William Keen (1686 - 1754)

Born 2 May 1686 in Boston, Suffolk, Massachusetts Bay Colony

Ancestors

Husband of Elizabeth (Bridgham) Keen — married 13 Jun 1710 in Boston, Suffolk, Province of Massachusetts Bay

Descendants

Died 29 Sep 1754 at age 68 in Saint John's, Newfoundland

Problems/Questions Profile manager: Mary Ottinger [send private message]

Biography

3. WILLIAM3 KEEN (WILLIAM2, WILLIAM1)1 was born 1686 in Boston, Massachusetts, U.S.A., and died September 29, 1754. He married ELIZABETH BRIDGEHAM Abt. 1709.

In 1736, William Keen of Milford filed a petition of divorce against Elizabeth Bridgham who he had married "sometime in ye month of July Anno dom 1709". He was married on 13 June 1710 by Mr. Ebenezer Pemberton in Boston.^[1]

Notes for WILLIAM KEEN:

All information on the KEAN family has been compiled By MICHAEL P. CAHILL , Chamberlains, Nfld.

Kean's Room. Ship Island,Greenspond Harbour Kean,Esq., Great Britain. Built by Claimants family 80 yrs ago(1725) Thomas Street,Poole Held by Lease July 28, 1805 1 Stage

From the files of The Gazette August 21, 1997

Little is known of William Keen's life before he came to Newfoundland in 1704. He is believed to be from Boston, Mass., and was probably born in the 1680s. He came to St. John's as an agent for New England merchants who traded with Newfoundland. Within 10 years he had established his own trading business, and soon became one of the largest suppliers in Newfoundland. He shipped fish and other local products to North American and European markets in return for manufactured goods needed by people who lived in Newfoundland. He was a strong promoter of English settlement of northeastern Newfoundland, an area usually left to the French.

Keen was a resident of St. John's during the fall of 1708 when the French forces under Saint-Ovide de Brouillan captured St. John's and burned the fort and most of the town. He was one of several inhabitants of St. John's transported to the French garrison at Placentia in March 1709 where he was kept prisoner until June. Keen later wrote a report of his imprisonment. { From Prowse's History of Newfoundland }

Excerpts from the opening paragraph of Keen's report, dated July 5, 1709.

December 21 1708. about 4 this morning we were alarmed by the firing of several musquets, & were within half an hours time reprized to heare the Fort was taken, without making resistance, some small time after the Fort surrender'd the Castle took the Alarm, & fired two Cannon. All the Inhabitants of that side being about sixty men were retired to the Castle. About 7 this morning, two French Officers came to assure the Inhabitants of good quarters, and took with them the most Master Inhabitants and Merchants into the Fort, where I saw Major Loyd very heavy ey'd, & little notice taken of him. ...about 5 in the Evening the Inhabitants & servants were imprison'd in store houses excepting some few that were left in their own houses. A fire happen'd and burnt two streets of houses, Mr. Russell was Committed to the Guard in the Guard House, Mr. Wm. Keen was confin'd with a Guard in his own house, Capt. Larrond Dennis was sent to have the Castle Surrender, which was at first refused, the next day December 22'd the People gave up the Castle with their Cannon charg'd, ...the 24th St. Ovide du Brouillian Comissr of the French forces sent four hund'rd seventy seven men prisoners to the Church and the House of Mr. Collins allowing them for their Subsistance, one pound of bread, four ounces of pork & four ounces of pease p'r diem, the Prisoners were set in Ranks & counted by the Indians, who threatened if they found any to absent themselves, they would kill as many more in their roome...

Keen was a driving force behind the establishment of a formal and effective judicial system in Newfoundland. For some years prior to Keen's arrival in Newfoundland, fishing admirals, with the authority of the British government, provided a crude form of "justice," often favoring the "criminal" who could provide the largest bribe. Their power lasted only during the seasonal fishing while they were in Newfoundland. The rest of the year, often October to May, anarchy reigned.

Residents made repeated requests for year-round justices in the decades before 1730, but the British government refused to act, even after a number of people were murdered. Keen had been at the forefront of the residents' demands and sent a number of accused criminals and witnesses to England for trial at his own expense, the only recourse available for those charged with capital crimes. Keen gained an ally in Lord Vere Beauclerk, the commander of the naval convoy in 1728. He urged Keen to keep up the lobbying effort and Keen did so. In 1729, Henry Osbourne, the convoy commander, was appointed first governor of Newfoundland. He was given authority to appoint justices of the peace (magistrates) who were empowered to hear petty offences, but only in the absence of the fishing admirals. Keen was one of five men appointed for the area including St. John's, Quidi Vidi, Petty Harbour, Torbay and Bay Bulls

While the fishing admirals still retained much power, the local officials gradually began to erode this power, and to increase their own jurisdiction and influence. Keen served as justice of the peace for over 20 years. His business flourished and so did his influence. Governors came to depend upon him and he was able to avail of the slowly increasing spoils of office. He was appointed commissary of the Vice-Admiralty Court in 1736, and health officer and naval officer for St. John's in 1741-1942. In 1750 the British government gave Newfoundland justices the right to hear all criminal cases except treason; Keen became the first commissioner of oyer and terminer, giving him the power to judge such cases.

Keen was reputed to be a fairly wealthy man. He had made a success of his business ventures in Newfoundland and owned extensive property and land along the St. John's waterfront, at Bonavista and Greenspond. Rumors had it that he kept his money hidden under his bed. On Sept. 9, 1754, Keen was attacked, ostensibly for his money stash; he was severely injured; the weapons used included a scythe and a musket. He died on Sept. 29 from his wounds. Nine people (three soldiers, five fishermen and a woman) were charged with the crime; four were hanged, ironically from gallows erected on the end of Keen's wharf; the other five were reprieved but banished from Newfoundland. Keen's property devolved to his son, William, who moved to England the following year.

Very little of William Keen's papers and business records are known to have survived, except for official correspondence to the British government included in the records of the Council for Trade and Plantations, which was responsible for the administration of Newfoundland from 1672 to 1782. There may also be correspondence and reports written by Keen in other British government records and in the private papers of British officials. A small amount of original material remains in Newfoundland, in particular the report Keen wrote of his imprisonment by the French during the winter of 1708-1709.

Last Will and Testament of Judge William Keen...............

In the name of God Amen The seventeenth day of September one thousand seven hundred and fifty four I William Keen Esquire of St. John's in the island of Newfoundland merchant being sick and weak in body but of perfect mind and memory thanks be given to God therefore calling unto mind the mortality of my body and knowing it is appointed to all men once to die do make and ordain this my last will and testament that is to say. Principally and first of all I give and recommend my soul into the hands of Almighty God that gave it, and my body I recommend to the earth to be buried in decent Christian burial at the discretion of my Executors, nothing doubting but at the General Resurrection I shall receive the same again by the Mighty Power of God and as touching such worldly estate wherewith it has pleased God to bless me in this life I give devise and dispose of the same in the following manner and form. Imprimis, I give and bequeath to my beloved grandson Benjamin Keen, the son of William and Mary Keen, when he shall attain the age of twenty-one the sum of five hundred pounds of lawful money of England to be paid by my Executor out of my estate. Item I give and bequeath to my other grandchildren William Keen, Sarah Keen, Mary Keen and Jane Keen children of the said William and Mary Keen when they shall attain to the age of twenty-one years each of them the sum of one hundred pounds of lawful money of England to be paid likewise out of my estate by my Executor. Also I give to my well beloved son William Keen whom I likewise constitute and ordain my sole Executor Of this my last will and testament all and singular my lands, messuages, and Tenements by him freely to be possessed and enjoyed and I do utterly disallow, revoke and disannual all and every other former testaments, wills, legacies, and bequests and Executors by me in any ways before named willed and bequeathed ratifying and confirming this and no other to be my last will and testament. In Witness where I have hereunto set my hand and seal this day Signed, sealed, published, pronounced and declared by said William Keen Witness: Thomas Allan, John Burton, Jas Escott Proven at London at the Prerogative Court of Canterbury Jan. 9, 1755

Child of WILLIAM KEEN and ELIZABETH BRIDGEHAM is: This biography was auto-generated by a GEDCOM import. It's a rough draft and needs to be edited.

Name

https://www.ancestry.com/mediaui-viewer/collection/1030/tree/34869412/person/28129201162/media/eeb24616-d0c3-4bab-882f-7fd26af5d5c4?_phsrc=wmp10844&usePUBJs=true

Name: William /Keen/^[2]

Sources

1. ↑ “Divorce Papers, 1712-1899, A-Z”, database with images, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3Q9M-CSPW-5SBW-X : 16 March 2021), New Haven, Connecticut, FHL microfilm 008237553, image 366-373.
2. ↑ Source: #S2 Page: Ancestry Family Tree

• "Massachusetts Marriages, 1695-1910," database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:FCQY-QLM : 4 December 2014), Willm. Keen and Eliza. Bridgham, 13 Jun 1710; citing reference ; FHL microfilm 0928191 IT 2.

• Title: Ancestry Family Trees Publication: Name: Online publication - Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com. Original data: Family Tree files submitted by Ancestry members.

Acknowledgments

Thank you to Brian King for creating WikiTree profile Keen-622 through the import of Osmond.ged on Jul 22, 2013. Click to the Changes page for the details of edits by Brian and others.