When Zenas Keyes was born in 1838, in Caldwell, Missouri, United States, his father, Perry Keyes, was 21 and his mother, Lucinda Herrick, was 19. He lived in Nauvoo, Hancock, Illinois, United States in 1839. He died on 26 June 1850, in Nebraska, United States, at the age of 12, and was buried in Nebraska, United States.
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By 1829 Venus, Illinois had grown sufficiently and in 1832 was one of the contenders for the new county seat. However, the honor was awarded to a nearby city, Carthage. In 1834 the name Venus was changed to Commerce because the settlers felt that the new name better suited their plans. But during late 1839, arriving members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints bought the small town of Commerce and in April 1840 it was renamed Nauvoo by Joseph Smith Jr., who led the Latter-Day Saints to Nauvoo to escape persecution in Missouri. The name Nauvoo is derived from the traditional Hebrew language. It is notable that by 1844 Nauvoo's population had swollen to around 12,000 residents, rivaling the size of Chicago at the time. After the Latter-Day Saints left the population settled down toward 2,000 people.
After the Saints had been chased out of Missouri they moved to a swampy area located next to the Mississippi River. Here they settled and named the place Nauvoo which translates into the city beautiful.
The Relief Society of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints was organized on March 17, 1842. Emma Smith was the first Relief Society president. It was established as a way to help strengthen and serve other women.
English, Irish and Scottish: variant of Kay , of various origins, mostly, with excrescent -s.
English (of Norman origin): in some cases, possibly a variant of Guise, a habitational name from Guise in Aisne, Picardy.
Dictionary of American Family Names © Patrick Hanks 2003, 2006.
Possible Related NamesZenas Keyes, born 1838 in Caldwell County, Missouri; died 26 June 1850 in Nebraska. Remembered at the Pioneer Children’s Memorial; Stone 1 (left side). Zenas Keyes is the second of six children born …
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