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Welcome:- For many years we have been interested in our family history. One of our family lines
can be traced back to Edward Joseph KEITH Esquire, noted solicitor in Sydney, Australia who died unexpectedly in May
1837. There are today, many people in Australia who can trace their roots back to Edward, not to his wife Anne McPherson, but
to his young mistress Louisa HANKS. Going back beyond Edward has taken some people to his father, the Rev. Dr.
Daniel KEITH, late of Hammersmith in London. Going beyond Daniel has met with a solid brick wall.
We are not alone in meeting this wall: many other family historians have arrived at the same place. Some have stopped
there while others have speculated: being a "KEITH" he must be from the Keith Clan of Scotland and so have attached
themselves to the line of Marischal KEITH, going as far as to visit the home of the KEITH clan in Scotland and proudly
wearing the Keith tartan (one version of it is shown here).
The Keith Clan motto is Veritas vincit ("Truth conquers") and whether we are descended from the
KEITH Clan or not that is what we have set out to achieve here - look for the solid evidence of the family of
Daniel KEITH and its possible origins.
Perhaps surprisingly, we do not find any reliable evidence to connect Daniel KEITH to the Clan Keith, but nor can
we conclusively dismiss this possibility. We consider possible humble origins as the son of John McKIECH and Janet
McLAREN, an artisan worker living at the time of Daniel's birth and baptism at Monzie, near Crieff in Scotland and
probably working on the land. We also consider greater origins as a son of John Murray KEITH and Catherine of Russia.
We do know for certain Daniel KEITH had ten children: 16 grand-children; 43 great-grand-children and 60
great-great-grandchildren. His descendents are spread across the world, but are now concentrated in Australia and
Canada. None are known in Scotland.
This website is a placeholder while we complete our research. If you are interested in the family of:
- Daniel KEITH of Hammersmith, London
- Edward Joseph KEITH of Sydney
- Louisa Hanks of Sydney
- Anne McPHERSON & Jane McPHERSON of Quebec
- The GODDEN family of Canada
then please contact us.
Paul Froggatt, January 2024
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