From Savage, Vol. 3 of his History of N.E. Families:

"KEITH, JAMES, first minister of Bridgewater, bred at one of the colleges in Aberdeen, came about 1662, was ordained early in 1664, when he was under 21 years. About 23 July 1719, in 76th year. In the solemn induction a part was born by Reverend Increase Mather, perhaps the youngest minister in the assembly; yet in the Magn. III. 4, with heedlessness, strange even in Cotton Mather, his third class is, 'of such ministers as came over to New England after the reestablishment of the Episcopal church government,' in England among all the veterans is crowd. in our Keith; who might be less, could not be more than 18 years. Ever honored should be his name for opposition to the design of putting to death the child of King Philip."

The REVEREND JAMES KEITH house is believed to be the oldest existing parsonage in America. It was built in 1662, and by vote of the town of Bridgewater, was made a garrison house at the onset of the King Philip War. By a strange twist of fate, this house that was fortified to resist attack by hostile Indians, instead was used by Rev. Keith to guard and protect innocent Indians from angry, hostile colonists.

The end of July, 1676 was a devastating time for King Philip. His Uncle Akkompoin, brother of Massasoit, was killed by some Bridgewater lads as he crossed the Taunton River, and an unnamed sister of King Philip was captured. About that same time, his wife, Wootonekanuske, and nine year old son were also captured. The fortified parsonage of Rev. Keith was used to protect them until their fate could be determined.

King Philip lost all heart for the war, and returned to Mount Hope Rhode Island to await his own death, which occurred less than two weeks later, on August 12, 1676.

The clergymen of New England demanded immediate death to the little son of King Philip, so that never again would the colonists be threatened by the blood of that savage. Only Rev. Keith pleaded for mercy, and his arguments so impressed Cotton Mather that he decided against death, and planned to sell him into slavery in Bermuda. But did that ever happen?

According to all of our written history books, King Philip's wife and son were sold into slavery in Bermuda, the Bahamas or the West Indies, "thus ending his bloodline." Yet there doesn't seem to be any record of them actually boarding a ship, nor any record of their sale. Considering the amount of hatred towards this boy, it seems pretty strange that nobody seemed to have kept track of him after his departure.

My grandfather, on his deathbed, told me that the boy survived, or I wouldn't be here. He said that his great-grandmother, Lucretia Phillips of Ashfield MA, was a direct descendant of King Philip. For 45 years I have tried to find out how that could be possible. Here is what the Old Bridgewater Historical Society, on their brochure, has to say on the subject:

"Interesting is that according to Wampanoag oral history, Rev. Keith deceived the other colonists by telling them that he had sent the mother and child to Bermuda. In actuality, he secretly boarded them onto a ship in Barnstable, and they sailed to Nova Scotia and their freedom! There is said to be Wampanoag descendants using the surname of 'Philip', living in Nova Scotia today. These families firmly believe that they are direct descendants of King Philip's son."

Lee Sultzman, in her excellent Wampanoag History offers a similar story:

"Philip's wife and son were reportedly sold as slaves to the West Indies, but it appears they were instead exiled from Massachusetts and joined the Sokoki at Odanak."

I contacted the Odanaks a couple years ago, but they had just recently reorganized as a tribe, and had not researched any old records. I have heard rumors that old letters written by Rev. James Keith and detailing his actions in regards to this matter had been found and were being held at some museum or historical society in Massachusetts, but I have not been able to locate anyone who has seen them.

Another interesting rumor is that King Philip, while wintering at Hoosic NY or a little later at Squawkeag near the MA/VT border during the war, left 2 or 3 daughters with some of his allies for safe-keeping. That would likely have been the Pocumtuc of Deerfield, the Nipmuc or the Odanak, and I would venture to guess that he would leave them with Wannalancet. I have received a number of queries from people who claim to descend from these daughters, according to their family traditions.

Other rumors state that his son did go to Bermuda, served his time and returned to the states, as did other Indian slaves of that time. Some correspondence found in the Bermuda archives does seem to suggest that he was there, but much more research is needed. Fortunately, more people are joining in the quest and new clues may be found in the near future.

Rev. James Keith was married to Susanna Edson, whose sister Elizabeth was the second wife of my Lucretia Phillip's ancestor, Richard Phillips. I honor him for whatever role he played in preserving this first nation bloodline. Please contact me at footprints@rcn.com if you can shed any light on this at all. Thank you, Sue Martin

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