Owen Keyte, or James Owen Keyte as his name sometimes appeared, was born at Childswickham in 1872, the younger of two children of Herbert Keyte and his wife, Clara (née Carter). His surname was also subject to variation, sometimes being spelt “Kyte” rather than “Keyte”.
At some time in the late 1870s, Owen moved to Badsey with his parents, sister and maternal grandmother; they rented a part of the Manor House where they were living in 1881. By 1891, Owen and his parents were living on Mill Lane, Badsey, with his sister, Ashley (now married to George Jelfs) and their young children.
Owen’s father died in 1894. In 1895, Owen’s mother married Edwin Warner, a Badsey-born Market gardener, 18 years her junior. Initially, Owen moved out of the family home and, in 1901, whilst his mother and step-father were living in a new house at Belmont Terrace, Owen was lodging with Elizabeth Hall at The Green. However, by 1911 he was back with his mother and step-father at Belmont Terrace. His two nephews, Bert and John Jelfs, were also staying there. Their mother, Ashley had died in 1906, so Clara stepped in to look after the boys.
Clara’s marriage to Edwin was not successful so, in 1921, Owen, then aged 49, and his nephew, Jack Jelfs (youngest son of Ashley), decided to seek work on Jack’s brother-in-law’s farm in Manitoba, taking with them, Clara. Jack’s eldest sister, Annie (Owen’s niece), had emigrated in 1912 and was married to a farmer, James Joseph Sellman. They set sail from Liverpool on 25th May 1921 bound for Quebec.
They had only just arrived in Canada when a census was taken in 1921. Owen, Jack and Clara were shown as living at Westbourne, Manitoba, with the Sellmans and their four children.
Owen did not have long to enjoy his new life in Canada. He died at Westbourne, Manitoba, on 17th January 1923, aged 51.