Show ContentsKeyston History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Early Origins of the Keyston family

The surname Keyston was first found in Somerset.

Early History of the Keyston family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Keyston research. Another 25 words (2 lines of text) covering the years 1687 and 1688 are included under the topic Early Keyston History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Keyston Spelling Variations

Sound was what guided spelling in the essentially pre-literate Middle Ages, so one person's name was often recorded under several variations during a single lifetime. Also, before the advent of the printing press and the first dictionaries, the English language was not standardized. Therefore, spelling variations were common, even among the names of the most literate people. Known variations of the Keyston family name include Kelson, Kelston, Kelton and others.

Early Notables of the Keyston family

More information is included under the topic Early Keyston Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Migration of the Keyston family

For political, religious, and economic reasons, thousands of English families boarded ships for Ireland, Canada, the America colonies, and many of smaller tropical colonies in the hope of finding better lives abroad. Although the passage on the cramped, dank ships caused many to arrive in the New World diseased and starving, those families that survived the trip often went on to make valuable contributions to those new societies to which they arrived. Early immigrants bearing the Keyston surname or a spelling variation of the name include: Thomas Kelton, who sailed to Boston in 1651; James Kelson, who came to Philadelphia in 1798; Thomas Kelson, who came to Philadelphia in 1834; and William Kelson, who arrived in Philadelphia in 1860..


Contemporary Notables of the name Keyston (post 1700) +

  • Dave Keyston, American Republican politician, Alternate Delegate to Republican National Convention from California, 1964 1


  1. The Political Graveyard: Alphabetical Name Index. (Retrieved 2015, October 26) . Retrieved from http://politicalgraveyard.com/alpha/index.html


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