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A surname of England and Ireland, with variants KEO(U)GH also of Ireland; in England "from Caieu, a lost town in the vicinity of Boulongne-sur-Mer (Pas-de-Calais)," in Ireland for (Mac)Keogh, Mac Eochaidh, (Reaney, MacLysaght). MacLysaght traced (Mac) Keogh in Cos. Limerick, Tipperary, Roscommon, Wexford, and usually Kehoe in Wicklow. Keough is the Midland form.
| At Ferryland: |
Ferryland Supreme Court: November 3, 1830 - Kough, Edward - Charged with others in erecting a stage at Stone Island shooting place which interfered with other people's nets which have been set there for 40 years. |
| At Caplin Bay: |
Voter's List for Caplin Bay: 1840 - Edmund Kehoe, 1841 - 1859 - Edward Keough. |
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Journal of the Newfoundland House of Assembly - Education Report 1846: Stone Island Cove- "A Schoolmaster, Mr. Edward Keough, is appointed, to this very small settlement, with a salary of £8. He shewed (sic) me his list of 24 names. He was absent the day I called here, but I waited for his return and sent [him] out to collect what children could be found. They have been taught absolutely nothing, nor could anything better be expected, from the total absence of every requisite. The appearance of abject poverty was extreme."
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Journal of the Newfoundland House of Assembly - Education Report - October 18th, 1855: Caplin Bay North - [Teacher] Edward Kehoe, [No. of Students] 50, [Salary] £12. |
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Lovell's 1871 Directory: Edward Keough, planter. |
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Headstone - Ferryland RC Cemetery: KEOUGH - Edward Keough, a native of Co. Wexford, Ireland died 17 December 1876; aged 80 yrs, of which sixty years were spent in this country. Erected by his son Andrew Keough. |
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McAlpine's 1894 Directory: John Keough, fisherman; Michael Keough, fisherman; Edward Keough, fisherman; Andrew Keough, fisherman. |
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McAlpine's 1898 Directory: John Keough, fisherman; Michael Keough, fisherman; Edward Keough, fisherman; Andrew Keough, fisherman; Joseph Keough, fisherman. |
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McAlpine's 1904 Directory: John Keough, fisherman; Michael Keough, fisherman; Edward Keough, fisherman; Andrew Keough, general dealer; Joseph Keough, fisherman. |
| Family History: |
Based on his now-defunct headstone inscription, Edward Keough came to Newfoundland from Ireland about 1816. He eventually settled in the area known as Stone Island, on the northeastern headland of Caplin Bay. Some of Edward's descendants and other researchers have stated that he came from New Ross, Co. Wexford. No recorded proof supports that assertion. However, a newspaper death notification for Edward's wife, Margaret (Peggy) Smith, stated she was from that Irish town. It is unclear if Edward came to Newfoundland alone or part of a family who initially settled elsewhere. There were other Keough/Kehoe families with similar paternal forenames throughout Newfoundland, but kinship with them is unproven. Edward Keough's name first appeared in the 1830 Ferryland Supreme Court records. In this court case, Edward, and several other settlers at Stone Island, were charged with building fishing premises upon the shoreline in the area known as Stone Island Shooting Place. The lawsuit alleged the new construction prevented the securing of fishing nets of "other fishermen" to this shoreline area. The Supreme Court identified these "other fisherman" as Matthew Morry and Benjamin Sweetland; merchants, who operated their fishing enterprises from the head of Caplin Bay. |
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Edward's sons and daughters were all born and raised at Stone Island. However, by the time they married and started their own families, the trend was to settle further 'up the bay.' This area, located a couple of miles farther away from the fishing grounds, was much more sheltered than the windswept headland at Stone Island. His sons built their houses and fishing premises at the 'head of the bay,' in a small cove southeast of the main beach. One son, Philip, eventually moved to Ferryland Head in the early 1870s to take up a position as Assistant Keeper of the newly constructed lighthouse. Edward's daughters also moved away from Stone Island when they grew up. Catherine married into the Power family of Caplin Bay, settling close to her brothers, at the 'head of the bay.' Mary and Ellen married into the Shallow family and settled at Clear's Cove, Fermeuse, several miles south of Caplin Bay. Some of these families eventually moved to the 'Boston States,' which was a regular occurrence in the late 1800s and early 1900s. |
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All of Edward's children appear to have received a good education, not surprising given that Edward himself was literate. There is much speculation as to the depth and source of Edward's education. Nonetheless, Journals of the House of Assembly of Newfoundland show that from about 1841 onward, Edward was a Government-paid schoolteacher. Community folklore says, though elderly, Edward last taught school after he moved from Stone Island and resettled on Crown Land property that the Government granted him in 1869. This land was adjacent to the Morry property (at Athlone). The actual source of Edward's education is undetermined. However, if his roots were in New Ross, it was likely gained from association with mercantile families in that area. Research indicates several merchants of that surname, usually spelled Kough, conducted business out of the inland Irish port of New Ross on the River Barrow. Irish folklore claims that these Kough merchants were descendants of German Protestants. In the early 1700s, to avoid religious persecution, they had fled the Palatine area of their homeland. Various records indicate that George and Thomas Kough, Irish Protestant merchants of New Ross, Wexford, established a business at St. John's and also ran a branch at Cape Broyle for about three decades - from 1788 to at least 1816. |
| Present Status: |
There are still a few Keough families at Calvert and quite a few descendants of Edward Keough there, from intermarriage with other families. In addition to those living at Calvert, some descendants live in other parts of Newfoundland, the rest of Canada, the U.S.A., and other countries. |
| Local Place Names: |
Keough's Cove. This cove, near the south end of The Beach at Caplin Bay, was where some of the second generation of Keoughs resettled after moving from Stone Island.
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