According to his petition for land, dated 25 Oct 1825, he and his family had arrived in Quebec in June of that year. The petition states he was from County Tyrone, Ireland and his wife and ten children had accompanied him. He had taken an oath of allegiance and had not applied for land previously.
Over the next year and a half life was not easy for John and family. On the 9 of Jun 1827 a further communication with the Lt. Governor of Upper Canada indicates that he has not yet improved the land but begs to be allowed to take it up. Just one month later there is yet another petition. In this document he explains that he and his family have been sick and had not been able to leave York to settle on the land.
These documents tell us a lot about John. He came from Tyrone, he has ten children. He has a brother, a brother-in-law and a son-in-law who have also settled in Adjala, Upper Canada. Of the ten children nine are known including Ann who married James McKenna, the son-in-law who was living in Adjala in 1827. The other known children are James, Rose, Sarah, Mary, John, Margaret, Robert and Ellen.
John's brother James settled in Adjala in 1824. Denis Keenan was also granted land in 1824, but did not take it up until after his regiment (the 68th regiment of foot) left Canada in 1828. It is not known at this point whether he was another brother, but it seems likely.
We do not know who the brother-in-law was at this point, but it seems likely it might have been John Haydon, who's wife Ann Keenan was born in 1798 and died in Adjala in 1887. More research is indicated.
John Keenan Land Documents
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