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| The genealogy of the Keasberry family |
| » Chapter A The English Branch |
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I find it hard to accept the fact that I could not go back farther than 1723. On 24 February 1723, William Keasberry (Sr.) and Catherine Liddell (see end of chapter) were 'Witnesses at wedding in the Portuguese Envoy's Chapel', Great Queen Street in London. As far as we know William Keasberry and Catherine Liddell had one son, William Keasberry, though possibly a second son John? Keasberry (see appendix 'References to the text of Chapter A').
It is possible that the parents of William Keasberry remained living in London; unfortunately, up till now, no other facts are known about the couple. Let us concentrate on William Keasberry who, at a youthful age, was in the 'China business'. He discontinued this way of living in order to join the theatrical profession. He probably acted for some time in the provinces before he joined the Edinburgh theatre in 1755. The following year he began his long association with the Bath theatre. In 1756/57, at the age of 30, William (Jr.) was a member of the 'Theatre Royal Company Bath'. This theatre (see image)  was directed by John Palmer (Jr.), son of 'a brewer and tallow chandler' who, with the co-operation of nine other people, founded the theatre in 1750/51. William Keasberry apparently had a highly esteemed talent for acting (see playbill from 1782)  and was much commended: 'Keasberry had been continuously a member of the company since 1756, and he was to remain with it until his retirement in 1795, a record to stability'.
The theatre company was a great success and, among other places William (Jr.) appeared in London, Edinburgh, Bristol and Richmond where he, occasionally together with his wife Henrietta Hamilton (daughter of Sarah Hamilton, a London actress) gave performances (period 1755/56). It must have been during that time that they were married, either in Edinburgh, Bath or London. From 1771, under John Palmer (Jr.), William (Jr.) filled the post of 'acting-manager of the theatre'. In 1795, when John Palmer (Jr.) left, he formed a partnership with one William Wyatt Dimond and took over the ownership of the theatre. This arrangement left little time for acting and he remained an active director until 1795, when he retired for health reasons. He died a year later, at the age of 71. According to the inscription on the grave stone (see photo)  he was 68, but this may have been an error as all publications gave the age as 71. William Keasberry was buried on the cemetery of the St. Thomas a Becket Church, Widcombe, Bath (UK). It is the oldest grave on the cemetery and the stone is still in a good condition. On the other photo  Lodewijk Egbert Keasberry, his wife Iet and daughter Helen are looking at the grave stone of their ancestor.
The Royal Theatre still exists in Bath, although not in Orchard Street, where a plaque reminds us of the rich history of the theatre.
The theatrical couple lived in a large house in St. James's Street. William (Jr.) and Henrietta Hamilton had eleven children, five (three sons and two daughters) of whom died prematurely. The eldest son was William Keasberry (3rd), then followed by three daughters: Catherine Liddell Keasberry, Henrietta Keasberry (Jr.) and Julia Maria Keasberry; then came two sons, Edward Henry Keasberry and John Palmer Keasberry. Mother Henrietta (see photo)  ) died suddenly in 1812 'after a few minutes illness' at the age of 75 (possibly cardiac arrest?) in Bradley, near Glastonbury, south of Bath. She lies buried in the small churchyard there (see photo). She was living in Bradley with her daughter Julia Maria when she died. It seems likely that none of the family moved to Torquay until the 1840's. They probably went there in old age for health reasons.
William Keasberry (3rd). The eldest son, who joined the army at the age of 18/19. In 1777 he became a cadet and left for India on 1 January 1778 on the Nassau (Captain Peach, uncle of Julia Maria's husband?), He was promoted to 2nd Lt. On 2 October 1778, to Lt. On 2 November 1778 and on 1 June 1796 to 'Captain of The Bengal Army'. He died a year later, on 15 April 1797, at the age of 37/38 in Chittagong.
Catherine Liddell. (Christian name and surname of her grandmother). She remained a spinster and moved later to Torquay, where she died on 6 January 1845 and where she is also buried.
Henrietta Keasberry (Jr.). Nothing is known about her except that she also acted. We know from the Bath Journal of 13 February 1797 (Saturday edition?) that she died on the Monday (8? February 1797).
Julia Maria Keasberry. The youngest daughter of the family (see photo) . This colour-photo has been taken from a large portrait of Julia Maria when she was 14 years old (painted by Thomas Beach in 1782, at a size of 158 x 160 cm). Julia Maria sang and also acted. In 1784, at St. James Church, Bath, she married the wealthy Nathaniel Peach, owner of Rooksmoor Mill, Rodborough, which had been owned by his family since 1720. They had two children, Nathaniel William Peach(Jr.) and Benjamin Peach. She died on 9 September 1849 in Torquay where she had gone towards the end of her life.
Edward Henry Keasberry. The only thing we know about him is that he made his debut as an actor in November 1789 in the play 'Earl Goodwin', which was directed by his father. Later he also went to Torquay, where he died on 12 February 1847; he is buried there.
John Palmer Keasberry. (He was given these two Christian names probably as a token of his father's affection for his partner John Palmer). In 1790 when he was 17, he wanted to join the military service and was sent to India, as his eldest brother William Keasberry had been. As he was underage he had to produce a birth certificate. This presented a problem as his birth certificate and various registers had been destroyed in a fire at the Roman Catholic Chapel, Bath, on 9 June 1780. (This fire was stared by vandals; it had probably something to do with anti-Catholic riots which occurred during those years). The problem was solved by a duplicate birth certificate, with a declaration from the clerk and midwife, who were witnesses, signed by the Burgomaster (see appendix). On 12 January 1791, as a cadet he arrived in India on the ship 'The Cornwallis' (Captain Cheap). He was then 18 years old and was assigned to the Madras Army. He was promoted to 2nd Lt. on 3 August 1791, to Lt. on 17 February 1794; Captain on 1 July 1800 and he became a Major in the 9th Regiment Native Infantry on 23 May 1808.
He married Eliza Breithaupt (of German origin) in Cuddalore (Madras Presidency): she was the daughter of a very wealthy land-owner, whose assets were in the surroundings of Madras. They had three sons, William Henry Keasberry, John Christopher Nathanial Keasberry and Benjamin Peach Keasberry. (There again we see the surname of the husband of Julia Maria as Christian name). All three sons were born in India.
On 25 April 1810 John Palmer Keasberry went on furlough to Europe, without his wife, because she was expecting their second child. On his way to England, John Palmer was taken a prisoner of war by the French on the Isle de France, an island in the Pacific Ocean (the French were at war with other European countries). On 23 January 1811 he and Lt. J.F. Palmer were freed by exchange. About that time he must have arrived home, because the third son was born nine months later (30 October 1811). After his return in Madras he got another embarkation leave, effected on 25 August 1812 (Gazet of 5 December 1812) before the whole family left for the island of Java occupied by the English forces (1811 - 1816). This was a precaution, because the French occupied the Netherlands and there was a possibility of military action from Java by the French against British property in the Far East. John Palmer and Eliza had also a daughter Henrietta Keasberry (named after her grandmother) who was born a few months later in Tegal (Central Java).
She was only 8 and a half months old when she died (30 March 1814) in Lebaksiu, near Tegal, one month before her father, who was then not only a Lt. Colonel in the English occupational army, but also Resident of Tegal. (See also Chapter B). He died on 29 April 1814.
During his lifetime, Christopher Breithaupt, Eliza's father, wrote a will (the copy of it in the appendices is incomplete), naming his two children, Eliza Breithaupt and her brother Christopher (Jr.), the heirs of John Palmer (see also Chapter B), John Davidson (second husband of Eliza) and his grandchildren as heirs to his estate.
The situation regarding William Henry Keasberry and John Christopher Nathanial Keasberry, both of whom remained unmarried, will be enlarged upon in Chapter B.
Benjamin Peach Keasberry. For an abbreviated version regarding him see Chapter C.
This then is the account of the first part of the family tree. It is by no means an established fact that the family originally came form Scotland, as some relatives in the Netherlands suggested. It is more probable that it originated in the Midlands or in London. Research work done in Edinburgh showed no results, which means that London 1723 (William Sr. and Catherine) is still the earliest date.
It is not impossible that the name Keasberry, as it is known today, originated from mutations in the written form, which quite often occurred in earlier centuries. Bardleys Dictionary enabled me to set out the following possibility, for example:
Keasby, Keasbey Between and 1600, a name appearing in various localities, among others in the Midlands.
Keasberey Witnesses at a wedding in London 1723.
Keasberry In 1732, written for the first time in the present form.
Perhaps at some point I shall find out about it.
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