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      Ruth Sprague (1701-1736)

      BIRTH: 22 Feb 1701, Duxbury, Plymouth County, Massachusetts, USA
      DEATH: June 1736, Pembroke, Plymouth County, Massachusetts, USA
      FATHER: William Sprague (1664–1712)
      MOTHER: Grace Wadsworth (1679–1758)
      SPOUSE: Samuel Keen (1694–1777)

      Ruth Sprague was born on February 22, 1701, in Duxbury, Massachusetts, the daughter of Grace and William. She married Samuel Keen on April 18, 1719, in her hometown. They had six children in 12 years. She died in June 1736 in Pembroke, Massachusetts, at the age of 35.

      The life of Ruth Sprague

      A Life in the First Generation Born After Plymouth Colony

      Ruth was born on 22 February 1701 in Duxbury, Massachusetts, a town still shaped by the memory of the Mayflower and the first generation of settlers. She was the daughter of William Sprague, a mariner whose life ended tragically when a whale boat overturned in 1712, and Grace Wadsworth, granddaughter of Deacon John Wadsworth, one of the most respected men in Plymouth Colony.

      Ruth grew up in a household marked by resilience. After William’s death, Grace became guardian to their children—Jethro, Terah, Ruth, and Zerviah—an arrangement preserved in Plymouth County probate records. Grace’s later will, written in 1748, would name “my six grandchildren the children of my daughter Ruth late deceased,” preserving Ruth’s memory in the legal and genealogical record.

      Marriage and Family

      On 18 April 1719, Ruth married Samuel Keen of Duxbury, a young man descended from the Keen, Baker, Winslow, and Warren families. Their marriage joined two long‑established Plymouth Colony lines and brought Ruth into the growing community of Pembroke.

      Ruth’s life quickly became one of motherhood and community. She bore six children, each one recorded in Pembroke’s vital records:

      • William Keen — 9 September 1720
      • Levi Keen — 12 August 1722
      • Abel Keen — 9 September 1724
      • Grace Keen — 26 January 1726
      • Samuel Keen — 17 March 1729
      • Isaiah Keen — 19 January 1733

      These children formed the foundation of the Keen family’s expansion across Plymouth County. Through them, Ruth’s bloodline entered families such as Jennings, Cole, Leavitt, and Bisbee—names that appear repeatedly in Pembroke’s records and in Revolutionary War rolls.

      A Short Life, A Wide Reach

      Ruth died on 18 April 1734, exactly fifteen years after her marriage. She left behind six children ranging from age fourteen to age one. Her death is confirmed in the Sprague Genealogy and supported by the probate references in her mother’s will.

      Samuel remarried three years later, taking Margaret Redding as his second wife. Margaret raised Ruth’s children and bore four more of her own, but the maternal line is clear: Ruth was the mother of the first six Keen children, including Isaiah Keen, who would become a Revolutionary War soldier and the ancestor of our own line.

      Ruth’s life was not long, but it was deeply rooted in the first century of New England settlement. She lived in the shadow of the Mayflower generation, carried the Sprague–Wadsworth heritage into the Keen family, and became the matriarch of a line that would spread into Maine, New Hampshire, and beyond.

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

      Samuel, b 1694, married 4-18-1719 Ruth Sprague, born 2-22-1701/2 in Duxbury, daughter of William and Grace (Wadsworth) Sprague. They had eleven children.1

      Legacy of Ruth Sprague

      Ruth Sprague’s legacy is preserved in the records of Duxbury, Pembroke, and Plymouth County, but it lives most vividly in the families that grew from her short life. Through her children, she became the ancestor of:

      • Revolutionary War soldiers
      • early settlers of Maine
      • members of the Sons of the American Revolution
      • generations of Keen descendants who preserved her name in family Bibles, town histories, and lineage society applications

      Her mother’s will immortalized her as “my daughter Ruth late deceased,” but her grandchildren ensured her memory lived far beyond that phrase. Ruth’s life bridged the first century of New England settlement and the dawn of the American Revolution. She carried the Sprague–Wadsworth heritage into the Keen line, linking seafarers, surveyors, farmers, and patriots into one continuous story.

      Though she died young, her influence radiated outward through the six children she bore and the thousands of descendants who trace their roots back to her. Her story is quiet, but her legacy is vast.

      Parents

      FATHER: William Sprague (1664–1712)
      MOTHER: Grace Wadsworth (1679–1758)

      Married

      Samuel Keen (1694–1777) on April 18, 1719, in Duxbury, Plymouth, Massachusetts

      Children

      • William Keen (1720-?) married Ruth Sargant (1721-?)
      • Levi Keen (1722-?) married Eunice Jennings (1729-?)
      • Abel Keen (1724-?) married Bethiah Dogget
      • Grace Keen (1726-1772) married Jabez Cole (1720-1790)
      • Samuel Keen (1729-?)
      • Isaiah Keen (1733-1777) married Ruth Bisbee (1739-1783)

      Documents

      • Birth Records
        • North America, Family Histories, 1500-2000, Sprague Families in America > Name: Ruth Sprague; Gender: Female; Birth Date: 22 Feb 1702; Birthplace: Duxbury; First Marriage Date: 18 Apr 1719; Father: William Sprague; Mother: Grace Wadsworth; Spouse: Samuel Keen
      • Marriage records
        • Massachusetts, U.S., Town and Vital Records, 1620-1988 > Duxbury Marriages > Ruth Sprague and Samuel Kein, April 18, 1719
        • Massachusetts, U.S., Vital Records, 1640-1849 > Duxbury Marriages > Ruth Sprague and Samuel Kein, April 18, 1719
        • Massachusetts, U.S., Compiled Marriages, 1633-1850 > Name: Ruth Sprague; Gender: Female; Marriage Date: 18 Apr 1719; Place: Duxbury, Plymouth, Massachusetts; Spouse: Samuel Kein
        • U.S. and International Marriage Records, 1560-1900 > Name: Samuel Keen; Gender: Male; Spouse Name: Ruth Sprague; Marriage Year: 1719; Marriage State: MA; Number Pages: 1
      • Death records
        • Find a Grave > Ruth Sprague Keen. Birth: 22 Feb 1701, Duxbury, Plymouth County, Massachusetts, USA; Death: Jun 1736 (aged 35), Pembroke, Plymouth County, Massachusetts, USA
        • Burial: Burial Details Unknown
      • Other
        • Mayflower Births and Deaths, Vol. 1 and 2 > Volume 2 > Warren > Children of Samuel Keen and Ruth Sprague
        • American Genealogical-Biographical Index (AGBI) > Name: Ruth Sprague; Birth Date: 1702; Birthplace: Massachusetts, USA; Volume: 165; Page number: 479; Reference: Memorial of the Sprague Fam, With Fam, Gen. By Rich. Soule. Boston. 1847. (12,191p.): 34 Gen. Column of the ” Boston Transcript”. 1906-1941.
        • U.S., Sons of the American Revolution Membership Applications, 1889-1970, pages 2&3, page 4 > Name: Ruth Sprague; Birthplace: Duxbury, Massachusetts; SAR Membership: 6516; Role: Ancestor; Application Date: 22 Feb 1895; Spouse: Samuel Keene; Children: William Keen

      Footnote

      1. Samuel and his first wife, Ruth Sprague, had six children. After Ruth’s death Samuel married Margaret Redding and they had four children.

      Relation of Ruth Sprague to Steven Barry Staggs: 7th great-grandmother

      Page last updated June 28, 2026

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