William Beauchamp Sr. (abt. 1745 - abt. 1830)

Born about 1745 in France

Husband of Elizabeth Sarah (Smith) Beauchamp — married May 1774 in Caroline County Maryland

Descendants

Died about 1830 at about age 85 in Madison County Ohio [uncertain]

Problems/Questions Profile manager: Anonymous Beauchamp [send private message]

Biography

This profile is part of the Beacham Name Study.

William Beauchamp was born about 1745 in France. He was the son of Nehemiah and Sarah Moor Beauchamp. ^[1] William came to America (colonies) in 1764 at the age of 19 and he settled on the eastern shores of MD. William is listed on the 1790 Dorchester County, MD census.^[2]

William married Elizabeth Sarah Smith (b. abt. 1755, Surrey, England; baptism. Middlesex, England. d. 1830, Dublin, Wayne County, Indiana) in May 1774 in Caroline County, MD. She was a tall red-haired woman. ^[3] They had eleven children:

1. Henry Beauchamp
2. John Beauchamp
3. William Beauchamp, Jr.
4. Charles Beauchamp
5. Curtis Beauchamp
6. Levi Beauchamp
7. Alexander Beauchamp
8. Mathew Beauchamp
9. RussellBeauchamp
10. Milcah (only daughter)
11. Caleb Beauchamp

Elizabeth was the dau. of Henry Smith. March 11, 1778, William and Elizabeth sold land to Lemuel Davis of Caroline County, MD. This land left to him by his father, which had been obtained from Risdom Moor, William's grandfather. ^[4], which also mentions Nehemiah Beauchamp referred to as William's father.

William and Elizabeth were members of the Nicholite Church in Dorchester County, MD. The church was very much like the Quaker Church and most of the members joined the Quaker Church in North and South Carolina as did William and his family. William bought 591 acres of land in SC., from Thomas Wetherly on February 27, 1790.

William moved his family to Marlborough County, SC., between 1792 and 1795, and settled near Gum Swamp on the Great Pee Dee River. This land joined the NC. line on the north side. It was divided and sold at different times from January 11, 1794 to 1810. William and Elizabeth lived in Richmond County, NC in 1802, this noted from Quaker records. Around August 3, 1811, they immigrated to the Indiana Territory (Wayne County), arriving a few days before Hull surrendered his army to the British, near the New Garden Monthly Meeting, near Dublin, Wayne County, IN. *New Garden became a city in 1818, then its name changed to Newport in 1834, which was renamed Fountain City in 1878, named for its natural springs. The Levi Coffin House, home of Quaker Abolitionist Levi Coffin and his wife Catherine, was in important stop on the Underground Railroad. Coffin was sometimes known as the "president" of the Underground Railroad. It is now operated as an IN State Historic Site. William was also registered in the White Water Monthly Meeting of Quakers and with him his wife; Elizabeth, and three children; Russell, Milcah and Caleb. His son Levi came up from Piney Grove around November 30, 1811, Mathew came around September 26, 1812 and Alexander (Ellick, this is how they pronounced Alexander and tried to spell it) came with his wife Alice and son Jesse around February 27, 1813. Their other children arrived in the IN Territory between 1811 and 1813. Other members of the church also made this move to IN. In 1815, William was disowned and condemned by the Quakers for making an unapproved religious visit without consent of the Quaker Church. Six of their children were also expelled from the church for marring "contrary to discipline". Elizabeth and son Caleb, were granted certificate to West Grove Monthly Meeting on April 28, 1821. William is listed in the 1820 Wayne County, IN census, his occupation listed as Farmer and being 45+ years of age. William and Elizabeth died in 1830 in Wayne County, IN. It is "told" by the family the Nehemiah had 160 acres of land in London, England, that fell to a cousin because of William's absence, and his sister died leaving no heirs. It was said to have been worth millions ^{[5] [6]}

William passed away about 1830 in Madison County, Ohio. He buried at the Thomas Cemetery (located in a field, his stone is there). I have not located Elizabeth's grave. ^[7]

• The correct pronunciation of Beauchamp is from the French; "Bo-shawm", I myself pronounce it "Bo-camp". Other countries corrupted the correct pronunciation of the name and also the spelling when they pronounced it and tried to spell it, that is where "Beechum, Beacham" and so forth, came from.

Sources

1. ↑ Information was taken from a book about the history of Parke County Indiana. In this book there is a paragraph where Eri Beauchamp (grandson to William) was told by his father (Charles, son of William) that his grandfather William was born in France.
2. ↑ 1790 Dorchester County, MD census
3. ↑ Source Citation Guilford College; Greensboro, North Carolina; New Garden Quarter Piney Grove Monthly Meeting (Sc) Minutes, 1802-1815; Collection: North Carolina Yearly Meeting Minutes Description Title: New Garden Quarter Piney Grove Monthly Meeting (Sc) Minutes, 1802-1815 Source Information Ancestry.com. U.S., Quaker Meeting Records, 1681-1935 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2014. Original data:Swarthmore, Quaker Meeting Records. Friends Historical Library, Swarthmore College, Swarthmore, Pennsylvania.North Carolina Yearly Meeting Minutes. Hege Friends Historical Library, Guilford College, Greensboro, North Carolina.Indiana Yearly Meeting Minutes. Earlham College Friends Collection & College Archives, Richmond, Indiana.Haverford, Quaker Meeting Records. Haverford College, Haverford, Pennsylvania. Source Description This collection of Quaker meeting and vital records is one of the first of its kind. These records from monthly meetings have been brought together to form the most extensive searchable online database.
4. ↑ I have copy of this Land Deed
5. ↑ "United States Census, 1820," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:33SQ-GYB4-J4M?cc=1803955&wc=3L7F-V8Z%3A1586987703%2C1586985709%2C1586984616 : 16 July 2015), Indiana > Wayne > Not Stated > image 19 of 63; citing NARA microfilm publication M33, (Washington D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, n.d.).
6. ↑ "United States Census, 1830," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:33SQ-GYTR-3H5L?cc=1803958&wc=35Y4-CNH%3A1588469004%2C1588471304%2C1588469420 : 14 August 2015), Indiana > Wayne > Jackson > image 21 of 33; citing NARA microfilm publication M19, (Washington D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, n.d.).
7. ↑ https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/43142174/william-beauchamp

Documents found in the Quaker Church.

Acknowledgements

Source will be added by Elizabeth Beauchamp by 3 Nov 2017.