On the internet, ask and ye shall receive. In my previous post I said that I wanted to learn more about Keomi Gray and, happily, I have.
First, my friend Cathy Baker directed me to a few links last night:
On Find A Grave, Keomi is listed as Keomi Gray Bonnett, which let me know that she had indeed married after her relationship with Sandys. I wasn’t aware that she and Sandys had had children together until I read the info at Find A Grave. You’ll notice that the one child mentioned there is named Frederick, the son of Keomi Gray and Frederick Sandys.
Then Cathy sent me to a Romany heritage site, where you can see the marriage information of Keomi Gray and Charles Bonnett. Scroll about halfway down the page, they were wed in 1875 on 24 Sep.
Then there’s the 1851 census, you’ll find Keomi on the top right top right under Fishtoft, Lin[colnshire] 1851. We see that her full name was Keytumas Gray.
Most exciting of all was to hear from Keomi’s great-great-great granddaughter, Samantha, who posted this comment on my post about Keomi:
Love this post. Keomi was my three times great grandmother and its so nice to read more about her. I do know that after her split from Sandys she married and had 3 more children (7 altogether with the 4 she had with Sandys), This link gave me a lot of informationhttp://www.geocities.ws/seraphim_angel_2002/Keomi_Gray_and_Frederick_Sandys.html
Thank you for the link Samantha! It’s wonderful to see information about Keomi’s life. She and Sandys had four children together: Ethel, Frederick, Madeline, and Henry. With her husband Charles Stewart Bonnett she had Nellie, Rose, and Florence.
I’d still love to know more about her. Looking at census information and dates of the birth of her children… it’s all bare bones data, but one can imagine a story there, the untold tale of Keomi.
You might want to try posting a query to the Victoria listserv run out of Indiana University. Jan Marsh is on the list, among many other prominent scholars, and you might get some information there. Good luck!
Amazing, thank you ever so much for responding- I will look this up right now! x
Dear Stephanie, I recently saw Sandy’s Medea at an exhibition in Edinburgh and found the painting so fascinating I wanted to learn about Keomi fray, so this website has really interested me. I am studying Fine Art in London and presently, recreating classical paintings of women. What I’m most intrigued by, is the life behind these women though. I wonder do you know anything of Keomi, such as what she was doing before she met Sandy’s? What nationality she was? How they met?
Thanks,
Claire
Hi Claire . Kiomi Gray was a Romany Gypsy who lived and travelled in Norfolk her daughter Nellie was also a model for Sir Alfred Munnings ,Painter and President of the Royal Academy. See ‘The red dress,’ by Munnings
My father Stanley V Parkin was the son of Lillian Gray Daughter of Kiomi’s brother Adolphus Gray who was a Pirate music seller and violinist.!
Ray Parkin
Alderney Channel Islands .UK
Hi Stephanie,
Keomi/Kiomi/Kiomie was my great great great Aunt. According to my family’s records she was never married to Sandys. She had two children with him, and six with Charles Bonnet. This could be wrong, as Samantha’s records show, however there is an eighth child mentioned. His name was Claude Bonnet and may have been the youngest child of the second relationship. Hope this fills in another small part of the puzzle for you.. Every little helps!!!
Hi Richard
My son is Keomi’s great great great great nephew via her brother Adolphus. I’d be interested to know more about the Gray history as we have only pieced it together recently. Which Brother are you descended from?
Katie
Hello Katie, my gt gt grandfather is adolphus Gray, brother of keomi, leberina, Emma, jenty, Alfred, and louis, adolphus’s children were bert, Alfred “who is my gt grandfather” , kenzer Barron, lily, Beatty, and Annie, my findings for my line of the Gray family is from 1740 Thomas & Elizabeth, ossery & Ann riches, oseri Jnr, & Eliza heron, adolphus & harriett foster, Alfred, & jane elliott, adolphus Alfred ” Albert” Gray my grand father, & Sophie Harris, Michael, & Caroline Remblance, my parents, any more info would be appreciated
Hi Michael ,
I am Raymond Parkin also a Great grand son of Adolphus and Harriet via my grandmother Lillian Gray sister of Albert . I am the second son of Stanley and Ivy Parkin . We stopped travelling in the late forty’s and moved to the Channel Islands where my Dad opened a holiday camp and we are now established Channel Islanders, but you never forget your beginnings and I can remember my early travelling days very well .There was Peter Grey and I adored Jeannie Gray s a young teenager and her brother Ollie Gray who was my hero and a great friend in later life when my family moved into winter Circus .
More recently I met Terrence Gray again not long before he died and thats about it .
I would love to see anything you have as to our family tree. Best wishes RayParkin
I think Keomi had 4 children with Sandys. A daughter was called Ethel, who is my great granny. Laberina Gray (Keomi’s sister) is my great great granny. She had a son, William, who married my grandmother Maud (Ethel’s daughter!)
So Keomi and Sandys were my great, great granny and grandpa…
My Mother was a Barron – Cynthia from Gorleston-on-Sea, Great Yarmouth, Her Mother (My Grandmother) was Rose Barron and her Father (My Great Grandfather) was Claude Barron. We may be related in some way!
According to my research her full name was not Keytumus. Actually it was Keona and Keytumus was her older brother. Both are my ancestors 🙂
Keome is my 2nd cousin 5 times removed. I am a genealogist and have been tracing the family tree back for a number of years going back to Thomas Gray born circa 1717 and Elizabeth Mashley. There are a fair few of us interested in the Gray’s. My 3 x G Grandmother is Susan Gray 1834 d/o Isreal Gray and Maria Gray 1805 d/o Thomas Gray and Susan Faben.
my Ggggrandfather was John Jack “Budd” Gray who was the son of Thomas Gray and Susan Faben, so Maria’s brother. He was transported to Australia leaving behind 4 wives and children, and married a 5th wife here in Australia. His cousin Orseri was Keomi’s father and one of his first 4 wives was her mother. Keomi’s father was also transported to Australia at the same time I think.
Lesley, I can only trace back to Thomas Gray 1740 m Elizabeth Cadilla. Can you please email me a few clues to help me go back further?
Thanks Jeanette
Hi Jeanette
Thomas Gray’s 1760 father was Thomas Gray 1717 and Elizabeth Mashley, that’s as far as I have got so far. Have not come across Thomas and Elizabeth Cadilla!
Can you let me know where they fit?
Thanks Lesley
Jeanette, back in the Nineteen nineteen fifty’s when my family were traveling we are at Westcliff on sea for the the Southend carnival and I remember the Cadilla family who had a Boxing Booth, I went out with Jeannie Cadilla? one of the daughters of the family, I think they were originallyScots .. We were both 17 and I remember Jeannie being a stunningly beautiful girl. Happy Days ! Ray Parkin
Ok, Well somehow I have found that Thomas Gray (1760) is the son of Thomas Gray (1740) married to Elizabeth Cadilla. Also one of Thomas sisters is called Cadilla Gray (1774). I may have gone wrong somewhere, not sure, but that is where my research came to. Could it be that Thomas Gray 1717 is the father of Thomas Gray 1740? I will need to look into it a lot more now. Too many Thomases!
Jeanette, all the Gray’s are so hard to track! I also connect to the Harris’ of Cambridgeshire around Litlington to Norfolk who connect to the Gray’s. It took me 13 years to find my Gt Grandfather’s birth certificate and baptism in Briston, Norfolk!
Yes indeed, trying to track the Grays makes my head spin. So many wives, so many changes of names etc!
Have you come across this book of the gray family tree? I have a copy but I’m in the process of moving house so it is buried. http://rtfhs.org.uk/publications/gypsy-families/ Just scroll down or search for gray.
I found it pretty useful but I think it starts around 1740 or 1750.
I hadn’t seen those books Katie. Thanks so much :). I will order a copy.
Family legend has it that Kiomi was related to my great grandmother, Coralina Gray. Researching this, I found enough confirmation to lead me into publishing ‘The Gypsy Mode;’ a work of faction in which I speculated about their relationships as artist and model and as lovers. This and my other books are to be found on Kindle. Details for printed copies can be found on my website below.
Just came across this in my own family research – wonderful to see so many people are interested in Keomi and the Grays. Keomi’s older sister Genty (Gentee/Jenty/Jane) is my great-great-great grandmother. I wholeheartedly agree that the Grays are very tricky to track as the spelling of names changes frequently and there are usually several spouses or cousins marrying cousins.