James McKeen was born in Scotland, and removed to Northern
Ireland. He witnessed the defense of the
city of Londonderry, Northern Ireland during the siege of 1688 to 1689. He had
three sons who came to America: James, John and William.
Children:
1.
John, married Janet and had four children. He
died young and his widow remarried to Captain John Barnett, one of the first
settlers in Londonderry
a.
James, removed to Hillsborough, New Hampshire
b.
Robert, settled in Pennsylvania
c.
Samuel, settled in Amherst and married
Agnes. Had ten children.
d.
Mary, married her cousin John McKeen (see below)
2.
William, came to America ten years after his
brothers and settled in Pennsylvania. His grandson, Thomas McKean, signed the
Declaration of Independence and was Governor.
3.
James, had a wife in Ireland who was mother of
his first two daughters, and then remarried to Annis Cargill who came with his
other children in the 1718 migration. He was accompanied by his son-in-law
James Nesmith, Rev. James McGregor who had married his wife’s sister, Marion
Cargill. His brother John was going to
bring his family, too, but he died just before they left Ireland, so his widow,
Janet and her four children came along.
The third child James McKeen was 53 years old in 1718 for
the migration to New England, and he was one of the sixteen men who accompanied
Rev. James MacGregor to Nutfield. He was
known as “Justice James McKeen” because he was the first magistrate in
Nutfield. He died in Londonderry, New
Hampshire on 9 November 1756 when he was 90 years old. Justice James was first married to Janet
Cochran and had two daughters – Elizabeth and Janet. He then married Annis Cargill as his second
wife and had nine more children. His
wife, Annis, died 8 August 1782, at age 94.
James and Annis are buried
together at “Setters Row” at the Forest Hill Cemetery in what is now East
Derry, New Hampshire.
Children:
a.
Elizabeth, married James Nesmith, son of James
Nesmith the Nutfield settler
b.
Janet, married John Cochran of Windham- her
daughter Elizabeth was the mother of Robert Dinsmoor, the “Rustic Bard” and the
mother of Governor Samuel Dinsmoor of Keene.
c.
“Deacon” John, born 13 April 1714 in Ballymony,
he married his cousin Mary McKeen, daughter of his uncle John McKeen. He was an
elder in the Presbyterian church, a selectman, and representative to the
General Court. Children: James born 15
January 1739 died 26 February 1776 in Peterborough; John born 4 February 1746,
died 1807 in Oyster Bay, New York; Robert born 12 August 1749 and died 27 October
1810 in Corinth, Orange County, Vermont and married Mary (maiden name unknown);
William, Annis born 1750(unmarried);
Joseph born 15 October 1757 and died 15 July 1807 in Brunswick, Maine, married
Alice Anderson (minister at Beverly, Massachusetts and first president of
Bowdoin College in Maine); Janet (born 4 October 1741 and married John Taylor),
Daniel born 11 November 1768, died 4 November 1820 (married Janet Wilson and
Lucy Martin, widow of John Nesmith of Windham); and Samuel born 1760 and died 4 November 1820 (married
Betsey Taylor and Mary Clark)
d.
Mary, married Robert Boyd, no children
e.
David, born 1715 and died 9 October 1793 in
Londonderry
f.
James, born April 1719, married Elizabeth
Dinsmoor, had a son David and a daughter.
g.
Janet, born 28 December 1721, married William
Orr, three children- James, Anna and a daughter who married Timothy Carr, the
first settler of Danville, Vermont
h.
Martha, born 14 December 1723 in Londonderry,
died 14 May 1803 in Windham, married John Dinsmoor, had several children
including Colonel Silas Dinsmore who was an Indian Agent for the US Government
i.
Margaret, born 30 March 1726 in Londonderry,
died 14 May 1803 in Londonderry.
j.
Annis, born 30 March 1726 in Londonderry
k.
Samuel, born 1729 in Londonderry, died 1 October
1821 in Londonderry, married Mary (maiden name unknown).
A note from McKeen researcher Barry R. McCain “The data to
date: the family of James and John
McKeen is the same family as Alexander and Hugh McKeen of Donegal township, PA
colony circa 1719/20. That’s the part we
know from DNA testing, but the part we do not know is the exact
relationship. James McKeen had a very
large family via two marriages, given the closeness of the DNA it is possible
Alexander and Hugh are older sons that migrated with the 1718 fleet, or on a
ship that came the next year. If not that,
then a line from another brother of James and John McKeen. DNA reveals much… but not all from the
past. Given other primary source factors
in Ireland circa mid 1600s, the older sons from James McKeen most likely
scenario.”
For more information:
DNA
An interesting book about the McCain clan, DNA, the Scots
Irish and more - Finding the McCains: A Scots Irish Odyssey by Barry R.
McCain, 2015
Heather Wilkinson Rojo, "MCKEEN – Descendants of Nutfield Settler James McKeen", Nutfield Genealogy, posted February 22, 2019, ( https://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2019/02/mckeen-descendants-of-nutfield-settler.html: accessed [access date]).
