At this time, there is no proven documentation connecting this Thomas Keene to any parents in England, nor proven documentation for his place of birth in England.
Date of death: between end of 1652 and early 1653.
Thomas Keene's will was dated November 27, 1652, and probated January 20, 1653. (Actual date of death unknown, but sometime between date will was written, and date of probate).
Note: Thomas signed his will with his mark (Generally an X, with his name written in cursive by the person writing the will).
This indicates that Thomas was illiterate. This makes it unlikely that he was the son of Thomas Keene and Elizabeth (Gosnold) Keene.
Thomas was born in England, according to the deposition he made in 1648 stating that he was 55 years old....therefore his place of birth could not be North America.) At this time, there is no proven documentation connecting this Thomas Keene to his parents in England, nor proven documentation for his place of birth in England.
(As a note of interest, on 9 Aug. 1637, an "Abraham Keene" is recorded as having been transported to America under the headrights system by William Prior, Gent., patent of 600 acres in Charles River County, Virginia. This land patent was later surrendered and renewed. At this time, no documentation has been located connecting our Thomas Keene with this Abraham Keene.....only to show another early Keene immigrant to America, and their place of arrival. The day/year the patent was recorded, is not necessarily the time that the transports (there were 12) arrived in America.)
Thomas was first recorded living on Kent Island off the coast of Maryland in the Chesapeake Bay (both Maryland and Virginia claimed ownership of the island at that time). In 1648, Thomas was in St. Mary's county, Maryland. By December 9, 1650, Thomas had moved to Cherry Point, Northumberland County, Virginia. He was a cooper (this is a barrel maker - tobacco was shipped to England in barrels), possibly a merchant, as well as a planter (landowner).
A Thomas Keene is recorded as one the 100 persons transported by Col. William Clayborne, Esqr., Secretary of State of this Colony (land patent of 5000 acres, lying on the north side of the Pamunkey River , and claimed as a headright, recorded 1st Sept. 1653. Col. Clayborne landed the Army under his command on this land in 1644.
On the day that this patent of Col. Clayborne's was recorded, our Thomas Keene was in Northumerland County, Virginia, and his own land patent was recorded on 13 Oct. 1653, in which he claims headrights for the transports for 11 persons including himself, his wife Mary Keene, and son Wm. Keene. (Note: this patent was recorded about 6 weeks after Col. Clayborne recorded his patent, claiming Thomas Keene as a person that he had transported.)
Thomas' patent was for 527 acres in Northumberland County, S.E. upon Cloughtons Creek And N.E. upon Cherry Poynt. Note: the date/year the patent was recorded is not necessarily the time that the owner took possession.....he may have lived on the land years earlier, as appears to be the case of Thomas.
On 18 March 1662, the patent for Thomas Keene dated 13 Oct. 1653 for 527 acres in Northumberland County, Virginia, was renewed. As Thomas died circa 1652, this renewal would have been done by his wife/heirs.
It appears to have been the only land that he owned at the time of his death.
Thomas married Mary Margie Thorley (b. 1620 d. 20 Feb. 1661/62). They were the parents of Thomas II , William, Matthew, and daughter Susanna.
By: Rebecca Prillaman
