Miami County, Ohio Genealogical Researchers -- Sponsored by the Computerized Heritage Association


    WILLIAM J. RAKE

    WILLIAM J. RAKE is a prominent farmer of Washington Township, Miami County, Ohio, residing just west of the corporation line of Piqua, on the Clayton pike. He was born almost directly across the road from his present farm, September 10, 1862, and is a son of Amos and Sarah (Keyt) Rake.

    Amos Rake was born in Clinton, New Jersey, and was a son of William Rake, whose occupation was that of a farmer but who was sheriff and jailer in Clinton, New Jersey, for a period of thirty years. Amos was reared in his native community, and was there married to Miss Elizabeth Smith. Six children were the off spring of this union, of whom two are now living: Mary, wife of Jacob Gertner, of Piqua; and Nancy, wife of A. J. Brotherton of Delphos, Ohio. With his family, Amos Rake moved to Miami County Ohio, some time between 1850 and 1855, settling on a farm on the Washington pike in Washington Township. His first wife died within a few years after their coming, and on March 7, 1870, he formed a second union with Miss Sarah Keyt, mother of the subject of this sketch.

    The Keyt family is an old and prominent one in Washington Township, and in Piqua. James Keyt, father of the wife of Amos Rake, and his brother, John Keyt, were masons here in the pioneer days, and built many of the early brick houses. James Keyt was born in Elizabethtown, Essex County, New Jersey, and was a son of James Keyt, who was a carpenter and contractor in New Jersey, and met his death by falling from a scaffold. The father of the latter was also named James, and was of English birth; he too met a violent death, being thrown from a horse and killed. James Keyt, father of Mrs. Rake, was married to Elizabeth Widney, January 23, 1820, and his brother John was married to her sister. Nine children were born to them, of whom two are now living: Mrs. Margaret Jane Lines, of Piqua; and Mary Widney Keyt, who owns fifty-three acres of the old home place and lives with her nephew, William J. Rake. Mrs. Keyt died in September, 1848, and James Keyt died in January, 1849.

    Mrs. Sarah (Keyt) Rake, mother of the subject of this record, died in 1892, and was survived many years by her husband, who passed away in 1905. William J. Rake was reared in his native township, and has always followed farming. He is unmarried and resides with his aunt, Mary Widney Keyt, whose place he also farms. He has in his possession a Bible bought by his grandfather, James Keyt, which is said to have been the first Bible bought in Miami County. He is a man of business ability and integrity, and is most highly esteemed by his many friends in the community.

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