Family:Unknown Keys and Unknown (1)

About Roger and John Keys

The relationship between Roger Keys and John Keys has been explored by several researchers. Some researchers have stated that John Keys was a son of Roger Keys, but based upon records in Augusta County, John Keys was clearly born before 1733, as he (along with Roger) witnessed the will of Benjamin Borden, Jr. in 1753. Those researchers have surmised that John Keys was perhaps a much older son of Roger Keys, perhaps from a previous marriage (since it would be problematic if he was a son of Roger's wife Sarah Adair, as it would create a large gap between her birth (est. 1729-1732) and the of her sister Anne Adair (est. 1725-1729), who became the second wife of John Wilson, who died in 1754. If John Keys was an older son of Roger Keys, he would have been about 15-17 years older than Roger's next-born child (one of two daughters), born around 1750-1753. For these reasons, it seems unlikely to this researcher (in the absence of any records proving a father-son relationship) for Roger Keys to be the father of John Keys.

A more plausible relationship seems to point to Roger and John Keys as probable siblings. They:

1) both arrived in Augusta County prior to both witnessing a deed from Benjamin Borden, Jr. to Alexander Craighead "late of Lancaster County, Pennsylvania" on 8 March 1753.

2) both witnessed the will of Benjamin Borden, Jr., written 30 March 1753

3) both aquired land in Augusta County (Roger from John Paul in the Borden Tract in 1754, and John from Nathaniel Evans nearby just outside of the Borden Tract boundary in 1761).

John Keys sold his land in Augusta County to Walter Smiley in November 1772 and migrated to nearby Washington County and settled on land on "Laurel Fork", a tributary of the Holstein River also in 1772, which he later acquired two tracts in 1781 (400 acres on the Laurel Fork, branch of the south fork of Holstein River) and 1782 (274 acres in a "Commissioners Certificate" on "the Laurel Fork of Holstein River...Beginning at the foot of the South Mountain at the head of a spring hollow...over Squarrel Knob...on the bank of the Laurel Fork...before Ben McCords house on the bank of the Laurel fork...on Archibald McSpaddens line...on the head of a spring" on May 23, 1782), per Washington County, Virginia records.

In the will of William Adair, Roger Keys' father-in-law, he clearly named his "Daughter, Sarah Keys; to Roger Keys; to John Keys; to Saml. Keys; to Benj. Keys; to Sarah Keys; to Margaret Keys", John, Samuel, Benjamin, Sarah and Margaret clearly being his grandchildren and children of Roger Keys and his daughter Sarah. So we know that Roger definitely had a son named John, but what became of him?

Perhaps the most compelling evidence that John Keys was not Roger Keys son is the existence of another John Keys that is perhaps likely Roger Keys' son. This other John Keys (born est. 1750-56) married a wife "Jeanette" according to some sources. Coincidentally, a Jeanette "Jane" Lowry, daughter of John Lowry and Elizabeth Moore, married a "Mr. Lowry" according to Lowry family lore. Some Lowry family members seem to have migrated with the family of John Keys to Washington County (also with other Augusta families), including Jeanette Lowry's brothers John Lowry (who married Dorcas Montgomery), David and James Lowry.

Certainly additional records need to be explored before this relationship is proven, but at the very least, the possibility of Roger and John Keys being father and son appears to be somewhat remote from this vantagepoint. Additional sources either in support or to the contrary would be welcome.