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Friday, February 22, 2019

MCKEEN – Descendants of Nutfield Settler James McKeen

James McKeen is buried at Forest Hill Cemetery,
in Derry, New Hampshire with his wife, Annis Cargill.
For a full transcription of this tombstone see this link:
https://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2011/08/tombstone-tuesday-james-mckeen-derry.html 


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
There is a McCain/McKeen DNA project for descendants of Nutfield’s James McKeen at Family Tree DNA https://www.familytreedna.com/groups/mccain/about .  Contact Barry R. McCain barramccain@gmail.com or Colin Brooks at CB1718project@gmail.com  

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 

Clan Mhic Eain… Clan McCain (a blog about the McCain Clan) http://maceain.blogspot.com/ 

Clan Maclain of Ardamurchan: http://www.clanmaciain.com/maciain/   


Click here for links to the sketches of all sixteen first Nutfield settlers: 
https://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/p/nutfields-first-16-settlers.html 



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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]). 

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