Susanna (Edson) Keith (abt. 1641 - 1705)

Born about 1641 in Salem, Massachusetts Bay Colony, New England

Ancestors

Wife of James Keith Sr. — married about 1666 in Bridgewater, Plymouth Colony [uncertain]

Descendants

Died 16 Oct 1705 at about age 64 in Bridgewater, Plymouth, Province of Massachusetts Bay

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Biography

Parentage; Date and Place of Birth

Susanna Edson was the daughter of Samuel Edson.^[1][2][3] Her paternal parentage is established, in part, by a bequest to her in Samuel Edson's will.^[4] As discussed in her father's profile, her mother was Susannah Bickley, not the non-existent Susanna Orcutt.

Susanna Edson's date of birth is uncertain. Since her parents were married in March 1639,^[5] the earliest that Susanna would probably have been born is 1639. Based on Susanna's estimated date of marriage (1666), the latest Susanna would probably have been born in 1648. The inscription on her tomb states that she was aged 65 when she died on October 16, 1705,^[6] which would mean that she was born about 1640. However, age at death inscriptions are frequently somewhat inaccurate and several factors suggest that she was probably born after 1640. First, evidence suggests that Susanna was Samuel Edson's second-born daughter. Her father's will lists the names of his daughters and Susanna's name is the listed after that of her sister Elizabeth.^[4] Since, traditionally, names of children were listed in wills in the order in which they were born, that suggests that Susanna was Samuel Edson's second-born daughter. The proposition that Susanna was younger than her sister Elizabeth is also supported by the fact that Elizabeth's husband was born significantly earlier than Susanna's (1633 versus 1643) and the fact that Elizabeth was married about four years before Susanna (1662 versus 1666).^[7] Since Susanna's parents were married in March 1639, it is very unlikely that they would have had a second child born before 1641. Second, Susanna's husband was not born until 1643 and it would have been unusual for a wife to have been three years older than her husband. Therefore, while it is possible that Susanna was born in 1640, it is more likely that she was born in 1641 and perhaps even later.

Based on the fact that her parents settled in Salem, Massachusetts Bay Colony in 1639 and lived there until they moved to Bridgewater about 1651,^[8] she was almost certainly born in Salem.

Marriage and Children

Susanna married Rev. James Keith.^[9][2][10] As discussed in her husband's profile, secondary sources suggest a number of different dates from May 3, 1665 to May 3, 1668 for their marriage, but none seem reliable. Based on the likelihood that Susanna and James had five children by early 1675 (when the gravestone of son Joseph says he was born), it is most likely that their first born child was born about 1667 (with dates of birth in 1667, 1669, 1671, 1673 and 1675), suggesting a date of marriage about 1666. Since both Susanna's family and James Keith lived in Bridgewater at that time, they were probably married there.

Susanna and James had the following children, all born in Bridgewater:

1. Susanna, b. probably sometime 1666-1669 (probably 1st born daughter), m. January 8, 1688/9 Jonathan Howard probably in Bridgewater, d. probably 1689 without children
2. James, b. probably sometime 1666-1673 (perhaps December 5, 1669), m. September 3, 1695 Mary Hodges/Thayer probably in Bridgewater, d. October 21, 1739 in Mendon
3. Mary, b. probably sometime 1668-1671 (probably after Susanna but before Margaret), m. about November 1688 Ephraim Howard in Bridgewater, d. February 1760 in Bridgewater
4. Margaret, b. probably sometime 1671-1673 (probably after Mary), m. about 1693 Joseph Hunt in Bridgewater, d. July 4, 1750 in Milton
5. Joseph, b. February 14, 1675, m. about 1694 Elizabeth Fobes, d. September 27, 1730
6. Samuel, b. about 1677, m. January 20, 1702/3 Bethiah Fobes, d. February 3, 1757
7. Josiah, b. probably about 1678, m. January 6, 1703 Mary Lathrop, d. February 4, 1754
8. Timothy, b. about 1683, m. February 1, 1710 Hannah Fobes, d. November 8, 1767 in Bridgewater
9. John, b. perhaps about 1688 although possibly earlier, m. April 18, 1711 Hannah Washburn, d. June 11, 1761

Death

Susanna died in Bridgewater on October 16, 1705.^[6][2] The inscription on the tomb for her and her husband in the Old Graveyard in West Bridgewater reads "Here lies the body of Mrs. Susanna Keith, died Oct. 16, 1705, aged 65 yrs."^[6]

^{[1] [3] [4] [10] [2] [9] [8] [6]}

Sources

1. ↑ ^{1.0 1.1} Jarvis Bonesteel Edson, "Edsons in England and America and Genealogy of the Edsons," The Knickerbocker Press, 1903, pp 448-9
2. ↑ ^{2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3} 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
3. ↑ ^{3.0 3.1} Nahum Mitchell, "History of the Early Settlement of Bridgewater," 1840, p 151
4. ↑ ^{4.0 4.1 4.2} Jarvis Bonesteel Edson, "Edsons in England and America and Genealogy of the Edsons," The Knickerbocker Press, 1903, p 132
5. ↑ See "Marriage; Susannah Bickley Not Orcutt" in profile for Susanna's father, Samuel Edson.
6. ↑ ^{6.0 6.1 6.2 6.3} Find A Grave: Memorial #21757258
7. ↑ See "Children" in profile for Susanna's father, Samuel Edson.
8. ↑ ^{8.0 8.1} See profile for her father, Samuel Edson.
9. ↑ ^{9.0 9.1} Nahum Mitchell, "History of the Early Settlement of Bridgewater," 1897, p 214
10. ↑ ^{10.0 10.1} Torry, Clarence A. New England Marriages Prior to 1700. Baltimore, MD, USA: Genealogical Publishing Co., 2004.