Staggs Family History

My ancestors in the United States

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      Lydia Baker (1659–1732)

      BIRTH: 18 Feb 1659, Duxbury, Plymouth, Massachusetts, USA
      DEATH: 1732, Plymouth County, Massachusetts, USA
      FATHER: Samuel Baker (1630–1699)
      MOTHER: Eleanor Winslow (1637–1700)
      SPOUSE: Josiah Keen Jr (1657–1732)

      When Lydia Baker was born on February 18, 1659, in Duxbury, Massachusetts, her father, Samuel, was 29, and her mother, Eleanor, was 22. She married Josiah Keen in 1682 in her hometown. They had ten children in 20 years. She died in 1732, in Plymouth, Massachusetts, at the age of 73.

      The life of Lydia Baker

      Daughter of the Baker–Winslow Line

      Lydia Baker was born in 1659 in Duxbury, Massachusetts, into one of the most interconnected families of Plymouth Colony. She was the daughter of Samuel Baker (1630–1699) and Eleanor Winslow (1637–1700) — a union that joined two prominent colonial families. Through her mother Eleanor, Lydia was the granddaughter of Kenelm Winslow, brother of Governor Edward Winslow, making her part of the extended Winslow network that shaped early Plymouth’s civic and religious life.

      Lydia grew up in Duxbury at a time when the town was transitioning from its first generation of settlers to a stable, multi‑family community. The Bakers and Winslows were landholders, church members, and participants in town affairs. Her father Samuel appears in land transactions and civic records; her mother Eleanor belonged to a family known for its literacy, public service, and long-standing influence.

      On 18 February 1682, Lydia married Josiah Keen Jr. (1657–1732), son of Josiah Keene (1620–1710) and Abigail Little (1634–1657). This marriage united the Baker–Winslow line with the Little–Warren line, giving Lydia’s children ancestry from two of Plymouth Colony’s most historically significant families. Lydia and Josiah settled first in Duxbury and later in Pembroke, where Josiah became a yeoman — an independent landholder whose farm formed the backbone of the community.

      Together, Lydia and Josiah raised ten children, whose births appear in Duxbury and Pembroke records and whose names are preserved in Josiah’s 1732 will. Their children married into families such as Soule, Thomas, Barker, and Bisbee, weaving the Keen line into the fabric of Plymouth County’s social and genealogical landscape.

      Lydia died around 1732, the same year as her husband. Her life bridged the period between the earliest days of Plymouth Colony and the emergence of new towns like Pembroke, where her descendants would live for generations.

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

      Grandfather Josiah Jr. (1660) was Josia and Anna’s son. He met and wed Lydia Baker. They had eleven children and lived in Pembroke.

      The early history of the Keens and information about his children came to us from the “account book” of Hezekiah Keen who was the eleventh child of Josiah Jr. and Anna. This book was given to the Massachusetts Society of Mayflower Descendents by Abon Keen.

      Grandmother Linda Baker was the daughter of Samuel Baker whose mother was Ellen or Eleanor Winslow (about 1637). Her father was Kenelm Winslow (1599) who came from England to Plymouth in 1629; admitted freeman 1632; surveyor of Plymouth; original proprietor of Assonet (Freetown) 1659; engaged in the settlement of Yarmouth; member of Marshfield military company.

      Looks as if he was one of our more energetic ancestors.

      Josiah’s ninth child was Grandfather Samuel Keen who married Ruth Sprague. 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

      Josiah married Lydia, daughter of Samuel and Elinor (Winslow) Baker, He died 12-23-1732, resident of Pembroke. They had eleven children.

      Legacy of Lydia Baker

      Lydia Baker’s legacy is carried through the families that descended from her marriage to Josiah Keen Jr. Through her, the Keen line inherited:

      • Winslow ancestry through her mother Eleanor
      • Baker family heritage through her father Samuel
      • Mayflower Warren ancestry through her husband’s mother, Abigail Little

      Her children and grandchildren spread across Duxbury, Pembroke, Kingston, and Marshfield, forming branches that would participate in the Revolutionary War, settle new towns, and preserve the Keen name into the nineteenth century. Lydia’s life represents the quiet strength of Plymouth Colony’s second generation — a woman whose family connections, marriage, and descendants helped shape the social and genealogical landscape of early Massachusetts.

      Parents

      FATHER: Samuel Baker (1630–1699)
      MOTHER: Eleanor Winslow (1637–1700)

      Married

      Josiah Keen Jr (1657–1732) on 18 February 1682, in Duxbury/Scituate, Massachusetts

      Children

      • Benjamin Keen (1682–1732) married Deborah Barker (1685-1771)
      • Josiah Keen (1683–1767)
      • Abigail Rebecca Keen (1685–1717)
      • Eleanor Keen (1687–1724) married Joseph Thomas (1680-1732)
      • Lydia Keen (1690–1728) married Aaron Soule (1688-1765)
      • Nathaniel Keen (1692–1765) married Abigail —- (1695-1760)
      • Bethiah Keen (1693–1745)
      • Samuel Baker Keen (1694–1777) married Ruth Sprague (1701-1736)
      • Isaac Keen (1698–1787) married Mary —- (c1700-Aft. 1732)
      • Hezekiah Keen (1702–1770)

      Documents

      Relation of Lydia Baker to Steven Barry Staggs: 8th great-grandmother

      Page last updated June 29, 2026

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