Archive Record
Images
Metadata
Title |
Horatio Keyes Church Trial Report |
Object Name |
Documents |
Creator |
Old First Congregational Church (Bennington, Vt.) |
Dates of Creation |
08/13/1824 |
Scope & Content |
Report of church trial committee on charges against Horatio Keyes. Charges include adultery with Betsy Fields, which resulted in a child born out of wedlock. The charges also assert that he asked Betsy and her parents to abort the child. When they refused he agreed to marry her, but then never did. Dated August 13, 1824. |
Information |
Vermont law demanded that fathers be held financially responsible for illegitimate offspring. In February 1823 Horatio Keyes got Betsey Field pregnant in Pownal. Horatio tried to convince Betsey and her parents to have the child aborted or killed, offering to pay the costs. When they refused, he promised to marry her, but then would not fulfil the engagement. Betsey pressed civil charges demanding support. Horatio then showed up at her door late at night, used some very insulting language, and demanded that her father hand her over for marriage. His outburst did no good, and he was forced to pay child support. We have the details of this case because in between the sex and the lawsuit, Horatio joined the Congregational Church in Bennington. He gave church leaders a sob story of being wrongfully accused. After losing the civil lawsuit, he stopped attending church. The church began their own investigation and found that not only was he guilty of the sin of fornication, but he had also joined the Baptist Church in Pownal. He was promptly excommunicated. We do not know what happened to their child. Betsy married Francis Jepson two years later and had one daughter with him. The family moved to Illinois and did well for themselves. |
Related People |
Keyes, Horatio Field, Betsy |
Search Terms |
Old First Congregational Church (Bennington, Vt.) |
Credit line |
Gift of Mr. A. W. Varney |
Catalog Number |
A3096 |