BEAMAN Family History, Part I
The Beaman family dates back to 1751 in North Carolina when Francis Beaman1, a devout Quaker, worked with surveyor, J. Edwards, in Northampton County. During the Revolutionary War, Francis moved a little ways south to Dobbs County (now Wayne County), and later west to Randolph County, south of Greensboro.
Francis' son Francis2 left the Quaker church in 1772 and moved southeast into neighboring Bertie County. From there he continued south to Duplin County, north to Dobbs County, and then by the early 1800s west to Montgomery County, which borders Randolph County where his parents had resettled. Around 1823, Francis made the big move west to Morgan Township (near Atkinsonville), Owen County, Indiana. Francis2 died in 1827 in Morgan Township, and 10 years later his son Briant3 died in Owen County in 1837.
Briant's son Ezekiel4 moved the family west to Decatur County, Iowa, around 1852 and afterward Union Township, Warren County, Iowa, by 1860. In the late 1860s, Ezekiel's son Noah5 shifted south to Doyle Township (Murray) in neighboring Warren County. Noah's son Walter6 eventually continued west to California.
- Part I - 1st Generation: Francis Beaman (Sr.) (~1725-)
• and 2nd Generation: Francis Beaman (Jr.) (~1752-~1827) - Part II - 3rd Generation: Briant Beaman (~1786-1837)
- Part III - 4th Generation: Ezekiel Beaman (~1828-1865)
- Part IV - 5th Generation: Noah R. Beaman (1851-1924)
- Part V - 6th Generation: Walter D. Beaman (Sr.) (1894-1967)
- Part VI - 7th Generation: Walter Day Beaman, Jr. (1924-2008)
- Outline Descendants Report (PDF)
Francis BEAMAN1 (~1725-1785)
1. Francis Beaman1 was born about 1725, possibly in Virginia. He was a Quaker who is first found in Northampton County, North Carolina, in 1751 working with surveyor, J. Edwards. Francis married Mary and had as many as 11 children:
| 1A. | Nathan Beaman | -- | 1790 | -- |
| 1B. | Francis Beaman (Jr.)2 | (1752) | 1827 | (75) |
| 1C. | Abraham Beaman | (1754) | Aft 1810 | -- |
| 1D. | Ozias Beaman | (1755) | Abt 1802 | (47) |
| 1E. | James Beaman | (<1756) | Oct 1811 | (55) |
| 1F. | Martha Beaman | (1757) | -- | -- |
| 1G. | Keziah Beaman | (1760) | Aft 1789 | -- |
| 1H. | David Beaman | (<1763) | <Aug 1805 | -- |
| 1I. | Samuel Beaman | (1768) | -- | -- |
| 1J. | Josiah Beaman | (1756-1773) | 1808 | -- |
| 1K. | Polly Beaman | -- | -- | -- |
| 1L. | Cornelius Beaman | (1772) | (Jul) 1825 | (53) |
Great Britain and its colonies adopted the Gregorian calendar in 1752 when September 2 was decreed as September 14 to account for 12 days of accumulated errors under the Julian caldendar. Additionally the legal new year was moved up to January 1 from March 25 ("Lady Day"), when the new year was marked on that day. Prior to 1752, March 24, 1750 was followed by March 25, 1751. After 1752, Julian dates were noted as Old Style ("O.S.").
Furthermore, prior to 1752, when months were referred to numerically, rather than by their pagan-derived names, they generally denoted March as the "1st month".
Before the Revolutionary War, Private Francis Beaman is found on the muster roll of a Northampton County militia company commanded by Captain Samuel Cotten and his apparent kin, Lieutenant Thomas Cotten and Ensign John Cotten, during unspecified years between 1748-1774. Also found in the same company was Private Thomas Willson.[Muster]
Following the Battles of Lexington and Concord, Francis and son James were listed with Colonel Allen Jones' militia in May 1775.[Hinshaw 229] Details of their service have yet to be researched.
In June 1777, son Ozias and son James' wife Mary transferred from Rich Square Monthly Meeting to Contentnea Monthly Meeting[Hinshaw 229, 299] in Dobbs County (later Wayne County). A week after her reception at the congregation, Francis, Mary, and daughters Martha and Keziah, all requested to transfer and joined the Contentnea Monthly Meeting in August. Francis went on to acquire land on the Mill Marsh by 1778 where they lived for nearly 20 years.
Francis, James, and their families continued to live in Wayne County through 1790.[Cen 1790]
Francis Beaman is reported to have died on May 11, 1785, in Randolph County, North Carolina, at about the age of 60 years old. This fits with a grant of 640 acres of Revolutionary War bounty land to his heirs on August 10, 1785; however the 1790 census records Francis and son James in Wayne County, and Francis Jr. in nearby Duplin County.[Cen 1790] Furthermore, it was not until 1799 that Mary and children transferred to Back Creek Monthly Meeting in Randolph County. On the other hand, Francis is conspicuously absent from the records of the family's move to Back Creek.
If this is the same Francis whose heirs were granted 640 acres, there is no indication that they ever set foot on the land and research into to selling it has yet to be done. North Carolina bounty reserves were established in cental Tennessee, north of Nashville, and later elsewhere after Tennessee gained statehood in 1796.
Francis moved inland to the southern part of Randolph County, North Carolina, on the Little River in an area enumerated as "Hillsboro District"[Cen 1800] by 1797. Afterward, Mary, son Cornelius, and daughter Polly's husband, Jesse Pearson, all received certificates to transfer from the Contentnea Monthly Meeting in Wayne County, North Carolina, to the Back Creek Monthly Meeting in Randolph County, west of Asheboro, on December 8, 1798. Her son and son-in-law were received at Back Creek the following February, but Mary was not received until August 1799.[Hinshaw 709, 730]
Mary is last reflected, although not by name, in the 1800 census.[Cen 1800]
Francis is last noted having executed a deed in January 1802.
- Muster: Colonial Soldiers of the South, 1732-1774, after 1748, Northampton County, North Carolina
- Hinshaw, William Wade. Encyclopedia of American Quaker Genealogy. Vol. 1. Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing Company, 1969.
- Cen 1790: 1790 Census, Wayne County, North Carolina
- Cen 1800: 1800 Census, Hillsboro District, Randolph County, North Carolina
Nathan BEAMAN (-1790)
1A. Nathan Beaman was the eldest son of Francis Beaman. His brother, Abraham, was appointed as administrator in Duplin County, North Carolina, for him when he died in 1790. Nathan left a wife and at least one son, Nathan (Jr.).
| 1A1. | Nathan Beaman (Jr.) | -- | -- | -- |
Francis BEAMAN (Jr.)2 (~1752-1827)
1B. Francis Beaman (Jr.)2 was born about 1752 in North Carolina. He married Susanna by 1778 in North Carolina and had as many as four children:
| 1Bx. | Polly Beaman | Abt 1769 | -- | -- |
| 1Bx. | Rachel Beaman | -- | -- | -- |
| 1B1. | Catherine Beaman | (1776-1777) | -- | -- |
| 1B2. | Briant Beaman3 | (1785-1788) | 3 Jan 183(6) | (~77) |
| 1B3. | John Beaman | (1790) | -- | -- |
| 1B4. | Samuel Beaman (Sr.) | (1793-1794) | 22 Mar 1857 | (64) |
Francis was "disowned" by the Rich Square Monthly Meeting of Quakers in Northampton County in 1772.[Hinshaw 229] No reason was specified.
Francis moved southeast to Bertie County, North Carolina. As his parents gradually moved westward, their movements mirrored each other, staying about a county away, which took Francis through Duplin[Cen 1790], Dobbs (Greene), and then to Montgomery County, North Carolina, in the 1790's.[Cen 1800] About this time, Francis' parents moved to neighboring Randolph County. Francis' brother, Abraham, followed him to Montgomery County in the 1800's where they lived next to each other by 1810.
In 1823 and 1824, Francis, his children, and three of his nephews (Isaac, Jacob, and David), moved their families west to Owen County, Indiana, first settling in Morgan Township.
Francis died in Morgan Township in 1827 and was buried in the northern part of the township, probably in Section 13, near Jordan Village.
- Hinshaw, William Wade. Encyclopedia of American Quaker Genealogy. Vol. 1. Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing Company, 1969.
- Cen 1790: 1790 Census, Duplin County, North Carolina
- Cen 1800: 1800 Census, Montgomery County, North Carolina
Abraham BEAMAN (~1754->1810)
1C. Abraham Beaman (Sr.) was born about 1754 in North Carolina and married Elizabeth Dage (D'Auge) about 1773. They had as many as five children:
| 1C1. | Abraham Beaman (Jr.) | (<1774) | 1848 | (74) |
| 1C2. | Isaac Beaman, Sr. | (1775) | Abt Aug 1841 | (66) |
| 1C3. | David Beaman | 1775-1784 | -- | -- |
| 1C4. | Jacob Beaman | (1780) | 1852-1860 | -- |
| 1C5. | Welthy Beaman | -- | -- | -- |
Abraham's family lived in Johnston County, North Carolina, until the 1800's when they followed brother, Francis, west to Montgomery County, North Carolina, where he lived next to Francis by 1810.
Abraham and Elizabeth are believed to have died not long after their arrival in Montgomery County.
- Hinshaw, William Wade. Encyclopedia of American Quaker Genealogy. Vol. 1. Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing Company, 1969.
- Cen 1790: 1790 Census, Duplin County, North Carolina
- Cen 1800: 1800 Census, Johnston County, North Carolina
Ozias BEAMAN (~1755-)
1D. Ozias Beaman was born about 1755 in North Carolina. He married Rebecca COLSTON about 1785 in North Carolina and had two children:
| 1D1. | John Beaman | (1780) | 30 Sep 1820 | (40) |
| 1D2. | Martha Beaman | -- | -- | -- |
Ozias was a member of the Rich Square Monthly Meeting in Northampton County, North Carolina, and served in the militia during the American Revolutionary War. In March 1776 he "condemned his loose company [and was] held for trial of his sincerity."[Hinshaw 229] It is unknown whether or not this was related to Quaker pacifist views nor was is the outcome of his trial know.
Ozias was granted a certificate to transfer from the Rich Square Monthly Meeting to the Contentnea Monthly Meeting (then in Dobbs County, now in Wayne County) on the same day that his brother James' wife Mary did. She was received at the Contentnea Monthly Meeting in June 1777 and a week later Ozias' parents and younger sisters also requested to transfer from Rich Square to Dobbs (Wayne) County and arrived in August.[Hinshaw 229] A few years later, Ozias was recorded to have lived at Contentnea, been condemned for misconduct, and afterward reinstated in December 1781.[Hinshaw 229]
Ozias lived more than 20 years in Wayne County, North Carolina, but moved to southwest to adjacent Sampson County, just before his death in 1802.
- Hinshaw, William Wade. Encyclopedia of American Quaker Genealogy. Vol. 1. Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing Company, 1969.
- Cen 1800: 1800 Census, Fayetteville District, Sampson County, North Carolina
James BEAMAN (~1756-1811)
1E. James Beaman was born about 1756 in North Carolina. He married Mary Perkins about February 18, 1775, as recorded that day at the Rich Square Monthly Meeting, Northampton County, North Carolina.[Hinshaw 229] They had at least two daughters, both apparently named for James' younger sisters:
| 1E1. | Martha Beaman | -- | -- | -- |
| 1E2. | Keziah Beaman | -- | -- | -- |
Following the Battles of Lexington and Concord, James and father Francis were listed with Colonel Allen Jones' militia in May 1775.[Hinshaw 229] The British did not strike the Carolinas until 1780 so it is unknown whether or not the Beamans, especially given Quaker pacifism, served actively beyond mustering with the milita.
Wife Mary transferred from the Rich Square Monthly Meeting to the Contentnea Monthly Meeting (then in Dobbs County, now in Wayne County) in June 1777. James' brother Ozias requested to transfer at the same time and a week after Mary's reception at the congregation, James' parents and younger sisters also requested to transfer from Rich Square to Dobbs (Wayne) County and arrived in August. Strangely, it was not until 8 months later, in February 1778, that James was granted a certificate to transfer from Rich Square to Contentea.[Hinshaw 229]
By 1809 the Beamans relocated northwest Franklin County[Cen 1810], near Louisburg[Cen 1800].
James Beaman died in October 1811 in North Carolina, presumably near Louisburg.
- Hinshaw, William Wade. Encyclopedia of American Quaker Genealogy. Vol. 1. Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing Company, 1969.Cen 1790: 1790 Census, Wayne County, North Carolina
- Cen 1800: 1800 Census, Louisburg, Franklin County, North Carolina
- Cen 1810: 1810 Census, Franklin County, North Carolina
Martha (BEAMAN) CATO (~1757->1795)
1F. Martha Beaman was born about 1757 in North Carolina. In the summer of 1777, Martha, her parents, brothers Ozias and James, and sister Keziah all transferred from Rich Square Monthly Meeting, in Northampton County, to Contentnea Monthly Meeting[Hinshaw 229, 299] in Dobbs County (later Wayne County). She married George Cato, out of unity, and afterward, on April 14, 1787, was disowned by the congregation.[Hinshaw 299, 301]
George Cato died in 1795 and left her land in Sampson County, North Carolina. They had only been married about 8 years.
- Hinshaw, William Wade. Encyclopedia of American Quaker Genealogy. Vol. 1. Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing Company, 1969.
Keziah BEAMAN (~1760-1828)
1G. Keziah Beaman was born about 1760 in North Carolina. In the summer of 1777, Keziah, her parents, brothers Ozias and James, and sister Martha all transferred from Rich Square Monthly Meeting, in Northampton County, to Contentnea Monthly Meeting[Hinshaw 229, 299] in Dobbs County (later Wayne County). Little else is known of her. The last mentioned of her in records of the Contentnea Monthly Meeting were as late as 1789. She may have died in 1828 at about the age of 66.
- Hinshaw, William Wade. Encyclopedia of American Quaker Genealogy. Vol. 1. Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing Company, 1969.
David BEAMAN (~1763-)
1I. David Beaman was born by 1763 in North Carolina. He married out of unity to Phoebe in 1787 in North Carolina. They had three sons:
| 1I1. | Culling Beaman | 1789 | -- | -- |
| 1I2. | John Beaman | 1791 | 1821 | (30) |
| 1I3. | Arthur Beaman | 1793 | -- | -- |
David Beaman died by August 1805 in Wayne County, North Carolina.
- Cen 1800: 1800 Census, Johnston County, North Carolina
Josiah BEAMAN
1J. Josiah Beaman was probably born in North Carolina. He married Sally Pearson around November 1791 and had four children:
| 1J1. | Mary Beaman | -- | -- | -- |
| 1J2. | Jesse Beaman | -- | -- | -- |
| 1J3. | David Beaman | -- | -- | -- |
| 1J4. | Benjamin Beaman | -- | -- | -- |
Sally was a Quaker, and apparently Josiah was not, as Sally was disowned by the Contentnea Monthly Meeting of Wayne County, North Carolina, on November 12, 1791, following her marriage out of unity. [Hinshaw 299, 314]
Josiah and his two younger siblings moved with their parents to Randolph County, North Carolina, by 1800 where they appear with their families and parents living as neighbors.
Josiah died in Randolph County in 1808. Some of Josiah's children eventually moved with his brother, Cornelius, and sister, Polly, to White Water Monthly Meeting, Wayne County, Indiana Territory, around 1814.
- Hinshaw, William Wade. Encyclopedia of American Quaker Genealogy. Vol. 1. Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing Company, 1969.
- Cen 1800: 1800 Census, Hillsboro District, Randolph County, North Carolina
Polly (BEAMAN) PEARSON
1K. Polly Beaman was probably born in North Carolina. She married Jesse Pearson around October 15, 1789, at the home of Thomas Hollowell in Wayne County, North Carolina, as recorded that day at the Contentnea Monthly Meeting in Wayne County.[Hinshaw 299, 314]
Jesse, Polly's mother, and brother Cornelius, all received certificates to transfer from the Contentnea Monthly Meeting to the Back Creek Monthly Meeting, in Randolph County, west of Asheboro, on December 8, 1798. Jesse and Cornelius were received at Back Creek the following February, but mother Mary was not received there until August 1799.[Hinshaw 709, 730]
Jesse and Polly's brother Cornelius requested certificates to transfer to White Water Monthly Meeting, Wayne County, Indiana Territory, on October 29, 1814.[Hinshaw 709, 730]
- Hinshaw, William Wade. Encyclopedia of American Quaker Genealogy. Vol. 1. Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing Company, 1969.
Cornelius BEAMAN
1L. Cornelius Beaman was probably born in North Carolina. He, his mother, and brother-in-law, Jesse Pearson, all received certificates to transfer from the Contentnea Monthly Meeting to the Back Creek Monthly Meeting in Randolph County, west of Asheboro, on December 8, 1798. Jesse and Cornelius were received at Back Creek the following February, but mother Mary was not received there until August 1799. Later that year, Cornelius married out of unity and was disowned by the Back Creek congregation.[Hinshaw 709, 730]
Cornelius apparently was reinstated with the Back Creek Monthly Meeting and later he and brother-in-law Jesse Pearson requested certificates to transfer to White Water Monthly Meeting, Wayne County, Indiana Territory, on October 29, 1814.[Hinshaw 709, 730]
- Hinshaw, William Wade. Encyclopedia of American Quaker Genealogy. Vol. 1. Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing Company, 1969.
- Cen 1800: 1800 Census, Hillsboro District, Randolph County, North Carolina
