Sir William Keith, Bt was a lieutenant-governor of colonial Pennsylvania and Delaware

Delaware

Delaware is a U.S. state located on the Atlantic Coast in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It is bordered to the south and west by Maryland, and to the north by Pennsylvania...

.

Keith was born in Boddam Castle

Boddam, Aberdeenshire

Boddam is a coastal village in Aberdeenshire, Scotland. It is north of Aberdeen and south of Peterhead. Sea cliffs rise to , south of the village: a coastal path leads along these to the Bullers of Buchan....

 near Peterhead

Peterhead

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....

, 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 Sir William Keith, Baronet, of Ludquhairn, Scotland and Lady Jean (Smith) Keith. He was baptised on 16 February 1680. As eldest son, he stood to inherit the baronetcy from his father. He studied at Marischal College

Marischal College

Marischal College is a building and former university in the centre of the city of Aberdeen in north-east Scotland. The building is owned by the University of Aberdeen and used for ceremonial events...

, 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...

 from which he graduated a master of arts in 1687. The Keiths were Episcopalian

Scottish Episcopal Church

The Scottish Episcopal Church is a Christian church in Scotland, consisting of seven dioceses. Since the 17th century, it has had an identity distinct from the presbyterian Church of Scotland....

 and of Jacobite

Jacobitism

Jacobitism was the political movement in Britain dedicated to the restoration of the Stuart kings to the thrones of England, Scotland, later the Kingdom of Great Britain, and the Kingdom of Ireland...

 sympathies, so much so that Keith resided with the exiled court of the Pretender

James Francis Edward Stuart

James Francis Edward, Prince of Wales was the son of the deposed James II of England...

, at Saint-Germain-en-Laye

Saint-Germain-en-Laye

Saint-Germain-en-Laye is a commune in the Yvelines department in the Île-de-France in north-central France. It is located in the western suburbs of Paris from the centre.Inhabitants are called Saint-Germanois...

 and there became one of the Pretender's favourites.

Upon Queen Anne

Anne of Great Britain

Anne ascended the thrones of England, Scotland and Ireland on 8 March 1702. On 1 May 1707, under the Act of Union, two of her realms, England and Scotland, were united as a single sovereign state, the Kingdom of Great Britain.Anne's Catholic father, James II and VII, was deposed during the...

's accession to the throne in 1702, an act of indemnity was issued for former Jacobites, and many exiles returned to Great Britain

Great Britain

Great Britain or Britain is an island situated to the northwest of Continental Europe. It is the ninth largest island in the world, and the largest European island, as well as the largest of the British Isles...

. Keith was among these people, but quickly became involved in various Jacobite intrigues. In 1703, he was arrested under suspicion of treason.

Under the rule of the Tories, Keith received an appointment as surveyor-general of the customers for the southern district of North American in 1714 and took up residence in Virginia

Virginia

The Commonwealth of Virginia , is a U.S. state on the Atlantic Coast of the Southern United States. Virginia is nicknamed the "Old Dominion" and sometimes the "Mother of Presidents" after the eight U.S. presidents born there...

. However, he lost his office when the Whigs took power under George I. Around this same time, Keith's father became implicated in the 1715 Jacobite uprising and fled to Saint-Germain-en-Laye. Keith applied for a position as lieutenant governor of Pennsylvania and its three lower counties (now Delaware). He voyaged to England and returned to America with a commission.

While serving as lieutenant governor, Keith resided in a country manor, Graeme Park

Graeme Park

Graeme Park is an historic site in Horsham, Montgomery County. It is owned by the Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission and operated by the non-profit group, The Friends of Graeme Park. It is the only surviving residence of a colonial-era Pennsylvania governor...

 in Horsham

Horsham, Pennsylvania

Horsham is a census-designated place in Montgomery County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 14,842 at the 2010 census. Horsham is located entirely within Horsham Township, and it is home to Naval Air Station Joint Reserve Base Willow Grove.In 2007, Horsham was named the 15th best...

, Montgomery County

Montgomery County, Pennsylvania

Montgomery County is a county located in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania, in the United States. As of 2010, the population was 799,874, making it the third most populous county in Pennsylvania . The county seat is Norristown.The county was created on September 10, 1784, out of land originally part...

, Pennsylvania

Pennsylvania

The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania is a U.S. state that is located in the Northeastern and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. The state borders Delaware and Maryland to the south, West Virginia to the southwest, Ohio to the west, New York and Ontario, Canada, to the north, and New Jersey to...

. Popular with the colonists, he organised a militia (no small feat in a Quaker colony) and established a high court of chancery. He also arranged peace conferences with the Indians and promoted laws allowing wives of sailors at sea to become femme sole traders. He also is noted for encouraging a then 17-year-old Benjamin Franklin

Benjamin Franklin

Dr. Benjamin Franklin was one of the Founding Fathers of the United States. A noted polymath, Franklin was a leading author, printer, political theorist, politician, postmaster, scientist, musician, inventor, satirist, civic activist, statesman, and diplomat...

 to set up his own printing business in Philadelphia, though Franklin later claimed that Keith failed to come through with promised financial support.

In 1718, 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...

 died and Keith became involved in disputes with Penn's widow

Hannah Callowhill Penn

As reported by Lauren Lizerbram, Hannah Callowhill Penn, was the second wife of Pennsylvania founder William Penn; she effectively administered the Province of Pennsylvania for six years after her husband suffered a series of strokes and then for another eight years after her husband's death...

 regarding the conduct of the colony. He sought favour with the colonists and tried desperately to achieve popularity. Two years later, his father died, and he succeeded to his father's baronetcy. However, his father died insolvent and Keith too became mired in debt.

Penn's widow and heirs joined forces against Keith and sought the nomination of a new lieutenant-governor from the crown. Keith published a vindication and led an opposition party. He gained election to the assembly, but did not achieve the role of speaker which he sought. After re-election to the assembly the following year, he fled the colony and returned to England in order to evade his creditors. His family remained in Philadelphia.

On his voyage back to England, Keith wrote "A Short Discourse on the Present State of the Colonies in America with respect to the Interest of Great Britain," in which he warned of French encroachment on British colonial territory and proposed a stamp tax on colonists in order to finance standing armies. While in England, he gave assistance to the London Board of Trade in negotiating a treaty with the Cherokee

Cherokee

The Cherokee are a Native American people historically settled in the Southeastern United States . Linguistically, they are part of the Iroquoian language family...

 and continued to write on colonial matters. His dire financial situation prevented him from returning to Pennsylvania to reunite with his family and he was unable to finance their passage to England.

Keith ended his life in financial ruin and spent time in debtor's prison. He died in the Old Bailey

Old Bailey

The Central Criminal Court in England and Wales, commonly known as the Old Bailey from the street in which it stands, is a court building in central London, one of a number of buildings housing the Crown Court...

, London.