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The family of William A. Keyes IV William Keyes pictured in the back center. (Clark Curtis/For WDN)

Keyes Family Bible (Clark Curtis/For WDN)

Keyes Family Bible. (Clark Curtis/For WDN)

(L to R) Brown Library Historian Stephen Farrell and William A. Keyes IV. (Clark Curtis/For WDN)

William A. Keyes V holding William A. Keyes VI. (Clark Curtis/For WDN)

Washington High School classmate Wilfred Bailey views the Keyes Family Bible. (Clark Curtis/For WDN)

William Augustus Keyes IV, PhD, has always been puzzled about his past and has had an ongoing thirst to uncover the mysteries surrounding his grandfather and great-grandfather. His father passed when Keyes was only 16 years old, and his grandfather passed when his father was only 10. So there were never stories shared about the lives of William Augustus Keyes I or William Augustus Keyes II. Stories that are, are often written down or spoken about by families while being passed down from generation to generation. However, that changed when he received a call from Brown Library historian, Stephen Farrell. “I was driving to work one-day last year in Washington, DC.,” said Keyes. “I saw Brown Library pop up on my screen, I answered and said, ‘If you are calling me about an overdue library book, I’m going to hang up on you right now because the fine has to be around two million dollars because I haven’t set foot in this library in  over 50 years,’” 

“As it turned out it was Stephen calling to inform me that he had in his possession, what he believed to be the original family Bible of William Augustus Keyes I. To get that call was pretty remarkable to me,” Keyes said.  

Farrell said the library discovered the Bible during the late summer of 2023 after being donated among thousands of other books for the library’s annual Friends Drive – a time when books are resold to benefit the library. It was standard protocol not to discard anything old and tattered and to first check it out to make sure it was nothing of historical significance. In this case, as Farrell determined, it happened to be a family Bible, and to this day no one knows who donated it. “It was a true ‘oh my gosh’ moment,” said Farrell. “I started looking through it page by page and came across the family record portion and I saw the names of the Keyes, which are quite significant to Washington’s history. The first entry was that of Reverend W.A. Keyes, born in 1850. On the inside of the front cover, I also noticed there was W.A. Keyes written in pencil and dated 1897. Upon further research, l discovered there was a Reverend W. A. Keyes, who was one of the first ministers at the AME Zion Church in Washington. I then Googled William Augustus Keyes, which led me to name William Augustus Keyes IV. I reached out, and here we are today.”

On Wednesday, Sept. 4, which, would have been Keyes’ father’s 98 birthday, Keyes was joined at the Brown Library by his wife Lola, their daughter and son, their children, Keyes kindergarten classmate from New Bern and some of his former classmates from the graduation class of 1971 at Washington High School. Together they had the opportunity for the first time to see the Bible in person as it sat in full display. “To finally have this tangible connection to my great-grandfather is really, really special,” said Keyes. “Family means everything to me and the fact that I was named after the man who owned this Bible is pretty amazing. I’ve not looked at it yet, but there will be a time when I will sit down quietly by myself with the Bible and go through it. I can only imagine what it will be like to go through the same pages my great-grandfather felt, and to finally be able to look over the notes he wrote which will give me an indication of who he was and the times he lived in.”

“It is really special for me to be able to bring my children and husband to Washington for the first time and to learn more about our family history,” said Keyes’ daughter, Lola Elizabeth Keyes Wood. “It is great to finally be able to connect some of the dots and know that this part of our family history is being preserved and will remain here in Washington.”

“This is a very special and rare moment to have found a connection to your past that we didn’t know we had,” said William Augustus Keyes V while holding his son, William August Keyes VI. “The entire family has gained an opportunity to learn a little more about who we are, where we came from and our history here in Washington. What it means to us and what we mean to Washington.”

Farrell said this was indeed a rare and unique day for all involved. But it was also very significant for Washington, as well.  “This is not only a special day for the Keyes family, but marks a turning point in Washington’s history as well as Eastern North Carolina and beyond,” said Farrell. “On this day we were able to place an African American family that has roots back to the Antebellum period with its original family Bible. Days like this don’t come around that often and are something that should be cherished by us all.”

For Keyes, the laborious work of discovery has now begun. “Our family Bible represents the beginning of a phase of deep study and invitation for me and my family to make sure their children, my grandchildren, will not be in the same situation I have been in my whole life and not know the people who came before me.”

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