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Author Topic: Looking for the KEY family & brewing in FIFE  (Read 10600 times)

Offline Gillian Jones

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Looking for the KEY family & brewing in FIFE
« on: Wednesday 21 December 05 12:51 GMT (UK) »
If anyone could help me to find official documentation I presume there must have been to set up a brewery ?
My ancestor James Key started up a brewery in the late 1700s - early 1800s in Crail.
I have a lot of information on his son James's development of the brewery and am interested in knowing more about his father who was married in st Andrews to a Barbara Christie in 1789
Geddes,Key,Welch,Prior,Gover,Palmer,Crook,Wareham,Bennett,Bullard,Fleming,Christie,Smith,Armstrong,Bragg,Lloyd,Robinson,Masters,Pankhurst,Abraham,Hibbs,Selby

Offline GEN10

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Re: Looking for the KEY family & brewing in FIFE
« Reply #1 on: Friday 23 December 05 16:33 GMT (UK) »
Hya Gillian, this site is a partial extract of the crail 1851 census, it has a James Key as brewer on it.
http://www.geocities.com/SoHo/Workshop/2299/1851crail.html
Gen10
FIFE NAMES:BELL, BEVERIDGE, MCNEILL, HENDERSON, HYND, MITCHEL, WEBSTER.
MIDLOTHIAN NAMES: BLAIR, CROMBIE,  FAIRNIE, GREENLEES, LATTA, PEAT, SNEDDON/SNADDON.
ANGUS: BEAN, COWIE, GOWANS, MYLES, SKIRLING

Offline Gillian Jones

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Re: Looking for the KEY family & brewing in FIFE
« Reply #2 on: Wednesday 04 January 06 20:43 GMT (UK) »
Thanks for your response gen10 this James Key is the brother to my gt.gt.grandfather Thomas Key. Apparently the brewing business did very well for James and his family.
I really want to track down his father James who married a Barbara Christie in St Andrews in 1789. I'm sure he must have had to be apprenticed to learn the brewing trade and also would have had to have held a licence to start up the business. If you have any ideas I would be very grateful.
Best Wishes and thanks.
Jill
Geddes,Key,Welch,Prior,Gover,Palmer,Crook,Wareham,Bennett,Bullard,Fleming,Christie,Smith,Armstrong,Bragg,Lloyd,Robinson,Masters,Pankhurst,Abraham,Hibbs,Selby

Offline Jo Chambers

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Re: Looking for the KEY family & brewing in FIFE
« Reply #3 on: Thursday 07 August 14 12:07 BST (UK) »
Hi Gillian,

I am helping a KEY  family with their history, was your gt.gt.grandfather, the Thomas Key who moved down to Dorset? Any chance. He was born circa 1805 in Scotland, no way of confirming if he is the son of James and Barbara.

Offline Gillian Jones

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Re: Looking for the KEY family & brewing in FIFE
« Reply #4 on: Thursday 07 August 14 14:32 BST (UK) »
Thomas Key is my great great grandfather and the 7Th surviving child of 8 that James Key and Barbara Christie had. He was born in 1805 as you say and I have copy of his christening record.
 His father James Key christened24/01/1762in St Andrews to a Thomas Key and Helen Durie. Thomas Key was a brewer and maltman and a freeman of  st Andrews. I have taken the Key family back to a Robert Key1615 in St Andrews.
 Hope this is of help. Would be interested to know which line of the Keys you are researching. If I can be of any more help please ask.
Regards
Geddes,Key,Welch,Prior,Gover,Palmer,Crook,Wareham,Bennett,Bullard,Fleming,Christie,Smith,Armstrong,Bragg,Lloyd,Robinson,Masters,Pankhurst,Abraham,Hibbs,Selby

Offline Jo Chambers

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Re: Looking for the KEY family & brewing in FIFE
« Reply #5 on: Thursday 07 August 14 18:39 BST (UK) »
The family is descended from one of our Thomas Key's sons, Alexander. What I need is more proof  that the Thomas Key baptised in Crail in 1805 is the one and the same Thomas Key who moved down to Dorset. According to the censuses he was born in Scotland c1805/1806 in Scotland so probably is the right one. There is another Thomas Key baptised in Ferry Port January 1806 but he died in 1811.

What do you know about your Thomas Key?

Offline Gillian Jones

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Re: Looking for the KEY family & brewing in FIFE
« Reply #6 on: Thursday 07 August 14 21:15 BST (UK) »
Hi Jo,
My great grandfather is Alex Key.I have loads of info on the Key family and some photographs too. My grandfather Ernest, awas the eldest son of Alex Key and Emily Gover.The Govers go back quite a way to Lewis Gover in Corfe.
About 5-7 years ago I spent a lot of time on the internet carrying out my research.
 I have Thomas Key's excise office  records, which are quite interesting.  We were always told that he'd caught pneumonia while out hunting down smugglers, when in fact he died in 1861 of consumption! His family were left pretty destitute by all accounts.
He and Agnes had 11 children.
Hope this is of help
Jill
Geddes,Key,Welch,Prior,Gover,Palmer,Crook,Wareham,Bennett,Bullard,Fleming,Christie,Smith,Armstrong,Bragg,Lloyd,Robinson,Masters,Pankhurst,Abraham,Hibbs,Selby

Offline Jo Chambers

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Re: Looking for the KEY family & brewing in FIFE
« Reply #7 on: Thursday 07 August 14 23:22 BST (UK) »
Hi Jill!

I am assuming your maiden name was Geddes.

Thank you so much for all the information. My friend is descended from Alan Key, Alex and Emily's youngest son.

I have only recently started the tree and to date only have 10 children  of Thomas and Agnes:
Isabella Leslie, Thomas (1839) John, Thomas (1842) William, Barbara, Agnes, James, Alex and Marian.

I am going away shortly but will keep in touch.

Thank you once again

Best Wishes

Jo





Offline hdw

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Re: Looking for the KEY family & brewing in FIFE
« Reply #8 on: Thursday 02 October 14 12:12 BST (UK) »
Heriot-Watt University has an internationally renowned department of brewing and I believe they have historical archives of brewing and brewers in Scotland -

http://www.icbd.hw.ac.uk

I recently bought a book by Forbes Gibb entitled "The Brewers and Breweries of Fife" (Stirling: Lomax Press, 2014). There are 14 entries for Key in the index, and most of these people are mentioned several times.

There used to be a brewery in Anstruther, which in 1858 was bought by James Key, brewer in the Westgate of Crail. The Key family ran that brewery in Anstruther until 1920.

Harry
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