Chapter Three: Northampton County Kecks

One of the most interesting results of Henry and Richard Bassett's research is the conclusion that there were two Keck families in pre-Revolutionary Pennsylvania: that of Henrich who, as we saw, immigrated in 1732, and that of his younger brother, Johannes Keck, whose date of immigration is not known, but who appears in the records of Heidelberg twp. in 1745, when he purchased 100 acres of land. His immigration date is unknown, but he was naturalized in 1765; those records we do have. In his will Johannes refers to Henrich as his "dear brother." Henrich refers in his own will to a loan made to Conrad, Johannes' son. Thus Bassett's research has greatly clarified the relationships between many of the Keck families in Pennsylvania.

But to believe that these Keck brothers were the only Kecks immigrating from Germany to Pennsylvania is an over-simplification. From the surviving ship passenger lists from ships arriving in Philadelphia we find the following Kecks also immigrating from Germany. Georg Henrich Geck immigrated on the Brittannia, arriving in Philadelpnia on 18 September, 1773. Georg Keck arrived on the 19th of October of the same year in the Perthamboy. Another Georg Keck arrived on the 26th of October, 1741 in the Snow Molly and Andreas Keck came on the Hero (from Rotterdam) on 27 October, 1765. Johannes Kec came on the Cullodian from Lisbon, Portugal and arrived on 15 October, 1766 and Carl Wilhelm Keck arrived from Rotterdam on 23 November, 1770 in the Crawford.1

At our present state of knowledge concerning the Keck family in Germany, there is no way of knowing if there is any relationship between these Keck emigrants. Although much is known concerning Johannes Keck and his descendants, this essay focuses on Henrich and his posterity.

It is not known what Henrich did following his arrival in 1742, but as Bassett says:

"There is little doubt that by 1739, and probably a good many years earlier, Henrich had found his way to the Macungie region of Bucks county and had settled on a tract in what later became Salisbury Township, Northampton (now Lehigh) County, Pennsylvania. The land where he lived the remainder of his life had been warranted to Joseph Zimmerman in 1734. In 1753 Henrich acquired the Warrant and the following year by payment of fifteen pounds ten shillings to Thomas and Richard Penn he was granted a patent. The property was described as 100 acres plus six percent for roads lying along a branch of Lehigh Creek. Keystone road, which runs along the land Henrich once owned, soon crosses over the Little Lehigh on Keck's Bridge, then winds in an easterly direction through a narrow defile perhaps half a mile to the Western Salisbury Church which sits high on a bluff above the stream. The beautiful little valley between the bridge and the church is still known as Keck's Valley."2

Documentary evidence for Henrich and his family is not abundant; what we have is found among the land records, tax records and the local churches. He apparently prospered in Pennsylvania for at one time he held as much as 440 acres of land. Much of that land he sold to family over the years until in his will he bequeathed his remaining land, a tract of 72 acres, to his oldest son, Johannes.3

We find Henrich listed In a Northampton County, Salisbury twp. tax record dated 1772. He is listed as a farmer and is assessed the amount of 12.3.0.

Henrich appears in various capacities in church records, first in the records of the St. Paul Lutheran church (the Blue Church) and, after 1767, in the records of the Western Salisbury Church.4

Henrich appears on one interesting document that is worth mentioning in more detail. During the French and Indian War (1754-1763), the British authorities requested 30 wagons from Northampton County to help the war effort. The constable of Salisbury twp. Provided a list, dated 1758, of available wagons and Henrich Keck is on that list as providing a wagon and team.5

Henrich left a will which was dated 8 May, 1786.6 He appointed his oldest son, Johannes and his son-in-law Johannes Ritter as his executors and the witnesses were Peter Rhoads and Peter Newhart. Henrich does not mention his wife, suggesting that she was already dead at this time, but he mentions all six of his living children. The sons who had left the area, George (who was living in Westmoreland Co.), Henrich Jr. and Frederick (both of whom, as we will see, had moved to North Carolina) received cash bequests, the others received shares of land and personal property. The will was proved on 15 August, 1786 and the inventory of his estate, dated 17 August, 1786, amounted to about 523 pounds.

The children of Henrich and Hanna Keck were:

  1. Johannes Keck, b. ca. 1742 in Salisbury Twp., Northampton Co. PA; d. ca. 1803 in White Hall Twp., Northampton Co. PA; m. Anna Margaretha Miller; they had 10 children

  2. Georg Keck, b. ca. 1744 in Salisbury Twp., Northampton, Co. PA; d. ca. 1815 in Westmoreland Co. PA; m. Eleanora Catherina Shaub, ca. 1768 in Salisbury; they had 13 children

  3. Henrich Keck, b. ca. 1746 in Salisbury Twp., Northampton Co. PA; d. bef. August, 1820 in Guilford Co. NC; m. Elizabeth Clapp; they had 11 children

  4. Maria Elisabetha Keck, b. ca. 1748 in Salisbury Twp., Northampton Co. PA; d. Unknown; m. Johannes Ritter, ca. 1768

  5. Wilhelm Keck, b. 26 June, 1751 in Salisbury Twp., Northampton Co. PA; d. 11 July, 1751 in Salisbury Twp., Northampton Co. PA; he was buried at St. Paul's Church, Northampton Co. PA

  6. Andreas Keck; b. 10 January, 1753 in Salisbury Twp., Northampton Co. PA; d. 13 May, 1828 in Salisbury Twp; he was buried in the cemetery of the Western Salisbury Church; m. (1) Barbara Blanck, c. 1780; they had 10 children (2) Susanna Schultz ,13 April, 1805; she and Andreas had one son

  7. Friedrich (Konrad) Keck, b. ca. 1754 in Salisbury Twp. Northampton Co. PA; d. 1823 in Sharp's Chapel, Claiborne Co. TN; m. Mary Ann Moser in Claiborne Co. TN; they had 13 children

The birth dates of the first four children are estimated from their known confirmation dates in the records of St. Paul's Church, Lehigh Co. PA.7 The dates for Wilhelm and Andreas are from church records published in the Pennsylvania vital Records8 and in the St. Paul's church records (see note 7). The birth or confirmation date of the youngest son, Friedrich Konrad, was either not recorded or did not survive; his date is estimated from other sources (see below).

The line we will be following in this essay is that of my ancestors Freidrich Konrad (Frederick Conrad) and Mary Ann Moser.

Neither Frederick Keck's birth nor confirmation is recorded in the Western Salisbury Church records. He is presumed to be the youngest son of Henrich because he is listed last among the six living children named in Henrich's will. If various arguments considered shortly turn out to be valid (which I believe they are -- again, see below), then Frederick was born between 16 August 1754 and 14 August 1756.

In the records of the Western Salisbury church Frederick appears with Catherine Miller as a sponsor at the baptism of John F. Keck, his nephew (son of Johannes and Anna Margaretha) on the 7th of May, 1774.9 Frederick appears in the same church records two years later, on 31 March, 1776, along with Anna Ritter as a baptismal sponsor of his niece Anna M. Ritter, daughter of Maria Elisabetha and Johannes Ritter.

Frederick, with his brothers John, George, and Andrew served in the Pennsylvania militia. They are listed on a muster roll of the 7th Co., 1st Battalion dated 18 June 1777.10

Frederick enlisted before 2 April 1779, probably in 1777, in Captain Isaac Koren's Company of Col. James Proctor's Artillery Regiment of the Pennsylvania Line and fought at the Battle of Brandywine on 11 September, 1777 and the Battle of Germantown on 4th October, 1777.11 Frederick appears on muster rolls as late as 1780, but in June 1780 he is listed as "deserted." If Frederick is the same person as Conrad Keck of Claiborne Co. (for this argument see below), then there is a discrepancy since Conrad, in an 1821 application for a veteran's pension, wrote that he was "honorably discharged." Hilary Rauch addressed this inconsistency in his study of Frederick:

The discrepancy between Conrod Kegg's 1821 assertion in TN that he was "honorably discharged" about 15 Jun 1777 by his Capt. Koren (or Corin) and the muster roll indication that he "deserted' can be explained by the confusion that would have occurred in May and June 1780 when Capt. Coren was arrested and subsequently cashiered, and command of the Company transferred to Capt. Lt. Godfrey. It seems quite plausible that during this confusion and change of command a proper record that Conrad Keck had completed his three years of service was not made and that his departure was instead recorded as a desertion. It is doubtful that Capt. Coren could have issued discharge papers while under arrest. Perhaps Capt. Lt. Godfrey did not know that Conrad had completed his three years; however, Capt. Lt. Godfrey had served in Capt. Coren's Company for some time. Perhaps Conrad just put down his arms at completion of his three years and walked away from the Company-and conveniently assumed an honorable discharge when he applied for a pension in 1821. It does seem almost certain, however, that the Conrod Kegg who applied for a pension in 1821 is the Frederic Caick recorded on the muster rolls of Capt. Coren's Company.12

After the war Frederick disappears from the records of Northampton County. Apparently He was not present when his father made out his will in May, 1786 because he did not participate in the division of Henrich's land, but was given a cash bequest instead. Furthermore, the executors of his father's estate were unable to find him in 1788 in order to give him his father's bequest.13

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