Staggs Family History

My ancestors in the United States

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    Isaiah Keen (1733-1777)

    BIRTH: 19 Jan 1733, Pembroke, Massachusetts, USA
    DEATH: 18 May 1777, Pembroke, Massachusetts, USA
    FATHER: Samuel Keen (1694-1777)
    MOTHER: Ruth Sprague (1701-1736)
    SPOUSE: Ruth Bisbee (1739-1783)

    When Isaiah Keen was born on January 19, 1733, in Pembroke, Massachusetts, his father, Samuel, was 39 and his mother, Ruth, was 31. He had six sons and three daughters with Ruth Bisbee between 1759 and 1775. He died on May 18, 1777, in his hometown at the age of 44, and was buried in Hanson, Massachusetts.

    His story

    The following is an excerpt from Staggs Genealogy – Harold Wareham Staggs – His Book

    A son of Grandfather Samuel and Ruth was Grandfather Isiah (1732) who, when living in Pembroke, married Ruth Bisbee (1739). They had eight children.

    Ruth was a descendent of Thomas Besbedge. In 1643 the name became Bisbee. Thomas was born in Biddenden, Kent Co., England and came to America in the Hercules in 1635. In 1643 he was chosen Representative from Duxbury to the General Court.

    Grandfather Isaiah and Ruth’s first son was Sprague who enlisted in the Revolutionary Army, was taken prisoner by the British and died while held on a British prison ship.1

    The next son was Isaiah. He served in the same Army as a fifer in Capt. John Turner’s Company, stationed at Little Compton, Rhode Island.2

    The third son was Grandfather Zebulon (1763) who wed Huldah. We do not know her last name. They had six children.

    The following is an excerpt from The John Keen(e) (1578-1649) and Associated Families, by Mr. and Mrs. Archie Timothy Keene, 1971

    Isaiah Keen, son of Samuel and Ruth (Sprague) Keen was born 1-19-1732/3, died 5-18-1777 at Pembroke. He married Ruth Bisbee, born 4-22-1739, died 1783; daughter of Jonah and Ruth (Bryant) Bisbee; granddaughter of John and Mary (Oldham) Bisbee, born 1717, died 2-12-1800, They had eight children.

    Revolutionary Patriot

    Isaiah Keen (1733–1777) of Pembroke, Massachusetts is listed in the Abstract of Graves of Revolutionary Patriots, compiled by Patricia Law Hatcher. (Listed as a Revolutionary Patriot in Volume 2 (E–K), Serial 12260, and Volume 5 of the DAR grave abstracts.) His inclusion suggests that he was recognized posthumously by the Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR) as a Revolutionary Patriot, though not necessarily a soldier.

    This recognition often reflects either military service, material support to the Patriot cause, or civic involvement during the Revolutionary period. However, the abstract itself typically does not provide detailed service records—it simply confirms that the grave was identified and linked to Revolutionary activity.

    Two of his sons, Sprague and Isaiah, served in the U.S. Revolutionary War. Sprague Keen (1759-1781) served and died in 1781 while imprisoned on a British prison ship.1 Isaiah Keen (1761-1838) served as a fifer in the war.2

    Legacy of Isaiah Keen

    Parents

    Father: Samuel Keen (1694-1777)

    Mother: Ruth Sprague (1701-1736)

    Married

    Ruth Bisbee (1739-1783) on January 10, 1754

    Children

    • Sprague Keen (1759-1781)
    • Isaiah Keen (1761-1838) married Lydia Bourne (1762-1848)
    • Hanna Keen (1763-1768)
    • Zebulon Keene (1765-1810) married Huldah J Stone (1766-1849)
    • Galen Keen (1768-1856) married Diana Gardner (1779-1860)
    • Edna Keen (1770-1838) married Thomas Gardner Jr. (1769-1845)
    • Samuel Keen (1771-1850)
    • Sarah Keen (1774-?) Married Miles Standish (1768-1805) descendant of the Mayflower Standish
    • Daniel Keen (1775-?)

    Documents

    • Birth Records
    • Marriage records
      • Isaiah Keen (1733–1777) of Pembroke, Massachusetts married Ruth Bisbee on January 10, 1754, according to Pembroke vital records. This marriage is consistent with genealogical sources that list Ruth as his wife and the mother of his children.
    • Death records
      • Massachusetts, U.S., Town and Vital Records, 1620-1988 > Isaiah Keen > Death Date: 18 May 1777, Pembroke, Massachusetts, USA; Spouse: Ruth
      • The New England Historical & Genealogical Register, 1847-2011, Page number 37, Volume Number 136 > Name: Isaiah Keen; Death Date: 18 May 1777
      • Abstract of Graves of Revolutionary Patriots; Volume: 2; Serial: 12260; Volume: 5 > Name: Isaiah Keen; Cemetery: Fern Hill Cem; Location: Hanson MA 59
      • Find a Grave Death Date: 18 Mar 1777
      • Burial: Fern Hill Cemetery, Hanson, Plymouth County, Massachusetts, USA
      • Isaiah and his father Samuel Keen died on the same day in Pembroke, Massachusetts. There is no confirmed cause of death publicly documented for Isaiah Keen and his father Samuel Keen, who both died on May 18, 1777 in Pembroke. However, their simultaneous deaths strongly suggest a shared event—possibly an epidemic, accident, or military-related incident.
    • Other
      • American Genealogical-Biographical Index (AGBI) > Name: Isaiah Keen; Birth Date: 1733; Birth Place: Massachusetts, USA; Volume: 94; Page number: 187; Reference: Gen. Column of the “Boston Transcript” 1906-1941.

    Footnotes

    1. According to the memorial recorded by Rev. Gad Hitchcock, Sprague Keen died aboard a British prison ship during the Revolutionary War. These ships, anchored in New York Harbor, were notorious for their overcrowded and unsanitary conditions. Thousands of American prisoners of war perished aboard them due to disease, starvation, and neglect.
    2. The publication “Massachusetts Soldiers and Sailors of the Revolutionary War” volume 9, has the following listing on page 15: KEEN, ISIAH, Pembroke. Fifer, Capt. John Turner’s co., Col. Theophilus Cotton’s regt.; marched Sept. 28, 1777; service, l mo. 3 days; company marched to Rhode Island; also, Capt. Calvin Partridge’s co., Lient. Col. Samuel Pierce’s regt.; marched May 21, 1779; service, 1 mo. 14 days; company raised in Plymouth Co. and stationed at Little Compton, R. I.; also, Capt. John Turner’s co., Col. John Jacobs’s refit.; enlisted July 24, 1780; discharged Oct. 30, 1780; service, 3 mos. 6 days; regiment detached from militia to reinforce Continental Army at Rhode Island for 3 months; also, return dated Pembroke, April 1, 1782, made by the Selectmen, of bounties paid said Keen and others to serve in the Continental Army for the term of 3 years or during the war, agreeable to resolve of Dec. 2, 1780.

    Relation of Isaiah Keen to Steven Barry Staggs: 6th great-grandfather

    Page last updated November 13, 2025

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