Joseph Keith Sr. (abt. 1675 - 1730)

Born about 14 Feb 1675 in Bridgewater, Plymouth Colony

Ancestors

Husband of Elizabeth (Fobes) Keith — married about 1694 in Bridgewater, Plymouth County, Province of Massachusetts Bay

Descendants

Died 27 Sep 1730 at about age 55 in Bridgewater, Plymouth County, Province of Massachusetts Bay

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Biography

Parentage and Place of Birth

Joseph Keith, son of Rev. James Keith and Susanna (Edson) Keith, was born in Bridgewater, Massachusetts.^{[1][2][3] [4]}

Date of Birth

Of the nine children of James and Susanna Keith, Joseph is the only one whose exact date of birth is known from a reasonably reliable source. Joseph's gravestone states that he was born on "February the 14th day, 1675."^[5][6] That date was adopted by "Keith: Collection of Genealogies"^[3] and "A Genealogy of the Descendants of Benjamin Keith."^[2] C.E. Keith's 1873 "Memoir of Royal Keith,"^[7] and "Edson Family History and Genealogy" which adopted its dates,^[4] however, say that Joseph was born on November 8, 1671. Neither "Memoir of Royal Keith" nor "Edson Family History and Genealogy" provides any source for that date. The only evidence that supports the 1671 date over the 1675 date is the fact that Joseph and his wife had their first child in 1695, when Joseph would have been only 20, when is quite young. However, the 1675 birth date is consistent with the 1677 birth date of his wife,^[8] which suggests that they were both quite young when they were married. In the absence of better evidence supporting the 1671 date or inconsistent with the 1675 date, the February 14, 1675 date on his gravestone should be deferred to based on the reasonable reliability of such dates.

Marriage and Children

Joseph married Elizabeth Fobes.^[1] There is no record of their marriage. However, based on the date of birth of their first child, they were probably married in 1694. Since both Joseph and Elizabeth's family were residents of Bridgewater, it is reasonable to assume that they were married there.

Joseph and Elizabeth had the following children, all born in Bridgewater:

1. Anna, b. April 19, 1695,^[9][1] m. 1717 Capt. Ebenezer Alden^[1]
2. Susanna, b. March 8, 1697/8,^[10][1] m. 1717 Jonathan Cary,^[1] d. September 5, 1718^[11]
3. Joseph, b. January 1, 1699/1700,^[12][1] m. 1st October 3, 1721 Susannah Field in Bridgewater,^[13][14] m. 2d 1763 Keziah (Perry) Bailey,^[13][14] d. 1777
4. Jemima, b. November 11, 1701,^[15][1] m. 1722 Deacon James Packard^[1]
5. Eleazar (Eliezer), b. January 11, 1703,^[16][15][1] m. 1726 Keziah Kingman^[1]
6. Abigail, b. May 20, 1705,^[17][1] m. 1725 Robert Howard^[1]
7. Ephraim, b. March 21, 1707/8^[16][1]
8. Ichabod, b. March 14, 1709/10,^[18][1] m. Lydia,^[1] d. without children^[1]
9. Martha, b. June 14, 1711,^[19][1] m. 1734 Constant Southworth^[1]
10. Mary, b. October 12, 1713,^[19][1] m. 1732 Jonathan Kingman^[1]
11. Elizabeth, b. April 23, 1715,^[16][1] m. 1731 Samuel Lathrop^[1]

Notes on His Life

According to "History of the Early Settlement of Bridgewater," Joseph was the executor of his father's will, and inherited his homestead, and was Representative in 1726.^[1]

Will; Death; Estate

Joseph made his will on September 22, 1730. In his will, he made bequests to wife Elizabeth, eldest son Joseph Keith, second son Eliezer Keith, third son Ephraim Keith, fourth son Ichabod Keith, daughter Anna Alden, daughter Jemima Packard, daughter Abigail Haward, daughter Martha Keith, daughter Mary Keith and daughter Elizabeth Keith. He named his son Ichabod as sole executor. The will was witnessed by Samuel Keith, Timothy Keith and John Keith.^[20]

Joseph's gravestone states that he "died Sept. the 27th day, 1730, in the 55 year of his age."^[5][6] He was buried in the Old Graveyard in what is now West Bridgewater.^[5][6]

Joseph's will was probated on November 2, 1730 (by witnesses Samuel and Timothy Keith) and March 5, 1730/1 (by witness John Keith).^[20]

The inventory of Joseph's estated was taken by John Kingman, Joseph Snell and John Burr and was recorded on January 11, 1730/1. The inventory totalled £1339 and included his house with 40 adjoining acres (£600), a piece of land by Joseph Packard (£200), land & meadow at a place called West Meadow (£108), clothes, bedding and linen (£128), a yoke of oxen, a colt, mares, five cows, a yoke of steer, young cattle, calves, sheep and swine (£155), plows, cart wheels and other implements of husbandry (£12), furniture and miscellaneous household items.^[20]

^{[20] [11] [1] [2] [4] [3] [5] [6] [7] [8] [9] [10] [12] [15] [16] [17] [18] [19] [14] [13]}

Sources

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 1.12 1.13 1.14 1.15 1.16 1.17 1.18 1.19 1.20 1.21 1.22 1.23 1.24} Nahum Mitchell, "History of the Early Settlement of Bridgewater," 1897, p 214
2. ↑ ^{2.0 2.1 2.2} Ziba Keith, "Genealogy of the Descendants of Benjamin Keith," Goodall, 1889. pp 11
3. ↑ ^{3.0 3.1 3.2} Laurence A. Keith, "Keith: Collected Genealogies of Keith, Keath & Keeth Families in North America," Gateway Press, 1997, p 67
4. ↑ ^{4.0 4.1 4.2} Edson, Carroll Andrew, "Edson Family History and Genealogy: Descendants of Samuel Edosn of Salem and Bridgewater, Mass., Vol. 1," Ann Arbor, Mich., Lithographed by Edwards Bros., 1969, p 42
5. ↑ ^{5.0 5.1 5.2 5.3} "Joseph Keith," Find A Grave Memorial# 21737777, findagrave.com
6. ↑ ^{6.0 6.1 6.2 6.3} Williams Latham, "Epitaphs of Old Bridgewater, Massachusetts," 1882, p 2
7. ↑ ^{7.0 7.1} Williams Latham, "Epitaphs of Old Bridgewater, Massachusetts," 1882, p 3
8. ↑ ^{8.0 8.1} "Vital Records of Bridgewater, Massachusetts, to the year 1850, Volume I - Births," New England Historic Genealogical Society, Boston, 1916, p 114
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 180
10. ↑ ^{10.0 10.1} "Vital Records of Bridgewater, Massachusetts, to the year 1850, Volume I - Births," New England Historic Genealogical Society, Boston, 1916, p 192
11. ↑ ^{11.0 11.1} Williams Latham, "Epitaphs of Old Bridgewater, Massachusetts," 1882, p 3. Veiwable at archive.org.
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 187
13. ↑ ^{13.0 13.1 13.2} "Vital Records of Bridgewater, Massachusetts, to the year 1850, Volume II - Marriages and Deaths," New England Historic Genealogical Society, Boston, 1916, p 213
14. ↑ ^{14.0 14.1 14.2} Nahum Mitchell, "History of the Early Settlement of Bridgewater," 1897, p 215
15. ↑ ^{15.0 15.1 15.2} "Vital Records of Bridgewater, Massachusetts, to the year 1850, Volume I - Births," New England Historic Genealogical Society, Boston, 1916, p 186
16. ↑ ^{16.0 16.1 16.2 16.3} "Vital Records of Bridgewater, Massachusetts, to the year 1850, Volume I - Births," New England Historic Genealogical Society, Boston, 1916, p 183
17. ↑ ^{17.0 17.1} "Vital Records of Bridgewater, Massachusetts, to the year 1850, Volume I - Births," New England Historic Genealogical Society, Boston, 1916, p 179
18. ↑ ^{18.0 18.1} "Vital Records of Bridgewater, Massachusetts, to the year 1850, Volume I - Births," New England Historic Genealogical Society, Boston, 1916, p 185
19. ↑ ^{19.0 19.1 19.2} "Vital Records of Bridgewater, Massachusetts, to the year 1850, Volume I - Births," New England Historic Genealogical Society, Boston, 1916, p 188
20. ↑ ^{20.0 20.1 20.2 20.3} "Massachusetts, Plymouth County, Probate Records, 1633-1967," images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3QS7-997D-NHCR : 20 May 2014), Probate records 1730-1733 and 1839-1845 vol 6-6U > image 14-17 of 589; State Archives, Boston.