Hello, I am new to the list and searching for the Keen family in Bedford. According to 1861 census William Keen was born about 1835 in Bedford. He had a brother Joseph 10 years younger. Their father was a Thomas Keen. Both William and Joseph worked ont he railway. William married Eliza Reed 1859 St. Pancras Middx. Does anybody have any connection to this family please. Many thanks Nan

Nan, I have no connections. The name caught my eye because I happen to be looking for a KEANE family from Ireland who migrated to Australia. I always like to do a couple of quick searches to get a bit of a feel for the family. I found the christening for William was actually in 1832 at Eversholt. The father was Thomas and the mother Ann. Clicking on the batch number and searching for just the Keen surname with father Thomas you will find six children between 1831 -1844. But before I go on. Looking for a Thomas KEEN marriage to Ann, shows there were two in the same week in 1829 at Eversholt. One to Ann Green and one to Ann Rayner. So it's possible that there are two lots of parents with the same names in Eversholt. So when you get back to the children you can't be sure which is which. There was Joseph (1) 1831, William 1832, Anne (I) 1835, Anne (II) 1836, Henry 1839, and Joseph (II) 1844. Normally where a name is used twice, I would assume the first child has died, but in this case there could be one in each family. You would probably have to look for both families in 1841 or 1851 to be sure. 1861 may be a bit late, as some could have married. You could also look for deaths on FreeBMD or the like. As for the father Thomas Keen, there are couple of user submitted records suggesting birth circa 1811. But there is a parish records in1809 giving parents as James + Martha. Again, you don't know which of the two Thomases this is. And finally, if you go to Family Trees at www.rootwseb.com and search for Zacariah Keen you will see an old submission from 2000 and an email contact. This Zachariah also comes from Eversholt and descends from the same James + Martha. He looks like a cousin to your William. But the email address may have expired. However, I hope this is some help. You might need to obtain a birth certificate for william that should give his mother's maiden name. Good luck Peter in Sydney > According to 1861 census William Keen was born about 1835 in Bedford. He > had a brother Joseph 10 years younger. > Their father was a Thomas Keen. Both William and Joseph worked on the > railway. > William married Eliza Reed 1859 St. Pancras Middx.