a
Stella Nott. Could this Stella be the same one we have married to Phlem. Floyd would
then be the son of Clarence and Stella, stepson of Phlem.
If Phlem and Stella were only married one time, that being in 1910 as stated in the
census, then who was Phlem's first wife and the mother of his children?
Information provided by Jerry Brown in August, 2000, which he received from Georgia Ann
Spiker Varner:
Estella Nott's obituary listed her as mother of 6 children (James, Claire, William, Mary
Alice and another William who died in infancy, plus Floyd Ashby). It listed her married
name as Estella Hammer but Georgia Ann said that was a mistake as she knew his name was
Hammel.
It appears that Estella Nott and Phlem Keever were married in 1893, then divorced. She
married Clarence Ashby, who died in 1909. Estella apparently married Phlem a second time
in 1910. They were subsequently divorced in 1919 and she then married Eugene Hammel.