James Keith (abt. 1669 - abt. 1739)

Born about 5 Dec 1669 in Bridgewater, Plymouth Colony, New England

Ancestors

Husband of Mary (Hodges) Keith — married 3 Sep 1695 in Bridgewater, Plymouth County, Province of Massachusetts Bay

Descendants

Died about 21 Oct 1739 at about age 69 in Mendon, Worcester County, Province of Massachusetts Bay

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Biography

Parentage and Place of Birth

James Keith, the first-born child of Rev. James Keith and Susanna (Edson) Keith, was born in Bridgewater, Plymouth County.^[1][2][3][4]

Date of Birth

According to "Keith: Collected Genealogies," "A Genealogy of the Descendants of Benjamin Keith," and "Edson Family History and Genealogy," he was born on December 5, 1669.^[2][3][4] However, none of those books cite any source for that date and it is quite possibly incorrect, as no evidence supporting that birth date has been found. Because James was named after his father, it is likely that he was the first born son, which would mean that he was probably born sometime in 1666-1673 (since Joseph's gravestone provides reasonable evidence that he was born in 1675). A birth date sometime in that time range is also consistent with the birth date of his first wife, who was born in February 1675/6. However, there appears to be no evidence to establish his birth order relative to his three eldest sisters in a way that could help narrow the window of his possible birth. Thus all that can be said is that it is probable that James was born sometime in 1666-1673 and, while it is possible that he was born on December 5, 1669, there is no reliable evidence that supports that particular date.

Marriage and Children

James married a woman whose first name was Mary, but there appears to be some uncertainty as to whether her last name was Thayer or Hodges. "Keith: Collected Genealogies" and the frequently unreliable "Edson Family History and Genealogy" say that her name was Thayer,^[2][4] while "Genealogical Record of the Hodges Family" says that her name was Hodges.^[5] Torrey's "U.S., New England Marriages Prior to 1700" notes both possibilities and lists her as "Mary [Thayer?]/[Hodges?]."^[6] It may be somewhat more probable that her name was Hodges, if only because there is solid evidence for the existence of a Mary Hodges who lived near Bridgewater and was of the correct age to have married James and borne children from 1696-1719, while no evidence has been found of the existence of a Mary Thayer who lived near Bridgewater and was of the correct age.

Torrey's suggests that the date of James and Mary's marriage may have been September 3, 1695,^[6] while "Keith: Collected Genealogies" and "Genealogical Record of the Hodges Family" just says it was about 1695.^[2][5] Based on the date of birth of their first child, a marriage date in late 1695 certainly seems quite plausible.

James and Mary had the following children:

1. James, b. November 6, 1696 in Bridgewater,^[7][8][1] m. May 7, 1722 Comfort Thayer in Mendon,^[5] d. November 16, 1770 in Uxbridge^[5]
2. Mary, b. November 20, 1698 in Bridgewater^[9][10][1]
3. Gershom, b. February 1, 1701 in Bridgewater,^[11][8][1] m. Mary ___,^[5] d. March 13, 1770^[5]
4. Israel, b. February 21, 1703 in Bridgewater,^[12][8][1] m. probably 1718 Deborah (Partridge?)^[5]
5. Faithful, b. December 16, 1704 in Bridgewater^[11][8][1]
6. Esther, b. April 9, 1707 in Bridgewater,^[11][8][1] m. about 1730 Josiah Thayer of Mendon^[5]
7. Jane, b. September 2, 1709 in Bridgewater,^[7][8][1] m. December 21, 1729 David Thayer in Mendon^[5]
8. Simeon, b. September 25, 1712 in Bridgewater,^[13][10][1] m. June 20, 1740 Abigail Aldrich in Smithfield, Rhode Island,^[5] d. about 1741 in Mendon^[5]
9. Job, b. May 2, 1715 in Mendon,^[10] m. March 16, 1736/7 Hannah Lovett in Simthfield, Rhode Island^[5]
10. George, b. June 8, 1717 in Mendon,^[8] m. Elizabeth _____,^[5] d. January 12, 1774 in Mendon^[5]
11. Micah, b. March 1, 1718/9 in Mendon,^[10] m. January 27, 1741/2 Bathsheba Ballou in Smithfield, Rhode Island,^[5] d. about 1745 in Mendon^[5]

Move to Mendon

According to "Keith: Collected Genealogies" and "History of the Early Settlement of Bridgewater," James moved to Mendon about 1719.^[2][1] However, based on the records of the place of birth of his children, it seems more likely that he moved sometime between 1712 and 1715.

According to "Keith: Collected Genealogies," James was a proprietor of Mendon and was chosen as moderator of the proprietors' meeting on August 26, 1735.^[2]

Death

"Keith: Collected Genealogies" states that James died on October 21, 1739, ^[2] but no source is provided. However, "History of the Early Settlement of Bridgewater" states that the inventory of his estate was recorded in 1741,^[1] which makes a date of death in 1739 seem quite plausible.

=

James, son of Rev. James Keith, was born in Bridgewater, December 5, 1669.

Sources

^{[1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] [11] [12] [7] [9] [13] [8] [10]}

1. ↑ ^{1.00 1.01 1.02 1.03 1.04 1.05 1.06 1.07 1.08 1.09 1.10 1.11} Nahum Mitchell, "History of the Early Settlement of Bridgewater," 1897, p 214
2. ↑ ^{2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 2.5 2.6 2.7} Laurence A. Keith, "Keith: Collected Genealogies of Keith, Keath & Keeth Families in North America," Gateway Press, 1997, p 52
3. ↑ ^{3.0 3.1 3.2} Ziba Keith, "A Genealogy of the Descendants of Benjamin Keith Through TImoty, son of Rev. James Keith," G.A. Goodall, 1889, p 11
4. ↑ ^{4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3} Edson, Carroll Andrew, "Edson Family History and Genealogy: Descendants of Samuel Edson of Salem and Bridgewater, Mass., Vol. 1," Ann Arbor, Mich., Lithographed by Edwards Bros., 1969, p 42
5. ↑ ^{5.00 5.01 5.02 5.03 5.04 5.05 5.06 5.07 5.08 5.09 5.10 5.11 5.12 5.13 5.14 5.15 5.16} Almon D. Hodges Jr., Compiler, Genealogical Record of the Hodges Family of New England Ending December 31, 1894, third edition (Boston: Printed for the Family by Frank H. Hodges, 1896), p. 81
6. ↑ ^{6.0 6.1 6.2} Torry, Clarence A. New England Marriages Prior to 1700. Baltimore, MD, USA: Genealogical Publishing Co., 2004
7. ↑ ^{7.0 7.1 7.2} "Vital Records of Bridgewater, Massachusetts, to the year 1850, Volume I - Births," New England Historic Genealogical Society, Boston, 1916, p 186
8. ↑ ^{8.0 8.1 8.2 8.3 8.4 8.5 8.6 8.7} "Vital Records of Mendon, Massachusetts to the Year 1850," 1920, p 108
9. ↑ ^{9.0 9.1} "Vital Records of Bridgewater, Massachusetts, to the year 1850, Volume I - Births," New England Historic Genealogical Society, Boston, 1916, p 188
10. ↑ ^{10.0 10.1 10.2 10.3 10.4} "Vital Records of Mendon, Massachusetts to the Year 1850," 1920, p 109
11. ↑ ^{11.0 11.1 11.2 11.3} "Vital Records of Bridgewater, Massachusetts, to the year 1850, Volume I - Births," New England Historic Genealogical Society, Boston, 1916, p 184
12. ↑ ^{12.0 12.1} "Vital Records of Bridgewater, Massachusetts, to the year 1850, Volume I - Births," New England Historic Genealogical Society, Boston, 1916, p 185
13. ↑ ^{13.0 13.1} "Vital Records of Bridgewater, Massachusetts, to the year 1850, Volume I - Births," New England Historic Genealogical Society, Boston, 1916, p 192

• New England Families, Genealogical and Memorial - p. 2213