Thomas Keene, II - UNPROVEN CLAIM THOMAS KEENE AND ELIZABETH GOSNOLD ARE HIS PARENTS

Private User What is your opinion of this information: https://www.ancestry.com/interactive/48515/VAGleaningsEng-002960-15...

Thank you reading the discussion item and for the reference to the Will of Robert Gosnold III that shows he had a grandson named Thomas Keene.

I mention in the write-up above that such a person existed.

This item makes it less likely the Thomas Keene on Kent Island is the same person as the Thomas Keene that is Robert Gosnold III's grandson.

The will does not prove that this grandson is the person in America on Kent Island working as a cooper who must sign his name with an "X" to documents.

The grandson of Robert Gosnold would have been an educated person capable of signing his full name. Also it is unlikely that he would have been a tradesman who made barrel staves.

This has been the frustrating problem. There is a perfectly well documented person in England that can be traced to King Edward I (Longshanks) who is named Thomas Keene, but how do we prove the Thomas Keene on Kent Island is the same person as the person mentioned in this will?

Thomas Keene in America says that he was born in England but does not state what part of England or who his parents were and does not mention any connection to Otley Hall, the home of Robert Gosnold III. If he had it would prove the connection.

This is the crux of the problem. This is not the only Thomas Keene in all of England so you can not say this person is the same person as the Thomas Keene on Kent Island.

In the absence of proof connecting these two individuals we can not say they are the same person.

I also agree with the analysis that Thomas Keene's uncle Anthony Gosnold, who was the son of Robert Gosnold III and executor of his estate, did not go to Virginia and was not the Anthony Gosnold that was part of the Virginia Company.

This makes it unlikely that Thomas Keene the grandson of Robert Gosnold III ever left England. This is not the branch of the Gosnold family that sent sons to America.

If his uncle Anthony Gosnold had gone to Virginia and taken Thomas with him or the
Thomas Keene in America had associations with this Anthony Gosnold in America that could be used as a means of proving a connection.

Since uncle Anthony Gosnold did not go to Virginia and was not the Anthony Gosnold involved with the Virginia Company there is no means of creating a connection or reason for the Thomas Keene in Robert Gosnold's will to go to America.

Another avenue that has been explored is to try to connect his son William Keene to the family in England. These efforts have also drawn a blank. William Keene's grave had a great deal of information included in the stone capping his above ground grave. I have visited this grave. Unfortunately, none of the information on the stone connected William Keene to the Gosnold's in England - Robert Gosnold III would have been his great grandfather and Elizabeth Gosnold would be his grandmother if his father Thomas Keene was her son. Unfortunately there is no mention of her - another missed opportunity to prove a connection.

I am not saying that it is a 100% certainty that the American Thomas Keene is not Robert Gosnold III's grandson. I think it is highly unlikely that he is the same person, but I can not prove who the actual parents of Thomas Keene on Kent Island were and that is why I think no parents should be attached to him on Geni.

What I am saying is there is no proof that his parents were Thomas Keene and Elizabeth Gosnold.

I wish there was and I am hoping that some one finds proof of the connection.

I am interested in any sources that you can provide that have brought you to these conclusions. In order to expand this research, we should all be able to go over the sources and build on your research.