| Agnes (Unknown) Keeney migrated to New England during the Puritan Great Migration (1621-1640). Join: Puritan Great Migration Project Discuss: pgm |
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This is the profile for Agnes, the wife of the immigrant William Keene/Keeney of Marblehead, Gloucester and New London.
The fact that William Keene/Keeney was married to a woman named Agnes is established by the records of the First Church of Boston which refer to "Agnes Keayne the wife of one Willyam Keayne" and "Our Sister Agnes Keeny"[1] and apparently by 1662 list or deposition referenced in History of New London which seems to have given her name as Annis.[2]
Agnes was probably born sometime about 1599. Her date of birth is estimated based on a statement in Caulkins' History of New London which states that she was 63 in 1662.[2] That statement appears to have been based on information in a 1662 list of inhabitants of New London or perhaps a 1662 deposition. No copy of such a list or deposition appears to have been found by modern genealogists.
As discussed in the profile for her husband William Keene/Keeney, two English records have been found that have been identified as possibly relating to William and his wife Agnes -- a record of the marriage on November 30, 1627 of William Kynney and Agnes (or Mary) Ducket in Ashby Parva, Leicestershire[3] and the record of the baptism on August 15, 1627 of Susanna, daughter of William Keene and Agnis his wife, in Ilfracombe, Devonshire[4][5] -- and, of the two, it appears much more likely that the latter relates to William Keene/Keeney and his wife Agnes than the former.
Agnes' place of birth is uncertain. However, based on the likelihood that the record of the baptism on August 15, 1627 of Susanna, daughter of William Keene and Agnis his wife, in Ilfracombe, Devonshire relates to William Keene/Keeney and his wife Agnes, it is probable that Agnes was born in or near Ilfracombe, Devonshire.
Agnes' parentage and maiden name are unknown. Since, as discussed above, it is very unlikely that the record of the marriage on November 30, 1627 of William Kynney and Agnes (or Mary) Ducket in Ashby Parva, Leicestershire relates to William Keene/Keeney and his wife Agnes, it is very unlikely that her maiden name was Ducket. No evidence has been found with respect to the maiden name or parentage of the Agnes whose daughter Susanna was baptized in Ilfracombe, Devonshire in 1627.
Based on William's estimated date of birth (1601) and the estimated date of birth of William's oldest known child, Susannah (1628), William probably married Susannah's mother about 1625-7. It is very probable that Agnes was the mother of William's children Mary and John, but it is less certain that she was the mother of his eldest child Susannah, who was born about 10 years before the other two children. As a result, there is some uncertainty as to whether William's marriage about 1625-7 was with Agnes. If the 1627 Ilfracombe, Devonshire baptismal record relates to William Keene/Keeney and his wife Agnes, that removes any doubt that Agnes was the mother of Susannah as well as Mary and John and suggests that they were probably married about 1625-7 in or near Ilfracombe, Devonshire.
As discussed in the profile of her husband, William Keene/Keeney, William (and presumably his wife Agnes) probably emigrated from England to New England in 1638 and settled, first, in Marblehead before moving to Gloucester sometime between 1645 and 1648.
William Keene/Keeney had the following children. As discussed above, Agnes was very probably the mother of Mary and John and, if the 1627 Ilfracombe, Devonshire baptismal record relates to William Keene/Keeney and his wife Agnes, that removes all doubt that she was also the mother of Susannah.
As discussed in the profile of her husband, William Keene/Keeney, in her profile of Samuel Beeby in History of New London, Caulkins indicates that William and Agnes also had a daughter named Agnes, but that may well have been an error and no evidence has been found that William had a daughter named Agnes or that Samuel Beeby was married to a woman named Agnes.
While living in Essex County, William's wife Agnes, but apparently not William himself, joined the First Church of Boston. The Church's records show that "Agnes Keayne the wife of one Willyam Keayne" was admitted on the 31st day of the 3d Moneth (May) 1646.[15] There is no record that suggests that William himself ever became a member of that church. The First Church of Boston's records also contain an entry for the baptisms on the 31st day of the 3d Moneth (May) 1646 of "Mary Keayne the Daughter of our Sister Agnes the wife of Willyam Keayne about 7 years and an half old and John Keayne hir Sohnne being about 3 years and 10 Monethes old."[16] (Note: the spelling of their surname as "Keayne" is probably attributable to the fact Capt. Robert Keayne and his son Benjamin Keayne were also members of the Church[17] and therefore the clerk who made the entries used that spelling since it was familiar to him, even though the names were probably pronounced slightly differently.) The removal of the family from the Boston area to New London is reflected by a First Church of Boston record stating that "Our Sister Agnes Keeny upon her owne desire and with the consent of the Church granted her Letter of dismission unto the Church at Pequot the 10th day of the 5th month [July] 1653."[18]
As discussed in the profile of her husband, William Keene/Keeney, William (and presumably Agnes) moved from Gloucester to New London in 1650 or 1651 and continued living there until there deaths.
An October 5, 1670 list of the members of the New London Church includes Goodwife Keeny, but as in the case of the First Church of Boston, it appears that her husband William did not become a member.[19]
No evidence establishing Agnes' date of death has been found. Since the last known record for her is the October 5, 1670 list of the members of the New London Church, she died sometime after that date, most likely in New London.
[2] [4] [5] [14] [13] [10] [9] [8] [6] [7] [11] [12] [3] [16] [18] [15] [17] [19]
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[Do you know Agnes's family name?] | K > Keeney > Agnes (Unknown) Keeney
Categories: Puritan Great Migration
edited by Chase Ashley
Agnes Duckett was almost certainly not the Agnes who married William Keeney (b. ca. 1601 of the Great Migration). Perry Streeter indicated today that William Keeney and wife Agnes more likely came from Devonshire and their daughter Susannah was the one baptized at Ilfracombe, Devonshire, in 1627. Furthermore, I just discovered that William Kynney (who married Agnes Duckett) was probably the Willm Kynny who had a son Willm baptized in 1628 at Lutterworth, Leicestershire, about 3 miles away from where he married Agnes Duckett. And then I found a burial record for William Kinney at Lutterworth on 24 February 1668. His wife Agnes was probably the Anne Kinney buried in 1658 (although there is also an Ann Kinny buried there in 1670). Therefore, William Kinney (who married Agnes Duckett) probably has absolutely nothing to do with the immigrant William Keeney. So should we change the Agnes Duckett profile to Agnes Unknown? I wasn't able to find a marriage record for William Keene (and Agnes) of Devonshire who are almost certainly the immigrants.
Name: Suzanne Keene Gender: Female Baptism Date: 15 Aug 1627 Baptism Place: Ilfracombe,Devon,England Father: William Keene Mother: Agnes FHL Film Number: 916849
Source Information Ancestry.com. England, Select Births and Christenings, 1538-1975 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2014. Original data: England, Births and Christenings, 1538-1975. Salt Lake City, Utah: FamilySearch, 2013.
I would have no objection to changing it to just Agnes. It was very rare for middle names to be given at that time in England, so I doubt that she had one. But I would still mention in the biography that the marriage shows the name Mary crossed out and Agnes written above it.