Wade & Webb Family History

Eliza Keel1840–1925

England · Laughton · Loughton · Brooklyn

The daughter of a Hendon sexton, Eliza Keel married the shepherd William Marrott at Hendon on Christmas Day 1857 and raised a large family at Loughton, Essex, where by 1881 she kept a shop. She later came to Brooklyn, where she was known as Mrs. William Thompson, saw two of her daughters married in a double wedding at the Ocean Hill Baptist Church in 1893, and died in 1925.

On this page
  1. Family Record
  2. Life
  3. Documents (6)
  4. Places
  5. Timeline
  6. Open questions
  7. Searches made
  8. Notes

Birth

  1. 1840 England

Marriages

  1. Date unknown William Thompson
  2. 25 Dec 1857 William Marritt, at Hendon, Middlesex, England, United Kingdom 5

Death and burial

  1. 1 Feb 1925 Death: Brooklyn, Kings, New York 25, 26
  2. 4 Feb 1925 Burial: place not recorded 25

Family

Parents
Marriage 1
William Thompson 1826–?
Children
Marriage 2, 25 Dec 1857
William Marritt 1826–?
Children
Frank Marritt 1866–?
Ada Eliza Marritt 1873–1953

Line of descent Wade line

  1. Eliza Keel
  2. Ellen Mathilda Marritt, daughter
  3. Frank Edward Wade, son
  4. William Albert Webb Wade, son

Great-grandmother of Webb Wade, from whom this history is traced. Why Webb Wade?

Life

Eliza Keel was the daughter of William Keel, a sexton, the parish officer who kept the church and churchyard and dug the graves; the FamilySearch tree names her mother as Elizabeth Prior.1 Her date and place of birth are uncertain.2 The tree gives the year as 1840 and the place only as England, without a source, but when she married in December 1857 the register described her as "of full age", that is, 21 or older, which would put her birth no later than 1836.2 The census of 1881 gives her birthplace as Loughton, Essex, and her age as forty-something, the second digit being struck through and unclear.3 Inference The marriage register is the earliest and most direct of these statements, so a birth about 1836 or before is more likely than the tree's 1840, but the 1861 and 1871 census ages, not yet examined in full, should settle it.4

Marriage at Hendon

On Christmas Day, 25 December 1857, Eliza Keel married William Marrott, a bachelor and a shepherd, at the parish church of Hendon, Middlesex, after banns, the public announcement of an intended marriage in church on three Sundays beforehand.5 Both gave their residence as Hendon; his father was James Marrott, a labourer.5 The family's name is spelled in several ways in the records, Marrott, Marritt and Merritt; the tree uses Marritt.6 Their eldest daughter, Elizabeth Jane, was born at Hendon on 28 August 1857, by the account given on her death certificate in 1942, four months before the wedding; the tree gives her birth year as 1858, and the certificate's information came from a niece, not from a witness of the birth.7

Loughton, Essex

By 1860 the family had moved to Essex, where a son, Frederick William Marrott, was baptised on 5 February 1860, with Eliza named as his mother.8 The census of 1861 lists Eliza Marritt in the household of her husband, William Marritt; the tree places that household at "Laughton, Sussex", which may be a misreading of Loughton, Essex, where the family is found from 1871.9 The tree records further children born or baptised in Essex: Frank (born 1866 at Loughton), Catherine Alice (born 1 April 1870), Ada Eliza (baptised 5 February 1871), Edith Alice (baptised 27 July 1873) and Ellen Matilda (baptised 26 September 1875), each baptism naming Eliza as the mother.10 In 1871 the census, indexing the name as Merritt, found William and Eliza at Loughton.11 The tree, without a source, gives William's occupation as farm bailiff, a farm manager employed on behalf of the owner.12

At the census of 1881 Eliza Marritt, married, was the head of the household at Easton Cottage, Loughton, and a shopkeeper, with her daughters Catherine Alice (14), Ada Eliza (10), Edith Alice (7) and Ellen Mathilda (5); her husband was not in the household.13 The ages given for Catherine and Ada are about three years older than the tree's birth years for them, a difference the baptism registers should resolve.14 Where William Marritt was in 1881, and when he died, are not known.15

Brooklyn and William Thompson

The family later crossed to New York: the tree records the immigration of Edith and Ada in 1885.16 In Brooklyn Eliza became the wife of William Thompson, a native of Norway born in 1826.17 No date for that marriage is known, and the marriage record itself has not been found; she was still Mrs. Marritt, and married, in 1881.18 Inference The marriage must have taken place after April 1881, and probably after her arrival in America, but where and when remain open.18

By November 1891 "Mr. and Mrs. William Thompson" and "Edith and Nellie Thompson" were members of the young people's circle of the Ocean Hill Baptist Church in Brooklyn, at a basket sociable at which William H. Wade Jr. was also present.19 Inference The Mrs. Thompson of that report is very probably Eliza, with her daughters Edith and Ellen, known as Nellie, under their stepfather's surname.19 On 18 October 1893 the two daughters were married in a double wedding before the Rev. George F. Warren, pastor of the Ocean Hill Baptist Church: Edith A. Thompson to Matthew P. Frost, and Ellen M. Thompson to William H. Wade Jr.20 Both certificates name the brides' parents as William Thompson and Eliza Keel, and W. Thompson signed both as a witness.20 Inference William Thompson is recorded in FamilySearch as the daughters' adoptive father, so the certificates name the man who had raised them rather than their father by birth.21

The federal census of 1900 lists Eliza Thompson in William Thompson's household in Brooklyn.22 As Eliza Keel she is named as the mother in the New York City marriage records of her daughters Ada Eliza Marritt, to Joseph Gilbert Darrow, on 14 August 1904, and Catherine A. Marritt, to Isaac S. Hoage, on 30 September 1905.23 She outlived at least two of her daughters: Ellen died at Liberty, Sullivan County, New York, in July 1906, aged 31, and Catherine A. Hoage died in New York City on 31 January 1921, with Eliza Keel named as her mother in the death record.24

Eliza Thompson died in Brooklyn on 1 February 1925, and the tree gives her burial on 4 February, without a place.25 Her New York City death record names a William Thompson, though the index does not say whether as husband or in another capacity.26 Her eldest daughter, Elizabeth Jane Marritt, who never married, died in Brooklyn in 1942; her death certificate names her parents as William Marritt and Eliza "Kiel".27

Documents

  1. 25 December 1857 Marriage of William Marritt and Eliza Keel, Hendon, 1857 Hendon parish register (Church of England), Middlesex · image
  2. 1881 1881 census of England: Eliza Marritt household, Easton Cottage, Loughton, Essex 1881 Census of England and Wales, RG 11/1735 · image
  3. 7 November 1891 A Basket Sociable (Ocean Hill Baptist Church) Brooklyn Times Union (Brooklyn, New York) · clipping
  4. 18 October 1893 Certificate of marriage no. 4656: Matthew P. Frost and Edith A. Thompson City of Brooklyn, Department of Health, certificates of marriage · vital record
  5. 18 October 1893 Certificate of marriage no. 4669: William H. Wade Jr. and Ellen M. Thompson City of Brooklyn, Department of Health, certificates of marriage · vital record
  6. 2 June 1942 Certificate of death no. 11083: Elizabeth J. Marritt City of New York, Department of Health, Borough of Brooklyn, certificates of death · vital record

Places

  1. 1857Hendon
  2. 1861Laughton
  3. 1871–1881Loughton
  4. 1900–1925Brooklyn

Timeline

  1. 1840BirthEngland
  2. 25 Dec 1857Marriage, William MarrittHendon, Middlesex, England, United Kingdom
  3. 1861ResidenceLaughton, Sussex, England, United Kingdom
  4. 1871ResidenceLoughton, Essex, England, United Kingdom
  5. 1881ResidenceLoughton, Essex, England, United Kingdom
  6. 1900ResidenceBrooklyn, New York City, New York
  7. 1 Feb 1925DeathBrooklyn, Kings, New York
  8. 4 Feb 1925Burial

Open questions

When did she marry William Thompson? (priority: high)

The tree says 1858, but she was still Mrs. Marritt, married, in the April 1881 census (1881-census). The Thompson marriage must be after 1881, perhaps after William Marritt's death, in England or in New York (the family emigrated about 1883–85). For Matt (FamilySearch): the 1858 date is almost certainly wrong.

Her age

The 1857 Hendon marriage says "full age" (21+), which conflicts with the tree's birth year of 1840. Her 1881 census age is partly illegible. Check the 1861 and 1871 censuses and her 1925 death record.

Searches made

  1. 2026-11-08Bulk review of Matt's OneDrive genealogy folder (Phase 3): all documents transcribed and compared with the tree6 document(s) name this person; see Documents above. Conflicts and new facts are in each document record and in research/sources/document-review-2026-11-08.md
  2. 2026-11-08Correction made in FamilySearch by MattMatt corrected the date of her marriage to William Thompson in FamilySearch (it cannot be 1858; she was Mrs. Marritt in 1881).
  3. 2026-11-09Find a Grave search: Eliza Keel, b. 1840 ±3, d. 1925 ±3: 9 results; Eliza Thompson, b. 1840 ±3, d. 1925 ±3: 77 results; Eliza Marritt, b. 1840 ±3, d. 1925 ±3: 0 resultsbest: [Eliza Jane Allan Thompson (29 Jul 1843 – 23 Jul 1925), Sunnyside Cemetery, Meeker, Lincoln County, Oklahoma](https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/125799597/eliza-jane-thompson); score 9 (high, before review)
  4. 2026-11-09Assessment of the Find a Grave batch candidates (2026-11-09)Rejected: Eliza Jane Allan Thompson (1843-1925), Meeker (score 9 only from a husband named William Thompson): a different woman. No memorial recorded.
  5. 2026-11-09Internet Archive: "Eliza Keel", New York13 pages; first: [History of Everetts Baptist Church, 1877-1974, n.d., p. ](https://archive.org/details/historyofeverett00peel?q=%22Eliza%20Keel%22); [Literary Magazine, and American Register 1805-02: Vol 3 Iss 17, 1805, p. ](https://archive.org/details/sim_literary-magazine-and-american-register_1805-02_3_17?q=%22Eliza%20Keel%22); [Lancaster intelligencer. - 1857-12-01, 1 edition, 1857, p. ](https://archive.org/details/per_lancaster-intelligencer_lancaster-intelligencer_1857-12-01_1?q=%22Eliza%20Keel%22)
  6. 2026-11-09Internet Archive: "Keel", inside 1887BPL2 pages; first: [Lain's Brooklyn Directory for the year ending May 1, 1887, 1887, p. 643](https://archive.org/details/1887BPL/page/n643/mode/1up?q=Keel); [Lain's Brooklyn Directory for the year ending May 1, 1887, 1887, p. 1008](https://archive.org/details/1887BPL/page/n1008/mode/1up?q=Keel); 0 with the given name (Eliza)
  7. 2026-11-09Internet Archive: "Keel", inside brooklyn-city-directory-1858-1859-lain-yale-university-librarynot searchable: brooklyn-city-directory-1858-1859-lain-yale-university-library: No hOCR or Abbyy file present
  8. 2026-11-09Internet Archive assessment: "Eliza Keel", New York (13 pages)All 13 reviewed: an Eliza Keel of Everetts Baptist Church and Martin County, North Carolina; 1805 and 1857 periodicals; a Keeling family collection; none in England or Brooklyn. Not her.
  9. 2026-11-09Internet Archive assessment: "Keel" inside 1887BPLTwo Keels (Charles, carpenter, 20 Ainslie; Harding, hatter, 360 De Kalb av), no Eliza; she went by Thompson in Brooklyn and widows living with family are not listed. Not her. The 1858-59 directory is not searchable text.
  10. 2026-11-09Internet Archive hits assessed: 3 searchesNo match.
  11. 2026-11-09DPLA: "Eliza Keel"no matches
  12. 2026-11-09New York Times: "Eliza Marritt", 1925–1926no matches
  13. 2026-11-09New York Times: "Eliza Keel", 1855–1926no matches
  14. 2026-11-09DPLA assessment: 1 searchNo match: no hits.
  15. 2026-11-09New York Times assessment: 2 searchesNo match: no hits (no Times death notice, February 1925).

Notes

  1. Marriage of William Marritt and Eliza Keel, Hendon, 1857, Hendon parish register (Church of England), Middlesex: Eliza Keel ... Father's Name: William Keel, Rank or Profession of Father: Sexton FamilySearch Family Tree, profile GMWV-2K3: parents William Keel and Elizabeth Prior back to the text
  2. FamilySearch Family Tree, profile GMWV-2K3: birth 1840, England, no source attached Marriage of William Marritt and Eliza Keel, Hendon, 1857, Hendon parish register (Church of England), Middlesex: Eliza Keel, full age, Spinster; notes: full age means 21 or over back to the text
  3. 1881 census of England: Eliza Marritt household, Easton Cottage, Loughton, Essex, 1881 Census of England and Wales, RG 11/1735: Eliza Marritt, Head, Mar, age 4[?], Shop Keeper, Essex, Loughton; the second digit partly struck and unclear back to the text
  4. Marriage of William Marritt and Eliza Keel, Hendon, 1857, Hendon parish register (Church of England), Middlesex: full age Research log, searches made: open question: her age; check the 1861 and 1871 censuses and her 1925 death record back to the text
  5. Marriage of William Marritt and Eliza Keel, Hendon, 1857, Hendon parish register (Church of England), Middlesex: 25 December 1857, William Marrott, full age, Bachelor, Shepherd, Hendon, father James Marrott, Labourer; after Banns back to the text
  6. Marriage of William Marritt and Eliza Keel, Hendon, 1857, Hendon parish register (Church of England), Middlesex: Marrott 1881 census of England: Eliza Marritt household, Easton Cottage, Loughton, Essex, 1881 Census of England and Wales, RG 11/1735: Marritt "England and Wales, Census, 1871", FamilySearch, Eliza Merritt in entry for William Merritt, 1871. Record: Eliza Merritt in entry for William Merritt, 1871 FamilySearch Family Tree, profile GHY8-937 (their page): William Marritt back to the text
  7. Certificate of death no. 11083: Elizabeth J. Marritt, City of New York, Department of Health, Borough of Brooklyn, certificates of death: Date of birth: Aug. 28, 1857, Birthplace: England, Hendon, informant Ethel E. Wade, niece FamilySearch Family Tree, profile P912-71L (their page): birth 28 Aug 1858, Hendon back to the text
  8. "England, Essex, Parish Registers, 1538-1997", FamilySearch, Eliza Marrott in entry for Frederick William Marrott, 5 Feb 1860. Record: Eliza Marrott in entry for Frederick William Marrott, 5 Feb 1860, England, Essex, Parish Registers back to the text
  9. "England and Wales, Census, 1861", FamilySearch, Eliza Marritt in entry for William Marritt, 1861. Record: Eliza Marritt in entry for William Marritt, 1861 FamilySearch Family Tree, profile GMWV-2K3: residence 1861, Laughton, Sussex, England; 1871 Loughton, Essex back to the text
  10. FamilySearch Family Tree, profile P912-G1X (their page): birth 1866, Loughton, Essex FamilySearch Family Tree, profile GS4J-DQ2 (their page): birth 1 Apr 1870, Essex "England, Essex, Parish Registers, 1538-1997", FamilySearch, Eliza Marritt in entry for Ada Eliza Marritt, 5 Feb 1871. Record: Eliza Marritt in entry for Ada Eliza Marritt, 5 Feb 1871 "England, Essex, Parish Registers, 1538-1997", FamilySearch, Eliza Marritt in entry for Edith Alice Marritt, 27 Jul 1873. Record: Eliza Marritt in entry for Edith Alice Marritt, 27 Jul 1873 "England, Essex, Parish Registers, 1538-1997", FamilySearch, Eliza Marritt in entry for Ellen Matilda Marritt, 26 Sep 1875. Record: Eliza Marritt in entry for Ellen Matilda Marritt, 26 Sep 1875 back to the text
  11. "England and Wales, Census, 1871", FamilySearch, Eliza Merritt in entry for William Merritt, 1871. Record: Eliza Merritt in entry for William Merritt, 1871 FamilySearch Family Tree, profile GMWV-2K3: residence 1871, Loughton, Essex back to the text
  12. FamilySearch Family Tree, profile GHY8-937 (their page): occupation Farm Bailiff, no source attached back to the text
  13. 1881 census of England: Eliza Marritt household, Easton Cottage, Loughton, Essex, 1881 Census of England and Wales, RG 11/1735: Easton Cottage, Eliza Marritt, Head, Mar, Shop Keeper; Catherine Alice 14, Ada Eliza 10, Edith Alice 7, Ellen Mathilda 5 "England and Wales, Census, 1881", FamilySearch, Eliza Marritt, 1881. Record: Eliza Marritt, 1881 back to the text
  14. 1881 census of England: Eliza Marritt household, Easton Cottage, Loughton, Essex, 1881 Census of England and Wales, RG 11/1735: notes: the ages of Catherine and Ada conflict with the tree by about three years FamilySearch Family Tree, profile GS4J-DQ2 (their page): birth 1870 FamilySearch Family Tree, profile GDXK-XQP (their page): birth 1873 back to the text
  15. Research log (their page): whereabouts in 1881 and death unknown back to the text
  16. FamilySearch Family Tree, profile GMWV-JZ5 (their page): immigration 1885 FamilySearch Family Tree, profile GDXK-XQP (their page): immigration 1885 back to the text
  17. FamilySearch Family Tree, profile GMWV-63F (their page): birth Sep 1826, Norway; spouse Eliza Keel "United States, Census, 1900", FamilySearch, Eliza Thompson in entry for William Thompson, 1900. Record: Eliza Thompson in entry for William Thompson, 1900 back to the text
  18. Research log, searches made: she was still Mrs. Marritt, married, in the April 1881 census FamilySearch Family Tree, profile GMWV-2K3: marriage to William Thompson, no date 1881 census of England: Eliza Marritt household, Easton Cottage, Loughton, Essex, 1881 Census of England and Wales, RG 11/1735: Eliza Marritt, Head, Mar back to the text
  19. A Basket Sociable (Ocean Hill Baptist Church), Brooklyn Times Union (Brooklyn, New York): Mr. and Mrs. William Thompson ... Edith and Nellie Thompson ... William H. Wade, Jr. back to the text
  20. Certificate of marriage no. 4656: Matthew P. Frost and Edith A. Thompson, City of Brooklyn, Department of Health, certificates of marriage: Matthew P. Frost and Edith A. Thompson, 18 October 1893, witnesses W. Thompson, Charles Frost, Geo. F. Warren, Pastor, Ocean Hill Bap. Ch.; Father's Name: William Thompson, Mother's Maiden Name: Eliza Keel Certificate of marriage no. 4669: William H. Wade Jr. and Ellen M. Thompson, City of Brooklyn, Department of Health, certificates of marriage: William H. Wade Jr and Ellen M. Thompson, witnesses W. H. Wade, W. Thompson; Father's Name: William Thompson, Mother's Maiden Name: Eliza Keel back to the text
  21. FamilySearch Family Tree, profile GMST-6LB (their page): William Thompson recorded as adoptive father (research/relationships.toml) FamilySearch Family Tree, profile GMWV-JZ5 (their page): William Thompson recorded as adoptive father 1881 census of England: Eliza Marritt household, Easton Cottage, Loughton, Essex, 1881 Census of England and Wales, RG 11/1735: Edith Alice Marritt, Ellen Mathilda Marritt back to the text
  22. "United States, Census, 1900", FamilySearch, Eliza Thompson in entry for William Thompson, 1900. Record: Eliza Thompson in entry for William Thompson, 1900 FamilySearch Family Tree, profile GMWV-2K3: residence 1900, Brooklyn back to the text
  23. "New York, New York City Marriage Records, 1829-1938", FamilySearch, Eliza Keel in entry for Joseph Gilbert Darrow and Ada Eliza Marritt, 14 August 1904. Record: Eliza Keel in entry for Joseph Gilbert Darrow and Ada Eliza Marritt, 14 August 1904 "New York, New York City Marriage Records, 1829-1938", FamilySearch, Eliza Keel in entry for Isaac S Hoage and Catherine or Katherine A Marritt, 30 September 1905. Record: Eliza Keel in entry for Isaac S Hoage and Catherine or Katherine A Marritt, 30 September 1905 back to the text
  24. 1906-07-18-ellen-m-wade-obit: Ellen M. Wade, aged 31, died on Monday at Liberty, N.Y. "New York, New York City Municipal Deaths, 1795-1949", FamilySearch, Eliza Keel in entry for Catherine A Hoage, 31 Jan 1921. Record: Eliza Keel in entry for Catherine A Hoage, 31 Jan 1921 back to the text
  25. "New York, New York City Municipal Deaths, 1795-1949", FamilySearch, Eliza Thompson, 1 Feb 1925. Record: Eliza Thompson, 1 Feb 1925 FamilySearch Family Tree, profile GMWV-2K3: death 1 Feb 1925, Brooklyn, Kings, New York; burial 4 Feb 1925, no place back to the text
  26. "New York, New York City Municipal Deaths, 1795-1949", FamilySearch, William Thompson in entry for Eliza Thompson, 1 Feb 1925. Record: William Thompson in entry for Eliza Thompson, 1 Feb 1925 back to the text
  27. Certificate of death no. 11083: Elizabeth J. Marritt, City of New York, Department of Health, Borough of Brooklyn, certificates of death: Single; Father: William Marritt; Maiden name of mother: Eliza Kiel; died June 2, 1942 "New York, New York City Municipal Deaths, 1795-1949", FamilySearch, Eliza Kiel in entry for Elizabeth J. Marritt, 2 Jun 1942. Record: Eliza Kiel in entry for Elizabeth J. Marritt, 2 Jun 1942 back to the text
Every FamilySearch record attached to Eliza Keel (16)
  1. 5 Feb 1860Eliza Marrott, "England, Essex, Parish Registers, 1538-1997"
  2. 1861Eliza Marritt, "England and Wales, Census, 1861"
  3. 5 Feb 1871Eliza Marritt, "England, Essex, Parish Registers, 1538-1997"
  4. 1871Eliza Merritt, "England and Wales, Census, 1871"
  5. 27 Jul 1873Eliza Marritt, "England, Essex, Parish Registers, 1538-1997"
  6. 26 Sep 1875Eliza Marritt, "England, Essex, Parish Registers, 1538-1997"
  7. 1881Eliza Marritt, "England and Wales, Census, 1881"
  8. 18 October 1893Eliza Keel, "New York, New York City Marriage Records, 1829-1938"
  9. 1900Eliza Thompson, "United States, Census, 1900"
  10. 14 August 1904Eliza Keel, "New York, New York City Marriage Records, 1829-1938"
  11. 30 September 1905Eliza Keel, "New York, New York City Marriage Records, 1829-1938"
  12. 31 Jan 1921Eliza Keel, "New York, New York City Municipal Deaths, 1795-1949"
  13. 1 Feb 1925Eliza Thompson, "New York, New York City Municipal Deaths, 1795-1949"
  14. 2 Jun 1942Eliza Kiel, "New York, New York City Municipal Deaths, 1795-1949"
  15. Marritt Keel Marriage
  16. 1900William Thompson, "United States, Census, 1900"