Keith's Line

[Ben Ruset]

Guy,

I was flipping through my copy of "Place Names of Ocean County" when I saw this. Have you ever heard of it?

Keiths LIne - For George Keith, who drew the line defining the boundary between the provinces of East and West New Jersey. (See introd. pg 3.) This division line has more recently been called the Old Province Line.

Nine years after the Quintipartite Deed was approved, the East Jersey proprietors, who had succeded into the posession of Cartaret's holdings, appointed George Keith as Surveyer General. He, at their behest, began to survey the line dividing the two provinces. This line, now known as Keiths Line or the Province Line, was to run from the north side of Little Egg Harbor "on a streight lyne to Delaware river north north west and fifty minutes more westerly accoriding to natural position. Actually Keith continued the line only as far north as the South Branch of the Raritan River. It served as the western boundary of Ocean County until 1891 when Little Egg Harbor Township was added. Today this line constitutes the western boundary of Eagleswood Township, a southern municipality of the county, and continues as the county boundary from the northwestern extremity of this township. The linedescribed in the Quintipartite Deed is also in effect today, serving as the eastern boundary of Plumstead Township, which lies in the northwestern corner of the county.

 

[BEHR655]

I believe that the Keith Line is mentioned in Guy's article on the Lawrence Line. I have to check it out but I think the Lawrence Line was made to correct the Keith Line.

Steve

Edit: It is not mentioned in Guy's artical but I'm sure I read that somewhere. I bet Guy can clear it up.

 

[Ben Ruset]

A short biography of George Keith, who seems to have had an interesting life.

George Keith, was born in 1638/9 in Peterhead, Aberdeenshire, Scotland, to a Presbyterian family and received an M.A. from the University of Aberdeen. He joined the Religious Society of Friends (Quakers) in the 1660s, accompanying 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, Keith traveled there to take the post of Surveyor-General. In 1686 he ran the first survey to mark out the West Jersey/East Jersey borderline. He moved to Philadelphia in 1689 to serve as headmaster at the Friends School there.

Beginning around 1691 Keith began to have sharp disagreements with other Friends. He first broke with the Friends' Philadelphia Yearly Meeting to form a short-lived group called the Christian Quakers in the colonies. After returning to England and meeting with less success he became an Anglican. Sponsored by the Society for the Preservation of the Gospel, 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.

 

[Ben Ruset]

New Jersey was formally separated into two provinces, West Jersey and East Jersey, and 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, but the old provinces correspond roughly with South Jersey and North Jersey today. The southern point of all of the lines is well north of Atlantic City, making that city part of West Jersey, though this may seem surprising since Atlantic City is on the east coast.

Remnants of the most operative line, run by George Keith, can still be seen in the county boundaries between Burlington and Ocean, and between Hunterdon and Somerset. The Keith line runs NNW from the southern part of Little Egg Harbor, passing just north of Tuckerton, and proceeding up toward a point on the Delaware River just north of the Water Gap.

The Keith line did not agree with the deed that formally defined the boundary, the 1676 Quintipartite Deed, and later, more accurate surveys and maps needed to be made to resolve property disputes. This resulted in the Thornton line, about 1696, and the Lawrence line, 1743, which was adopted as the final line for legal purposes.

So the question is, are there any markers left?

 

[Teegate]

In 1687 George Keith who was the Surveyor General of East Jersey, ran the first East-West Division Line. His line went considerably south of where it should have, and the property owners at the time refused to accept his results. So Lawrence was commissioned by the Proprietors of East Jersey to fix the problem which he did. And as I mentioned he only put slashes on trees just like Keith. And even Lawrence was not perfect, and in 1750, James Alexander. Surveyor General of both East and West Jersey issued detailed instruction including corrections.

Province Line Road is named after Keith and is on his line.

Guy

 

[Teegate]

So the question is, are there any markers left?

Keith only slashed trees just like Lawrence. All of the markers were placed there by property owners after the fact.

Guy

 

[bobpbx]

I can't believe the guy would return to England not once, but twice! Wasn't a trip quite long in those days?

 

[Ben Ruset]

I can't believe the guy would return to England not once, but twice! Wasn't a trip quite long in those days?

Two weeks, or thereabouts.