Identity area
Type of entity
Family
Authorized form of name
Keef family
Parallel form(s) of name
Standardized form(s) of name according to other rules
Other form(s) of name
Identifiers for corporate bodies
Description area
Dates of existence
fl. 1850s
History
Little is known of this Keef family. These records suggest that Thomas Keef, his wife Jane, and their sons, William, Joseph, Michael, James, and John resided in Saint John, New Brunswick prior to 1850. Thomas and his sons probably operated a farm and were engaged in lumbering. By the early 1850s, Michael Keef had relocated to Solon, Maine and was corresponding with his brother William who continued to reside in Saint John. Brothers Joseph and James were also living in the United States by this time, but brother John may have been in the Saint John area, possibly at Kennebecasis. Apparently Jane Keef was residing with her son William in the Saint John area in 1851, but her husband, Thomas, was probably living with their son Joseph in Maine.
All the Keef sons seemed to have been farmers and lumbermen in the 1850s. James Keef went to California in February 1852 in the wake of the Gold Rush. By 1875 John Keef was living in East Benton, Maine. Michael Keef had moved to Anson, near Salem, by 1855. Twenty years later he was a resident of Lincoln, Maine. His son C. F. Keef was living in Alleyton, Michigan by 1876 and was a dealer in groceries, provisions, and hardware. Between October 1875 and May 1876, Michael followed him there and became postmaster of Alleyton and a magistrate.