Over 225 Years of Keys/ Keyes: Families in Eastern North Carolina

Over 225 years of Keys/Keyes in Eastern North Carolina by Bunyon Keys, a native son of Blounts Creek offers the readers an insight of the Keys Families that originated in Blounts Creek, Beaufort County and spread not only to Eastern North Carolina, but throughout many parts of the United States and several other areas of the world. Listed in many documents, I have seen the name spelled as Keys, Kee, Key, Keyes, Kees, Keais, Keen and many other variations. Taken from the Surname Data Base Last Name Origin from the internet; The surname Keys is English and was first recorded as belonging to the family of Roger Keys. The recorded information was dated 1275. For simplicity, I have in most cases used the spelling Keys or Keyes. The Keys (families) were started by Milley Keys, except for one family in this area and that family is listed in Chapter 7 of this document. There are some instances where the two families inter-married. The 2nd family was the decedents of William Keys from Virginia perhaps a cousin of Milley. (Evidence points to Milleys ancestors being from England and dating back to the mid 1650s.)