The Proctor Family

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CAPTAIN JABEZ KEEP (1706–1774), son of Samuel Keep and Sarah Colton

EXPERIENCE LAWRENCE (1719–aft. 1774), daughter of Major Eleazer Lawrence and Mary Scripture

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Jabez the son of Samuel and Sarah Keep was born on 10 March 1706 in Springfield, Hampden County, Massachusetts. [Ref] He died on 19 August 1774, age 68, in Harvard, Worcester County, Massachusetts [Ref] He married first Sarah Leonard of Springfield on 16 April 1730 in Littleton, Middlesex County, Massachusetts. [Ref][Ref] Sarah, the daughter of Joseph and Sarah Leonard, was born on 10 August 1707 in Springfield. [Ref][Ref] She died on 9 March 1738/9, age 31, in Westford. [Ref] He married second Experience Lawrence on 3 April 1740 in Littleton. [Ref]

Jabez's first wife was his second cousin. Her grandfather was Joseph Leonard, the brother of Jabez's grandmother Sarah Leonard. [Ref]

The inscription on Captain Jabez Keep's gravestone in the Harvard Center Cemetery in Harvard says, "Here lies the remains of Capt. Jabez Keep, who departed this life Aug. 19th, 1774, aged 68 years, 4 months & 28 days." [Ref]

Sarah (Leonard) Keep is buried in the Fairview Cemetery in Westford. The inscription on her gravestone says, "Here lyes buried ye body of Mrs Sarah Keep wife to Mr Jabez Keep who died March 9th AD 1739 in ye 32 year of her age." [Ref]

Experience, the daughter of Eleazer and Mary Lawrence, was born on 22 June 1719 in Groton. [Ref] She died after 19 August 1774, when her husband mentioned her in his will.

On 29 November 1729 Jabez bought the forge and tools of Samuel Kent of Westford. [Ref]

John appears on the first Westford tax list in 1730. [Ref]

When the town minister complained to the Court about his salary in 1739, Jabez was appointed to a committee to "vindicate said town." [Ref]

Jabez was a selectman in 1742, 1744 to 1747, 1750 to 1752, and 1754 to 1757. He was town clerk in 1747 and 1751. [Ref]

Captain Jabez Keep was admitted to communion on 20 September 1761 in the church at Westford. [Ref]

The town bought a bell in autumn 1763 and it was probably installed by the spring of 1764; Captain Jabez Keep contributed "15 hundred of bords" to the enterprise. [Ref]

In 1768 Jabez sold his forge and other property in Westford and moved to Harvard, where he had a forge. [Ref]

Jabez Keep of Harvard, "being weak in body but of sound mind" made his will on 7 July 1773. He mentioned his wife Experience, his sons Samuel, Jabez, Leonard, and Jonathan, his eldest daughter Sarah Leonard, his second daughter Lucy Rogers, his third daughter Eunice Fletcher, his fourth daughter Mary Proctor, his fifth daughter Ruth Green, his sixth daughter Bette Hapgood, his seventh daughter Experience Hildreth, his eighth daughter Jemima and his ninth daughter Rebecca. He named his son Jabez his executor. His witnesses testified on 12 September 1774. [Ref]

Children of Jabez Keep and Sarah Leonard: Births recorded in Westford. [Ref] Baptisms recorded by the church in Westford. [Ref]

i. Sarah Keep was born on 10 April 1731. She was baptised on 6 June 1731. She died on 18 January 1761 in West Springfield. [Ref] She married as his first wife Captain Preserved Leonard of Springfield on 22 May 1751 in Westford. [Ref] Preserved was born on 13 March 1728. [Ref] Preserved, the son of Nathaniel Leonard, was baptized on 21 April 1728 in Springfield. [Ref] Captain Preserved Leonard died on 18 May 1801, age 73, in West Springfield. [Ref] He married second Mary Morely on 23 September 1761 in West Springfield. [Ref] She died on 3 March 1786, age 56 in West Springfield. [Ref] He married third the widow Mary Harwood of Westfield on 6 April 1788 in Westfield. [Ref] She died on 6 June 1790 in West Springfield. [Ref]

ii. Samuel Keep was born in November 1732. He was baptized on 3 December 1732. He died on 3 December 1802, age 71, in Middlebury, Addison County, Vermont. [Ref] Samuel Keep married Sarah Chipman of Salisbury, Litchfield County, Connecticut as her second husband on 25 December 1755 in Salisbury. [Ref][Ref] Sarah the daughter of Jacob (Samuel) and Abigail (Fuller) Chipman, was born on 23 November 1722. [Ref] She married first her first cousin John Chipman in 1744. [Ref] John, the son of Thomas (Samuel) Chipman, was born about 1726 in Groton. [Ref] He died on 23 September 1753. [Ref] Sarah, the wife of Samuel Keep, died on 28 November 1804, age 84.

Samuel and Sarah are buried together in the Seeley Cemetery in Middlebury. The inscription on their gravestone says, "Samuel Keep died Dec. 3, 1802. In the 71 year of his age | Sarah Keep relict of Samuel Keep died Nov. 28, 1804, age 84." [Ref]

John Chipman was a farmer in Salisbury, Connectiticut. [Ref]

Samuel went to Salisbury, Vermont and was engaged in iron manufacturing. [Ref] He arrived at Salisbury, Vermont, via Crown Point, and stayed to work in the bloomery. [Ref]

iii. Lucy Keep was born on 7 November 1734. She was baptized on 12 January 1735. She died on 3 June 1803, age 68. She married Jabez Rogers. He might have been the Jabez, son of Nathaniel and Silence Rogers, who was born on 30 June 1727 in Eastham, Barnstable County, Massachusetts. [Ref] This Jabez was the grandson of John Rogers and great-grandson of Mayflower passenger Joseph Rogers. He died on 23 May 1803, age 74.

Roger and Lucy are buried together in the Spring Hill Cemetery in Tolland Center, Hampden County, Vermont. The inscription on their gravestone says, "In memory of Mrs Lucy wife of Mr Jabez Rogers died June 3d 1803 in the 69th year of her age | In memory of Mr Jabez Rogers who died May 23d 1803 in the 75th year of his age." [Ref]

iv. Captain Jabez Keep was born on 13 December 1736. He was baptized on 6 February 1737. He died on 21 January 1821. [Ref] He married Phebe Crosby on 7 July 1757 in Westford. [Ref] Phebe was born on 11 December 1738. [Ref] She died on 22 July 1826, age 88, in Harvard. [Ref][Ref] Taking five of their daughters, she left Jabez to join the Shaker community in Shirley, Massachusetts. [Ref] Jabez married second Mrs. Elizabeth Rogers. [Ref] She died on 26 January, 1818, age 78. [Ref] Jabez and Elizabeth are buried in the Hewins Cemetery in Sheffield, Berkshire County, Massachusetts. [Ref] Phebe is buried in the Shaker Burial Ground in Harvard. [Ref]

Jabez and Phebe had five children born in Salisbury, Connecticut between 1756 and 1769. [Ref]

Jabez took over his father's forge. [Ref]

Jabez was a soldier in the French and Indian War; he fought at Lake George, was in service at Crown Point and was in the 1760 expedition against Canada. He was a soldier in the Revolutionary War. [Ref] He enlisted at Harvard in April 1777 as a private in Captain Benjamin Brown's Company, Colonel Michael Jackson's Massachusetts Regiment and served until December 1780. He was at the Battle of Monmouth. [Ref]

On 27 April 1818 he successfully applied for a pension. He said that he was a resident of Sheffield; that he had been a bloomer, but was unable to work. He said that he was in reduced circumstances; his wife had died after being sick for twelve years, and he spent everything he had on supporting her. [Ref]

Children of Jabez Keep and Experience Lawrence: Births recorded in Westford. [Ref] Baptisms recorded by the church in Westford. [Ref]

v. Eunice Keep was born on 18 May 1741. She was baptized on 24 May 1741. She married Zechariah Fletcher after 22 August 1761 (intention) in Westford. [Ref] Zechariah, the son of Zechariah and Susanna (Fassett) Fletcher and grandson of Joshua Fletcher, was born on 23 June 1740 in Westford. [Ref][Ref]

Zechariah and Eunice went to Maine about 1769. [Ref]

vii. Major Leonard Keep was born on 7 October 1742. He was baptized on 10 October 1742. He died on 29 January 1829, age 89. He married Ruth Stone on 7 October 1765 in Westford. [Ref] Ruth was the daughter of Ebenezer Stone of Westford. [Ref]

Leonard and Ruth are buried in the Maple Grove Cemetery in Franklin, Franklin County, Vermont. The inscription on his gravestone says, "Maj. Leonard Keep died Jan 29, 1829 aged 89 years." The inscription on her gravestone says, "Ruth wife of Maj Leonard died Oct 18, 1816 aged 73 years. [Ref]

On 18 May 1766, Leonard Keep and Ruth, his wife, by confession of fornication—the church heard such confessions regularly—were restored to the favor of the church in Westford. They owned the covenant that day. [Ref]

vii. Mary Keep was born on 23 March 1743/4. She was baptized on 25 March 1744. She died on 3 September 1827. She married Leonard Proctor.

viii. Captain Jonathan Keep was born on 7 August 1745. He was baptized on 11 August 1745. Jonathan, the widower of Hannah, died of "fever, palsy & c." on 10 May 1821 in Pepperell, Middlesex County. [Ref] He married first Hannah Hildreth on 26 July 1769 in Westford. [Ref] She died of consumption on 5 February 1815, age 64, in Pepperell. [Ref][Ref] Captain Jonathan Keep married [second] Mrs. Ruth Scott on 19 January 1816 in Pepperell. [Ref] Ruth is probably the Ruth Conant who married John Scott on 9 June 1778 in Groton. [Ref] This Ruth might have been the widow of Robert Conant who died of "sickness in Army at New York" on 17 November 1776, age 21 years and nine days. [Ref] This Robert was probably the son of Josiah and Rachel Conant, born 5 November 1754 in Groton. [Ref]

Jonathan's burial place is unknown. Hannah is buried in the Walton Cemetery in Pepperell. The inscription on her gravestone says, "Erected In Memory of Mrs. Hannah Keep, the wife of Mr. Jonathan Keep, who died at Pepperell Feb 5, 1815, aged 64 Years. She lived with her husband 45 Years & was the mother of six sons & Eight daughters all of them were living at the time of her Death & the youngest almost twenty one Years old." [Ref]

Jonathan was a blacksmith in Westford. [Ref] Jonathan and Hannah, his wife, owned the covenant at the church in Westford on 15 April 1770. [Ref] Jonathan Keep was a selectman in Westford in 1774 and1776. [Ref]

Jonathan probably grew up in Forge Village in Westford, but close to Groton. About 1778 Jonathan moved to Groton. He and Hannah were admitted to full communion at the church in Groton on 26 September 1779. [Ref] He had six children baptized in Groton between 1779 and 1794. [Ref] In 1780 he became the first owner of an inn in Groton. [Ref] This was a home that provided beds and was licensed to sell spirits. [Ref] He was commissioned first lieutenant of the first company of the sixth Middlesex County regiment of Massachusetts militia on 14 July 1780. [Ref] He was town treasurer in 1782 and 1783. [Ref] He was the town clerk in 1784. [Ref]

Sometime before 1787, Jonathan returned to Westford.On 3 December 1787 Jonathan was chosen to represent Westford in a State Convention at Boston. [Ref] He was a selectman there in 1787 and 1788, and the town clerk in 1788 and 1789. [Ref] In 1794 he sold his inn to his son-in-law Joseph Danforth Nutting and he moved to Townsend, Middlesex County in 1797. [Ref] Jonathan's inn was added on to many times and burned down in 2011. It has since been rebuilt and is still used as an inn.

Jonathan ran an inn in Townsend and was a selectman there in 1802. [Ref] He moved to Pepperell, where his wife died, and late in life he remarried.

ix. Ruth Keep was born on 25 March 1746/7. She was baptized on 29 March 1747. She married Benjamin Green of Groton after 2 June 1765 (intention) in Westford. [Ref] He died on 23 January 1776 in Groton. [Ref] She married second Unknown Wood. [Ref]

Benjamin is buried in the Old Burying Ground in Groton. [Ref]

x. Experience Keep was born on 13 September 1748. She was baptized on 18 September 1848. She died on 12 September 1750 in Westford. [Ref] She is buried in the Fairview Cemetery in Westford. The inscription on her gravestone says, "Here lies ye body of Experience Keep daughtr of Lieut Jabez & Mrs Experience Keep who decd Sept the 12th A.D. 1750 age 2 years." [Ref]

xi. Elizabeth Keep was born on 20 April 1750. She was baptized on 22 April 1750. She died on 30 August 1826, age 76, in Harvard. [Ref] She married Shadrach Hapgood, Jr. on 23 July 1770 in Harvard. [Ref] Shadrach, the son of Shadrach and Elizabeth Hapgood, was born on 4 October 1747 in Harvard. [Ref] He died on 20 January 1818, age 70, in Harvard. [Ref]

xii. Experience Keep was born on 23 January or 3 February 1752. She was baptized on 26 January 1752. She died on 27 May 1817, age 65. She married first Hosea Hildreth on 22 June 1769 in Westford. [Ref] Hosea was born in December 1744 and died on 20 December 1776. [Ref] He was the son of Joseph and Abigail (Hill) Hildreth and grandson of Joseph Hildreth. [Ref] Experience married second Dr. Ebenezer Parker on 18 November 1777. [Ref][Ref] Ebenezer was the son of Aaron and Dorothy (Parker) Fletcher and the grandson of Aaron Parker.

Experience Keep was the mother of Pede Hildreth who married Leonard Proctor. [Ref]

Experience and Hosea are buried in the Fairview Cemetery. The inscription on her gravestone says, "Mrs. Experience Parket, wife of Ebenezer Parker, who died May 27, 1817, age 65 years. She was a kind and affectionate mother of sixteen children, a wise counsellor and a friend to humanity." The inscription on Hosea's gravestone, which has a Revolutionary War marker, says, "Erected in memory of Mr. Hosea Hildreth who departed this life Decr ye 20th 1776. In ye 33d year of his age. Ebenezer is said to be buried in the Saint John's Episcopal Churchyard in Richmond, Richmond City, Virginia. [Ref]

xiii. John Keep was born on 29 September 1953. He was baptized on 30 September 1753. He died on 25 October 1838 in Lee, Berkshire County, Massachusetts. [Ref] He married first Elizabeth Smith of Salisbury. [Ref] She died on 20 February 1796. [Ref] He married second Abigail Lewis Lester of Canterbury, Connecticut on 20 October 1796. [Ref] She died on 29 July 1854, age 99. [Ref]

John and Abigail are buried in the South Lee Cemetery in Lee, Berkshire County, Massachusetts. The inscription on their gravestone says, "John Keep died Oct. 20, 1838 age 85 y. Abigail Lester Keep died July 29,1854 age 99." There is a Revolutionary War marker. [Ref]

John Keep appeared before the court to get a Revolutionary War pension in a accordance with the 1832 act. He said that on 15 April 1775 he went from Harvard to Skenesborough [now Whitehall, a village in New York, just across the Vermont border] to engage in iron working for Major [Philip] Skenes. American officers told John that iron could be bought cheaper than he could make it and he was thrown out of employment. He immediately listed in Captain Coffin's company under the command of General Richard Montgomery. [Ref]

After the war John lived in Salisbury, Vermont and then in Lee. [Ref]

On 21 November 1848 John's widow Abigail Keep, age 92, testified at her dwelling house to apply for a pension under the 1848 act. She said the John was a pensioner under the 1832 act; that they had married on 20 September 1796, and that John had died on 25 October 1838 in Lee. [Ref] The town clerk verified that John's first wife Elizabeth had died on 20 February 1796 and that John had married Abigail Lewis. [Ref]

xiv. Jemima Keep was born on 10 August 1755. She was baptized on 17 August 1755. She died on 10 October 1796, age 41, in Boxborough. [Ref] She married as his second wife Abel Whitcomb on 18 April 1774 in Harvard. [Ref] Abel, the son of James and Hannah (Graves) Whitman, was baptized on 29 July 1744. [Ref] Abel died on 24 August 1805, age 61, in Boxborough. [Ref] Abel married first Sarah Whitney of Stown on 23 December 1769. [Ref] She died on 20 June 1772, age 24. [Ref] Abel married third Lucy Wetherbee of Harvard on 30 November 1797 in Boxborough. [Ref] Lucy, the wife of Abel, died on 10 October 1803, age 56, in Boxborough. [Ref] Abel married third Jemima's sister Rebecca Turner of Harvard after 11 March 1804 (intention) in Boxborough. [Ref][Ref]

Abel was the grandson of Josiah Whitcomb and the great-grandson of Josiah Whitcomb. [Ref]

Abel and Jemima are buried in the North Cemetery in Boxboro, Middlesex County, Massachusetts. The date on Abel's inscription is obscured by earth; Jemina's inscription says, "In memory of Mrs. Jemima Whitcomb wife of Mr. Abel Whitcomb who died Oct 10th 1796 in the 42 year of her age." [Ref]

xv. Rebecca Keep was born on 16 April 1758. She was baptized on 23 April 1758. She died on 3 June 1838, age 80. She married Captain Prince Turner on 5 December 1775 in Harvard. [Ref] He died on 29 March 1800 in Harvard. [Ref] She married an unknown second husband. [Ref] She married third her sister Jemima's husband Abel Whitcomb. [Ref] She married [fourth] Lieutenant Oliver Wood on 19 June 1806 in Boxborough. [Ref]

Prince and Rebecca and buried in the Harvard Center Cemetery in Harvard, Worcester County, Massachusetts. His gravestone says, "Erected in memory of Capt. Prince Turner who died March 29, 1800 in the 47 year of his age." Her gravestone says, "Rebecca wife of Capt. Prince, June 3, 1838, age 80." [Ref]

Endnotes:

first map: [Ref], between pages 26 and 27.

second map: Google maps

©2019 A. Buiter

Revised 26-Apr-2022