Wiley Keyes, Willis "Buck" Keyes and Isom Keyes Duckworth - The Hunt for the Connection

Isom Keyes Duckworth was my 3rd great-grandfather. It took me a over a decade to find him and begin to fill in his story. Isom is special in the sense that he seems, at least to me, to have been a strong prideful man during a time when it was dangerous to be a black man in Mississippi, sometimes even fatal. Isom was born in 1842 in Taylorsville, Mississippi. He later married Jane Crosly and they went on to have 13 children together, at our last count. Pretty straight forward, right? But the qualities that make Isom special are in the details. 

Isom was born a slave and we believe the slave holder was Wiley Keyes (born 1807 South Carolina died 1889 Mississippi). One of the first of many mysteries was discovered this last year. We have census records from 1880 - 1920 for Isom and his family. In 2016,  a 1870 census record was found that listed Isom's surname as Keyes. Why did Isom change his name from Keyes to Duckworth? Was he a Duckworth first, sold to a Keyes and changed it back to Duckworth after slavery ended? We are not 100% sure who Isom parents were but we knew that he listed the birthplace of his father as South Carolina on every census he was listed on. While perusing through the census records, I noticed the other names that lived around him. There was Willis Keyes, (Black) and Wiley Keyes (White). I believe these two will lead us to a definite conclusion about who his father is some day. 

1870 Census Record for Willis Keyes

1880 Census Record for Wiley, Willis and Isom

First, let's discuss Willis Keyes. Willis was used as a buck during slavery and was called Buck up until we were able to discover his real name. Willis was born in South Carolina in 1815. He appears on the 1870 census with his wife and approximately five children. I say approximate because I was unsure at the time if one of the adults listed is his daughter or daughter-in-law. Now it is rumored that Willis had about 7 different families and we have only documented one. I recently found Willis on the Freedman's Bureau record. It was a share cropping agreement between Willis and his family and their former slave holder, Wiley Keyes of Mississippi. The documents lists all 15 of his children, information that we did not know. The document is an amazing find as it was signed July 3, 1865. It also gives us a way to track all of Willis's children with his wife Jennie. There is a mystery about Willis: for some reason in the 1900 census, he went back to the name Buck. It is a curiosity. Because both Willis and Jane disappear after the 1900 census, I assume that they passed before the next census in 1910.  I believe eventually we will find the families of Willis and track those children as well. My major questions about Willis are: A) Who was the father of Willis, B) Who were the other wives and children of Willis and C) When did Willis obtain his land and who did he purchase it from?

Sharecropping Agreement between Wiley and Willis Keyes

Now, let's get to Wiley. Wiley Keys was a prominent slave holder in Smith County Mississippi in the 1800's. Just like Willis he was born in South Carolina. My first peek at Wiley was when I was researching  Isom. Wiley and Isom lived next to each other in 1870. I did not think much of it at the time except that Isom's surname was listed as Keyes, which was the only record we have found that lists his name as anything other than Duckworth. As I stated above there is also a record from the Freedman's Bureau that lists that Willis had worked for Wiley at one point and may have been his slave holder. I know Isom lived next to Wiley in the 1870 census and continued to do so until Wiley passed away. I do not know much else about Wiley but have reached out to some of his descendants hoping to get some clarification on some things especially the biggest mystery of all.  

1870 Census record for Isom. Wiley Keyes lived next to Isom

 One day, I had a shaky leaf hint for him and it was the 1870 census. It had a large surprise for me....on this census record, Isom's last name was Keyes. I re-checked the other family members and it was the same Isom. Isom also lived next to a Willis Duckworth, born 1840 and his family and he lived right next to Wiley Keys. I have heard rumors from the family in Mississippi that Isom inherited the land from Wiley Keys. It is said that Isom had enough land that he gave his 13 children no less than 40 acres each! If true, Isom had enough land that he could give away 520 acres and still had enough land for himself. I am researching land records now to see if I can prove this. I do know that the census records for Isom indicate that he did own his land. Now I just need to figure out A) How much land did Isom have, B) How did he get the land, and, here's the big question, C) Who was Isom's father?

As you can see, there are a lot of blank spaces in the life story of Isom and I do look forward to filling those spaces up. I would like, one day, to have answered all of these questions about Isom, Willis and Wiley. I have a blanket idea of what life was in the South for African Americans in the 1800's but I would like a clear view on what life was like for my family. My Duckworth and Keys family is nearly innumerable and a great number of them still live in Smith County, Mississippi. I want to connect to as many relatives as possible and rediscover those roots.