Sir William Keith, 4th Baronet (1669 – 18 November 1749) was a Scottish colonial administrator who served as lieutenant-governor of the British colonies of
Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania (; ( Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, ...
and
Delaware
Delaware ( ) is a state in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States, bordering Maryland to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and New Jersey and the Atlantic Ocean to its east. The state takes its name from the adjacent Del ...
, from 1717 to 1726.
Early life
Keith was born in
Boddam Castle near
Peterhead
Peterhead (; gd, Ceann Phàdraig, sco, Peterheid ) is a town in Aberdeenshire, Scotland. It is Aberdeenshire's biggest settlement (the city of Aberdeen itself not being a part of the district), with a population of 18,537 at the 2011 Census. ...
,
Scotland
Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the ...
to Sir William Keith, 3rd
Baronet, of Ludquharn, Scotland and Lady Jean (Smith) Keith. He was baptised on 16 February 1680. As eldest son, he stood to inherit the baronetcy from his father. He studied at
Marischal College
Marischal College ( ) is a large granite building on Broad Street in the centre of Aberdeen in north-east Scotland, and since 2011 has acted as the headquarters of Aberdeen City Council. However, the building was constructed for and is on long- ...
, the
University of Aberdeen
The University of Aberdeen ( sco, University o' 'Aiberdeen; abbreviated as ''Aberd.'' in List of post-nominal letters (United Kingdom), post-nominals; gd, Oilthigh Obar Dheathain) is a public university, public research university in Aberdeen, Sc ...
from which he graduated a master of arts in 1687. The Keiths were
Episcopalian
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 l ...
and of
Jacobite sympathies, so much so that Keith resided with the exiled court of
the Pretender, at
Saint-Germain-en-Laye
Saint-Germain-en-Laye () is a commune in the Yvelines department in the Île-de-France in north-central France. It is located in the western suburbs of Paris, from the centre of Paris.
Inhabitants are called ''Saint-Germanois'' or ''Saint-Ge ...
and there became one of the Pretender's favourites.
Upon
Queen Anne's accession to the throne in 1702, the
Act of Indemnity 1703 was issued for former Jacobites, and many exiles returned to
Great Britain
Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the northwest coast of continental Europe. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the largest European island and the ninth-largest island in the world. It is ...
. Keith was among these people, but quickly became involved in various Jacobite intrigues. In 1703, he was arrested under suspicion of treason.
Political career
Under the rule of the
Tories
A Tory () is a person who holds a political philosophy known as Toryism, based on a British version of traditionalism and conservatism, which upholds the supremacy of social order as it has evolved in the English culture throughout history. Th ...
, Keith received an appointment as surveyor-general of the customers for the southern district of North America in 1714 and took up residence in
Virginia
Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States, between the Atlantic Coast and the Appalachian Mountains. The geography and climate of the Commonwealth ar ...
. However, he lost his office when the
Whigs took power under
George I George I or 1 may refer to:
People
* Patriarch George I of Alexandria (fl. 621–631)
* George I of Constantinople (d. 686)
* George I of Antioch (d. 790)
* George I of Abkhazia (ruled 872/3–878/9)
* George I of Georgia (d. 1027)
* Yuri Dolgor ...
. Around this same time, Keith's father became implicated in the
Jacobite rising of 1715
The Jacobite rising of 1715 ( gd, Bliadhna Sheumais ;
or 'the Fifteen') was the attempt by James Edward Stuart (the Old Pretender) to regain the thrones of England, Ireland and Scotland for the exiled Stuarts
The House of Stuart, ori ...
and fled to Saint-Germain-en-Laye. Keith applied for a position as lieutenant governor of Pennsylvania and its three lower counties (now Delaware). He voyaged to
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...
and returned to America with a commission.
While serving as lieutenant governor, Keith resided in a country manor,
Graeme Park
Graeme Park is an historic site and National Historic Landmark at 859 County Line Road in Horsham, Montgomery County, Pennsylvania. It is owned by the Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission and operated by the non-profit group, The Frien ...
in
Horsham
Horsham is a market town on the upper reaches of the River Arun on the fringe of the Weald in West Sussex, England. The town is south south-west of London, north-west of Brighton and north-east of the county town of Chichester. Nearby to ...
,
Montgomery County,
Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania (; ( Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, ...
. Popular with the colonists, he organised a militia (no small feat in a
Quaker
Quakers are people who belong to a historically Protestant Christian set of Christian denomination, denominations known formally as the Religious Society of Friends. Members of these movements ("theFriends") are generally united by a belie ...
colony) and established a high court of chancery. He also arranged peace conferences with the Indians and promoted laws allowing wives of sailors at sea to become
femme sole traders.
He also is noted for encouraging in 1723, a then 17-year-old
Benjamin Franklin
Benjamin Franklin ( April 17, 1790) was an American polymath who was active as a writer, scientist, inventor, statesman, diplomat, printer, publisher, and political philosopher. Encyclopædia Britannica, Wood, 2021 Among the leading inte ...
to try to set up his own printing business in
Philadelphia
Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...
. Franklin later claimed that Keith failed to come through with promised financial support; Keith had suggested Franklin travel to England to purchase equipment for the shop, but after he arrived there, Franklin found that Keith had not sent the promised letters of recommendation, and that no one who knew Sir Keith "had the smallest Dependence on him".
[B. Franklin. ]
The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin
(1790)''. Eds. L.W. Labaree, R.L. Ketcham, H.C. Boatfield. Yale Nota Bene; 2003 ed. p. 94-95. Franklin remained in London for three years, and after returning to Philadelphia, did open a printing business two years later in 1728 with a different partner.
In 1718,
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 ...
died and Keith became involved in disputes with
Penn's widow regarding the conduct of the colony. He sought favour with the colonists and tried desperately to achieve popularity. Two years later, his father died, and he succeeded to his father's baronetcy. However, his father died insolvent and Keith too became mired in debt.
Penn's widow and heirs joined forces against Keith and sought the nomination of a new lieutenant-governor from the crown. Keith published a vindication and led an opposition party. He gained election to the assembly, but did not achieve the role of speaker which he sought. After re-election to the assembly the following year, he fled the colony and returned to England in order to evade his creditors. His family remained in Philadelphia.
Later years and death
On his voyage back to England, Keith wrote "A Short Discourse on the Present State of the Colonies in America with respect to the Interest of Great Britain," in which he warned of French encroachment on British colonial territory and proposed a
stamp tax on colonists in order to finance standing armies. While in England, he gave assistance to the London
Board of Trade
The Board of Trade is a British government body concerned with commerce and industry, currently within the Department for International Trade. Its full title is The Lords of the Committee of the Privy Council appointed for the consideration of ...
in negotiating a treaty with the
Cherokee
The Cherokee (; chr, ᎠᏂᏴᏫᏯᎢ, translit=Aniyvwiyaʔi or Anigiduwagi, or chr, ᏣᎳᎩ, links=no, translit=Tsalagi) are one of the indigenous peoples of the Southeastern Woodlands of the United States. Prior to the 18th century, t ...
and continued to write on colonial matters. His dire financial situation prevented him from returning to Pennsylvania to reunite with his family and he was unable to finance their passage to England.
Throughout his life, Keith lived far beyond his means due to his love of lavish living. In the final years of his life, Keith lived in abject poverty and spent some time in
debtors' prison
A debtors' prison is a prison for people who are unable to pay debt. Until the mid-19th century, debtors' prisons (usually similar in form to locked workhouses) were a common way to deal with unpaid debt in Western Europe.Cory, Lucinda"A Historic ...
. On 18 November 1749, he died at the
Old Bailey
The Central Criminal Court of England and Wales, commonly referred to as the Old Bailey after the street on which it stands, is a criminal court building in central London, one of several that house the Crown Court of England and Wales. The s ...
in London. It is unclear if Keith was incarcerated at the time of his death or if he was renting an inexpensive room at the prison.
References
External links
{{DEFAULTSORT:Keith, William
1669 births
1749 deaths
People from Peterhead
Scottish emigrants to the Thirteen Colonies
Colonial governors of Pennsylvania
Alumni of the University of Aberdeen
Baronets in the Baronetage of Nova Scotia
People of colonial Pennsylvania
People imprisoned for debt