I trace my ancestry back to the immigrant, Pieter Dirck Keyser, through
my father, Walter Allen Keyser (1921-1968), who was born in Chestertown
Maryland.

My Keyser genealogical Line:

Keth Allen Keyser (1947- ) m. June L. Weischedel
Walter Allen Keyser (1921-1968) m. Barbara V. Franco
William Thomas Joshua Keyser (1875-1960) m. Lura Deane Lee
William Edward Keyser (1842-1934) m. Margaret Emma Pennington
Ancestor in Question -- William Edward Keyser or Peter Augustus Keyser?
Peter Keyser (1766-1849) m. Catherine Clemens
Peter Keyser (1732-1818) m. Hannah Levering
Dirck Keyser (1701-1756) m. Alice de Neuss
Pieter Dirck Keyser (1676-1724) m. Margaret Souplis
Dirck Keyser (c. 1635-?) m. Elizabeth ter Himpel
Dirck Gerritsz Keyser (?-?) m. Cornelia Govertsz
Gerritsz Keyser (?-?) m. ?

Here the question arises: Who is the father of my William E. Keyser?

In the Dirck Keyser line, there is a WIlliam Edward Keyser (sea
captain), who lived from 1807 to 1844, and died at sea (off the coast of Port
Au Prince, Haiti).

I have a letter from Peter Augustus Keyser, written to my William
Edward, inviting him to Philadelphia to get $50 to help him in his
blacksmithing business (dated 1869). Peter Augustus had a brother, William
Edward, a sea captain. But on my William Edward Keyser's death certificate,
it states that Peter Augustus was his father.

The census shows no William Edward as a son of Peter Augustus Keyser
(1850). However, William Edward may not have been a son born within the
marriage. Is there anyone out there who could shed some light on this?

Additional information:

In the 1860 census, my William Edward Keyser appears as an apprentice
to a wheelright in Cecliton, Maryland (to William T. Weldon). In 1863, he
marries Margaret Emma Pennington, daughter of Joshua Pennington, a sea
captain.

In 1891, William Edward Keyser appears as an inheritor in the will of
Eliza Jane (Bennett) Bahel of Chester County, Pennsylvania. When Eliza Jane
was single, she had a shop in Philadelphia, near the office of Peter Augustus
Keyser. While there is no record showing any relationship here between the
two, there is suspicion that these two are the parents of my William Edward
Keyser. But I am unable to gain any absolute proof, if it does indeed exist.
Is there anyone working on this part of the Keyser family that might be able
to shed some light on this mystery for me?

Keith A. Keyser
kakeyser@aol.com
hobereaux@hotmail.com