![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png){kind=small}
Keith genealogy
Dec. 2nd, 2022 01:32 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
mildred_of_midgardThe name of Peter Keith's younger brother, the page who betrayed the escape attempt in 1730, is unknown. Wikipedia and Giles MacDonogh's biography of Fritz refer to him as Robert Keith, thus leading us initially in salon to refer to him that way.
Then we found Kloosterhuis saying the name was not known, and we started referring to him as not!Robert.
After three years, I finally figured out where the name "Robert" came from!
Turns out it originates with a misunderstanding on MacDonogh's part, and MacDonogh is of course heavily used by Wikipedia, which has caused the misinformation to spread.
MacDonogh's source is the Neue Deutsche Biographie, the entry on James Keith. It says that James Keith was from a Scottish family, an earlier side-line of which had already furnished members to Prussian service, such as Robert Keith, adjutant of Fritz, and Peter Keith.
MacDonogh clearly took that to mean that Robert was Peter's brother the page, when Robert was unrelated/not closely related to Peter Keith.
Further investigation revealed that Robert Keith and James+George Keith were both descended from William Keith, 6th Earl Marischal, 1st Baronet (c. 1585 – 1635). Robert Keith, who married one of Suhm's daughters, was the 5th Baronet of Ludquharn. George Keith was the 10th Earl Marischal. So they were probably like second or third cousins.
I have never been able to figure out how exactly Peter's line fits into this, even with the genealogy Formey gives. I've only found a mutual relative descended from the 4th Earl Marischal, but all Formey will say is that he was a "relative" of Peter's line.
What I know from Formey is this:
The alternating Williams and Georges exactly matches the naming practices of the Marischals, but that paradoxically makes it harder, because if you find a William or George of that line in the 16th century, he's the heir, and so not Peter's more obscure ancestor.
Other than the naming problem, the problem is that these Keiths went to Sweden, so they tend not to show up in Scottish documents. In books titled "Scots in Sweden" (of which I've found 2 so far), there's a lot of Andrew Keith, Lord Dingwall, but not a lot of details on other Keiths. One of the books says, "There are many Keiths in Swedish history," and gives examples of a John, an Alexander, and a James (not our James), but that's not helping here!
If anyone runs across any 17th century William or George Keiths in Swedish service, let me know!
Then we found Kloosterhuis saying the name was not known, and we started referring to him as not!Robert.
After three years, I finally figured out where the name "Robert" came from!
Turns out it originates with a misunderstanding on MacDonogh's part, and MacDonogh is of course heavily used by Wikipedia, which has caused the misinformation to spread.
MacDonogh's source is the Neue Deutsche Biographie, the entry on James Keith. It says that James Keith was from a Scottish family, an earlier side-line of which had already furnished members to Prussian service, such as Robert Keith, adjutant of Fritz, and Peter Keith.
MacDonogh clearly took that to mean that Robert was Peter's brother the page, when Robert was unrelated/not closely related to Peter Keith.
Further investigation revealed that Robert Keith and James+George Keith were both descended from William Keith, 6th Earl Marischal, 1st Baronet (c. 1585 – 1635). Robert Keith, who married one of Suhm's daughters, was the 5th Baronet of Ludquharn. George Keith was the 10th Earl Marischal. So they were probably like second or third cousins.
I have never been able to figure out how exactly Peter's line fits into this, even with the genealogy Formey gives. I've only found a mutual relative descended from the 4th Earl Marischal, but all Formey will say is that he was a "relative" of Peter's line.
What I know from Formey is this:
- The first mentioned ancestor is a 16th century George Keith who lived in Scotland, was a colonel, and married a woman from the house of Stewart/Stuart.
- George's son, William Keith, left Scotland in 1606 at the age of 19 and went into Swedish service, where he became a captain of cavalry. He was related somehow to this much more famous Keith in Swedish service, Andrew Keith, Lord Dingwall.
- William's son George was a lieutenant in the Swedish guard.
- His son Jean Christophle/Hans Christoph established himself in Pomerania (then part of Sweden), and married Vigilantia Elisabeth von Woedtke, of the house of Sydow. He died in 1729, she died in 1747.
- The son of Hans Christoph and Vigilantia Elisabeth is our Peter, 1711-1756.
The alternating Williams and Georges exactly matches the naming practices of the Marischals, but that paradoxically makes it harder, because if you find a William or George of that line in the 16th century, he's the heir, and so not Peter's more obscure ancestor.
Other than the naming problem, the problem is that these Keiths went to Sweden, so they tend not to show up in Scottish documents. In books titled "Scots in Sweden" (of which I've found 2 so far), there's a lot of Andrew Keith, Lord Dingwall, but not a lot of details on other Keiths. One of the books says, "There are many Keiths in Swedish history," and gives examples of a John, an Alexander, and a James (not our James), but that's not helping here!
If anyone runs across any 17th century William or George Keiths in Swedish service, let me know!
