Keedwell

One of my great grandmothers was a KEEDWELL. I have traced her line back to Anthony KEEDWELL who married Rachel VOWLES in Barrow Gurney in 1720. Anything I can help with?

Hi, Many thanks for your post, yes, I think that  Anthony Keedwell was my GGG grandfather who married Rachel Vowles. It has taken a time to sort the family out, but I think I may have cracked it now. Please contact me so that we can compare some finding to see if  it matches.

Regards

I have sent a response to your personal email address. I hope you have received it? If not, flag it up here and I'll try again.

Dave Erasmus

I too have Keedwell ancestors who I have traced back to Thomas Keedwell bapt 28 Oct 1792 in Blagdon.  He was the son of Stephen Keedwell and Mary Wookey who married in Hinton Blewitt on 30 Oct 1788.  I believe this Stephen Keedwell may have been baptised on 5 Aug 1764 in Chew Magna son of Joseph and Margaret Keedwell and was wondering whether you have come across this line of the family.  If so I would love to hear from you with a view to sharing research.

Sadly I don't have that particular line in my tree. Are Joseph & Margaret KEEDWELL as far back as you have got? What else do you know about Joseph?

Hi,

Betsy Shepston (Betsy Beacham) was my GG grandmother having married James Keedwell at Barrow Gurney church  North Somerset  21st September 1841.  Prior to that she can be found in the 1841 Census aged 20 years living in Flax Bourton she is entered as a servant with James Keedwell aged 70 years as head and James Keedwell aged 20 years.

There are cases in Chancery in connection with the Will of James Keedwell (70) who  the uncle and the legal guardian of James Keedwell  (20) who is my GG grandfather.

The Will makes reference to BestyBeacham Otherwise Shepston being the wife  or of the alleged wife of a John Beachman.

The marriage of Betsy Shepstone to John Beacham took place prior to civil Reg in 1837 and was registered in St Paul's Church Clifton 17.4.1837.

 It would appear by 29.4.1848 Betsy Shepston was a widow and she married James Keedwell at St Pauls Clifton.  Rachel Beacham was born  at Albert Place Bedminster in January 1848. In the 1851 census she is referred to as wife's daughter but by 1861 as daughter to the head James Keedwell.

This is from my own research, I would welcome any further comment.

Regards,

Rachel

James Keedwell (1817-1878) appears to have married two Betsy Shepstones.

The first was a dau. of John Shepstone (and probably Mary Seymour)

"By licence obtained 3 day's earlier. (Somerset Archives Ref:D/P bar.g 2/1/5 4 8) 21-Sep 1841 James KEEDWELL bachelor Yeoman of Barrow son of John Keedwell Yeoman Betsy SHEPSTON fullage spinster Servant of Barrow d of John Shepston Labourer Wits: John Keedwell Hester Hassel."

The second (widow of John Beacham) appears to be a dau of another John Shepstone and Sophia Stowell (John and Sophia emigrated to New England, with other children, before 1840).

I'd be interested in any comments or further info.

I might have got something wrong, but my guess is that Betsy Beacham (nee Shepstone) was a cousin of James Keedwell's first wife Betsy.

John Thompson

I think it unlikely that James Keedwell (brother of my gggrandfather, John Walker Keedwell) married two Betsy Shepstons. If Betsy was the Elizabeth Shepstone who married John Beacham in 1837 there is a problem with her first marriage to James Keedwell in 1841. If John Beacham was dead she was incorrect in identifying herself as a spinster. If he was alive she committed bigamy. There was something clandestine about the marriage. James and Betsy lived in Bristol or Beminster and produced three children but failed to inform James' rich Uncle James Keedwell, who named James Junior as his residual heir in 1841. In 1844,  James Senior attached a codicil to his will excluding from the trusts "any children of  the Woman the said James Keedwell now cohabits with who is the wife or reputed wife of one John Beacham and before her marriage or reputed marriage with him called or known by the name of Betsy Shepstone", There is no mention of James actual marriage. in 1841. I think James and Betsy were using John Beacham - dead or alive - as some kind of cover for their relationship. Their third child, Rachel was baptised as Rachel Keedwell but registered as Rachel Beacham. This pretence was kept up in the Census of 1851 but dropped in 1861. When James' will was proved in 1879, his friend, Austen Smith made a declaration that "Rachel was always acknowledged as the daughter of Betsy Keedwell and the said James Keedwell born before his marriage to her." On 29th June 1849 James and Betsy married again with Betsy now identified as a widow. I think they did this to give themselves a proper legal status to replace the dubious first marriage. Uncle James had died in 1848. If Betsy was a different Betsy Shepston, what happened to the first and when did it happen? I cannot find a death record or any other indication..

This all seems to show James and Betsy in a dishonest light. But I see it differently. In 1841 they were two young people living in the same house under a very dominating head of the family who would have disapproved of what he would have seen as an inapropriate marriage. They found their own way out which might have been incorrect but their marriage seemed to be very succesful. They had three more fully legitimate children and James became a prominent figure in the Backwell area. Betsy died in 1876 and James in 1878, according to his obituary in the Bristol Mercury "deeply lamented by all who knew him."