Dear Delores,

 

This has become a fairly long response. I know that you have only requested information on Abraham & Ada (Hurd) Keith and Ada’s parents, but I found some interesting material on the father of Abraham Keith I want to share with you, in case you don’t already have it.

 

KEITH FAMILY

 

In The History of Schuyler and Brown Counties, IL, p. 342 (published 1882), I found a small paragraph on Charles W. Keith, the father of Abraham L. Keith.

 

      “CHARLES W. KEITH. The present member of the Board of Supervisors from Ripley Township, was born in Harrison County, Indiana, on the 18^th of August, 1828. When he was six years old his parents moved to Vigo County, Indiana, where the family lived until he was fourteen years old, and then came to Cumberland County, in this state, and afterward removed to Floyd County, Indiana. On the 8^th of April, 1847, he there married Amanda Hawkins, who was born in Floyd County, Indiana. In the year 1849, he came to Ripley, in this county, where he has lived since. In early life he had learned the trade of a plasterer, but when he came to Ripley [he] engaged in the pottery business, and for about twenty years conducted a pottery establishment of his own. He has seven children: Elizabeth, the oldest, married John T. Roberts, and now lives at Fort Scott, Kansas. The others are: Frank W., Homer H., Abraham L., Julia, Ella, and Eva. He was a member of the Whig party till its dissolution, and has since been a Republican. He has filled nearly every office in Ripley Township, and is now President of the Board of Trustees of the town of Ripley. He was elected a member of the Board of Supervisors in 1882. He was elected a Justice of the Peace in 1868, and has filled the office ever since, having been elected three times.”

 

The History of Brown County, p. 651 (published 1972) lists C. W. Keith as an insurance agent. He must have done this while running the pottery. I could not find him listed as the owner of a pottery, but I’m sure there is a record of it somewhere. Perhaps the VAGHS can be of help to you.

 

HURD FAMILY

 

There is no additional information on Asa Hurd in the History of Brown County. No one in his family appears to be listed in Cemeteries of Brown County. However, it should be noted that (based on the marriage of Asa & Fanny listed below)they could have had four or more children prior to the birth of Frank E. in 1864, whose names I do not know.  Meanwhile, I decided to check a couple of online sources, and I have a bit of information I can offer.

 

The Illinois State Marriage Index Online has the following marriage for Asa D. Hurd and Frances (spelled Francis) M. Edward: HURD, ASA D. married EDWARD, FRANCIS M. (called Fanny M. in the censuses) 04(Apr)/03/1852, PERRY Co, IL

 

This might indicate that Asa Hurd or Fanny Edward came from Perry County to Brown County at some point, and perhaps lived for a time in another county neighboring Perry.

 

I couldn’t find Asa Hurd in the 1900 census using Ancestry.com, so I did some searches based on Fanny Hurd, and found Francis A. Hurd, the son of Asa and Fanny, and Fanny, now a widow, living with him. In 1910, Fanny is no longer with Francis (probably died in St. Louis, IL), but Francis has been married 8 years, as follows:

 

1900 Federal Census, East St. Louis 3^rd Ward, St. Clair County, IL (June 2^nd):

 

      Francis A. Hurd, b. Aug 1872 (27y), single, b. IL, father born OH, mother b. IL

      Fanny M. Hurd, b. Sep 1833 (66y), widow, b. IL, father b. VT, mother b. NY

 

1910 Federal Census, St. Louis 15^th Ward, St. Louis City, Missouri (28 April):

 

      Francis A. Hurd, 37, md. 8 yrs, b. IL, father b. OH, mother b. IL, occ: railroad car inspector

      Lena Hurd, 36, md. 8 yrs, b. MO, father b. Holland, mother b. Switzerland

      Florence Hurd, 9, adopted daughter, b. Missouri, both parents b. US

 

If you want me to search the 1900 census on Ancestry.com for the family of Abraham Keith, I will need the names of his and Ada’s children and their dates of birth. I think it is likely Abraham died some time during the 19 years between their marriage and the 1900 census, so Ada may appear with a new husband (and surname) and possibly still some children at home with the surname Keith. I could not locate her as a widow with the surname Keith.

 

Asa Hurd probably died between 1880 and 1900, possibly also in St. Louis, IL. He would have had his youngest child, Francis A., with him, and then Fanny simply remained with him after her husband’s death.

 

This is all guess work, of course, but based on my experience, there is still a good change of finding more information.

 

Best wishes,

 

Laurie Huffman

Brown County ILGenWeb