Barna Beardsley (1797 - 1881)

Born 9 Mar 1797 in Delhi, Delaware County, New York, USA

Ancestors

Husband of Mary (Boylan) Beardsley — married 8 Apr 1820 in Licking County, Ohio

Husband of Malinda Vandivere (Strother) Beardsley — married 17 Sep 1850 in , Hancock, OH

Descendants

Died 4 Apr 1881 at age 84 in Columbus Grove, Putnam, Ohio, United States

Problems/Questions Profile manager: Robert Moody [send private message]

Biography

Barna Beardsley was born in 1797. He is the son of Daniel Beardsley and Hannah Bailey. He passed away in 1881.^[1]

"Served in War of 1812, first as a wagon boy later a clerk in the paymaster’s office. He was sent out several times as a bearer of dispatches to officers in command of different posts in Northern and Central Ohio.^[2]

In 1834, he moved with his family to Finley, Ohio, which was at that time, an unpretentious village. Here was real pioneer life with all its cares and privations; no road, markets, farms, and almost no neighbors. Here he lived till 1856, when because of ill health he went to Keoku, Iowa, for fifteen years, and then returned to his old home. I.H. B." [Holt]

From History of Hancock County [Ohio] from Its Earliest Settlement, by [Beardsley-92 | Daniel Barna Beardsley] - 1881

Was the oldest of seven sons of Daniel Beardsley, and was born in Delaware County, New York on the 9th day of March 1797. His parents were from the State of Connecticut and, of course, were Yankees. In 1803, his father came to Ohio and settled near Newark in Licking County. When about fifteen years of age, Mr. B. left his home and went to Columbus, 0hio, or rather to Franklinton, as there was no Columbus then, and during the war of 1812-15, he served part of the time as a wagon boy, and part of the time as clerk in the office of the Paymaster. He was several times sent out as the bearer of important dispatches to the officers in command of the different posts in northern Ohio. Dispatches were sent by him to Gen. Cass at Zanesville, to Gen. Harrison at Fort Meigs, and to the commander at Fort Croghan at Fremont.

After the close of the war, he went to the mouth of the River Basin and engaged in the carpenter trade. He also assisted in the erection of the first frame buildings in Sandusky City. After several years absence, he returned to Licking County, where, on the 9th day of April 1820, he married Mary Boylan, the eldest child of Aaren and Beulah Boylan. From that time until 1834, he followed his trade as carpenter and operated Hollister's Distillery until September 1834, when he came to Hancock County, his father in law and one sister having preceded him, and took up his residence with bis wife and seven children in a cabin on the present Infirmary farm. The country was then very new, and being almost without means, a struggle commenced for the support of himself and his young family.

Fortunately his services as a carpenter were in demand in the new settlement and steady employment was had at what was then deemed good wages. But as all materials for building had to be wrought out by hand, not many buildings could be erected in a year, and the work was of the most laborious kind.

In 1840 Mr. B. and his sons, having farmed quite extensively in addition to his work as a mechanic, he purchased of Aaron Hough thirty acres of land in Findley township, and he and his family at once went to work clearing it up, and in the fall of 1841, had so far succeeded as to be able to move on it, in a cabin which had been erected.

Here his four sons, the eldest having obtained his majority and went out to do for himself, carried on what farming was possible on so new a tract of land and the father worked industriously at his trade, building many of the first frame buildings in the town, as well as in the country.

In September 1847, the the wife of Mr. B. died, and soon after the family were dispersed, the oldest son going to California in 1849 and dying there in 1850, the others beginning life for themselves at different places.

In 1856, he sold his farm and went to Iowa, where he remained for about fifteen years, engaged most of the time in mercantile pursuits. He then returned to Ohio, and made his home with his children in this and Putnam Counties, until the 4th day of April 1881, when he died at Columbus Grove, Ohio, in his eighty fifth year,

Mr Beardsley was a man below medium size, but possessed of uncommon physical endurance and the most robust health. No one perhaps in the whole settlement could perform so much hard labor with as little fatigue as he An almost iron constitution enabled him to endure the greatest hardships and perform the greatest labor. Scarcely ever needing the assistance of medicine, he hardly knew what it was to be sick. Having been a frontiersman all his life, he was inured to all the privations incident thereto. His last years were years of great suffering being afflicted with an incurable malady, yet they were endured without complaint.

Mr. Beardsley united with the Methodist Church, when young, and was a member for more than sixty years. His house, in the early days of his residence here, was the home of the Methodist ministers, Conway, Hill, Allen, Heustiss, Wilson, Biggs, Tibballs, Seelay, Runnells, Breckenridge, Pope, and a host of other preachers have partaken of his hospitality.

He was the father of ten children, five boys and five girls, seven of whom are living. He lived long enough to see all his children married and, at his death, had ten children, forty five grand children, and twenty great grand children.

From History of Hancock County, Ohio, 1886:

Barna Beardsley, a carpenter by trade, came from Licking County, Ohio, and with his wife Mary and seven children, located north of the Blanchard on Section 10, where three children were born. He afterward moved into Findlay Township and bought a small farm. Here his wife died in 1847. He afterward married Mrs. Malinda V. Shannon ^[3], and died in 1881 in Putnam County. Elmus W. Beardsley of Portage Township and Daniel B. Beardsley, Esq., a lawyer of Findlay, are two of their seven surviving children and the only members of the family in Hancock County.

Research Notes

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1880: Census Place: E. D. 141-142, Putnam, Ohio

Source: FHL Film 1255061 National Archives Film T9-1061 Page 461C

Relation Sex Marr Race Age Birthplace

Calvin BEARDSLEY Self M M W 49 OHIO

Occ: Wagon Maker Fa: NY Mo: NY

Emma BEARDSLEY Wife F M W 41 OHIO

Occ: W Fa: OHIO Mo: OHIO

Maud L. BEARDSLEY Dau F S W 2 OHIO

Fa: OHIO Mo: OHIO

Hugh BEARDSLEY Son M S W 6M OHIO

Fa: OHIO Mo: OHIO

Allice A. BEARDSLEY Dau F S W 20 IND

Occ: At Home Fa: OHIO Mo: PA

Charles H. BEARDSLEY Son M S W 13 IND

Occ: At Home Fa: OHIO Mo: PA

Monteville BEARDSLEY Son M S W 7 IND

Fa: OHIO Mo: PA

Bamey BEARDSLEY Father M W W 84 NY

Occ: At Home Fa: NY Mo: NY

Sources

• Beardsley Genealogy: The Family of William Beardsley, One of the First Settlers of Connecticut. Compiled and edited by Nellie Beardsley Holt and Charles Eleazer Holt. Published at West Hartford, Connecticut, 1951. Barna Beardsley is Holt Record #696, Pg. 287.
• Ohio Marriages, 1789-1898: Barna Beardsley & Polly Boylen
• History of Hancock County [Ohio] from Its Earliest Settlement to the Present:, by Daniel Barna Beardsley, Republic Printing Company, 1881
• History of Hancock County, Ohio, Warner, Beers & Co., Chicago, 1886, Page 436
• 1850 US Census: Findlay, Hancock County, OH, 12 Sep 1850^[4][5]
• 1880 US Census: Columbus Grove, Putnam County, OH, 5 Jun 1880, Enumeration District 141, Pg. 19^[6][7]
• https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/63271359/barna-beardsley (memorial only)

1. ↑ Profile created by Robert Moody, 11 Jun 2011, through the import of Moody-Howell_2011-06-05.ged. Added information from Beardsley family researcher Nick Dann, 16 Mar 2016.
2. ↑ "United States War of 1812 Index to Pension Application Files, 1812-1910," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.3.1/TH-1-12843-67515-13?cc=1834325 : accessed 25 March 2016), 004596532 > image 890 of 901; citing NARA microfilm publication M313 (Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, n.d.).
3. ↑ "Ohio, County Marriages, 1789-2013," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.3.1/TH-1-18084-171358-50?cc=1614804 : accessed 25 March 2016), Hancock > Marriage records 1850-1860 vol 3 > image 37 of 334; county courthouses, Ohio.
4. ↑ Seventh Census of the United States, 1850; (National Archives Microfilm Publication M432, 1009 rolls); Records of the Bureau of the Census, Record Group 29; National Archives, Washington, D.C.; Roll: M432_692; Page: 13B; Image: 250
5. ↑ Enumerates 'Barney' age 53, b. NY carpenter, Amanda age 15, b. OH, Mary age 12, b. OH, and his grandson (son of James Pierson), Henry C. age 5, b. OH. Next door are his son Elmus Beardsley age 24, b. OH and Samantha age 27, b. OH.
6. ↑ Enumerated as 'Barney'; living with his son, Calvin.
7. ↑ Tenth Census of the United States, 1880. (NARA microfilm publication T9, 1,454 rolls). Records of the Bureau of the Census, Record Group 29. National Archives, Washington, D.C.; Roll: 1061; Page: 461C; Enumeration District: 141; FHL microfilm: 1255061