Robert Beasley (1707 - aft. 1766)

Ancestors

Descendants

Died after 11 Nov 1766 after age 58 in Chowan, North Carolina

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Biography

ROBERT BEASLEY, the son of Francis Beasley and Mary (Bentley), was born in Perquimans Precinct, Albemarle County, North Carolina, on 1 December 1707. He died in Chowan County, North Carolina, after 11 November 1766, when he wrote his will.^[1] He married SARAH, possibly surnamed BAPTIST and who was perhaps the daughter of Dr. Benjamin Baptist and Mary (Clark). The will of Benjamin Baptist/Baptest, written 24 March 1752 and proved 15 June 1752 in Chowan County, named only his wife Mary and a son, Edmund.^[2] Hence, Sarah’s placement as a daughter remains speculative, but the naming of her son suggests a connection to this family. Sarah apparently survived her husband, though Robert did not list her by name in his will.

Much confusion exists in published sources about the identity of this Robert and attempts to distinguish him from his first cousin, Robert Beasley son of James, who was his contemporary. While the wife of Francis’s son Robert is nearly always shown as Christian Luten, in fact, he remains the best candidate for the one who married Sarah Baptist.

Robert wrote his will on 11 November 1766 in Chowan County. He left to his wife, whom he did not specifically name, a slave whom he termed “my Negro Fellow called Prince,” a feather bed and furniture, a horse called Dude and her colt, three cows, a heifer, various hogs and sheep, a small blue trunk, and an assortment of other household items, pewter, china, and earthenware plates. The remainder of the estate, both real and personal, he left to his only son, John Baptist Beasley, while giving his wife “the use of the House wherein I now Dwell with all part of the Land and Plantation whereon they stand to my said Wife during her natural life in full satisfaction of any claim of Dower.” He also gave to his wife the labor of three slaves, the fellow Sam, the wench Cuxhabo [?], and the girl Phillis, but all three and their increase was to pass to his son on the wife’s death. He named his son as his sole executor. Witnesses included John Simons, John Norcom, and Angele Simons.^[3]

Marriage and Issue

Child of Robert Beasley and Sarah (Baptist), born in Chowan County, North Carolina:

JOHN BAPTIST BEASLEY, b. say 1735; m. ELIZABETH BLOUNT.^[4][3]

Fostered

14 January 1743: Sarah Standin, orphan of Edward Standin, chose Robert Beasley as guardian. ^[5]

Sources

1. ↑ Robert Beasley will (1756), Chowan County, North Carolina, Will Book A: 222; see also loose will in “Chowan County Record of Wills, 1694-1808,” microfilm no. C.024, 80002; North Carolina State Archives, Raleigh.
2. ↑ Benjamin Baptest will is among the loose wills in the North Carolina State Archives, not seen on the roll of loose wills for Chowan County, no. 80003. Hathaway writes that his wife’s surname was Clark, that they lived on a farm called Strawberry Hill near Crisp Creek, three-eighths of a mile from Edenton. He died in 1753, and in 1901, a plow reportedly unearthed a stone slab marking his grave, though the inscription has not been published. See Hathaway, North Carolina Historical and Genealogical Register, 2: 470.
3. ↑ ^{3.0 3.1} Hathaway, James Robert Bent. The North Carolina Historical and Genealogical Register, Volume 1, p. 526, accessed 30 March 2017, amb
4. ↑ In this file:
   • Image 5 of 19, Rueben, Charley, Mary Blount Beasley, Frederick Beasley, Joseph Beasley, George, Peggy, among others, are mentioned.
   • Image 18 of 19, dated 1794, gives guardianship of Frederick Beasley, son of John Baptist Beasley, to John Beasley. "North Carolina Estate Files, 1663-1979," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:V659-927 : 30 March 2017, amb), John Baptist (Col) Beasley, 1791; citing Chowan, North Carolina, United States, State Archives, Raleigh; FHL microfilm 1,749,660
5. ↑ The North Carolina Historical and Genealogical Register, Volume 1, p. 447, accessed 30 March 2017, amb