Biography

When Junius Key (sometimes Keys) met and married his wife Virginia Sargent he was not a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and had no interest in his wife’s religion. Ten years later, however, a faith healing at the hands of Latter-day Saint missionaries changed his mind. Junius converted in rural Caroline County, Virginia, and spent the rest of his life there raising a large family.[1]

Junius Key was born on 8 July 1892, the third of six children born to Mary Ellen Childs and Pleasant Key. The Key family lived and worked on a farm in Caroline County but by the time Junius turned nineteen he found emplyment performing odd jobs at a local sawmill.[2]

At some point Junius met Mary Virginia Sargent, also from Caroline County, and the young couple fell in love. They welcomed their first child, Mary Ellen Key, on 28 March 1913 and then just over three months later they traveled to Washington, D.C. to get married. They exchanged vows on 7 July 1913, the day before Junius’s twenty-first birthday.[3] At the time of their marriage, Junius worked as a farmer and Virginia described herself as a housewife.[4]

Four years later, Junius registered for the World War I draft while he worked for a man named Jesse Thomas on his farm in Caroline County. At the time of his registration Junius lived in Ruther Glen, Virginia, and was the father of three children (he and Virginia would eventually have twelve children together).[5]  Junius identified as "African" and the registrar described him as tall and slender with black hair and dark eyes.[6]

In 1930, Junius worked as a farmer, and his family supplemented its income by hosting “lodgers.”[7] By 1940 Junius worked for the railroad, a job he maintained two years later when he registered for the World War II draft. He reported that he lived in Hewlett, Virginia, and worked for the Richmond, Fredericksburg & Potomac Railroad at the Potomac Yard in Alexandria. The registrar described him as “dark brown” and noted that he had “bad scars” on his left leg.[8]

Virginia was a Latter-day Saint when she married Junius but he was not. In fact, one of their daughters later recalled that “Daddy was not a member. He didn’t want any part of it.”[9] That changed, however, ten years later when Virginia fell sick and Junius witnessed what he considered a miraculous healing at the hands of Latter-day Saint missionaries. As their daughter recalled the story, Virginia had contracted a serious illness in 1923 and she requested that missionaries visit and bless her. In the meantime Junius hitched a horse and buggy together and left in search of a doctor. Junius somewhat expected that “by the time he got back he . . . would find Mama dead or at the point close to death,” their daughter recalled. Instead, “when he got back, Mama was testifying.” As their daughter Virginia told it, “the elders had dropped by out of the clear blue sky. Nobody knew where they came from.” When Junius arrived he could hear his wife in the house “hollering, praising and testifying.” As Junius entered the house he said, “‘Virginia?’ She looked over, and she said, ‘Junius, I told you all I needed were the elders; all I need[ed] were the Mormons.’” In response, Junius turned to the missionaries and said, “I don’t know what you all got. But whatever it is, give me some too.” As his daughter remembered, “My father joined the Church during that time.”[10]

On 17 September 1923, Latter-day Saint missionary James R. Steadman from Riverton, Utah, baptized Junius and Sylvan O. Josephson from Brigham City, Utah, confirmed him a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Junius was 31 years old at the time of his conversion.[11]

Not all of Junius’s and Virginia’s children were baptized but they were nonetheless raised with Latter-day Saint values. Junius did not remain as committed to the faith as his wife but he did maintain his affiliation. As his daughter Virginia recalled, “All of us more or less came up with a lot of Mormon in us. Daddy joined the Church in the 1920s. He kind of strayed from the Church some. But the night before he died he asked for the elders. I called them, and they came and gave him a blessing. I was very glad he did.”[12] Junius died from lung cancer and congestive heart failure on May 6, 1969.[13] He is buried in the Jericho Baptist Church Cemetery in Ruther Glen, Virginia.[14]

By Joseph Stuart with research assistance from Aaron Lee Reid

Primary Sources

Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Record of Members Collection. Southern States Mission, Virginia District. Microfilm 1995. Family History Library. Salt Lake City, Utah.

Keys, Raymond W. Oral interview by Alan Cherry, 14 October 1986. Transcript. Charles Redd Center for Western Studies Oral History Project. L. Tom Perry Special Collections. Harold B. Lee Library. Brigham Young University. Provo, Utah.

“Marriage Licenses.” The Washington Times (Washington, D.C.), 8 July 1913, 13.

“Sargent.” Presiding Bishopric stake and mission census, 1914-1935. C.R. 4 311. Church History Library, Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Salt Lake City, Utah.

United States. 1900 Census. Virginia, Caroline County, Madison District.

United States. 1910 Census. Virginia, Caroline County, Madison District.

United States. 1920 Census. Virginia, Caroline County, Madison District.

United States. 1930 Census. Virginia, Caroline County, Madison District.

United States. 1940 Census. Virginia, Caroline County, Madison District.

United States. Virginia. Caroline County. World War I Draft Registration Cards, 1917-1918. Junius Key. National Archives and Records Administration, Washington, DC.

United States. Virginia. Hewlitt. World War II Draft Registration Cards. Junius Key. National Archives and Records Administration, Washington, DC.

Virginia. State Board of Health. Bureau of Vital Statistics. Certificates of Death. File no. 69-014255. Registered number 1636, Junius Kee. Virginia State Archives, Richmond, Virginia.

Virginia. State Board of Health. Bureau of Vital Statistics. Certificates of Death. File no. 8833. Registered number 12, Mary Ellen Key. Virginia State Archives, Richmond, Virginia.

Virginia. State Board of Health. Bureau of Vital Statistics. Certificates of Death. File no. 19800. Registered number 9, Arneta E. Smith. Virginia State Archives, Richmond, Virginia.

Virginia. State Board of Health. Bureau of Vital Statistics. Certificates of Death. File no. 22361. Registered number 0160, James Randolph Kee. Virginia State Archives, Richmond, Virginia.

Washington. District of Columbia. Marriages, 1830-1921. Jamious Key and Mary V. Sargent, 7 July 1913.

Wright, Virginia K. Oral interview by Alan Cherry, 14 October 1986. Transcript. Charles Redd Center for Western Studies Oral History Project. L. Tom Perry Special Collections. Harold B. Lee Library. Brigham Young University. Provo, Utah.

Secondary Sources

Embry, Jessie L. Black Saints in a White Church: Contemporary African-American Mormons . Salt Lake City: Signature Books, 1994.

Hill’s Richmond Virginia City Directory . Vol. 72. Hill Directory Company, 1936.

Keys, Junius . Findagrave.com.

Documents

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