Sir William Keith, 4th Baronet

Who was Sir William Keith, 4th Baronet?

Sir William Keith, 4th Baronet, was a lieutenant-governor of colonial Pennsylvania and Delaware.

Keith was born in Boddam Castle near Peterhead, Scotland to Sir William Keith, 3rd Baronet, of Ludquharn, Scotland and Lady Jean 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, the University of Aberdeen from which he graduated a master of arts in 1687. The Keiths were Episcopalian and of Jacobite sympathies, so much so that Keith resided with the exiled court of the Pretender, at Saint-Germain-en-Laye and there became one of the Pretender's favourites.

Upon Queen Anne's accession to the throne in 1702, the Act of Indemnity of 1703 was issued for former Jacobites, and many exiles returned to Great Britain. 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 America in 1714 and took up residence in Virginia. However, he lost his office when the Whigs took power under George I. Around this same time, Keith's father became implicated in the Jacobite Rising of 1715 and fled to Saint-Germain-en-Laye. Keith applied for a position as lieutenant governor of Pennsylvania and its three lower counties. He voyaged to England and returned to America with a commission.