Genealogical and Family History
of the
STATE OF MAINE

Compiled under the editorial supervision of George Thomas Little, A. M., Litt. D.

LEWIS HISTORICAL PUBLISHING COMPANY
New York
1909.

[Please see Index page for full citation.]

[Transcribed by Coralynn Brown]

[Many families included in these genealogical records had their beginnings in Massachusetts.]

McKEAN/MCKEEN The now numerous family of this name in America, which is descended from Scotch-Irish ancestors who were pioneers in New Hampshire and Pennsylvania, has had many representatives who distinguished themselves in war and in peace. Patriotism and executive ability have been and still are marked traits of the McKeens. Few save the local historian realize how narrowly the district of Maine missed becoming the home of the largest portion of that remarkable company of Presbyterians who emigrated from Londonderry to Boston in August, 1718. Sixteen or more families who desired to form a separate settlement and enjoy the ministrations of their former pastor, Rev. James McGregor, were told by Governor Shute that there was good land in the neighborhood of Casco Bay. They came by ship to Portland in the autumn of that year. An unusually early and severe winter overtook them. Their vessel was frozen in. The hamlet of Falmouth Neck, as it was then called, had not dwellings enough to house them. Their supplies were exhausted and their money was limited. So great was the need that the general court at Boston voted thta one hundred bushels of Indian meal be allowed and paid out of the treasury for the poor among these strangers from Ireland. Though they came from Ireland they were not Irish. After James I, on the flight of certain Irish chieftans, had confiscated a large portion of the territory of Ulster, he induced by liberal grants of land many of his Scottish subjects to settle in that region. Later in the century to persecutions of the Covenanters by Claverhouse sent many more of the Scottish peasantry across to their Presbyterian brethren in the north of Ireland. The descendants of these men made up this band of home seekers. Some of them had personal knowledge, it is said, of the hardships of the famous siege of Londonderry, all of them were more or less animated by a desire for the larger civil and religious liberty which they could never expect in a land where the great mass of the population belonged to another faith and they themselves were taxed to support ecclesiastical government which they did not approve and would not sanction. The family and clan name of the MKeans is MacDonald. Donald, the progenitor, was a son of Reginald, and grandson of the Somerlad King of the Isles. All descendants of this Donald are called MacDonalds ("sons of Donald"). The progenitor of the MacDonalds of Glencoe was John Fraoch, son of Angus Og, Mac Donald, Lord of the Isles of Scotland, who fought with Bruce at Bannockburn. The MacDonalds of Glencoe were locally or patronymically known as MacIans or MacIains, or in its Anglicized form, McKean. In the Gaelic Ian is John; Mac means son of. Hence McKean is equivalent to John's son, or Johnson. John Sprangach, the youngest son of Angus Mor MacDonald, Lord of the Isles, and brother of Angus Og, Lord of the Isles, was the ancestor of the MacDonalds of Ardna-murchan, who are also patroynmically McIans or McKeans. Sprangach signifies, The Bold. The claymores of the McKeans gleamed in all the important battles of Scotland in their day, except Culloden. They were first in the battle of Inverlochy, in 1431, known as the first battle of Inverlochy. The coat-of-arms: argent an eagle displayed gules surmounted of a lymphad (long-fada or galley) sable. In the dexter chief a hand proper, holding a crosslet fitchee azure. Crest and motto: same as MacDonalds of the Isles. The Suaicheantas or badge is also the same, i.e., fraoch gorm, or common heath. Motto: J'ai bonne Esperance. Crest: A raven sable on a rock azure. (I) William McKean, to whom this family is traced, lived in Argyleshire, Scotland. The name of his wife is unknown. (II) James, son of William McKean, was born in Argyleshire, and settled in Ballymoney in the county of Antrim, Ireland, about the middle of the seventeenth century. He was devotedly attached to his people, a zealous Protestant and one of that band who made the defense of Londonderry one of the most remarkable events in the history of the British Isles. He had three sons - James, John and William. James it the subject of the next paragraph. John and descendants recieve mention in this article. William settled in Pennsylvania, and was the progenitor of a large family. Among his grandsons was Thomas McKean, a signer of the Declaration of Independence, and who for nine years was governor of Pennsylvania. (III) Prominent in this group of strong and resolute men was James (2) McKeen, the first of the name to step upon the Maine shore. He had signed the memorial presented to Governor Shute by Rev. William Boyd early in the year, and was acting as the agent to select the land for the new settlement. When spring came he and his associates examined the unoccupied land to the eastward and found nothing that was satisfactory. Then they turned westward, and ascending the Merrimac to Haverhill, heard of a tract some fifteen miles distant known as Nutfield, from the abundance of chestnut, butternut and walnut trees. Here they settled, and in June, 1722, received from Governor Benning Wentworth a charter for the town of Londonderry. Foremost in the list of the sixteen first settlers in this frontier town was James McKeen, who will be hereafter referred to as Justice McKeen, to distinguish him from his father and his son, each of the same name. Tradition says that he spelled it McKean, like the Pennsylvania family of kindred race, until the issue to him in 1720 of the commission of justice of the peace, which, by a clerical error, replace the 'a' with a second 'e,' a form which has since been followed by most of his descendants. He was born in Ireland in 1665, and married (first) Janet Cochran, by whom he had, besides several children that died in infancy, two daughers: Elizabeth and Janet. Elizabeth married, in 1714, James Nesmith, who accompanied his father-in-law to America and became a prominent citizen of Londonderry and an elder in the church. Jamet McKeen married John Cochran, of Windham, New Hampshire, and was the ancestress of Governor Samuel Dinsmoor and Robert Dinsmoor, the "Rustic Bard." Justice McKeen married (second) Annis Cargil, sister of Marion Cargil, wife of Rev. James MacGregor. She survived her husband several years, and died highly esteemed Aug. 8, 1782, in the ninety-fourth year of her age. Children: John, Mary, James, Janet, Martha, David, Margaret, Annis and Samuel. The last four are believed to have died without offspring. Of the daughers: Mary married Robert Boyd, and lived in Londonderry. Janet, born Dec. 28, 1721, married William Orr, and had three children. James, b. April, 1719, m. Elizabeth Dinsmoor, and lived in Londonderry till the close of the revolutionary war, when he removed to Corinth, Vermont, where he died in 1794, leaving one son, David McKeen. Justice McKeen, whose numerous descendants have been thus briefly summarized, was a remarkable man. He had already won for himself in the old country the respect and confidence of his neighbors, as is evidenced by the duty entrusted to him of selecting a site for settlement. He had acquired in trade a property, which, though not great, enables him to bring his own family and many of his friends through the trying period of emigration and settlement. His natural ability and intellectual attainments were equal to the task of maintaining the rights of his townsmen against the encroachments almost inevitable in those days of disputed titles. His innate sense of justice led him to join with others in securing for the lands of the town a title from the Indians as well as from King George. The first commissioned officer of the community, he was also its first representative in the provincial assembly, serving from 1727 till his resignation in 1729. He was repeatedly moderator at town meetings, and at his death, Nov. 9, 1756, was honored and lamented as the patriarch of the colony. Perhaps the following oath which as assemblyman he took on the accession of George II to the throne, will indicate as clearly as anything else that difference between his time and ours; "I, James McKeen, do swear that I do from my heart abhor, detest, abjure as impious and heretical, that damnable doctrine and position, that Princes excommunicated or deprived by the Pope or any authority of the See of Rome, may be deposed or murthered by their subjects, or any other whatsoever; and I do declare that no foreign Prince, Person or Prelate, State or Potentate, hath or ought to have jurisdiction, power, superiority, pre-eminence or authority, ecclesiastical or spitual, within the realm of Great Britain. So help me, God. I, James McKeen, do truly and sincerely acknowledge, profess, testify and declare in my conscience before God and the world, that our Sovereign Lord, King George the Second, is lawful and rightful King of the realm of Great Britain, and all other his Majesty's Dominions and countries thereunto belonging; and I do solemnly and sincerely declare that I do believe in my conscience, that the person pretended to Prince of Wales during the life of the late King James, and since his decease, pretending to be, and taking upon himself the style and title of King of England, by the name of James the Third, King of Great Britain, hath not any right or title whatsoever to the Crown of the realm of Great Britain, or any other of the dominions thereto belonging. And I do renounce, refuse and abjure any allegiance or obedience to him. . . . So help me God." (IV) John (2), son of Justice James (2) McKeen and his second wife, Annis Cargil, was born April 13, 1714, at Ballymoney, country Antrim, Ireland. He received his education in one of the "two schools for reading and writing" which the settlers of Londonderry at once established before they were able to support that "grammar school kept by some discreet person well instructed in the tongues" which every town was required to maintain. Many of his kind found occupation in keeping these schools, and the reputation of the Scotch-Irish schoolmasters was high. One of them, by the name of Donovan, once accomplished the selectman on his visit to the school under the latter's supervision. Not quite satisfied with the methods prevailing, the town official asked the teacher his credentials as an instructor. On their departure the scholars asked the master what credentials meant. "I don't know nor care," said he, "but I suppose it is some Latin word Donovan has put into his head." John McKeen became an elder in the Presbyterian church, served as selectman several years, was representative to the general court in 1778, and apperas to have held a place in the community similar to that filled by his father. He married his cousin Mary, daughter of John and Janet McKeen. Children: 1. James, married ____ Cunningham; lived in Petersborough, New Hampshire, and was father of Judge Levi McKeen, of Poughkeepsie, New York; died 1789. 2. John, married Janet Taylor; was a captain in the revolutionary war. The late James McKeen, counsellor at law in New York City in 1850, was his son. 3. Robert, married Mary McPherson; lived in Antrim, New Hampshire, and Corinth, Vermont; died 1809. His son, Joseph McKeen, was for several years superintendent of schools in New York City. 4. William, married Nancy Taylor, served in the revolutionary war; died 1824. 5. Annis, died unmarried. 6. Joseph, born Oct. 15, 1757, died July 15, 1807, at Brunswick, Maine. 7. Janet, married John Taylor Jr.; five children. 8. Daniel, married (first) Janet Wilson, (second) Lucy Martin, widow of John Nesmith, of Windham, and lived upon the homestead in Londonderry. 9. Samuel, married (first) Elizabeth Taylor, (second) Mary Clark. (V) Joseph, sixth child of John and Mary McKeen, displayed early a fondness for study, and under the tuition of Rev. Simon Williams, of Windham, New Hampshire, was prepared for college and entered Dartmouth when he was thirteen. He showed a marked predilection for mathetmatical studies and graduated in 1774 with the reputation of being also a good classical scholar. He at once became the school teacher of his native town of Londonderry and continued in that occupation with brief interruptions for eight years. In 1778 he served as sergaent in Captain James Gilmore's company, Colonel Gale's regiment, in the patiot army, taking part in General Sullivan's Rhode Island campaign. In the summer of 1780 he pursued a course of study in natural philosophy, mathematics and astronomy under Professor Samuel Williams, of Harvard University, and was subsequently an assistant teacher at Phillips Academy, Andover, Mass., with Rev. Dr. Eliphalet Pearson, afterwards professor of Hebrew at Harvard. Having determined to enter the ministry he pursued his theological studies at Windham, New Hampshire, under the direction of his old instructor, Rev. Mr. Williams. Under license from Londonderry Presbytery he pracehd for a time to a body of Presbyterians in Boston. In 1785 he servered his connection with the presbytery and on May 11 was ordained pastor of the Congregational church at Beverly, Mass., a position made vacant by the elction of his predecessor to the presidency of Harvard College. Here he labored for seventeen years with great acceptance. Though not a billiant preacher, he was a most instructive and helpful one, and by exemplary life and fidelity to his pastoral duties won the respect and confidence of the entire community. Illustrative of his sense of duty was his failure to be present at a formal dinner to which he had been invited and at which General Washington was the guest of honor, because on the way thither he received an urgent call to the bedside of a humble parishoner in a distant part of town. In 1801 he accepted an election to the presidency of the newly organized Bowdoin College, and on Sept. 2, 1802, was formally inaugurated. In this capacity he fully met the expectations formed concerning him. His thorough scholarship, his good judgment and his knowledge of human nature accomplished much for the institution under his charge. Great was the grief of its friends when after a lingering and obscure illness, which at last took the form of dropsy, he died July 15, 1807, in his fifieth year. President McKeen was above the ordinary stature, and of commanding personal appearance. Gentlemanly and affable in his manner, he easily accommodated himself to any company. His theological creed was for "substance of doctrine," in accord with the Assembly's Shorter Catechism, and he did not oppose the more liberal views beginning to be held by some of his Massachusetts neighbors. By no means destitute of the ancestral Scoth wit, his words to one who was personally an intimate friend well illustrates his type of humor. Being exceedinly busy he remarked to his wife as he went upstairs to his study: "I can't see even the Apostle Paul today should he call." A little later this friend appeared, and on inquiring of Mrs. McKeen whether her husband was engaged, she told of his remark. The dialogue had hardly finished when President McKeen recognized his friend's voice and bad him come up. No sooner was he seated than the friend rallied the president on his inconsistent action. "This is easily explained," returned he, "I expect to discuss theology with the Apostle Paul in another world, but so erreneous are your views on the subject that I feel I must improve, in your case, every opportunity the present life affords." President McKeen was chosen to preach the "election" sermon in 1800, received the degree of doctor of divinity from Dartmouth in 1804, and was a member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, to whose transactions he contributed several papers. He married, Feb. 2, 1786, Alice, daughter of James and Nancy (Woodburn) Anderson, who was born July 19, 1758, at Londonderry, N. H., and died March 21, 1834, at Brunswick. Children, b. in Beverly, Mass.: Three daughters (Mary, Alice and Margaret) died in infancy. 1. Joseph, born March 12, 1787, died Dec. 12, 1805. 2. Nancy, born July 2, 1788, died May 15, 1849. 3. John, born Dec. 21, 1789, died Dec. 2, 1861. 4. James, born Nov. 27, 1797, died Nov. 28, 1873. 5. Alice, born 1800; married May 31, 1826, William Jewett Farley Esq., a graduate of Bowdoin Collge, class of 1820, and a lawyer of Thomaston, Maine. She died without issue in May, 1827. (VI) Joseph (2), eldest son of President McKeen, was born March 12, 1787, and died Dec. 2, 1865. He was a prominent business man of Brunswick. Though not a graduate of the college he was connected with its administration from early manhood, serving as overseer from 1813 to 1829, and as treasurer from 1829 till his death in 1865. To his ability, shrewdness and integrity the institution owes much. He was cashier of the Union Bank from 1859 till its reoganization as a national bank, and then served as its president. He was a director and trustee of the Kennebec & Portland Railroad Company, and for some times its treasurer. Well read in several deparatments of literature and especially versed in biblical history and geography, he recieved the honorary degree of A. M. from Bowdoin in 1843. A member of the First Parish Church, he was especially prominent in the work of its Sunday school, and occasionally conducted religious services in adjoining communities. He was "a marked man, of clear intellect, of decided opinions, of an energy appalled by no difficulties, of unquestioned sincerity, of great liberality and kindness of heart." Mr. McKeen married, June 17, 1828, Elizabeth Farley, born April 6, 1810, in Waldoboro, Maine, and died March 3, 1881, at Brunswick. Children, b. in Brunswick: 1. Elizabeth Farley, born April 26, 1830; for many years a most highly esteemed teacher of English literature in the Brunswick high school, and subsequently at Miss Porter's school at Farmington, Connecticut; died unmarried, Oct. 30, 1907, at Farmington. 2. Joseph, born Oct. 15, 1832, died Jan. 15, 1881. 3. Nancy Dunlap, born Oct. 23, 1837, died Aug. 19, 1883. 4. James, born Dec. 5, 1844. 5. Alice Farley, born April 18, 1855. Nancy, daughter of President McKeen, married May 21, 1821, David, son of John and Jeanette (Dunning) Dunlap, who was born Jan. 21, 1778, at Brunswick, and died there Feb. 5, 1843. He was a prominent and successful merchant, represented the town in the genearl court of Mass. and in the Maine legislature for several years. He was an overseer of Bowdoin College for nearly thirty years, and a member of the American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions. "Highly respected as a citizen, he was noted for his charities to benevolent objects." His wife survived him six years, dying May 15, 1849. Beside a son who died in childhood, they had Alice McKeen Dunlap, b. Aug. 1, 1827, d. Sept. 15, 1905. (VI) John (2), second son of President McKeen, was prepared for college under the tuition of Rev. Jonathan Ellis, of Topsham, and graduated at Bowdoin in 1811. Ill health interfered with his plans for professional study, and he settled in Brunswick, being engaged part of the time in trade, but chiefly as an agent and administrator of estates. He served as postmaster for one term, as town clerk for twenty-three years, and was county commissioner in 1838. As secretary of the board of overseers fromn 1839 till his death, he maintained a close connection with the institution whose graduates he knew so well. By nature and training an antiquarian, he became one of the founders and most valued members of the Maine Historical Society. Its collections and the pages of several town histories bear evidence to his industrious researches. "A Scotch Presbyterian in matters of faith, he adhered with wonderful tenacity to the doctrines of his church, but as exemplified in his life they were divested of all their rigor and sharpness." He married, Nov. 30, 1831, Frances, daughter of Richard and Elizabeth (Giddings) Toppan, who was born at Newburyport, Mass. Nov. 13, 1792, and died at Brunswick, Oct. 27, 1881. Their only child, Frances Ann McKeen, was born Aug. 5, 1833, and resides on McKeen street, Brunswick, Maine. To her the writer is indebted for much assistance. (VI) James (3), youngest son of President McKeen, was graduated at Bowdoin in 1817, and entered upon the study of medicine, completing his course at Harvard in 1820. He settled at once at Topsham, where he was a successful practitioner for half a century. From 1825 to 1839 he was professor of obstetrics in the Medical School of Maine, and during the last two years was also lecturer upon medical theory and practice. During his professorship he made the tour of Europe, studying in different hospitals. Of his experiences in Dublin anecdotes are told which illustrate the courage, the presistence and the enthusiasm which were prominent traits in his character. He was to the close of his life an earnest student, being interested not alone in medicine but in natural science and literature. "Among the citizens of Topsham no one will be longer or more dearly remembered than he of whom it has been said that 'upon his good name no stain ever rested.' Dr. McKeen married (first) Sarah Jewett Farley, born Dec. 16, 1799, died March 26, 1831; (second) June 3, 1834, Octavia Frost, born May 2, 1809, died Sept. 4, 1890. His only child, Alice, died Dec. 24, 1825, aged six months. (VII) Joseph (3), eldest son of Treasurer McKeen, graduated at Bowdoin in 1853, attended lectures in New York City and at the Medical School of Maine, where he received the degree of M. D. in 1856. He at once settled in the practice of his profession in Topsham, being associated for many years with his uncle, Dr. James McKeen. He was interested in the public schools of the place and served on the school committee and as supervisor with acceptance. Possessed of a good voice and fine musical taste, his services of song in church choirs will be long remembered by those who enjoyed it. Dr. McKeen married March 12, 1862, Frances Caroline, daughter of Smith and Tamson Chase, who survived him, dying Oct. 12 ,1906, at Brunswick. Children, b. in Topsham: 1. Sarah Jewett, born April 16, 1863; married Llewellyn R. Call, of Richmond, Maine, and died Feb. 19, 1903. 2. Joseph, born March 21, 1878; is in the hardware business at Brunswick, Maine. Nancy Dunlap McKeen, daughter of Treasurer McKeen, married July 25, 1861, Charlton Thomas, son of Joseph J. and Mary Sinton (Miner) LEWIS, who was born Feb. 25, 1834, at West Chester, Pennsylvania, and died May 26, 1904, at Morristown, New Jersey. Dr. LEWIS graduated at Yale University in 1853, was for a few years a clergyman in the Methodist Episcopal church, then professor of languages at the University of Illinois, and acting president of Troy University (New York). In 1864 he settled in New York City and engaged in the practice of law, attaining a high reputation as an authority on insurance law. He was a most brilliant and versatile scholar, edited Harper's "Latin Dictionary," translated Bengel's "Gnomon of the New Testament," and wrote a "History of Germany," besides numerous essays, poems and addresses. In 1870-71 he was managing editor of the New York Post. He received the degree of Doctor of Philosophy from New York University, 1877, and of Doctor of Laws from Harvard in 1903. Mr. Lewis died at Norfolk, Connecticut Aug. 19, 1883, leaving four children: 1. Joseph McKeen Lewis, born June 26, 1863, at Brunswick, graduated at Yale in 1883, studied at Berlin and Athens, was tutor at Yale, and died April 29, 1887, at Morristown, New Jersey, leaving an enviable reputation for scholarship and ability. 2. Charlton Miner Lewis, born March 4, 1866, at Brooklyn, New York; graduated at Yale, 1886; at Columbia Law School, 1889; practiced law in New York City, 1889 to 1895; instructor in English at Yale University, 1895-98, securing the degree of Ph.D. in the latter year; Emily Sanford professor of English Literature at Yale since 1899, and author of numerous books. Professor Lewis married, June 16, 1903, Grace H. Robbins, of St. Paul, Minnesota. 3. Elizabeth Dike Lewis, born Aug. 13, 1873, at Bethel, Maine; graduated at Smith College in 1895; received the degree of A.M. in 1898; married June 30, 1904, Professor Clive Day, Ph.D., of Yale University; they have one daughter, Margaret, born Oct. 5, 1905. 4. Mary Sinton Lewis, born Sept., 1876, at New York City; was educated at Smith College, class of 1897; married Oct. 17, 1907, Captain John Leitch, of Dundee, Scotland. (VII) James (4), youngest son of Treasurer McKeen, was born Dec. 5, 1844; graduated with honors at Bowdoin, 1864; studied law in the office of his brother-in-law, Charlton M. Lewis, in New York City, was admitted to the bar in 1866, and, with the exception of a year spent in Europe, during which he attended lectures on jurisprudence and political economy at Paris and at Berlin, has been engaged in the successful practice of his profession in New York City, residing in Brooklyn, where he also maintains a law office. He was appointed by Governor Roosevelt a member of the commission to revise the charter of "Greater New York," served as assistant corporation counsel, was the candidate of the Republicans for justice of the supreme court in 1903, and was associate counsel with Governor Hughes in the insurance investigation of 1905. He is now (1908) the legal adviser of the Mutual Insurance Company of New York. Mr. McKeen has been actively interested in education, serving as a member of the Brooklyn education board, as trustee of the College of the City of New York, and of the Packer Collegiate Institution, and as an overseer of Bowdoin College since 1886. He received the degree of LL.D. from his alma mater in 1900. On retiring from the presidency of the Hamilton Club, the leading social organization of Brooklyn, which he had held for ten years, a fellow member characterized him in these phrases: "A logician with a capacity for eloquence, a man with humor without malice or a tinge of vulagarity, possessing decision of character without stubbornness of opinion, too learned for over confidence, too just for arrogance, too fair for dictation and too wise for vanity." Mr. McKeen married, in 1871, Mary Ellen, daughter of Joseph J. and Mary S. (Miner) Lewis. Their summer home is at Jewell's Island, on the Maine coast. Their children, besides a son that died in infancy, are three daughers, all born in Brooklyn. Children: 1. Helen Josephine, graduated at Bryn Mawr, 1900; studied law at Berlin and New York City, received the degree of LL.B. at New York Univ., 1905, and was admitted to the bar in 1906. 2. Elizabeth Farley, graduated at Bryn Mawr, 1901; studied at Oxford and engaged in literary work. 3. Anna Lewis, graduated at Bryn Mawr, 1904. Alice Farley McKeen, daughter of Treasurer McKeen, married Frederic Livingston Scott, a merchant of Farmington, Connecticut. Their only child is Elizabeth McKeen Scott. Alice McKeen Dunlap, daughter of Nancy (McKeen) Dunlap, married Oct. 15, 1850, Charles Jervis, son of Nathaniel and Elizabeth (Gardiner) GILMAN, who was born at Exeter, New Hampshire, Feb. 26, 1824, and died at Brunswick, Feb. 5, 1901. Mr. Gilman was educated at Phillips Academy, Exeter, and the Harvard Law School, and received the honorary degree of A. M. from Dartmouth College. He was admitted to the N. H. bar, but did not practice his profession after he removed to Brunswick in 1850. He was prominent in political affairs, served in the Maine legislature in 1854, was a member of congress in 1857-59, and a delegate to the Republican national convention at Chicago in 1860. Mrs. Gilman died Sept. 15, 1905, in the mansion built by her grandfather in which she had dispensed a gracious hospitality for half a century. Their four children, b. in Brunswick: 1. David Dunlap Gilman, born July 26, 1854; graduated at Bowdoin, 1877; for many years paymaster of the Cabot Manufacturing Company. 2. Elizabeth Jervis Gilman. 3. Charles A. Gilman. 4. Mary Gardiner Gilman, librarian of Curtis Memorial Library, Brunswick, Maine. (III) John, second son of James McKean, was born about 1675, in Ireland, and prepared to go to America with his elder brother James, but died a short time previous to the embarkation. His widow, Jeanette, with her three sons - James, Robert and Samuel - and her infant daughter Mary accompanied her brother-in-law James McKean and his family to America in 1718 and settled in Londonderry, New Hampshire, where she had a lot assigned to her. She afterwards married Captain John Barnett, one of the early settlers of the town. Her sons were the progenitors of the McKeans of Deering, Antrim, Amherst and Nashua, N. H. and Cherry Valley, New York. John, the first, was the ancestor of McKeans of Nova Scotia. Robert, the second, settled in Pennsylvania, was engaged in the French and Indians wars, promoted to the rank of major, and was captured and put to death by torture. He spelled the name McKean, and descendants of that name are located in Cecil, Maryland, and also Huntington and Bradford counties, same state. Samuel, the third, is subject of the next paragraph. Mary, the youngest, married her cousin John McKean, previously mentioned. (IV) Samuel, third son of John McKean, was born in Londonderry, Ireland, or vicinity, and came to this country with his mother and her other children in 1718. He married Agnes ____, and settled in Amherst, New Hampshire. Children: 1. Hugh, was killed by Indians in the old French war. 2. John, massacred at Fort William Henry in the French and Indian war; the Indians thrust pitch pine skewers into his flesh, then lighted them and burned him to death. 3. Robert settled in Cherry Valley, New York, and became a "captain of renown": also killed by Indians during the battle at Wyoming, Pennsylvania. 4. James, married Jane Scott McKean; settled at Amherst. 5. Samuel, mentioned below. 6. William, married Ann Graham; settled in Deering, N. H.; among their eleven children was William McKean Jr., member of the state senate, 1844-45. 7. Mary. 8. Martha. 9. Agnes. 10. Jane. (V) Deacon Samuel (2), son of Samuel (1) McKeen, was born in Amherst. He lived in early life at Amherst, then at Windham, N. H., and finally settled at Belfast, maine, where he became a leading citizen, town officer and deacon of the church. He married Janet, daughter of Hugh Graham, a direct lineal descendant of Graham, Earl of Montrose, supposed to be James Graham, the fifth earl, and twentieth in line of descent from William de Graeme, who lived in the regin of David I of Scotland, or James, Duke of Montrose, who is teh twenty-sixth chief in authentic record, according to McIan. Two of their sons settled in Acworth, and the father, while living with them in his old age, died there in 1784. Children: 1. Hugh, soldier in the revolution and a pensioner; marired (first) ____ Danford (or Danforth); married (second) Mary Gregg; children: Samuel, Hugh, D. Danford, William, J. Calvin, Solomon, Mary married P. Clark, Joanna, William. 2. John, soldier in the revolution, and a pensioner late in life; married (first) Mary Gregg, (second) Martha Dunn; children: Samuel, John, Hugh, Betsey, Samuel. 3. Samuel, married Jane Ayres. 4. Ephraim, mentioned below. 5. Isaac, married (first) Martha Drew, (second) Betsey Cogswell, of Castine, Maine, and she died in 1856, aged eighty-six. 6. Abner. 7. Janet or Jane, married Jacob Eames, seven children. 8. Nancy. 9. Martha, married Samuel True, of Searsport, Maine. 10. Keziah, married Joseph Ayres, brother of Samuel's wife. (VI) Ephraim, son of Deacon Samuel (2) McKeen, was born in New Hampshire in 1766, and died in Belfast, Maine, in 1848. He married Lucy Ayres, of Merrimac, N. H. They had ten children, of whom but five lived to maturity: 1. Nancy, born 1801, married William Ryan, of Belfast, Maine; died Feb. 9, 1883; children: i. Ann Maria, b. July 25, 1820, died 1822; ii. Charles F., b. Nov. 13, 1822, died young; iii. William Henry, b. June 21, 1824, married Sarah Cunningham; iv. Lucy E., b. Dec. 24, 1825, died 1828; v. Benjamin Franklin, b. Jan. 5, 1828, married Sylvia Ames; was lost in the wreck of the "Central America," off Virginia, on his return from California; vi. Lewis H., b. Nov. 26, 1829, married Martha Esther Hopkins, and (had five children: Edwin, b. 1845, lives in East Boston; Adelaide, b. 1857; Maria, b. 1860, lives in Boston; Alice, b. 1862; Mary, born 1873, lives in East Boston); vii. George F., b. Feb. 11, 1831; married March 10, 1862, Ellen P. Maddock (their three children reside in Belfast, Maine; Lillian V., b. Oct. 19, 1864; Lucy F., b. Oct. 19, 1864; Franklin G., b. Aug. 6, 1866); viii. Thomas E., born Jan. 13, 1833, married Lydia S. Wyman, and died Jan., 1863, (son Thomas E., b. March, 1863, resides in Lowell). 2. Joseph, born July 17, 1805; mentioned below. 3. Lucy Maria, married Samuel Hanson; had four sons and two daughters: Ephraim, a mariner; Clarence Hanson; Robert Hanson, d. in Belfast; Mary Hanson, m. John Pierce and lives in Portland, parents of Dr. Thomas Pierce, of California; Lucy Hanson, m. ____ Parsons of New York. 3. [their numbering, not mine] Betsey, married Josiah Curtis, of Swanville, Maine, Oct. 26, 1834; children: i. Frank Curtis, b. Oct. 31, 1835, married Kate Hinckley, of Monroe, Maine, Nov. 1, 1864, and (has two daughters, Rose and Blanche); ii. Prescott, b. June 1, 1837, married Jan. 1, 1867, Amanda Young, of Searsport, and (had one son Leory, married Lilliam Snyder, of Colorado); iii. Americus J., b. April 15, 1839, resides at Montville, Maine; iv. Mahlon, b. March 4, 1841, married Nov., 1866, Ellen Brown of Burnham, Maine, and (has three sons and two daughters.); v. Almeda, b. Feb. 19, 1844, m. George Flanders of Boston; vi. Maria, b. Aug. 17, 1846, m. Sept. 12, 1866, Samuel Logan, and (has a son, Dr. Charles Logan, who m. Jennie Farnsworth of Vermont). Maria married (second) Sumner L. Warner, of Dexter, Maine; vii. John, b. 1852, d. July 5, 1865; viii. Edward, b. May 16, 1854, m. Eva Cox, of Montville, and (had two sons: Cassius S. and Stanley.) 4. John, married Elsie Gilbreth, of Belfast; children; i. Alice, m. William Card, d. at age thirty years; ii. Esther, b. Sept. 6, 1822, m. Sept. 2, 1840, Milton Wyatt, of Danvers, d. Feb. 1, 1887 (children: George F. Wyatt, b. July 16, 1842; John M. Wyatt, b. April 30, 1844; Tinkham H., b. May 5, 1846, d. aged seven; Alice J. Westcott, b. Sept. 30, 1848, resides 593 Broadway, Brooklyn; Lizzie M. Mugrdige, b. Jan. 21, 1851, resides 27 Bowdoin street, Boston; Charles W., b. May 12, 1854; Tinkham H., b. March 21, 1856; Emma H. Johnson, b. April 2, 1859). iii. Martha, m. D.A. Hartwell, (children: George A., of Minnesota, and Carrie L., of Massachusetts); iv. Lucy, m. Lyman B. Goss, in 1847, and had ten children (Emma A., resides at 14 Austin St., Charlestown; Kate F. m, B.S. Marsters, and have Florence M. Marsters, b. June 21, 1886, Lyman E., of Chicago; Irving V., grocer, Franklin Falls, N.Y., m. Flora B. Whittier and has two children: Bernice L. b. July 13, 1886, and a son b. Dec. 31, 1892; Maud McKeon Goss, m. S.D. Hedge, in 1885, and had one child, Alice M., b. Dec. 18, 1887, residing in Brockton, Mass.) (VII) Joseph, son of Ephraim McKeen, was born in Belfast, Maine, July 17, 1805, and died March 13, 1860. He had a common school education, and learned the trade of stone mason, following his trade as well as farming for his occupation. In politics he was a Democrat. He married Dec. 29, 1825, Eliza Holmes, of Machias, Maine, b. Dec., 1804, d. Oct. 16, 1887. Children: 1. Ephraim, born Oct. 13, 1826, married Sarah J. Nickerson of Swanville, Nov. 23, 1851; d. Aug. 29, 1869; children: i. Isaac, b. April 28, 1853, m. Flora Morrill of Swanville March 21, 1877 (children: Ephraim L., b. March 23, 1881; Grace May, b. May 21, 1887); ii. Joseph F., b. Jan. 23, 1855, d. April 29, 1857; iii. Melissa J., b. May 13, 1859; iv. Roscoe D., b. Jan. 8, 1866, m. Nettie S. Adams, of Lincolnville, Dec. 1, 1891; he has been principal of Danforth high school, superintendent of schools at Bridgewater, Mass., and Havehill, N. H.; v. John A., b. Oct. 21, 1867, a stone cutter, of Swanville. 2. James F., born Sept. 4, 1829; died Dec. 21, 1832. 3. Hazael H., son, born Oct. 27, 1831; married Aug. 21, 1852, Amanda Harris, of Swanville; live in Belfast. children: Clara, b. 1853, m. George Maker, lives at Concord, Mass. and has three children; ii. Ada, b. 1855, m. Albert Linnekin, lives in Boston; iii. Fred, b. 1858, m. Etta Wilson who d. leaving three children; iv. Nellie, b. 1860, m. William Blazo, and lives in Belfast (one daughter); v. Eliza, born 1862, m. Frank Jellison, of Brooks, Maine, reside in Belfast. (four children); vi. Joseph, b. 1864, m. Almira Sholes (sons Harold and Lloyd); vii. Ralph, b. 1868, lives at Belfast, m. Mrs. Eaton (two boys); viii. Mary A., b. 1871, m. George Havener, (two sons, Rex and Ivan) lives at Belfast. 4. James F., born July 17, 1834; mentioned below. 5. Eliza M., born Dec 4, 1836; died July 2, 1858. 6. Joseph Albert, born at Swanville Sept. 29, 1839; died at sea Sept. 8, 1875, on schooner "William Frederick," of which he was master; married Annie L. Burgess of East Belfast, child: Florida B. 7. Rhoda M., married William J. Dennett, lived in Boston, died a year after her marriage. 8. Emma F., born Dec. 7, 1843; married James H. Perkins, May 22, 1869; children: i. Albert H. Perkins, b. Feb. 25, 1870; ii. Rena, b. Nov. 22, 1874; iii. Amy, b. March 24, 1881, d. Feb. 22, 1885. 9. Fred A., born May 21, 1851; died Oct. 3, 1857. (VIII) James Franklin, son of Joseph McKeen, was born in Belfast, July 17, 1834. He had a common school education and when a young man went to sea. He enlisted Sept. 10, 1862, in Company I, Twenty-sixth Maine Regiment, in the civil war, and was mustered out Oct. 3, following. He was in the campaign in Louisiana with his regiment, and took part in the battle of Port Hudson and also of Irish Bend. He was mustered out Aug. 17, 1863, and again became a mariner. He rose to the rank of master mariner and fifteen years was captain of a vessel. For seven years he commanded the "Annie L. McKean." He built the "Nellis S. Pickering" and was master of her for eight years, being engaged in the shipment of hard pine from Maine to various ports along the coast. He retired from sea life in Jan., 1892, and since then has made his home on a small place in Belfast, Maine. He is a Republican, and has been a member of the common council and also of the board of aldermen of Belfast. He is a member of Timothy Chase Lodge, F. and A.M., Belfast; of Corinthian Chapter, R.A.M.; of King Solomon Council, R.S.M.; of Thomas H. Marshall Post G.A.R., Belfast. He married, May 1, 1866, Julia G., daughter of George Anson and Susan Kalock Miller, of Belfast. George Anson MILLER, her father, was born in Belfast in 1815, and died there March 5, 1871; married 1840, Susan Kalock, who was born at St. George, Maine, in 1813, and died in Belfast in 1874. He was a farmer and shipwright. Children of George A. & Susan Miller: i. Sheridan F. Miller, killed at battle of Chancellorsville, captain of Company K, Fourth Maine Regiemtn, May 2, 1863, serving in corps of General Daniel E. Sickles; ii. Julia G. Miller, m. James F. McKeen, as stated; iii. Samuel Weir Miller; iv. Nancy Miller; v. Ada S. Miller (twin); James Miller. Samuel Weir Miller, father of George Anson Miller, was born in Londonderry, N. H. of which is ancestors were early settlers; married April 23, 1809, Nancy Brown; children: i. George Anson Miller, mentioned above; ii. Samuel Freeman Miller; iii. Stephen Weir Miller; iv. Charles H. Miller; v. Justin G. Miller; vi. Matilda M. Miller; vii. Wales L. Miller. Captain and Mrs. McKeen have no children.