Upon Queen Anne's accession to the throne in 1702, the Act of Indemnity 1703 was issued for former Jacobites, and many exiles returned to Great Britain.

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.

While serving as lieutenant governor, Keith resided in a country manor, Graeme Park in Horsham, Montgomery County, Pennsylvania.

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.

While in England, he gave assistance to the London Board of Trade in negotiating a treaty with the Cherokee 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.