Staggs Family History

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      Zebulon Keen (1811-1897)

      BIRTH: 16 Jun 1811, Homer, Cortland, New York, USA
      DEATH: 25 May 1897, Fort Wayne, Indiana, USA
      FATHER: Sprague Keene (1788-1866)
      MOTHER: Chloe Higgins (1790-1864)
      SPOUSE: Hannah Jane Webster (1816-1889)

      When Zebulon Keen was born on June 16, 1811, in Homer, New York, his father, Sprague, was 22 and his mother, Chloe, was 20. He had one son and eight daughters with Hannah Jane Webster between 1834 and 1855. He died on May 25, 1897, in Fort Wayne, Indiana, having lived a long life of 85 years, and was buried in Valparaiso, Indiana.

      The life of Zebulon Keen

      A Craftsman, Pioneer, and Early Republican of Porter County, Indiana

      Zebulon Keen was born on 16 June 1811 in Homer, Cortland County, New York, into a family whose roots reached deep into early New England. His parents, Sprague Keen and Chloe (Higgins) Keen, were part of the long line descending from Josiah Keen (1620–1710) and Abigail Little, granddaughter of Mayflower passenger Richard Warren. The Keen family had been in Massachusetts and New York for generations, and Zebulon grew up in a region shaped by the industriousness and independence of its early settlers.

      On 4 December 1833, in McGrawville, New York, Zebulon married Hannah Jane Webster, daughter of Asher Webster and Achsah (Graves) Webster, and a descendant of Governor John Webster, one of the founders of Hartford, Connecticut. Their marriage united two of the oldest colonial families in America, and together they began raising a large family in the rolling hills of Cortland County.

      Throughout the 1830s and 1840s, Zebulon worked as a carpenter, a trade that appears consistently in every census of his adult life. His skill with tools supported his growing household, and the Keen children arrived in steady succession: Asher, Achsah, Lydia, Mary Jane, Chloe, Caroline, Elnora, Martha, Flora, Ella, and Emma. The 1840, 1850, and 1855 censuses show the family firmly rooted in Cortland County, with Zebulon practicing his trade and Hannah managing a bustling home filled with children.

      Sometime in the mid‑1850s, Zebulon made a decision that would shape the future of his family for generations: he moved west to Porter County, Indiana. Whether he traveled first alone to scout opportunities or brought the entire family at once is unknown, but by 1860, the Keen household was fully established in Valparaiso, a growing railroad and agricultural town. There, Zebulon continued his work as a carpenter, contributing to the construction of homes, shops, and public buildings in a community that was rapidly transforming from frontier settlement to established Midwestern town.

      The Keen children married into other early Porter County families, weaving the Keens into the social fabric of Valparaiso. Two of Zebulon’s daughters — Elnora Adelaide and Emma Wilmina — married Wharton Massillon Crowe, strengthening ties between the Keen and Crowe families. Other children married into the Polhamus, Hickok, Perry, LeMar, and Crowe families, spreading the Keen lineage across Indiana, Michigan, and the Midwest.

      Zebulon himself became a respected figure in Porter County. A newspaper notice published in The Indianapolis Journal on 26 May 1897 recorded that he had been a resident of the county for fifty years and had “assisted at the organization of the Republican party.” This brief line reveals a man engaged in the civic life of his adopted home, aligned with the political movement that emerged in the 1850s around issues of free labor, national unity, and the future of the American West. His involvement places him among the early citizens who helped shape the political identity of northern Indiana during a pivotal era in American history.

      By 1880, Zebulon and Hannah were in their late sixties, still living in Valparaiso with their youngest daughters, Ellen and Emma. Zebulon continued to list his occupation as carpenter, a testament to a lifetime of steady, practical work. He lived to the remarkable age of eighty‑six, passing away on 25 May 1897. His death was noted statewide, a sign of the respect he had earned over decades of community involvement.

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

      Their second son was Grandfather Zebulon (1811) who married Hanna Jane Webster. Hanna was a descendent of the Governor of the Massachusetts Colony in 1656, Grandfather John Webster. He was one of ten out of the 153 original settlers accorded the honor of being addressed as Mr. One of his ancestors was John Webster, who held the Manor of Lockington, Yorkshire in the time of Richard II, was a progenitor of Noah Webster the lexicographer.

      Grandfather Zebulon and Hanna had twelve children. He was a wagon maker and lived most of his life on a farm near Valparaíso, Indiana.

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

      Zebulon. Keene second son of Sprague and Chloe (Higgins) Keene was born 6-16-1811 at Homer, Cortland County, N.Y. and died in Ft. Wayne, Ind. 5-25-1897. He was a carpenter and wagonmaker. On 12-4-1833 he married Hannah Jane Webster who was born 9-15-1816 and who died at the home of her daughter Emma Miller, 2-13-1889. She was the daughter of Ashbel and Avis (Burton) Webster and was born at Eaton, Madison County, N.Y. Her mother died in Susquehanna Co., Pa. 4-19-1819, her father died 3-7-1823 at Cazenovia, N.Y. She was raised by Asher Graves who married Achsah Webster who was born 10-31-1798 and was the daughter of Abel and Lydia (Keeney) Webster. They had twelve children. Zebulon and his son Asher moved to Beloit, Wisconsin in May 1856 and his wife joined them in the fall with their eight daughters, the eldest 19 years of age and the youngest six months old. From Wisconsin they moved to Valparaiso, Ind, in 1858 where they lived until 1862 when they located in South Bend. In 1865 they moved to Laporte and from there to Valparaiso in 1876 where they lived the rest of their lives. Both are buried in the old Valparaiso Cemetery and were members of the Baptist Church.

      Zebulun Keene Born June 16, 1811, Died May 25, 1897

      Obituary

      Death of a Pioneer. Valparaiso, Ind., May 27. – Zebulon Keene, a resident of this county for 50 years, died at the age of 86. Mr. Keene was present and assisted at the organization of the republican party.  (Daily News-Democrat, Huntington, Indiana · Thursday, May 27, 1897)

      Legacy of Zebulon Keen

      The legacy of Zebulon Keen endures through the families he helped establish in both New York and Indiana. As a craftsman, he contributed to the physical growth of Valparaiso; as a civic‑minded citizen, he played a role in the early formation of the Republican Party in Indiana; and as a father, he raised a generation whose marriages and migrations carried the Keen, Webster, and Warren bloodlines across the Midwest. His descendants include farmers, teachers, railroad workers, merchants, and community leaders — men and women whose lives reflect the same industrious spirit that defined Zebulon’s own. Through them, the story of a carpenter from Cortland County continues to shape the history of the families who trace their roots to him.

      Parents

      Father: Sprague Keene (1788-1866)

      Mother: Chloe Higgins (1790-1864)

      Married

      Hannah Jane Webster (1816-1889). Married December 4, 1833, in McGrawville, New York.

      Children

      • Asher Graves Keen (1834-1907) married Mary E. Bunting (1840–1890)
      • Achsah Webster Keen (1837-1913) married Myron Perry (1832-1903)
      • Lydia Ann Keen (1839-1859)
      • Mary Jane Keen (1841-1924) married Albert H. Polhamus (1837-1899)
      • Elnora Adelaide Keen (1846-1880) married Wharton Massillon Crowe (1846-1886)
      • Martha Eliza Keen (1850-1915) married Almeron Crowe (1838-1925)
      • Flora Keen (1852-1929) married Stephen Olin Hickok (1853-1934)
      • Ella Keen (1855-1917) married Joseph P. LeMar (1842-1925)
      • Emma Keen (1856-1940) married 1st Wharton Massillon Crowe (1846-1886) on 24 Aug 1880, 2nd Sylvester L. Miller (1842-1904)

      Documents

      • Birth Records
      • Marriage records
      • Death records
        • Find A Grave Death Date: 25 May 1897
        • Gravestone: Zebulun Keene Born June 16, 1811, Died May 25, 1897
        • Burial: Old City Cemetery, Valparaiso, Indiana, USA
      • Census Records
        • 1840 United States Federal Census > New York > Cortland > Truxton > Zebulon Keen, Free White Persons – Under 20: 3, Free White Persons – 20 thru 49: 2. Total Free White Persons: 5
        • 1850 United States Federal Census Page 1, Page 2, New York > Cortland > Cortlandville > Zebulon Keen (carpenter, 39) with wife Hannah Keen (34) and children Asher Keen (carpenter, 15), Achsah Keen (13), Lydia Keen (11), Mary Keen (8), Elnora Keen (4) and Martha Keen (4/12)
        • New York, U.S., State Census, 1855 > Cortland > Cortlandville > E.d. 1 > Zebulan Keen (carpenter, 44) with wife Hannah Keen (39) and children Asher Keen (20), Achsah Keen (18), Lydia A Keen (16), Mary J Keen (13), Alunora Keen (8), Martha Keen (5) Flora Keen (2) and Elen Keen (4/12)
        • 1860 United States Federal Census > Indiana > Porter > Valparaiso > Zebulon Keen (carpenter, 49) with wife Hannah Keen (44) and children Elnora Keen (13), Martha Keen (10), Flora Keen (7), Ellen Keen (5), and Emma Keen (4)
        • 1880 United States Federal Census > Indiana > Porter > Valparaiso > 140 > Zebulon Keen (carpenter, 69) with wife Hannah Keen (housekeeping, 64) and children Ellen Keen (weaver, 25) and Emma Keen (weaver, 24)
      • Other
        • American Genealogical-Biographical Index (AGBI) > Name: Zebulon Keen; Birth Date: 1811; Birth Place: New York, USA; Volume: 94; Page number: 203
        • U.S., City Directories, 1822-1995 > Fort Wayne, Indiana, City Directory, 1897 > Zebulon Keen, 73 Dawson, Fort Wayne, Indiana, USA

      Relation of Zebulon Keen to Steven Barry Staggs: 3rd great-grandfather

      Page last updated June 25, 2026

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