Reuben Beebe (1741 - 1828)

Born 14 Feb 1741 in East Haddam, Middlesex, Connecticut

Ancestors

Husband of Mary (Bigelow) Beebe — married 9 Sep 1761 (to 25 Oct 1773) in East Haddam, Middlesex County, Connecticut

Husband of Lydia (Waters) Beebe — married 21 Apr 1774 in East Haddam, Middlesex County, Connecticut

Descendants

Died 11 Jan 1828 at age 86 in East Haddam, Middlesex, Connecticut, United States

Problems/Questions Profile manager: Randy Beebe [send private message]

Biography

Reuben was born ^[1] in Feb 14, 1741. He is the son^[1] of Caleb Beebe and Phebe Buckingham. ^[2]

Reuben married first Mary Bigelow, daughter of Isaac and Abigail (Skinner) Bigelow, on 9 Sep. 1761 at East Haddam, Middlesex County, Connecticut.^[1] after Mary's death on 25 Oct 1773; Reuben then married Lydia Waters, daughter of Adam and Mary (Bigelow) Waters, of Hebron on 21 April 1774 at East Haddam, Middlesex County, Connecticut. ^[1] Reuben's first wife Mary Bigelow, and his second wife Lydia Waters were first cousins as Mary Bigelow's father Isaac and Lydia Waters mother Mary were brother and sister.

Genealogical Records

Vital Records

• Primary Source, The Barbour Collection of Connecticut Town Vital Records, East Haddam 1743-1857 ^[1]: Data Summary: Barbour East Haddam, Middlesex, Connecticut vital records for Reuben Beebe:

1. ) Caleb, of E. Haddam, m Phebe BUCKINGHAM of Saybrook, Mar 6, 1737
2. ) Caleb, died Feb 12, 1761
   1. ) Caleb son Caleb & Phebe, b June 4, 1737 {Editorial: not in Brown transcription}
      1. ) Caleb Jr., of E. haddam, m Eunice AVERY. of Grotton, Jan 21, 1761
   2. ) Judah, son Caleb & Phebe, b Sept 25, 1749
   3. ) Leve, son Caleb & Phebe, b Apr 25, 1743
   4. ) Nathan, son Caleb & Phebe, b Apr 2, 1739
   5. ) Phebe, dau Caleb & Phebe, b Aug 9, 1754
   6. ) Reuben, son Caleb & Phebe, b Feb 14, 1741
      1. ) Reuben, of E. Haddam, m Mary BIGGSLOW of Colchester, Sept 9, 1761
         1. ) Isaac Bigelow, son Reuben & Mary, b Mar 20, 1768
         2. ) Lidia, dau Reuben & Mary, b Feb 15, 1764
         3. ) Mary, dau Reuben & Mary, b Apr 10, 1771
         4. ) Mary, dau Reuben & Mary, died Aug 24, 1771
         5. ) Reuben, son Reuben & Mary, b Oct 22, 1762
         6. ) Reuben, son Reuben & mary, b Apr 11, 1766
      2. ) Mary, wife of Reubin, died Oct 25, 1773
         1. ) Rube, dau Reuben & Mary, b Sept 30, 1775 {Editorial, this is a clear error in the source record. Since Mary Beebe died in 1773, either the mother of Rube has to be Lydia Waters, which conflicts with the March 20, 1775 birth date of Molley (only 6 months of separation), or as documented in the Clifford Beebe Genealogy, ^[3] this Rube (Ruby) was the child that Barbour recorded as a male, Reuben, born on 22 Oct 1762, and the 30 Sept 1775 date for Rube is a death date rather than a birth date. This death cannot be for the 1766 Reuben as his tombstone affirms the Barbour Apr 11, 1766 birthdate, and Reuben lived to be over 71 years of age.}
      3. ) Reuben, of E. Haddam, m Lydia WATERS of Hebron, Apr 21, 1774
         1. ) Lydia, dau Reuben & Lydia, b Jan 16, 1780
         2. ) Molley, dau Reuben & Lydia, b Mar 20, 1775
         3. ) Rastus, twin with Roderick, son Reuben & Lydia, b Oct 20, 1777 {Editorial, this name should likely be Erastus}
         4. ) Rodrick, twin with Rastus, son Reuben & Lyaid, b Oct 20, 1777
         5. ) Starling Waters, son Reuben & Lydia, b Sept 23, 1781
   7. ) Robert, son Caleb & Phebe, b Aug 5, 1747
   8. ) Sarah, dau Caleb & Phebe, b Mar 24, 1745
      1. ) Sarah, dau Caleb & Phebe, died Mar 19, 1750
   9. ) Sarah, dau Caleb & Phebe, b Sept 1, 1752

Death Records

• Primary Source, (burial); Tertiary Source (biography), Find A Grave Index ^[4] Data Summary:

1. ) Find A Grave: Memorial #173803530: Reuben Beebe was born 14 Feb 1741, at East Haddam, Middlesex County, Connecticut, USA., and he died 11 Jan 1828 (aged 86) at East Haddam, Middlesex County, Connecticut, USA.
   1. ) Marriage. Reuben Beebe married Mary Bigelow Beebe (1743–1773) in 1761, and Lydia Waters Beebe (1735–1794) in 1774.
   2. ) Children:
      1. ) Reuben Beebe (1766–1838)
      2. ) Isaac Beebe (1768–1802)
      3. ) Jeptha Beebe (1774–1849) {Editorial, the FAG asserted date of birth and parentage for Jeptha occurs less than three monts prior to the (primary source) ^[1] proven birth date for Molly Beebe, daughter of Reuben and Lydia and therefore Jeptha CANNOT be the child of Reuben and Lydia.}
2. ) BURIAL. Reuben Beebe was buried at an (Unknown) location.
   1. ) Find a Grave Notes: " "
   2. ) Inscription, "{No Tombstone Photo}"

Biographic and Genealogical References

• Secondary Source, Clarence Beebe in his book Monograph of the Descent of the Family of Beebe ^[2] cites Reuben Beebe in profile (179). Data summary;

1. ) Monograph, etc., Page 36: REUBEN Beebe (179), son of Caleb Beebe (65) and Phebe Buckingham was born at East Haddam, Conn in 1742.

• Secondary Source, Clifford Beebe,Genealogy of the Family of Beebe, ^[3] Data Extract:

1. ) Page 31. Parents: Caleb Beebe (90) and Phebe Buckingham were the parents of Caleb, Nathan, Reuben 293) , Levi, Sarah, Robert, Judah, Sarah, and Phebe
2. ) Beebe Genealogy, Vol I; Page 77: Personal data: Reuben Beebe was born 14 Feb 1741 at East Haddam, Connecticut and he died 11 Jan 1828.
   1. ) First Marriage. Reuben Beebe married Mary Bigelow, daughter of Isaac Bigelow, on 9 Sept 1761 at East Haddam Connecticut. Mary was born 9 Feb 1743 at Colchester, Conn and she died 25 Oct 1773 at East Haddam, Conn.
   2. ) Second Marriage Reuben Beebe married Lydia Waters, daughter of Stalworthy and Sarah (Carrier) Waters, on 21 April 1774 at East Haddam, Connecticut. Lydia was born 1 Feb 1734/5 and her death date is unknown, however she was known to be living in 1799.
   3. ) Biography. He lived in East Haddam, CT.
   4. ) Children. (by Mary Bigelow) Ruby (772), {Editorial: there is what appears to be a double error in the East Haddam Barbour record as Barbour has recorded a son Reuben born to Reuben and Mary on 22 Oct 1762 and a daughter Rube born to Reuben and Mary on 30 Sept 1775. It is not possible for Rube to the daughter of Mary because the Barbour Collection records that Mary Beebe died in 1773. Cliff Beebe solves this data conflict by changing the 1775 birth date to a death date and changing the identity of the 1762 born Reuben to be daughter Rube. This seems to be a very probable rationalization}Lydia (773), Reuben (774), Isaac Bigelow (775), Mary (776), (by Lydia Waters): Polly (Molley) (777), Erastus (778), Roderick (779), Lydia (780), Starling Waters (781), Elias (Elihu) (782) and Seymour (783)

Research Notes

1. ) As of 18 Sep 2018, there is a Jeptha Beebe with a Find a Grave profile citing him to be the son of Reuben Beebe and Lydia Waters. However, based on an analysis of the information presented in the Barbour Record, this is not possible. The basis for this statement is as follows: Reuben married Lydia Waters on on 21 April 1774. Based on the data on Jeptha's tombstone, he was born 30 Dec 1774 which would be just a hair over 8 months into the marriage. This is certainly not a disqualifying event; but then on March 20, 1775, only three months later, the birth of Molly, daughter of Reuben and Lydia, is recorded in the East Haddam, Conn Town Records and that birth is an event that does indeed disqualify Jeptha as a possible son of Lydia and Reuben; because it would not have been possible for the live birth of a child (Molly) to have happened with less than three months gestation. The vital records for the marriage to Lydia and birth of Molly are both taken from a Primary Source, i.e. the Barbour Collection of Town Records, ^[1] whereas the Find grave profile offers no source citation for the assertion that Jeptha was a son of Reuben whatsoever.
2. ) 2020-01-14 Regarding the parents of Lydia Waters, the second wife of Reuben Beebe. As of this date, no primary record has been found which conclusively identifies the parents of Lydia Waters, second wife of Reuben Beebe. The East Haddam, Connecticut Barbour record notes that Reuben's second wife Lydia Waters married on Apr 21, 1774 was from Hebron, Connecticut. The Hebron, Connecticut Vital Records recorded by Barbour ^[5] offer two Lydia Waters candidate identities listed under the WATERS, WARTERS, WALTERS surname heading as possibilities to be this wife of Reuben Beebe. The first possibility is Liddiah Waters , daughter of Stalworthy, born 1 Feb 1734/5, and the second possibility is Lydia Walters, daughter of Adam, born 6 Feb1749 for which the Barbour record makes a notation, (Written Walters). A critical examination of this Hebron Barbour record reveals that Stalworthy Waters, the father of Liddiah was the son of Samuel Waters born 18 March 1703, and Adam Waters, the father of Lydia "Walters," was born 19 June 1720, also a son of Samuel, and in fact, Adam and Stalworthy are brothers which makes these two Lydia Waters first cousins. It should also be noted that some tertiary family trees also identify Abner Waters, the son of the previously noted Stalworthy Waters, and Lydia (Root) Waters as the parents of the Lydia Waters (born 1754) who married Reuben Beebe. So which Lydia Waters was the wife of Reuben Beebe?
   1. ) Age considerations: Liddiah, the daughter of Stalworthy was born 1 Feb 1735, hence she was six years older than Reuben and would have been unmarried (her surname was still Waters at the marriage) and 39 years of age at the time of the 1774 marriage, and she would have been 57 at the time of the 1792 birth of Seymour, the youngest child of Reuben and Lydia. Lydia the daughter of Adam, was born 6 Feb 1749, thus 8 years younger than Reuben and would have been 25 at the time of the 1774 marriage; she would have been 43 at the time of the 1792 birth of Seymour, the youngest child of Reuben and Lydia. The Lydia Waters, daughter of Abner Waters, born 1754, was 13 years younger than Reuben Beebe and would have been 20 at the time of the 1774 marriage and 38 at the time of Seymour's birth. The age analysis strongly favors Lydia, daughter of Adam or Abner, as the wife of Reuben Beebe for two reasons, first there is a strong cultural paradigm for men to marry women younger than themselves (especially in mid-life) and second it would have been virtually impossible for the elder Lydia to have been the mother of Seymour whereas for the younger Lydia it would not be uncommon for a woman aged 43 to give birth to a child.
   2. ) Secondary and tertiary source records. As noted earlier, no primary record has been found to affirm the parental relationship of Lydia Waters, wife of Reuben, however in the secondary records, the Clifford Beebe Vol I Genealogy ^[3] identifies Stalworthy Waters as the father of Lydia (the older Lydia) as does the Find A Grave ^[4] profile. However, both sources are modern (written after 1990) and neither text offers any hint regarding the basis of making this relationship assertion; thus considering the age argument (Lydia daughter of Stalworthy was too old to be the mother of Seymour) these sources must be considered hearsay.
   3. ) Naming considerations: Often there may be hints about the line of descent hidden in the names of the children. However, since Adam and Stalworthy Waters are brothers, the only potential insight to be gained from names would be reuse of a name from the family of the mother of Lydia Waters. The wife of Stalworthy was Sarah Carrier, with no apparent naming nor relational connections. However, the wife of Adam Waters happens to be Mary (Bigelow) Waters, who was the aunt of Reuben's first wife also named Mary Bigelow; hence Reuben had married into Adam Waters family via his first marriage to Mary Bigelow. Therefore, Reuben's first wife Mary Bigelow and his second wife Lydia Waters would have been first cousins, and this relational link would explain how Reuben, in East Haddam, and Lydia Waters, daughter of Adam, in Hebron had come to know each other prior to 1774. It would also make this Lydia a preferred spouse for Reuben as she would have a blood relationship to his existing children born to him by Mary Bigelow. On another note, there is one powerful name link between in the family of Reuben and Lydia (Waters) Beebe and that is the name STERLING; Reuben and Lydia named one of their sons Sterling Waters Beebe and Sterling was also {note this might be a circular argument} the maiden surname of Ann (Sterling) Waters, mother of (both) Adam and Stalworthy Waters. This establishes a strong name connection linking Adam, Stalworthy, or Abner Waters as the father of Lydia, wife of Reuben Beebe, but as they were all direct descendants of Ann Sterling this name connection provides little differentiation as to which was Lydia's father, though it is much more likely that Sterling would have been named after Lydia's grandmother (i.e. a daughter of Stalworthy or Adam) rather than a gr. grandmother as a daughter of Abner). Also it seems the Walters surname, mentioned in Barbour, may be dismissed as a transcription artifact because Adam Waters and Stalworthy Waters Sr are linked as brothers.
   4. ) Conclusion. While it is not possible to draw an irrefutable conclusion from this analysis, it is possible to state with a high degree of certainty from the circumstantial evidence, that Lydia Waters, daughter of Adam is much, much more likely to have been the wife of Reuben Beebe than either Lydia, daughter of Stalworthy, or Lydia, daughter of Abner. There are three reasons for this conclusion, first the elder Lydia would have have been too old to be the mother of Seymour in 1792 whereas the younger Lydia(s) would have been of late child bearing age in 1792. Second, understanding that Reuben's first wife Mary Bigelow was a first cousin to Lydia Waters, daughter of Adam and Mary Bigelow, presents a powerful case to assert that Reuben would have chosen this Lydia Waters as a second spouse because he would have known her at least 12 years prior to the 1774 marriage, and she would have known and had a blood interest in caring for his existing children. There would have been no reason for Reuben Beebe to be aware of either of the other two Lydia Waters prior to the death of his first wife Mary and neither of the other two were blood related to his existing children. Finally the naming of their son Sterling Waters Beebe affirms a more probable link to Adam Waters as her father versus Abner. Hence, until a more robust documentary proof can be found to refute this analysis, the familial model adopted for this Wikitree profile will consider Adam Waters as the correct father of Lydia Waters.
3. ) The following definitions and syntax conventions apply to the preceding text of this profile:
   1. ) A Primary Source contains data that was recorded by the person in the profile; or by someone known to or with first hand knowledge of that person, during the person's lifetime, death or within two generations thereafter.
   2. ) A Secondary Source is a genealogical reference created as the result of a extensive study of available source material and it provides some evidence of the source documentation used to generate the text data.
   3. ) A Tertiary Source is a genealogical data source which is a collection of genealogical information that does not cite Primary or Secondary information sources, and the data may be factual or hearsay.
   4. ) Braces {Editorial Note Example} are used to insert editorial comments; that is to say, information or clarification that is not contained in the original, cited source material.

Sources

1. ↑ ^{1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.6} White, Lorraine Cook, The Barbour Collection of Connecticut Town Vital Records, East Haddam Vital Records 1743-1857. Vol. 1-55. Baltimore, MD, USA: Genealogical Publishing Co., 1994-2002. Ancestry.com, Provo, UT, USA: Reuben Beebe East Haddam Barbour Collection or see free version Transcribed by Coralynn Brown HERE--Reuben Beebe (Barbour East Haddam), once at the site, you will need to scroll down to BEEBE
2. ↑ ^{2.0 2.1} Beebe, Clarence, Monograph of the Descent of the Family of Beebe from the earliest known immigrant--John, of Broughton, England, 1650, compiled and edited by Clarence Beebe, 150 Nassau Street, New York,1904; (ID 179) page 36 Clarence Beebe Genealogy online -Title Page
3. ↑ ^{3.0 3.1 3.2} Beebe, Clifford, Genealogy of the Family of Beebe From the Earliest Known Immigrant John Beebe of Broughton, England, Higginson Book Co., 10 Colonial Road, Salem MA 01970. 1991.
4. ↑ ^{4.0 4.1} Find A Grave, database and images (https://www.findagrave.com : accessed 14 January 2020), memorial page for Reuben Beebe (14 Feb 1741–11 Jan 1828), Find A Grave Memorial no. 173803530, ; Maintained by Daryl Marshall (contributor 48415103) Unknown.
5. ↑ Scanned Image of the Waters VR in the Hebron Barbour Record from Ancestry Record 1034 #101879

Other Sources

• Study of Reuben Beebe by a Descendant also here parents of Lydia Waters, second wife of Reuben Beebe