Elizabeth (Norwood) Beale (abt. 1688 - 1753)

Born about 1688 in Anne Arundel County, Province of Maryland

Ancestors

Wife of John Beale — married 19 Aug 1708 in Anne Arundel County, Province of Maryland

Descendants

Died 7 Nov 1753 at about age 65 in Anne Arundel County, Province of Maryland

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Biography

Birth and Parents

Elizabeth Norwood, (1688-1753) was the daughter of Andrew Norwood (?-1701) of Anne Arundel County, and his wife Elizabeth Howard . ^[1]

Elizabeth Howard's brother was Andrew; her sisters were Ann; Hannah; and (first name unknown) ^[1]

Caution: Some sources have Elizabeth Norwood married instead to B-NIN-3 John Beall of Ninian. ^[2]

1708 Marriage to John Beale

On August 19, 1708 ^[3]she married John Beale ^[1]

John Beale, Gentleman ^[2]

Elizabeth Howard;s brother was Andrew; her sisters were Ann; Hannah; and (first name unknown) ^[1]

Caution: Some sources have Elizabeth Norwood married instead to B-NIN-3 John Beall of Ninian. ^[2]

The exact date of John Beale's birth is not known. Also in question is his place of birth. ^[1]

John Beale was born say 1680, but in any event before 1687, the date of Robert Lee's will. He was "of Anne Arundel County" and probably born there. ^[2]

John Beale was "of age in 1707. He was probably the only son and probably second generation.^[1]

He was the son of Thomas Beale (born before 1655) of St. Mary's County. ^[2]

Thomas Beale resided in St. Mary's City with his wife Elizabeth, his son John, and his daughter Elizabeth, so John Beale was probably the first of his family to live in Anne Arundel County. ^[1]

He resided in Annapolis and on his plantation Norwood's Beale in Anne Arundel Co... ^[1]

1734 Death of Husband

John Beale died in April of 1734, between March 5 and May 9, 1734, in Anne Arundel County ^[1]

He willed his personal property and real estate to his wife. She was also to pay off his debts, of which there were many. Much of his land, 1628 acres of land in Anne Arundel and Baltimore counties in addition to three lots in Annapolis, were sold to pay his debts. As the Accounts records show, his estate was valued around 1,558.147 pounds. His inventory lists eleven slaves as well as some silver pieces, several horses, and a few sheep. ^[1]

Wealth: 640 acres in Anne Arundel County, plus 1 lot in An-napolis; acquired an additional 1,138 acres in Anne Arundel and Baltimore counties; gave 150 acres in Anne Arundel County to son-in-law William Nicholson in 1731; at death Personal Property TEV, £1,558.14.8 (including 13 slaves and books); FB, estate overpaid £3448.11; Land, ca. 1,628 acres in Anne Arundel and Baltimore counties, plus 3 lots in Annapolis; after his death his land was sold to pay his debts ^[1]

1743 Holder of Enslaved Person in Court Case

This planter was named in a 1743 court case ^[4] as the owner of an enslaved person who was a grandchild of Mary Molloyd and Peter Unknown, and child of their daughter Mary Molloyd and her husband Peter Fisher. ^[5]

The complete narrative of the Court Case and associated persons appears at Fighting Against Enslavement -- The Children of Mary Molloyd

By the time of the suit, the children of Mary Molloyd's daughter Mary Fisher had been aqcquired as slaves by some of the more prominent families of Anne Arundel and neighboring counties, as follows:

1. Ann Fisher, born ca 1711 (aged about 32 in 1743), kept as slave by Thomas Gassaway, Baltimore Co, Gentleman
2. Robert Fisher, born, say, 1701, kept as slave by Thomas Jennings of Anne Arundel County, Gentleman
3. James Fisher, born, say, 1703, kept as slave by John Dorsey, son of Caleb Dorsey of Ann Arundel County, Gentleman
4. Richard Fisher, born, say, 1705, kept as slave by Richard Dorsey of Anne Arundel County, Gentleman
5. Mary Fisher, born, say, 1707, kept as slave by Richard Warfield Junr. of Anne Arundel County, Gentleman
6. Frances Fisher, born, say, 1709, kept as slave by Colonell Henry Ridgely of Anne Arundel County
7. Edward Fisher, born, say, 1713, kept as slave by Philip Hammond of Anne Arundel County
8. Charles Fisher, born, say, 1715, kept as slave by Elizabeth Beale of Anne Arundel County, widow.

Children

Children of John and Elizabeth

Together John and Elizabeth had three children:

1. Thomas, (1714-1717) who died while still a young child,
2. Elizabeth (1711-?) who married first in 1729 William Nicholson, a merchant, and later Richard Dorsey,
3. Ann, (1716-17-?) who married Thomas Rutland. ^[1]

Guardian

John Beale was also the guardian of three other individuals:

1. Andrew Norwood, Jr., a minor brother of Beale's wife Elizabeth, ^[1]
2. John Howard (ca 1709-1805), ^[1]
3. Vachel Denton (ca 1696-1752) who was perhaps a cousin of Beale's.^[1]

Grandchildren (children of Elizabeth Beale)

Elizabeth Beale and William Nicholson had one child. Elizabeth Beale and Richard Dorsey had five. ^[2]

1. Beale Nicholson, son of Elizabeth and William Nicholson
2. Caleb Dorsey, son of Elizabeth and Richard Dorsey
3. Eleanor born 1740
4. Eliz.
5. Mary
6. Anne

Sources

1. ↑ ^{1.00 1.01 1.02 1.03 1.04 1.05 1.06 1.07 1.08 1.09 1.10 1.11 1.12 1.13 1.14} Archives of Maryland, Biographical Series. Maryland State Archives, MSA SC 3520-56. Based on Papenfuse, Edward C., et al., A Biographical Dictionary of the Maryland Legislature, 1635-1789, Vol. I, A-H, (Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press, 1979), 121. John Beale (?-1734) Accessed July 16, 2017. jhd
2. ↑ ^{2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 2.5} Jackson H. Day Maryland Pre-1800 Beall Database. Entry for John Beale (B-ARUNDEL-12) Private Manuscript available from author. Accessed July 16, 2017
3. ↑ Barnes:11/St. Ann's Parish:378
4. ↑ 17 June 1743, pp 11-12, Court Slave Records of Anne Arundel Co. Anne Arundel County Judgment Record 1734-6, 83; 1743-4, 11
5. ↑ Brown, Thomas F., and Leah C. Sims. To Swear Him Free"-- Ethnic Memory as Social Capital in Eighteenth Century Freedom Petitions p. 81-97 iln Debra Myers & Melanie Perrault, editors, Colonial Chesapeake: New Perspectives. Lanham, Maryland: Lexington Books, 2006. Page 96 Accessed 27 February, 2015 jhd

• with family and 22 sources: https://www.familysearch.org/tree/person/details/LZJ6-MW9

• "Maryland Marriages, 1666-1970", database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:F4JP-ZJF : 16 January 2020), Elizabeth Norwood in entry for John Beale, 1708.