GEORGE KEYS
George Keys was born in the city of Manchester, England, June 13, 1852, and is a son of John and Mary Keys. John Keys was a boot and shoe maker by trade. George Keys came to the United States in 1870, accompanied by a young sister, Sarah. Two sisters, Jane and Eliza had preceded them here. Jane is now a resident of Norwalk, Connecticut; Eliza, of Mount Vernon, Ohio; and Sarah, of Cleveland, Ohio. George Keys, for eight years after coming to this country, lived at Norwalk, Connecticut, then went to Mount Vernon, Ohio, remaining till February, 1878. He then came to Iowa, and located in Washington township, Cass county, where he had charge of Dr. Russell's farm. He then came to Bear Grove and bought a farm of sixty-five acres on section 8, where he lived two years, then sold and purchased his present farm, which contains sixty acres, located on the northwest quarter of the same section. Mr. Keys was married at New Castle, Coshocton county, Ohio, on January 29, 1878, to Martha L. Clark, a native of that county, born April 29, 1852, and daughter of Joshua and Eleanor Clark. Her father still lives at the homestead in Coshocton county. Her mother died September 8, 1884. Mr. and Mrs. Keys have had two children--John Russell, born November 8, 1878, and died August 8, 1880; and George Lloyd, born February 10, 1884. Mr. Keys' parents came to this county in 1874. After a short residence in Connecticut, they then went to Mount Vernon, Ohio, where his mother died, in 1880. His father died, September 16, 1884. One brother, John Keys, came from England in 1872, and now lives near Mount Vernon, Ohio.
Contributed by Lisa Varnes-Rex from "History of Cass County, Iowa. Together With Sketches of its Towns, Villages and Townships, Educational, Civil, Military and Political History: Portraits of Prominent Persons, and Biographies of Old Settlers and Representative Citizens." Springfield, Ill.: Continental Historical Company, 1884, pg. 728.
