This is an informational report rather than a question -- I've come to a stopping point on a re-do of Ninian Beall and his immediate family -- what I expected to require two weeks has actually taken two months, but here are the results:
1. Ninian Beall profile has been updated with known facts in the biography and the many legends discussed in research notes. Most documents including wills, estate and property records have been moved to accompanying free-space profiles.
2. All children have been documented, and children falsely attributed to him have been researched, notably Mary Pottenger and Sarah Magruder. A free-space profile detailing the development and resolution of legends about Mary and Sarah has been updated.
3. Profiles have been created for enslaved persons named in documents of Ninian and Ninian's children, both documented and falsely attributed, as part of an effort to present enslaved persons primarily as human beings and not simply property. These persons have been highlighted in the narratives as well. Ninian was a greatly respected and widely admired colonist, but the fact that he made deeds of gift of enslaved children under the age of 10 reveals a blind spot of the times that is often ignored.
4. There is no documentation of Ninian's origins but every reason to believe he was Scottish. A new review of his multiple properties, which were given names in early Maryland, reveals not only his affection for places in Scotland -- but also his knowledge and affection for ballads, which became property names. "West Hall" seemed like an innocuous name for some Maryland acreage until it was discovered it is the name of a Scottish ballad mourning the invasion of English King Edward in 1296, interrupting.the wedding of a Scottish lad and his Flemish bride, neither of whom survived the bloodshed of the day.
5. All profiles are "work in progress" and these profiles will surely benefit from more work as time passes. But it feels good to have reached a stopping point!
