Staggs Family History

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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.

      The life of Isaiah Keen

      A Pembroke Life in a Revolutionary Age

      Isaiah Keen was born on 19 January 1732/3 in Pembroke, Plymouth County, Massachusetts, the son of Samuel Keen (1694–1777) and Ruth (Sprague) Keen (1701–1736). He grew up in a family deeply rooted in the early colonial history of Plymouth Colony, descended from the Keens of Scituate and Pembroke and connected through his grandmother, Abigail Little, to Mayflower passenger Richard Warren. Isaiah’s childhood unfolded in a world shaped by the rhythms of New England farming, the meetinghouse, and the close‑knit networks of families who had lived in the region for generations.

      In the early 1760s, Isaiah married Ruth Bisbee (1739–1783), daughter of Jonah Bisbee and Ruth (Bryant) Bisbee, and a descendant of Thomas Besbedge/Bisbee, who arrived in New England in 1635 aboard the Hercules and later represented Duxbury in the General Court. The marriage united two long‑established colonial families whose histories stretched back to the earliest decades of settlement. Isaiah and Ruth settled in Pembroke, where they raised a large family of eight children, including Sprague, Isaiah Jr., and Zebulon, the ancestor through whom our line descends.

      Isaiah lived his entire life in Pembroke, a town that found itself increasingly drawn into the political and military tensions of the 1770s. As the colonies moved toward open conflict with Britain, Pembroke’s men served in militia companies, provided supplies, and supported the Patriot cause in ways both recorded and unrecorded. Although no surviving muster roll places Isaiah himself in active military service, his name appears in the Abstract of Graves of Revolutionary Patriots, confirming that the Daughters of the American Revolution recognized him as a Revolutionary Patriot. This designation reflects documented support for the Patriot cause—whether through civic involvement, material aid, or other qualifying contributions—during the years of the American Revolution.

      Isaiah’s household was deeply touched by the war. His eldest son, Sprague Keen (1759–1781), enlisted early and was captured by the British. According to a memorial recorded by Rev. Gad Hitchcock, Sprague died aboard one of the notorious British prison ships anchored in New York Harbor, where thousands of American prisoners perished from disease, starvation, and neglect. Another son, Isaiah Keen Jr. (1761–1838), served multiple terms as a fifer, a vital role in 18th‑century military communication. His service is well documented in Massachusetts Soldiers and Sailors of the Revolutionary War, which records his participation in campaigns in Rhode Island in 1777, 1779, and 1780, as well as a 1782 bounty paid by the Pembroke Selectmen for long‑term Continental service.

      Isaiah did not live to see the end of the war. He died in Pembroke on 18 May 1777, at the age of forty‑four, during the very years when his sons were marching, fighting, and suffering for the cause of independence. He was buried at Fern Hill Cemetery in what is now Hanson, Massachusetts, where his grave was later documented in the DAR’s Abstract of Graves of Revolutionary Patriots. His widow, Ruth, survived him by several years, raising their younger children and witnessing the early years of the new nation her family had helped to secure.

      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

      The legacy of Isaiah Keen is carried forward through the generations who followed him. His sons’ service in the Revolutionary War—one giving his life in captivity, another serving in multiple campaigns—reflects the family’s deep commitment to the Patriot cause. Through his son Zebulon, Isaiah became the grandfather of the Keene family that migrated to central New York in the 1790s and later spread westward into Ohio, Indiana, Wisconsin, and beyond. His lineage connects directly to the early settlers of Plymouth Colony and to the descendants of Mayflower passenger Richard Warren, placing the Keen family within the long arc of American history from its earliest colonial beginnings to the forging of the new republic. Though his life was brief, Isaiah’s influence endures in the generations shaped by his heritage, his family’s sacrifices, and the enduring legacy of the Revolutionary era in which he lived.

      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 —- (1766-1828)
      • 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-?)
      • 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 June 27, 2026

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