George Keith (1638/1639 – 27 March 1716) was a Scottish
Presbyterian turned
Quaker turned
Anglican
Anglicanism is a Western Christian tradition that has developed from the practices, liturgy, and identity of the Church of England following the English Reformation, in the context of the Protestant Reformation in Europe. It is one of the ...
. He was born in
Peterhead,
Aberdeenshire
Aberdeenshire ( sco, Aiberdeenshire; gd, Siorrachd Obar Dheathain) is one of the 32 council areas of Scotland.
It takes its name from the County of Aberdeen which has substantially different boundaries. The Aberdeenshire Council area includ ...
, Scotland, to a Presbyterian family and received an M.A. from the
University of Aberdeen
, mottoeng = The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom
, established =
, type = Public research universityAncient university
, endowment = £58.4 million (2021)
, budget ...
. Keith joined the
Religious Society of Friends (Quakers) in the 1660s, accompanying
George Fox,
William Penn
William Penn ( – ) was an English writer and religious thinker belonging to the Religious Society of Friends (Quakers), and founder of the Province of Pennsylvania, a North American colony of England. He was an early advocate of democracy a ...
, and
Robert Barclay
Robert Barclay (23 December 16483 October 1690) was a Scottish Quaker, one of the most eminent writers belonging to the Religious Society of Friends and a member of the Clan Barclay. He was a son of Col. David Barclay, Laird of Urie, and his ...
on a mission to the
Netherlands and Germany in 1677.
In 1685, three years after Barclay had been made the nonresident governor of the Province of
East Jersey
The Province of East Jersey, along with the Province of West Jersey, between 1674 and 1702 in accordance with the Quintipartite Deed, were two distinct political divisions of the Province of New Jersey, which became the U.S. state of New Jersey. ...
(part of the present-day American state of
New Jersey), Keith traveled there to take the post of Surveyor-General. In 1686 he ran the first survey to mark out the
border between West Jersey and East Jersey
The Quintipartite Deed was a legal document that split the Province of New Jersey, dividing it into the Province of West Jersey and the Province of East Jersey from 1674 until 1702.
On July 1, 1676, William Penn, Gawen Lawrie (who served from ...
, which is today still known as the
Keith line
The Keith line was a line drawn through the Province of New Jersey, dividing it into the Province of West Jersey and the Province of East Jersey. The line was created by Surveyor-General George Keith in 1686, when he ran the first survey to ...
. Around 1691 Keith decided that Quakers had strayed too far from orthodox Christianity and began to have sharp disagreements with his fellow believers. He first broke with
Philadelphia Yearly Meeting to form a short-lived group called the Christian Quakers in the colonies. In 1693, he and his fellow Keithians published An ''Exhortation & Caution to Friends Concerning Buying or Keeping of Negroes'', one of the earliest printed antislavery tracts in British North America.
After returning to England, he was disowned by
London Yearly Meeting
The Yearly Meeting of the Religious Society of Friends (Quakers) in Britain, also known as the Britain Yearly Meeting (and, until 1995, the London Yearly Meeting), is a Yearly Meeting of the Religious Society of Friends ( Quakers) in England, ...
in 1694. In
1699
Events
January–March
* January 5 – A violent Java earthquake damages the city of Batavia on the Indonesian island of Java, killing at least 28 people
* January 20 – The Parliament of England (under Tory dominance) limits the size ...
he attacked William Penn and other Quakers as "
Deists
Deism ( or ; derived from the Latin ''deus'', meaning "god") is the philosophical position and rationalistic theology that generally rejects revelation as a source of divine knowledge, and asserts that empirical reason and observation of ...
". He was ordained to the
Church of England ministry in May 1700. Sponsored by the
Society for the Propagation of the Gospel in Foreign Parts
A society is a group of individuals involved in persistent social interaction, or a large social group sharing the same spatial or social territory, typically subject to the same political authority and dominant cultural expectations. Societ ...
, Keith returned to the American colonies as a missionary from 1702 to 1704, trying to win over Quakers and others. Keith invigorated Anglican congregations in
Perth Amboy. Upon returning to England, Keith served as rector at the parish of
Edburton
Edburton is a small village in West Sussex, England, on the road from Upper Beeding to Fulking.
History
The village's name means Ēadburg's ''tūn'', or settlement. Ēadburg is a woman's name, and it is sometimes claimed that it refers to Edbu ...
, Sussex until his death on 27 March 1716.
Early life and education
Born in
Peterhead,
Aberdeenshire
Aberdeenshire ( sco, Aiberdeenshire; gd, Siorrachd Obar Dheathain) is one of the 32 council areas of Scotland.
It takes its name from the County of Aberdeen which has substantially different boundaries. The Aberdeenshire Council area includ ...
, Scotland, to a
Presbyterian family. He was the son of Sir John Alexander and Jeanne Watsonne Keith. He married Elizabeth Johnston. He received an M.A. from the
University of Aberdeen
, mottoeng = The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom
, established =
, type = Public research universityAncient university
, endowment = £58.4 million (2021)
, budget ...
. Keith joined the
Religious Society of Friends (Quakers) in the 1660s, accompanying
George Fox,
William Penn
William Penn ( – ) was an English writer and religious thinker belonging to the Religious Society of Friends (Quakers), and founder of the Province of Pennsylvania, a North American colony of England. He was an early advocate of democracy a ...
, and
Robert Barclay
Robert Barclay (23 December 16483 October 1690) was a Scottish Quaker, one of the most eminent writers belonging to the Religious Society of Friends and a member of the Clan Barclay. He was a son of Col. David Barclay, Laird of Urie, and his ...
on a mission to the
Netherlands and Germany in 1677. In the meanwhile, he produced in 1674 the first English translation of
Ibn Tufail's ''
Hayy ibn Yaqdhan'' based on
Edward Pococke
Edward Pococke (baptised 8 November 160410 September 1691) was an English Orientalist and biblical scholar.
Early life
The son of Edward Pococke (died 1636), vicar of Chieveley in Berkshire, he was brought up at Chieveley and educated from a y ...
's Latin version. He also participated in the 1676 Aberdeen disputes over Barclay's ''Theses Theologicae'', authoring with Barclay a defense of the ''Theses'' titled ''Quakerism Confirmed''.
Career
In 1685, three years after Barclay had been made the nonresident governor of the Province of
East Jersey
The Province of East Jersey, along with the Province of West Jersey, between 1674 and 1702 in accordance with the Quintipartite Deed, were two distinct political divisions of the Province of New Jersey, which became the U.S. state of New Jersey. ...
(part of the present-day American state of
New Jersey), Keith traveled there to take the post of Surveyor-General. In 1686 he ran the first survey to mark out the
border between West Jersey and East Jersey
The Quintipartite Deed was a legal document that split the Province of New Jersey, dividing it into the Province of West Jersey and the Province of East Jersey from 1674 until 1702.
On July 1, 1676, William Penn, Gawen Lawrie (who served from ...
, which is today still known as the
Keith line
The Keith line was a line drawn through the Province of New Jersey, dividing it into the Province of West Jersey and the Province of East Jersey. The line was created by Surveyor-General George Keith in 1686, when he ran the first survey to ...
. He moved to
Philadelphia in 1688 to serve as headmaster at the Friends School there.
For his survey work, the Proprietors gave him large grants of land including seven hundred acres in Monmouth County where he founded the town of Freehold (which broke off and became Marlboro). He established his home in a Quaker settlement near Topanemus where he helped to build a meeting house in which he preached to the people on the Quaker faith.
Around 1691 Keith decided that Quakers had strayed too far from orthodox Christianity and began to have sharp disagreements with his fellow believers. He first broke with
Philadelphia Yearly Meeting to form a short-lived group called the Christian Quakers in the colonies. In 1693, he and his fellow Keithians published An ''Exhortation & Caution to Friends Concerning Buying or Keeping of Negroes'', one of the earliest printed antislavery tracts in British North America. David Brion Davis, a leading scholar of abolition and slavery, argues that Keith's ''Exhortation'' foreshadowed "the major religious themes of nineteenth-century abolitionism." After returning to England, he was disowned by
London Yearly Meeting
The Yearly Meeting of the Religious Society of Friends (Quakers) in Britain, also known as the Britain Yearly Meeting (and, until 1995, the London Yearly Meeting), is a Yearly Meeting of the Religious Society of Friends ( Quakers) in England, ...
in 1694. In
1699
Events
January–March
* January 5 – A violent Java earthquake damages the city of Batavia on the Indonesian island of Java, killing at least 28 people
* January 20 – The Parliament of England (under Tory dominance) limits the size ...
he attacked William Penn and other Quakers as "
Deists
Deism ( or ; derived from the Latin ''deus'', meaning "god") is the philosophical position and rationalistic theology that generally rejects revelation as a source of divine knowledge, and asserts that empirical reason and observation of ...
". He was ordained to the
Church of England ministry in May 1700.
Sponsored by the
Society for the Propagation of the Gospel in Foreign Parts
A society is a group of individuals involved in persistent social interaction, or a large social group sharing the same spatial or social territory, typically subject to the same political authority and dominant cultural expectations. Societ ...
, Keith returned to the American colonies as a missionary from 1702 to 1704, trying to win over Quakers and others. Keith invigorated Anglican congregations in
Perth Amboy,
Burlington and
Concord Township, Pennsylvania. He preached in
Williamsburg, Virginia in 1703, and left behind his daughter, Anne, who had likewise returned to the Anglican fold, unlike her husband, Quaker George Walker of
Old Point Comfort.
Upon returning to England, Keith served as rector at the
parish of
Edburton
Edburton is a small village in West Sussex, England, on the road from Upper Beeding to Fulking.
History
The village's name means Ēadburg's ''tūn'', or settlement. Ēadburg is a woman's name, and it is sometimes claimed that it refers to Edbu ...
,
Sussex until his death on 27 March 1716. He is buried in the churchyard and his grave has an inscribed stone installed in 1932.
References
Sources
* Bowden, James. '' The history of the Society of Friends in America''.
. p.1850.
*
* Pomfret, John Edwin, ''The Province of East New Jersey, 1609-1702, the rebellious proprietary''. Princeton, N.J., Princeton University Press, 1962.
* .
Episcopal Church Liturgy & Music website - Biography of George Keith*
Further reading
*Kirby, E. W. (1942) ''George Keith''. New York: American Historical Association (includes a full bibliography)
* Sonne, Niels Henry. 1942. "George Keith, 1638–1716. New York: Appleton-Century, 1942. Vi, 177 Pages." Church History. 11, no. 04. .
External links
Parish of Edburton
{{DEFAULTSORT:Keith, George
1630s births
1716 deaths
Alumni of the University of Aberdeen
18th-century English Anglican priests
Converts to Quakerism
Kingdom of Scotland emigrants to the Thirteen Colonies
People from Peterhead
Scottish Anglican missionaries
Scottish Episcopalians
Scottish Quakers
American school principals
Quaker missionaries
Anglican missionaries in the United States
Protestant missionaries in Germany
Protestant missionaries in the Netherlands
People of colonial New Jersey
People from Horsham District