Solomon Beck Sr (1772 - 1833)

Born 1 May 1772 in Stokes County, North Carolina

Ancestors

Husband of Elizabeth (Peeler) Beck — married 4 Dec 1797 (to 1 Jan 1833) in Stokes County, North Carolina

Descendants

Died 1 Jan 1833 at age 60 in Beckville, Montgomery Co, Ind

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Biography

Buried Providence Cem., Boone Co, Ind.

Occupation: Tanner/ Farmer.

Note: #N37.

Notes

Note N37.

1820 census: Wayne Co., Indiana: p. 195 Beck, Solomon: Free wh. males-three 10-15, one 16-25, one 26-44 Free wh. females-four under 10, one 26-44 Three in agriculture. No slaves.

1830 NC - no Solomon Beck. census - Montgomery Co, IN Vol11,p.73: Beck, Solomon: 1 male 5-10,2 males 20-30,1 male 50-60,1 female 5-10, 1 female 10-15, 1 female 15-20, 1 female 50-60.

North Carolina marriage bonds: Beck, Solomon and Bealer, Bethsy, 04 Dec 1797, record #090 01 015. Bondsman, Christ. Lash. Bond # 000137202.

"The Beck Heritage". (full ref under John M. Beck): Land transaction Rowan Co. 1813 Sept. p.3. This tract Rowan Co, then Stokes Co, then Forsyth Co. as counties were divided.

from same ref: Letter from Pattie E. Beck to the Indiana Becks written in 1899.:(copy via CPG) "The ancestors of the Becks of N.C. and of Ind. came from Germany but at this writing I am unable to give the date of their emigration to America. They settled in what was then known as Rowan County, N.C. The names of only two of their children are known at least by the Becks of N.C., vis William who had no children and Solomon to whom was born 14 children, vis John Anthony, William, Henry, Solomon, Jesse, Jeptha, Mary, Charity, Elizabeth, Nancy, Durham, Martha, and Eliza. "About 1806 Solomon decided to emigrate with his family to the then western wilds of Indiana, and before starting he paid his brother William a farewell visit, who lived about one mile from Old town, six miles from Salem. He then had four children, and his brother William, having none, begged for his namesake, little William, then about three years of age....love too strong...uncle promised to adopt him and make him their heir...uncle went part way on journey...renewed petition...parents gave in, thinking best for the child...Williams childhood spent happily...much honored, beloved, and respected by all....more on his life.

same ref - Land purchase Solomon Beck 1 Dec 1806 in Union Co. Indiana. (He had not moved there yet says Solomon Beck of Clermont, Ohio.) Issued in Cincinnati. In the possession of descendant of Henry, brother of Solomon. July 5, 1821, Solomon Beck served on jury in Brownsville, Union Co., Indiana. Nov. 30, 1822 - he granted land to sons Anthony and John. "In 1828, Solomon Beck took out a land patent in Walnut Twp, Montgomery Co., Indiana. On Solomon's own farm a settlement was started with the coming of Anthony, Jephtha, and H.F. Beck. A post office was established at this area and designated Beckville. The post office was discontinued in about four years but later reinstated under the name of Orth. In 1873, Beckville East of Mace had two stores, blacksmith shop, wagon shop, saw and grinding mill, and a Baptist Church. ... 1969 nothing but a few dwellings remain. From the 1880 census, Beckville is described as "This village has no plat. It is built at the crossing of two roads --hence the name of no streets. In a cemetery [Providence Cem, Sec. 12, Township 18N, Boone Co, Ind.] in a corner of a field at the edge of Boone County and Montgomery Co where the road from Mace to Advance makes a right angle turn lies Solomon Beck Sr and his wife Elizabeth, his son Durham, and other pioneers. ... still called Beckville Rd....Five miles East of Mace, Ind, on this road and 3 miles North of New Ross is the Pisgah Cemetery where many other descendants are buried." earliest court record (at Crawfordsville) this author found was Oct 1830 when S. bought land. Inventory of his estate in this photocopy. filed 14 Feb 1833. Elizabeth (her mark) and to whom they went.

Crawfordsville was (is?) part of Union TWP. 1835-269 males, 994 total pop.

b. NC 1772, settled in Union Co, IN 1813. Previous residence Ohio. -from Pioneer Ancestors of Members of the Society of Indiana Pioneers, Ruth Dorrel, p.14.

from a letter via CPG written 1932 to a Mrs. Platt: Becks lived at Old Town, 6 miles from Winston-Salem. "A little Moravian settlement, and it is my understanding that our ancestors were members of this religious organization. more about cousins.

from Crawfordsville Land Entries, 1820-1820.

Receipt#, Residence,Quarter, Sec,Twp,Range,acres,date.

06518, Union Co., SE,S12,T18,N03W,160, 16 May, 1828.

06509,Union Co, SE,S23,T17,N04W, 80, 16 May, 1828.

06508, Union Co., SW,S24,T17,N04W,80, 16 May, 1828.

Misc Becks not in this family:

George Beck:

00489, Wash.Co IN, NE,S33,T16,N05W,080,15 Mar 1822.

Jacob Beck:

07970, FountainCoIN, SW,S13,T21,N08W,080, 24 Jan 1829.

James Beck:

02055, Owen Co IN,NW,S32,T11,N02W,055.04, 5 May 1824.

Preston Beck:

05695, Lawrence Co IN,NW,S31,T17,N03W,160.50,24 Oct 1827.

05694,Lawrence,NE,S25,T16,N03W,160,24 Oct 1827.

05693, " ,SE,S26,T16,N03W,080,24 Oct 1827.

Richard Beck:

07280,Tippec Co IN,NE,S17,T23,N03W,080,22 Oct 1828.

from "Darlington Yesterday and Today - a family of Preston Beck and his wife Isabelle (Galbraith) owned the Beck Hotel in Darlington. After 1837, when they came here. Daughter Caroline first white child born in Darlington.

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from "Montgomery Co, Indiana Original Entry Land Book 1821 and later.".

Columns are:Sec.,Twp.R.,Acres,Date,Buyer,Patent(when available).

Township 18, Range 3:

NW14 NW1/4,1-18-3,42.80,6-10-1835,Solomon Beck,45334.

E12 NE1/4, 11-18-3, 80, 10-23-1833, Sol. Beck, 25/476-116519.

W12 NW14,12-18-3,80,10-23-1833,Solomon Beck, none.

SE1/4, 12-18-3, 160, 5-16-1828, Solomon Beck.

Township 17, Range 4:

E12 SE1/4, 23-17-4, 80, 5-12-1828, Solomon Beck, 114509.

W12 SW14, 24-17-4, 80, 5-12-1826, Solomon Beck, none.

also a Preston Beck:

NW14, 31-17-3, 160, 10-24-1827, Preston Beck, 139592.

1810 census, quoted in Stanley Beck's "GrassRoots USA" says that Solomon was a tanner, and could tan 80 hides a year, worth 5.00. Says Sol. lived in the Germantown District of Salem.

Family histories of Mont Co, says (p88) that that census said Sol tanned 250 hides at 5. and Henry 80 hides at .50. (in write-up by Stanley Beck.).

Same source says family tradition says Solomon went west first, followed by Henry and later Abraham. Sol. evidently purchased land in Indiana in 1806 (Brownsville area of Union Co., SW1/4 of section 36.) then went back to NC then moved to Indiana in 1813. Don't know why then moved to Western Indiana, but some evidence shows the impetus was from the next generation - Anthony, Jeptha, Henry F., and one of the Williams. This source also says Henry Fletcher was son of Henry, not Solomon.

This ref does not mention a daughter Eliza. (Elizabeth, but not Eliza).

from Montgomery County Magazine, Oct 1983, pp 9-10, reprinted from the Crawfordsville Journal of May 24, 1924. From an essay by Pearl LaFollette written for junior high contest:

"In the year 1820, the county was very wild. There had not been any clearing of the land and it was inhabited only by many tribes of Indians.

"About 100 years ago my great-great grandparents came here from North Carolina. ...Settled near a little Indian village called Sacranat, on an Indian trail ...called Cornstalk, after an old Indian chief.

"This village is a very very small place...still in existence...called Beckville....cleared the land, made a house out of barks of trees and also made their clothes. The father, Solomon Beck, died before the house was completed. The nearest white neighbor was five miles away.

"The Indians of this neighborhood were the Wea tribe, were kind to them and helped them work. They were interested in the lives of the white people and would sometimes burn holes in their blankets so that they might enjoy watching the white woman patch them.

"Following are some of the stories that have been handed down in our family:

"One day, my great-great grandmother, who was a small child then, went to see an old Indian squaw and her little papoose. When she saw the little papoose she said, 'Oh! what pretty little white hands.' This angered the old squaw, but after many apologies by my great-great grandmother, she became reconciled.

"Another time, my great-grandmother was asked by this same squaw to come and eat dinner with her. She told the squaw she would come if she would be clean. They went, but when dinner time came the squaw washed her hands and made cornbread with the water in which she had washed them....".

from Family Histories-Montgomery County, Indiana. compiled by the Genealogy Section of the Mont. Co. Hist. Society, p.36:

PISGAH CHURCH: ....organized 22nd October 1831, and those who are recorded to have participated in its organization are: Johnathan Clark, Paul Burk, Jeremiah West, Jesse Routh, Isaac Jones, Usual LaFolette, William D. Bruce, Noah Ferguson, Mary Ferguson, Solomon Beck, and Joseph Betts, Sr....The church has disappeared...one of rich influences in Mont.Co.

from Centennial History of the New Ross Community, pp15-16:

story by Martha Beck Sanford about her early life in Beckville, from news reports of Beck Reunion in 1905:

"Martha Beck Sanford, dau of Sol and Elizabeth Beck, was born near Old Town, North Carolina...1823...five years old...moved with family to near what is now Beckville, Montgomery County. They settled in an almost unbroken forest and for quite a while had no neighbors nearer than 4 miles. They lived on the Indian trail that led from Thorntown to Cornstalk Creek. The Indians frequently came to their home to trade beads, silver plates, blankets, deer skins, etc for corn meal, soap, and eatables....Little Martha's home for the first summer was a small three-sided tent made of poles and covered with bark. Before winter came, however, her parents had erected a small low log hut, with a string door latch and a stick and mud flue. The floor of the cabin was made of puncheons and its roof of clapboards. The loft was reached by means of a peg ladder stairway. She had as her neighbors the turkey, black bear, deer, wild hogs, pheasants, wolves, wild cats and rattlesnakes.

"Her bread for the first year was made of Indian meal, ground by a water mill, more than a score of miles from their home. Her parents made their own hominy in a mortar. Their turkey and venison were cooked in the broad fireplace on a spit. Later they made their bread from wheat they grew on their place, which they cut with the sickle and threshed with the flail. education was received from subscription schools, which lasted only three months of the year. In accordance with the times, her master had a very limited education. She studied the Testament, the spelling book, and wrote a little. The school house which she first attended was a low building made of logs. It had a puncheon floor, a broad board door, a fire place, nearly across the end of the room, benches, supported by round sticks, and a writing desk, made of a hewn log, which extended along the side of the room. The windows consisted of greased paper. She wrote with a goose-quill pen, made and kept in order by the master. She learned to scutch, hackle and spin flax, which she wove into towels, tablecloths, sheets, etc. immediate relatives belonged largely to the Predestination Baptist Church. Her father's house served as a Baptist tavern and people rode many miles on horseback to attend church. 1

Same source but not part of Martha's history:

"In 1829 and 1830 H.F.Beck, Anthony, William, and Jephtha Beck entered more land. Beckville was a natural consequence. The crossroads village grew and prospered as time went on. It had a gristmill, a sawmill, a store, a school, and churches nearby, and finally a post office named Orth. But with its location, it would not be able to compete when the Railroads came to Indiana.".

Montgomery County Mag, Oct 1979, pp5-8, Pauline Walters art re: Walnut Township:

"In 1825, Solomon Beck entered land where the village of Beckville was located.....sawmill, school, and church in the village ...only a few buildings there now...name changed to Orth in 1865.

FIND-A-GRAVE BIO: "Solomon Beck Sr. BIRTH 1 May 1772 Stokes County, North Carolina, USA DEATH 1 Jan 1833 (aged 60) Montgomery County, Indiana, USA BURIAL Providence Cemetery Beckville, Montgomery County, Indiana, USA MEMORIAL ID 49904796"

"Son of Johann Martin "John" Beck and Maria Catherina Gibler, both born in Germany.

Husband of Elizabeth "Bethsy" Peeler, married 4 Dec 1797 in Stokes County, North Carolina.

Father of John F, Anthony, William, Solomon Jr, Henry F, Jesse, Mary, Jeptha, Charity M, Elizabeth, Nancy B, Durham, and Martha M."

FIND-A-GRAVE (BIO): [1]

FIND-A-GRAVE (PHOTOS): [2]

FIND-A-GRAVE (SOURCE): [3]