George Keith
Encyclopedia
George Keith was a Scottish missionary
.
, Aberdeenshire, Scotland
, to a Presbyterian family, he received an M.A. from the University of Aberdeen
. Keith joined the Religious Society of Friends
(Quakers) in the 1660s, accompanying George Fox
, William Penn
, and Robert Barclay
on a mission to the Netherlands
and Germany in 1677.
In 1685, three years after Barclay had been made the nonresident governor of the Province of East Jersey
(part of the present-day American
state of New Jersey
), Keith traveled there to take the post of Surveyor-General. In 1686 he ran the first survey to mark out the border between West Jersey and East Jersey
. He moved to Philadelphia
in 1688 to serve as headmaster at the Friends School there.
For his survey work, the Proprietors gave him large grants of land including seven hundred acres in Monmouth County where he founded the town of Freehold (which broke off and became Marlboro). He established his home in a Quaker settlement near Topanemus where he helped to build a meeting house in which he preached to the people on the Quaker faith.
Around 1691 Keith decided that Quakers had strayed too far from orthodox Christianity and began to have sharp disagreements with his fellow believers. He first broke with Philadelphia Yearly Meeting
to form a short-lived group called the Christian Quakers in the colonies. In 1693, he and his fellow Keithians published An Exhortation & Caution to Friends Concerning Buying or Keeping of Negroes, one of the earliest printed antislavery tracts in British North America. David Brion Davis, a leading scholar of abolition and slavery, argues that Keith's Exhortation foreshadowed "the major religious themes of nineteenth-century abolitionism." After returning to England, he was disowned by London Yearly Meeting
in 1694. In 1699
he attacked William Penn and other Quakers as "Deists
". He was ordained an Anglican priest in March 1702.
Sponsored by the Society for the Propagation of the Gospel in Foreign Parts, he spent 1702 to 1704 on a return mission to the Jerseys trying to win over Quakers and others, and invigorating Anglican congregations in Perth Amboy
and Burlington
. Returning to England he worked for the Church of England
until his death on March 27, 1716, a rector at the parish
of Edburton, Sussex.
Missionary
A missionary is a member of a religious group sent into an area to do evangelism or ministries of service, such as education, literacy, social justice, health care and economic development. The word "mission" originates from 1598 when the Jesuits sent members abroad, derived from the Latin...
.
Life
Born in PeterheadPeterhead
Peterhead is a town in Aberdeenshire, Scotland. It is Aberdeenshire's biggest settlement , with a population of 17,947 at the 2001 Census and estimated to have fallen to 17,330 by 2006....
, Aberdeenshire, Scotland
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
, to a Presbyterian family, he received an M.A. from the University of Aberdeen
University of Aberdeen
The University of Aberdeen, an ancient university founded in 1495, in Aberdeen, Scotland, is a British university. It is the third oldest university in Scotland, and the fifth oldest in the United Kingdom and wider English-speaking world...
. Keith joined the Religious Society of Friends
Religious Society of Friends
The Religious Society of Friends, or Friends Church, is a Christian movement which stresses the doctrine of the priesthood of all believers. Members are known as Friends, or popularly as Quakers. It is made of independent organisations, which have split from one another due to doctrinal differences...
(Quakers) in the 1660s, accompanying George Fox
George Fox
George Fox was an English Dissenter and a founder of the Religious Society of Friends, commonly known as the Quakers or Friends.The son of a Leicestershire weaver, Fox lived in a time of great social upheaval and war...
, William Penn
William Penn
William Penn was an English real estate entrepreneur, philosopher, and founder of the Province of Pennsylvania, the English North American colony and the future Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. He was an early champion of democracy and religious freedom, notable for his good relations and successful...
, and Robert Barclay
Robert Barclay
Robert Barclay was a Scottish Quaker, one of the most eminent writers belonging to the Religious Society of Friends and a member of the Clan Barclay. He was also governor of the East Jersey colony in North America through most of the 1680s, although he himself never resided in the...
on a mission to the Netherlands
Netherlands
The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...
and Germany in 1677.
In 1685, three years after Barclay had been made the nonresident governor of the Province of East Jersey
East Jersey
The Province of East Jersey and the Province of West Jersey were two distinct, separately governed parts of the Province of New Jersey that existed as separate provinces for 28 years, between 1674 and 1702. East Jersey's capital was located at Perth Amboy...
(part of the present-day American
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
state of New Jersey
New Jersey
New Jersey is a state in the Northeastern and Middle Atlantic regions of the United States. , its population was 8,791,894. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York, on the southeast and south by the Atlantic Ocean, on the west by Pennsylvania and on the southwest by Delaware...
), Keith traveled there to take the post of Surveyor-General. In 1686 he ran the first survey to mark out the border between West Jersey and East Jersey
Border between West Jersey and East Jersey
The Province of New Jersey was formally separated into two provinces, West Jersey and East Jersey, for the 28 years between 1674 and 1702.Determination of an exact location for a West Jersey/East Jersey borderline was often a matter of dispute...
. He moved to Philadelphia
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Philadelphia is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the county seat of Philadelphia County, with which it is coterminous. The city is located in the Northeastern United States along the Delaware and Schuylkill rivers. It is the fifth-most-populous city in the United States,...
in 1688 to serve as headmaster at the Friends School there.
For his survey work, the Proprietors gave him large grants of land including seven hundred acres in Monmouth County where he founded the town of Freehold (which broke off and became Marlboro). He established his home in a Quaker settlement near Topanemus where he helped to build a meeting house in which he preached to the people on the Quaker faith.
Around 1691 Keith decided that Quakers had strayed too far from orthodox Christianity and began to have sharp disagreements with his fellow believers. He first broke with Philadelphia Yearly Meeting
Philadelphia Yearly Meeting
Philadelphia Yearly Meeting of the Religious Society of Friends, or simply Philadelphia Yearly Meeting or PYM, is the central organizing body for Quaker meetings in the Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA, area....
to form a short-lived group called the Christian Quakers in the colonies. In 1693, he and his fellow Keithians published An Exhortation & Caution to Friends Concerning Buying or Keeping of Negroes, one of the earliest printed antislavery tracts in British North America. David Brion Davis, a leading scholar of abolition and slavery, argues that Keith's Exhortation foreshadowed "the major religious themes of nineteenth-century abolitionism." After returning to England, he was disowned by London Yearly Meeting
Britain Yearly Meeting
The Yearly Meeting of the Religious Society of Friends in Britain, also known as Britain Yearly Meeting , is a religious organisation in England, Scotland, Wales, the Channel Islands and the Isle of Man, often defined as a denomination of Christianity.It is a part of the international religious...
in 1694. In 1699
1699 in literature
The year 1699 in literature involved some significant events.-Events:*Jonathan Swift is out of work after the death of his employer, Sir William Temple.*Joseph Addison receives a pension of £300 to enable him to travel abroad.-New books:...
he attacked William Penn and other Quakers as "Deists
Deism
Deism in religious philosophy is the belief that reason and observation of the natural world, without the need for organized religion, can determine that the universe is the product of an all-powerful creator. According to deists, the creator does not intervene in human affairs or suspend the...
". He was ordained an Anglican priest in March 1702.
Sponsored by the Society for the Propagation of the Gospel in Foreign Parts, he spent 1702 to 1704 on a return mission to the Jerseys trying to win over Quakers and others, and invigorating Anglican congregations in Perth Amboy
Perth Amboy, New Jersey
Perth Amboy is a city in Middlesex County, New Jersey, United States. The City of Perth Amboy is part of the New York metropolitan area. As of the 2010 United States Census, the city population was 50,814. Perth Amboy is known as the "City by the Bay", referring to Raritan Bay.-Name:The Lenape...
and Burlington
Burlington, New Jersey
Burlington is a city in Burlington County, New Jersey, United States and a suburb of Philadelphia. As of the 2010 United States Census, the city population was 9,920....
. Returning to England he worked for the Church of England
Church of England
The Church of England is the officially established Christian church in England and the Mother Church of the worldwide Anglican Communion. The church considers itself within the tradition of Western Christianity and dates its formal establishment principally to the mission to England by St...
until his death on March 27, 1716, a rector at the parish
Parish
A parish is a territorial unit historically under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of one parish priest, who might be assisted in his pastoral duties by a curate or curates - also priests but not the parish priest - from a more or less central parish church with its associated organization...
of Edburton, Sussex.
Sources
- Bowden, James. The history of the Society of Friends in America. [n. p.] 1850.
- Encyclopædia BritannicaEncyclopædia BritannicaThe Encyclopædia Britannica , published by Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc., is a general knowledge English-language encyclopaedia that is available in print, as a DVD, and on the Internet. It is written and continuously updated by about 100 full-time editors and more than 4,000 expert...
, 1911 edition, http://www.1911encyclopedia.org/ accessed May 23, 2003. - Pomfret, John Edwin, The Province of East New Jersey, 1609-1702, the rebellious proprietary. Princeton, N.J., Princeton University Press, 1962..
- Episcopal Church Liturgy & Music website - Biography of George Keith
Further reading
- Kirby, E. W. (1942) George Keith. New York: American Historical Association (includes a full bibliography)