William & Thomas Keepers in the Rev

Revolutionary War Details

William & Thomas Keepers in the Rev. War, per library cards in the State Library, Trenton, NJ. (Copied by Mary Keepers Helgevold, 1980)

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Ms. Helgevold notes that these MSS. were on microfilm at the library. A search through the microfilm revealed the following facts:

1. “The Within Rolls are taken from the original on file in Record and Pension Office, War Dept., Washington, D.C. May 12^th, 1900 by C.E. Godfrey.”

2. MSS. 7227 lists them as Thomas Keeper and William Keeper (together) in No. 16 under Capt. Crane’s Company according to Return.

3. MSS. 1330 lists them together as Thomas Keepers and William Keepers (with an s) as men who marched with Capt. Ward to “Elizabethtownpint.”

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Thomas Keepers

A list of the men (of Captain Isaac Halsey’s Company, Morris Militia) [E. Bat., Co. from Parsippany] who were to march with Captain [Israel Ward] to Elizabeth Point (Mar. 10 - Apr 9, 1778)

Keepers, Thomas

Private, Capt. Isaac Halsey’s Company, Eastern Regiment, Morris Co. Militia; in active service under Captain Ward at Elizabeth Town in 1778.

(Rev. War MSS. No. 7227.)

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Keepers, William

Private, Captain Isaac Halsey’s Company, Eastern Regiment, Morris County Militia, from Parsippany; on rolls, dated August 19, 1776; on rolls, Captain Crane’s Company,

Eastern Regiment, Morris Co. Militia, May 7, 1778.

(Rev. War MSS. Nos. 1330 and 7227.)

William Keepers, Private

roll dated August 19, 1776

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And then to the Classing of Capt. Crane’s Company (Colonel Seely’s Eastern Battalion, Morris Co. Militia) according to the Return (May 7^th, 1778 - viz) (Battalion Class) No. 11:

(Name), William Keeper

New Jersey State Troops

Keeper, Thomas

Inv. #23058 (Wm. Walton)

Lieutenant, Cpt. Malthias Winan’s Co., Col. John Seward’s Rgt., State Troops (see if Detached Militia); June 1776, for 5 months, (served for six months & 3 dys). Had skirmish at Elizabeth Point with Brit. Troops; also skirmish at Amboy with British. A month or so afterward they went to Springfield where they had severe battle and Wm Walton was bayoneted.

Quartermaster - General’s Dept.

Keeper, Thomas

Ref.: QMG Dept. No. 2, Voucher 2116

Received from Samuel Flanigan, QMG Dept., Certificate No. 7, dated Feb. 28, 1780, for $1920.00, Continental; L9:0:0 Specie; Interest commenced Feb. 19, 1780; Interest to January 1, 1787, L3:14:0 ½. Same deposited in the State Treasury.

Note: Thomas Keepers, the pensioner of Salem & Gloucester Cos., was alive in 1834, whereas the Thomas Keepers of Jefferson Twp., Morris Co., died before 26 Dec. 1806 when an inventory of his property was taken. Thomas Keepers was in Morris Co. for many years and was considered the founder of the Russia Forge, to wit:

“RUSSIA BLOOMERY, Morris County. On the west branch of the Rockaway River, two miles above Newton and seventeen miles north of Rockaway, Thomas Keeper built a bloomery sometime before 1780. [J.L. Bishop, History of American Manufactures, I, 542, says 1775, and Munsell & Co., History of Morris County gives the date of its erection as “before 1800.”] It is first mentioned in the tax assessment of 1780 and is then called a one-fire forge. At one time it was known as Upper Framingham Forge, but Keeper preferred to call it Russia Bloomery because at that time Russian iron was in high favor among blacksmiths and other ironworkers. About 1806, William Flichter came into possession of the works and it was called in his deed “an old forge.” Two years later the forge was operated by William Headley, who was assessed for only one forge fire, and during the eight years of his ownership it was generally known as The William Headley’s Forge. It was successively conducted by John H. Stan borough (1816), Joseph Chamberlain (1822), and Jeture R. Riggs.” [Boyer, Charles S., Early Forges and Furnaces in New Jersey. Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press, 1963, p. 263]

Note that Thomas Keepers property in the May 1778 & Feb 1780 tax assessments included not only the forge but a sawmill, 200 acres of improved land and two horned cattle. The land was not officially conveyed to Thomas Keepers until 1800. Meanwhile, his many children were born in this area, Thomas served as one of the many Overseers of Highways in 1804, when Jefferson was set aside as a separate township. By Dec. 26, 1806, he had died.