William Key Sr (abt. 1721 - 1774)

Born about 1721 in likely New Jersey

Husband of Mary (Faucett) Key — married 1745 in Gloucester, New Jersey

Descendants

Died 1774 at about age 53 in Woolwich Township, Gloucester, New Jersey

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Biography

William Key Sr was a New Jerseyan.

William was born about 1721 likely in New Jersey. He was the son of Unknown Key and Unknown Unknown Key Craighead. (His father is possibly John Key). His father passed away when he was young (prior to 1732) as his mother “Widow Key” then married Robert Craighead Sr. (His mother’s name is likely Jane Smith). They had a son, Robert Craighead Jr, born about 1734 (William’s half-brother).

Marriage: William Sr. married Mary Faucett in 1745 and they had at least seven children together. He was a “yeoman” in Woolwich Township, Gloucester, New Jersey.

Their children are:

1. Job Key
2. William Key jr
3. john Key
4. Joseph Key
5. Thomas Key
6. Hannah (Key) Beckett
7. Sarah Key

William passed away in 1774 in Woolwich Township, Gloucester, New Jersey. He included his half-brother, Robert Craighead Jr, in his Will.

Notations on father of William Key of Gloucester County, New Jersey (likely John Kay/Key): …“NJ Key family records show a William Key Sr born between 1700 and 1730, son of a John Key (Kay) Jr, of Gloucester County [Haines does not list a son William. KP]. There were three marriages for the name John Kay: Sarah Langston in 1707, Jane Smith in 1720, and Sarah Ellis in 1730.

Unfortunately, I have found no will or death record for John Key Jr, and can only assume he died 1725-38, and that his widow was Jane Smith Key, who then married Robert Craghead. The hints that it was Jane Smith include:

John Kay Sr (1656-1742) left a will showing a widow Sarah, whom I assume to be Sarah Ellis. Since both the Ellis family and John Kay Sr were landed and prominent Quakers, this can be researched.

John Kay Sr ‘s will did not mention his son John in 1742. Since William Key Sr (son of John Key Jr) was obviously an OLDER half-brother of Robert Craghead Jr born 1734, and William Key Sr had other siblings, it seems more likely that William Key Sr was the product of a 1720 marriage (to Jane Smith) than a 1738 marriage to (Sarah Ellis).

Though it does not prove WHICH John Kay, note that both a John Kay and a William Key Sr married Smith women (Jane and Barbara).

William Key Sr and his son William were managers of Raccoon Island, Gloucester Co. William Key Sr married Barbara Smith in 1743, had children Thomas, Hannah, William, Sarah, John, Job, and Joseph, and died 1774. (The will mentioning his half-brother Robert Craghead, etc). This son Job served in 1775 in Maryland troops, in Baltimore County, MD, home of Robert Craghead Sr and Jemima, and is the only pertinent Key footprint in Maryland.

William Key Jr married Elizabeth Hendricson and died about 1785. In 1776 he was attacked in his home by British soldiers, in the presence of his wife and a young Job Creaghead born 1764 (son of Robert Craghead Jr).”…….excerpted, Dave Casto, "An Overview of Craighead Origins," Jul 1990, and "Craigheads in Early Maryland," Jul 1991.

Excerpt from the Will of William Key, dated Sept. 16, 1774 (makes notations of his children’s names and his half-brother Robert Craighead Jr):
“ 1774, Sept 16. Key William, of Woolwich Township, Gloucester Co., yeoman: will of. Wife, L50, and L20 yearly. Sons Job, John, William, Joseph and Thomas, and my daughters, Hannah Beckett and Sarah Key, L100 to each. My half brother, Robert Craghead, L30. . . . The will of William Key of Gloucester Co, NJ, died 1774, named him [Robert Craghead] as a half-brother. His preacher's diary labeled him "an Irishman, born 1734 in MD"…..

Notations on his half-brother, Robert Craighead, Jr., of Gloucester County, New Jersey:
“Robert Craighead, Jr., settled in Woolwich Township, Gloucester County, New Jersey. His age is known from the 1738 apprenticeship document and his military service records. Documents further detail his life: his marriage and children,[35] his 1756 service in the French and Indian War, when he was a resident of Baltimore, 21 years old, and a hunter,[36] his half-brother William Key’s will,[37] a census in 1779,[38] and his burial record on 31 Dec 1790.[39]“…. Excerpted from https://alvispat.wordpress.com/craighead-robert-sr-of-baltimore-and-virginia/

Notations on his mother “Widow Key” and her second husband, Robert Craighead Sr:
“ Robert Craghead Sr (who married Katherine Ward in 1736) was the father of:

1. Robert Craghead bcl734 in Baltimore, who died in Gloucester Co, NJ;
2. John Craghead bc1740 in Bedford Co, VA;
3. Polly Craghead Kemp bc 1743 in Virginia
4. Peter Craghead bc1750 in Virginia.
5. (? )Charlotte Craghead bc 1765

It is likely, however, that prior to l734, Robert Sr married a widow Key with son William Key, and that she was the mother of Robert Craghead Jr bc1734. Widow Key possibly was the former Jane Smith, of Gloucester Co, NJ. widow of John Key (Kay) Jr of Gloucester Co. The Robert Craghead who married Katherine Ward in Baltimore in 1736, and had a son Robert born cl734, would likely have been born prior to 1715. The fact that he bound out his son Robert at age 5 in 1738 might indicate that his wife died by that year. Katherine was probably not the mother of Robert Jr., since he was born two years prior to the marriage, and since other evidence shows the mother of Robert Jr to have been a widow Key. ”……excerpted from CRAIGHEADS IN EARLY MARYLAND, a 10 page essay prepared by Dave Casto; Revised January 1991

Notations on Yeoman (land owner and planter):
“ There was no order of noblemen in early colonial America, but there was a "social arrangement" of gentlemen and yeomen planters. The term "yeoman" appears with special frequency in the early land patents, and it was used to express exactly the same rank as the like term inserted in contemporary legal documentation in England. The fact that it was not freely used, is an evidence that, when employed at all, it was employed with discrimination. Initially, the term was designated in the procurement of early land patents. The term "yeoman" is recorded often in the county records long after the names of these early settlers were entered in the land patents. Originally, "yeoman" meant simply a small landowner, and his social position in the community lay between that of the gentleman planter and that of the common laborer. The term came to represent planters and land owners of means and prominence.”…..

Sources

• See <Craigheads Online> at http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~craighead/articles/index.html and http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~craighead/archives/casto.txt.

• Calendar of Wills, Administrations, Etc. 1771-1780. Documents Relating to the Colonial History of the State of New Jersey. (Trenton, NJ: Archives of the State of New Jersey), volume 34, page