John Keep

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JOHN KEEP (say 1637–1676)

SARAH LEONARD (1645–1676), daughter of John Leonard and Sarah Heald

John Keep was born say 1637. He died on 26 March 1676. [Ref] John Keep married Sarah Leonard on 31 December 1663 in Springfield. [Ref]

Sarah Leonard was born on 13 (10) 1645 in Springfield. [1,1:10] She died on 26 March 1676. [Ref]

Sarah is referred to as Sarah Keep in the distribution of her father’s estate. [2]

The origins of John Keep are unknown.

John Keep was admitted a freeman on 19 May 1669 in Springfield. [3]

The Monson town records say that John and Sarah were killed on 26 March 1676 by the Indians while going to Springfield. [Ref]

John and Sarah and their son Jabez are in a list of Springfield residents that died. There are no dates but the entries were apparently for 1676. It is said that some were killed by Indians. [1, 2;1689] The were probably killed on 26 March 1672. On that day they and some of their neighbors were being escorted by an armed guard led by Captain Nixon as they traveled from Longmeadow to a church meeting in Springfield, when they were set upon by Indians and killed. [4][5]

Children of John Keep and Sarah Leonard: Birth dates in [4]

i. Sarah Keep was born on 5 December 1666. She died on 8 July 1729. [5] She married Benjamin Parsons on 17 January 1687. [4] Benjamin, the son of Benjamin and Sarah (Vore) Parsons, died on 28 December 1708, age 60, in Enfield. [5]

ii. Elizabeth Keep was born on 15 November 1668 in Sprinfield. [Ref] She died on 2 September 1675 in Sprinfield. [Ref]

iii. Ensign Samuel Keep was born on 22 August 1670 in Springfield. He died on 23 August 1755. He married Sarah Colton.

iv. Hannah Keep was born on 28 June 1673 in Springfield. She married Ebenezer Miller on 16 October 1690 in Springfield. [Ref] Ebenezer was the son of Thomas and Sarah Miller. [4]

v. Jabez Keep was born on 11 December 1675 in Springfield. [Ref] He died on 26 March 1676.

Endnotes:

1. Vital Records of Springfield, Massachusetts, to the Year 1850, 3 vols. (Boston: NEHGS, 2003)

2. “Hampshire County, MA: Probate File Papers, 1660-1889,” database with images, AmericanAncestors > Box 88 > 31.

3. Lucius Paige, “List of Freemen,” NEHGR, vol. 3 (1849): 240.

4. Willard S. Allen, “Longmeadow (Mass.) Families,” NEHGR, vol. 36 (1882): 166.

5. “The Parsons Family,” NEHGR, vol. 1 (1847): 269.

Revised 25-Apr-2022