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Genealogy of Joseph Beebe (1679 - 1756)

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Location: Fairfield, and New London, Connecticutmap
Surname/tag: Beebe
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This free space profile captures the extensive and detailed genealogy for Joseph Beebe, written by Randolph Beebe. Archived 22 July 2021. This detailed genealogy was written solely by Mr. Beebe between 28 Aug 2017 and 20 Jan 2021.

Contents

Biography

The family history of Joseph Beebe of New London, Connecticut has long remained the most mysterious of the early generations of the North American Beebes. Clarence Beebe in his 1904 Monograph of the Family of Beebe, writes that it is certain that Joseph is either the son of one of the five original Beebe brothers or perhaps one of their grandsons. He then goes on to make some guesses regarding Joseph's parents, but then basically states that he does not think his parentage guesses are correct. Furthermore, the New London Barbour record contains a self-conflicted data record regarding Joseph Beebe's marriage. The Barbour record states that both Joseph Beebe and Jonathan Beebe married Elizabeth Graves on 26 Dec 1706, but then also attributes the mother of Joseph's children to have been a woman named Mehitable. Then to further add to the confusion surrounding Joseph Beebe, Augustus Griffin, states in in his Griffin's Journal that it was Joseph Beebe who was the patriarch of the Long Island Beebe family; but this too is misinformation. Each passing generation of Beebe genealogists has made a serious effort to sort out the correct family structure for Joseph, but to this date, no one has been able to piece together the seemingly conflicting data into a cohesive and cogent picture. However in the past few years, a number of new primary and secondary information sources have been discovered and added to the repertoire of biographic information which allow the genealogist to compile a a far more complete and accurate biography for Joseph than was previously possible. The first of these document is the birth record for Joseph Beebe found in the town records of Fairfield, Connecticut, and this document unambiguously establishes that is was James Beebe, the youngest of the five Beebe brothers, who was the father of Joseph, and that Joseph was born on 11 July 1679 at Fairfield, Connecticut. ---> Joseph Beebe, son [1] of James Beebe was born[1] 11 Jul 1679 in Fairfield, Connecticut. Joseph's date of birth occurs after the death of his father James' first wife Mary Boltwood in 19 Aug 1676, but prior to James' marriage to Sarah Benedict in 19 Dec 1679. Hence, either Joseph, and his brother James also born in Fairfield on 11 July 1677, were born illegitimate or James Beebe Sr. had married yet another wife, in between Mary and Sarah, who would have died as a result of the birth of Joseph; given how frequently young women died in childbirth during this era along with the prevailing attitudes and socially enforced marriage norms, it seems most probable that James did indeed have a third, intermediate wife. However, no documentation has been found to support this assertion. Therefore, at the moment it is uncertain whom is the mother of Joseph and James. Given that Joseph was born in July of 1679 and that Sarah Benedict married his father James Beebe Sr. in December of that same year, the model used in this Wikitree profile to explain the known facts is that James and Joseph were illegitimate, and that Sarah Benedict is their mother (though the "intermediate wife" theory might be more probable). Therefore, Sarah Benedict has been assigned as the mother of both James and Joseph Beebe, however (as of Dec 2017) no documentation has been found to support this assertion and there is a good chance that it is incorrect.

It is not clear how long Joseph lived in Fairfield, Connecticut, however there is no mention of Joseph Beebe in the Joshua Hempstead New London based diary prior to 11 Aug 1728; then after 1728 date, Joseph Beebe appears in Joshua's diary numerous times until his death in 1756. Likewise, the New London Church records [2] do not have any entries for Joseph or Mehetible Beebe prior the the 1728 baptisms, and then similar to Hempstead, the New London church record has an active history of entries for Joseph Beebe from about 1728 until 1741. This would provide circumstantial support to the notion that Joseph did not move to New London until the summer of 1728 or sometime shortly before that. However, the New London Barbour Collection of town records, a primary source, tells a different story as it records the birth of the first five children of Joseph as New London events and the first of these births was for Joseph Beebe Jr. on 4 Dec 1707 [3], this is a very a strong piece of evidence indicating that Joseph and Meheteble were living in New London prior to 1707. However, some historians have noted that it was not uncommon for the birth records of children to be recorded in a city to which they removed even if it was not their birthplace; and that may be the case with the children of Joseph.

In any case prior to early 1707, Joseph marries a woman named Mehetabel, surname unknown, either in Fairfield or New London. The only record found to date (Dec 2017) with a suggestion as to the identity of this Mehetabel is the Clifford Beebe Genealogy written in 1996; this genealogy suggests Joseph's first wife was named Mehetabel White, but offers no documentation to support this assertion. The New London Barbour Collection adds much confusion to Joseph Beebe's family records as it notes a marriage of Jonathan Beebe to Elizabeth Graves on 26 Dec 1706 in the BEEBE section of the record but then records this same event as the marriage of Joseph Beebe to Elizabeth Graves on 26 Dec 1706 in the GRAVES section. Earlier Genealogists have favored Joseph as Elizabeth Graves' husband, but it does not fit at all well with the facts as recorded in the primary source record. Refer to the Research Notes at the bottom of this profile where a case is made that Elizabeth Graves actually married Jonathan, as shown in the Barbour Record, and that the first wife of Joseph was an entirely different woman by the name of Mehetabel. It is a much stronger argument and has been applied to this profile.

Joseph and Mehetable were the parents of nine children as follows: Joseph (1707- ), Jonathan (1709- ), Ephraim (1712- ), Stephen (1714- ), Mehetable (before 1728- ), Elisha (before 1728- ), David (before 1728- ), Simeon (before 1728- ), and Abigail (before 1728- ). Joshua Hempstead records that an infant son of Joseph Beebe, died [4] on 1 Dec 1729 and that Joseph's wife, not named, but presumably Mehetable, died [4] shortly thereafter on, 4 April 1730. As a side note, the New London First Congregational Church records a family baptism [2] for Abigail, David, Elisha, Jonathan, Mehetabel, Simeon, and Stephen on 20 October 1728, and Joshua Hempstead [4] also records the same event in his diary, but with a slightly different list of names: Abigail, David, Japhet, Mehetibel, Stephen, and Jonathan. Joshua's list is short Elisha and Simeon, but adds Japhet. Japhet could be an alternate name for Elisha or Simeon, or just an error, but clearly was not an additional child of Joseph per the New London church record. The official church log is clearly the more reliable document in this case, nevertheless this diary entry did have the effect of adding the name Japhet Beebe to Joseph's lineage on many Beebe family trees.

With a house full of children and no help, Joseph turns to Elizabeth (Camp) Fergo, the recently widowed wife of his deceased neighbor, Moses Fergo, and they are married [2] on 26 April 1731 in New London. Joseph and Elizabeth go on to have four additional children, Elisabeth, Patience, Mary, and Thaddeus whom were all noted as the children of Joseph and Elizabeth at their baptism at the First Congregational Church of New London on 26 Oct 1740. The mine, yours and ours household of Joseph and Elizabeth Beebe would have included 19 children without spouses or grandchildren.

Joseph Beebe was a farmer and land owner and had several land dealings with Joshua Hempstead. On 4 Dec 1756, Joshua Hempstead records in his diary that "old Joseph Beebe Dyed [4] aged 70 odd". A quick calculation based on Joseph's 1679 birth date, reveals that Joseph would have been 77 at his death.

Even though all of the children from both his first and second marriage were baptized [2] in the New London Church, and both of his wives were baptized and admitted as members of the church, there is no record that Joseph ever joined the church. In fact, in the records for the family baptism for his children; Abigail, Stephen, David, Elisha, Simeon, and Mehetabel Joseph (though demonstrably alive) is not mentioned [2], the event is recorded in association with only the name of his wife Meheteble, and this seems very odd. All other baptismal records in the Church record document baptisms using either the father's name or both father and mothers name to establish identity. This female parentage identification for a church sacrament only happened to Joseph and it was likely no accident. It is possible Joseph had something against the church, however it is more likely, though pure speculation, that this document artifact was the result of a church practice to deny certain rights to persons of illegitimate birth.

Other circumstantial evidence affirming Joseph Beebe to be the son of James Beebe: Joseph's brother James Beebe named his first son Joseph Beebe (after his brother as he was the only Joseph Beebe living in North Amercia at the time), and this son Joseph Beebe, of Danbury, Connecticut, then married Sarah Fergo , the step daughter of Joseph Beebe, his uncle, now of New London, Connecticut. Sarah Fergo was about 2 years of age when her mother Elizabeth (Camp) Fergo married Joseph Beebe and the family connection between her stepfather Joseph Beebe and his nephew (also) Joseph Beebe, who was living in Danbury, Conn. on the other side of the state is clearly the link which would have provided Sarah Fergo the opportunity to have been introduced to and ultimately married Joseph Beebe, the son of her stepfather's brother James Beebe.

End of Biography.

Genealogical Records

The following section of this profile provides detailed information found in the collected information sources. The purpose of this section is to provide the reader access to the information contained within the cited sources; to examine the genealogical record for areas of data corroboration and conflict, and to establish a hierarchy of reliability for the cited information. In addition, this section provides a platform to analyze, cross-correlate, and comment on important aspects of the cited historical data record.

Birth and Baptismal Records

  • Primary Source, Connecticut Town Birth Records, pre-1870 ( The Barbour Collection), Fairfield Co., Conn[1]: Vital records for James Beebe from the Fairfield Connecticut Barbour Collection:
  1. ) Barbour Collection - Fairfield Connecticut by Brown or Barbour Collection - Fairfield Connecticut by White at Ancestry.com Page 13: Joseph Beebee son of James Beebe was born 11 Jul 1679 in Fairfield, Connecticut.
  2. ) Also noted on this same Fairfield, CT Barbour record is the birth of his brother James Beebe (son of James) born 11 July 1677.

Vital Records

  • Primary Source, The Barbour Collection of Connecticut Town Vital Records 1646-1854, New London, Vol 29 [3] Data extract from New London CT Barbour Vital Record:
  1. ) Barbour Collection - New London; Brown. Scroll down to BEEBE: or Barbour Collection - New London; White (Ancestry.com) Page 24: Children of Joseph and Mehetable Beebe:
    1. ) Joseph Beebe, son of Joseph and Mehetable Beebe was born 4 Dec 1707 at New London, Connecticut.
    2. ) Jonathan Beebe, son of Joseph and Mehetable Beebe was born 2 Mar 1709 at New London, Connecticut.
    3. ) Ephraim Beebe, son of Joseph and Mehetable Beebe was born 5 May 1712 at New London, Connecticut.
    4. ). Stephen Beebe, son of Joseph and Mehetable Beebe was born 13 July 1714 at New London, Connecticut.
    5. ) Jonathan Beebe married Elizabeth Graves Dec 26, 1706 {Editorial this data item, linking Elizabeth Graves and Jonathan Beebe as husband and wife is recorded in the BEEBE section of the Barbour record. See Research Notes for additional comment.}
    6. ) In the GRAVES section of the Barbour record, the following can be found: Elizabeth m. Joseph Beebe Dec 26, 1706. {Editorial this data item, linking Elizabeth Graves and Joseph Beebe as husband and wife has the identical date as the marriage of Jonathan Beebe and Elizabeth Graves in the BEEBE section of the Barbour record. See Research Notes for additional comment.}

Church Records

  1. ) New London, CT Church Records; page 28, image 31 of 456: Church records for Mehetable and Joseph Beebe and family:
    1. ) Mehetable Beebe wife of Joseph Beebe was admitted to the church in New London, Connecticut in 1728.
    2. ) Jonathan son of Joseph was confirmed, made an open confession of faith, and was baptized on 20 Oct 1728
    3. ) Joseph, son of Joseph was confirmed, made an open confession of faith, and was baptized on 14 June 1741
    4. ) Elisha, Mehetabel, Stephen, David, Simeon, and Abigail children of Mehetabel Beebe were baptized 20 Oct 1728.
  2. ) New London, CT Church Records; page 27, image 30 of 456: In this same document, Joseph and Elisabeth (Fergo) Beebe have the following entries
    1. ) Joseph Beebe married Elisabeth Fergo, both of New London 26 April 1731.
    2. ) Elisabeth, wife of Joseph admitted to the church 5 July 1741.
      1. ) Elisabeth, wife of Joseph renewed baptismal covenant 26 Oct 1740; children, Patience, Mary, Elisabeth, and Thaddeus were baptized on the same day.
        1. ) Thaddeus Beebe, married Susanna Douglass, both of New London, 29 Nov 1763.

Death Records

Published Genealogical Information

  1. ) Diary of Joshua Hempstead, Page 201: 11 Aug 1728; Jos Beebes wife took into the Church. {Editorial, this is the earliest entry in Joshua Hempstead's diary for Joseph Beebe suggesting that the Joseph Beebes may not have been a residents of New London much prior to this date, especially given the flurry of activity to connect the family to the church in 1728}
  2. ) Diary of Joshua Hempstead, Page 203: 20 Oct 1728 Sund 20 fair. 9d. mr Ad. pr. al day. "Six Children of Jos, Beebees Babtizd Jonat, David, Stephen, Japhet, Abigail & Mehittabel, & one of Jame's Rogers's (Son of Capt Ja) Mary.page";
  3. ) Diary of Joshua Hempstead, Page 207: Feb 10 , 1728/9 I dd {delivered} Jos Beebe £7 10s School money.
  4. ) Diary of Joshua Hempstead, Page 215: Wednsd 3 Dec 1729. fair. I was at court al day. Jos. B. an infant died. Thursd 4 fair. I was at court al day. an Infant of Jos Beebees;
  5. ) Diary of Joshua Hempstead, Pg 219: 4 Apr 1730 "Saturd 4 fair. I was al day at Jonas Greens with Brothr Plumb &c. Joseph Beebees Wife Died yesterday or the night before, was buried ys day.." {Editorial: the close proximity of dates of the death of Joseph's infant son, shortly followed by the death of his wife suggests Meheteble died from complications of a difficult birth}
  6. ) Diary of Joshua Hempstead, Page 230: fryd Jan 1, 1730/1. I was with the Committee Settling the bounds of Benja & Joseph Beebee. Joseph Beebe & Joshua Moor 50 Acres & the farm of Mr Palme's heirs Called Tabaconomuck.
  7. ) Diary of Joshua Hempstead, Page 233: Sund 21 March 1731. Mr Adams pr al d. Jos Beebe & Eliz Fergo Publisht. {Editorial: Publisht is Joshua Hempstead lingo for a public announcement of intent to marry; this is followed by a marriage on 26 Apr 31 as recorded the New London Church records}
  8. ) Diary of Joshua Hempstead, Page 285: Thurs 13 Febry 1734/5. Clear and Cold. I was with the Comittee T P J C& R D. wee Ld out for Benjamin & Joseph Beebee three Shares an half. no money. wee Recd None. I am to pay Jos. Beebs part to the Rest far a share in Beach Cedar Swamp and Skirts. I am to pay S{ai}d B B his 10 s mor upon his giving me the deed.
  9. ) Diary of Joshua Hempstead, Page 368: Oct 26, 1740... the wife of Jos. Beebee owned ye Covt & had her 4 children Babtized Patience Mary Eliza and Thedeas.
  10. ) Diary of Joshua Hempstead, Page 378: Sund 14 Dec 1741. Mr Adams pr. all Day. ... Grown persons Baptized Jos. B. B. Junr... Thos fergo, Ann Fergo... Sarah Beebee ... persons took into the church.
  11. ) Diary of Joshua Hempstead, Page 428: fryday 13 July 1744. Joshua and adam fetched a hundred of Cheesnut railes from Joseph Beebees.
  12. ) Diary of Joshua Hempstead, Page 464: Aug 2, 1746: fair. I went with Mr. Richards & Stewart for Mr Stewart to Measure the lower End of old Benjamin Beebee's farm Joyning to Joseph Beebees & and founit 28 acres & weee judged it to be worth 170 pounds. wee dined at Mr Stewarts farm.
  13. ) Diary of Joshua Hempstead, Pg 678; 4 Dec 1756... old Joseph Beebee Dyed aged 70 odd.
  14. ) There are additional quotes on Jos Beebe particularly regarding some land dealings associated with Benjamin Beebe and the city. Extraction TBD.
  1. ) MONOGRAPH etc, Page 15: from profile (10) JOHN Beebe MONOGRAPH of the Descent of the Family of BEEBE[5]: quote, "of New London, Conn., was born probably about 1661. He gave deeds of land in New London, in 1687, 1688, and 1690. These two last deeds were to Richard Shaw, his sister Rebecca's husband. They were not put on record until June, 1696, and as no further mention of this John Beebe has been found it may be that he died unmarried early in that year. Other investigators {Editorial, meaning "I am including this information for completeness, but I don't own this information and don't really agree with it"} have concluded that he married about 1680, leaving the following children: Joseph (33)', Mary (34), Stephen (35), Jerusha (36), and another child.
  2. ) MONOGRAPH etc, Page 22: The following biography is a direct quote from page 22 of MONOGRAPH of the Descent of the Family of BEEBE[5], " JOSEPH Beebe (33), son of John Beebe, was born about 1684. He married Elizabeth Graves,{Editorial: this assertion is very questionable, see Research Notes.} December 26th. 1706. She was born April 16th. 1671. They had nine children. If he was not a son of William, he must have been a son of John Beebe (10), of whom there is nothing recorded to show that he ever had a wife or child. {Editorial: with this statement Clarence Beebe openly declares that he does not know who is the father of Joseph Beebe, and suggests that his father could be either John (10) or William (19). Since he doesn't know who is Joseph's father, he creates two profiles for Joseph; Joseph Beebe (33), son of John, and Joseph Beebe (55), son of William, as his two best guesses. Both are demonstrably incorrect, as primary source reference [1] clearly identifies James Beebe to be the father of Joseph.} A confusion exists as to his wife's name, for the New London record has it that Joseph Beebe and Elizabeth Graves were married December 26th, 1706; while the wife's name is given as Mehitable in the record of his children's birth and baptisms. The readiest explanation is that she was Mehitable Graves, and that the clerk in recording the marriage mistook the name. In support of this explanation it may be said that the name Mehitable carelessly pronounced might be misunderstood, Elizabeth. {Editorial; this is an exceedingly poor argument, as the two names do not sound alike at all.} Rebecca Graves married Jonathan Daniells December 12th, 1706. This marriage is the next one on the book before Joseph Beebe's, a circumstance that suggests the guess that the two brides were sisters. A history of the Graves Family, in preparation, 1895, confirms Elizabeth's marriage to Joseph, December 26th. 1706. The record at New London gives the children as Joseph (83), Jonathan (84), Ephraim (85), Stephen (86). David (87), Elisha (88), Simeon (89), Abigail (90), Mehitable (98)." {Commentary: of all the excellent Beebe genealogical work prepared by Clarence Beebe in [5], this profile has created the most confusion for subsequent generations of genealogists. There were two mysteries created by this biography, 1) first, Who was Joseph Beebe's father? and 2) Why was his wife called both Elizabeth and Mehetable? See note 1 the research notes for an analysis of the available information}.
  3. ) {Editorial Note: the two following entries show the data record for the second guess Clarence Beebe made regarding the parentage of Joseph Beebe, that is to say, William Beebe:}
    1. ) MONOGRAPH etc, Page 18 and 19: WILLIAM Beebe (19) was born perhaps about 1665, and died about 1750. Miss F. M. Caulkins says that he married Ruth, a daughter of Jonathan Rogers, and became a Sabbatarian at Great Neck. She was born about 1678, and was living March 22,1715. As Jonathan Rogers was born in 1655, his daughter Ruth could hardly have been marriageable before 1693. The children are placed here by conjecture, as no statement of their parentage has been found. Some of the younger children, as Lydia and Ezekiel, and less probably Mary might have been children of Nathaniel Beebe, who married Elizabeth Wheeler, July 2nd, 1697. Stephen and Mary were witnesses to a deed of William and Ruth, March 22nd, 1715. Stephen's eldest daughter was named Ruth. There is no evidence that Joseph belongs here except that there seems to be no other place for him, unless by some very improbable supposition he was the son of John 10. Their names are given in order of marriage. The two first are supposed to be by a first wife: Joseph (55), Samuel (56), Stephen (57), Mary (58), William (59), Ezekiel (60), and Lydia (61).
    2. ) MONOGRAPH etc, Page 25: JOSEPH Beebe (55), son of William Beebe (19), was born about 1686, doubtful parentage. {Editorial: meaning, Clarence is guessing at who Joseph's parents were.}
  1. ) History of Deerfield, Mass; page 371: WHITE, Henry; weaver; came here before Philip's war; {ca. 1675-6} a soldier under Capt. Turner; came back at the permanent settlement; owned No. 38 — may not have lived on it; selectman, and a prominent man; estate in Court, 1707. He married 3 Apr 1677, Martha, daughter of Richard Montague, and widow of Isaac Harrison, who had been killed with Capt. Turner; she died 3 Nov 1691, aged 47; married (second) 25 Feb 1691/2, Mary, daughter of John Alexander, and widow of Benjamin Barrett.
    1. ) Children of Henry White and Martha (Montague) White:
      1. ) Henry White; "aged 16" in 1694. {Born ~ 1678.}
      2. ) Mehitable White; born 22 Nov 1685; married Joseph Bebe.
      3. ) Susanna White; 12 May 1688; married John Fox.
      4. ) Son White; born and died 24 July 1690
      5. ) Ebenezer White; born 14 Feb 1692-3; died prior to 1714.
      6. ) Joseph White; born 14 Nov 1694; died before 1714.
      7. ) David White; born 12 Jan 1696-7; died before 1714.
      8. ) Richard White; alive 1714.

Research Notes

  1. ): There is now a definitive answer to the mystery, who was Joseph's father? The definitive answer to that question is that James Beebe [1], the youngest son of John Beebe, the Immigrant, was the father of the Joseph Beebe of this profile. Examination of the[5] biography for James Beebe clearly shows that Clarence Beebe did not find the birth record for Joseph Beebe in the Fairfield Barbour record during his research. However, the prominence of Joseph Beebe in the New London Barbour and Church records called for a placement in the Beebe family. Since Clarence didn't have a birth record for Joseph Beebe Jr., the best dating milestone comes from the birth of his oldest child of Joseph Jr., who was born in 1707 this, of course, means that Joseph would have had to have been born in 1686 or earlier and his father would have had to have been born prior to 1665. So it could have been one of the 5 original Beebe Brothers, or one of the Beebe Grandsons of John the immigrant born before 1665; John, Benjamin, Samuel Jr. or William Sr. So, even though Clarence Beebe clearly was of the opinion that assigning Joseph to be the son of John Beebe the grandson of John, "the Immigrant" was a very poor fit to the historic data record, he decided to assign Joseph, in profile (33) as the son of John Beebe anyway, then to hedge his bets he also assigned Joseph, in profile (55), as the the son of William Jr, even though he says it it doubtful. Subsequent generations of genealogists have attempted to correct the date mismatches by claiming that Joseph was the son of John Beebe, but this lineage is not a great fit to the historic record either and there is no primary source data to support his assertion. The connection of the time and place appropriate, Primary Source Barbour Fairfield CT birth record of showing Joseph Beebe, born 11 Jul 1679, to be the son of James Beebe resolves this mystery for once and for all.
    1. ): An open search for Joseph Beebe in Colonial America during the period of 1600 to 1700 reveals Joseph Beebe, son of James Beebe born 11 Jul 1679, of this profile to be the earliest and only known Joseph Beebe on the North American continent prior to 1700 verified with primary source documentation. The second Joseph Beebe, to be born in North America, and verified by primary source documentation support, was his son Joseph Beebe Jr. born 4 Dec 1707, and the third Joseph Beebe, born in 1719, was his nephew, son of his brother [Beebe-2305|James Beebe]]. These are the only three Joseph Beebes in North America, prior to 1746 who can be verified with primary documentation, all others are literary fiction.
  2. ) The second mystery; why was the mother of Joseph Beebe's children universally named as Mehetable in the birth and baptism records of his children, when there is a Primary Source data record linking Joseph Beebe to Elizabeth Graves in the GRAVES ledger of the Barbour record? There are three possible explanations for this data mismatch. The first view adopted by Clarence Beebe in [5] was that Joseph Beebe did indeed marry Elizabeth Graves and that the Church recording clerk misunderstood the name Elizabeth to be Mehetable the 6-7 times her name was recorded in the church records as the mother of Joseph's children and a member of the church. This is actually preposterous; Elizabeth sounds nothing like Mehetable, and since this was a small church community, the Church Clerk would have known Joseph's wife by name and he would have recorded the correct name of a woman he knew from the weekly (or more frequent) church meetings. Furthermore, this view ignores the marriage of Jonathan Beebe to Elizabeth Graves posted in the BEEBE ledger of the Barbour record on the same date. The second possible explanation that has been offered is that the name of Joseph's wife was actually Elizabeth Mehetable (or vice versa) and that these names were used interchangeably in the historic data record. This explanation is a bit more plausible, but lacks credibility in that there is not a single primary source record to support this position and it seems unlikely that Josephs' wife would decide to change the choice of her legal name in legal documentation between her wedding and the birth of her first child. Finally there is a third explanation that uniformly conforms to all of the known facts recorded in the primary source data record. This explanation is that Joseph Beebe did not marry Elizabeth Graves, rather he married a Mehetable of unknown surname (but with a strong possibility that it was White) prior to establishing residence in New London. This explanation fits the established facts in the Primary source record in that it is Mehetable and Mehetable alone (prior to Joseph's marriage to Elizabeth Fergo) who is identified in the church and Barbour records as the wife of Joseph and the mother of Joseph's children. The next piece of evidence supporting this explanation is that the dual-entry Barbour Collection record citing the Graves-Beebe marriage, has the marriage entered as Jonathan Beebe and Elizabeth Graves in the BEEBE entry and as Elizabeth Graves and Joseph Beebe in the GRAVES entry. This marriage event was likely recorded first under the BEEBE name and then transcribed into the GRAVES section from the BEEBE section. As the name Joseph Beebe is in the physical line directly above Jonathan Beebe in the Jonathan and Elizabeth Graves marriage entry it would have been exceedingly easy for the recording clerk to slip up one line and enter Joseph rather than the correct Jonathan when transcribing the marriage into the GRAVES section of the Vital Records. This name adjacency does not work in the opposite direction, i.e. from Graves to Beebe. Finally, Joseph did marry an Elizabeth, specifically Elizabeth Fergo in 26 April 1731 and after this marriage the name of his wife is thereafter recorded exclusively as Elizabeth for his wife and mother of his children.
  3. ) To Do list:
    1. ) Add basis for placement of Elizabeth Fergo as the wife of Joseph of this profile.
    2. ) Add and extract the Augustus Griffin reference with the erroneous claim that Joseph Beebe was the original North American Beebe immigrant. https://archive.org/stream/griffinsjournal00grifrich#page/200/mode/2up/search/Joseph+Beebee
    3. ) Add Clifford Beebe Genealogy extract
  1. ) 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 White, Lorraine, Connecticut Town Birth Records, pre-1870 ( The Barbour Collection), Fairfield Vital Records from Barbour, 1639-1850. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2006. White, Lorraine Cook, ed. The Barbour Collection of Connecticut Town Vital Records. Vol. 1-55. Baltimore, MD, USA: Genealogical Publishing Co., 1994-2002. Joseph Beebe birth record and Joseph Beebe birth in Barbour or from Fairfield Vital Records from Barbour, 1639-1850 - A-B, Transcribed by Coralynn Brown free Barbour here--scroll down to BEEBE
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 2.5 Connecticut, Church Record Abstracts, 1630-1920, Volume 079 New London [Ancestry.com. database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: 2013. Original data: Connecticut. Church Records Index. Connecticut State Library, Hartford, Connecticut. Mehetable Beebe wife of Joseph
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 The Barbour Collection of Connecticut Town Vital Records, New London 1646-1854, Vol 29, Text available:
    1. ) Print: The Barbour Collection of Connecticut Town Vital Records, New London 1646-1854, Vol 29, Compiled by Nancy E. Schott, General Editor Lorriaine Cook White, Genealogical Publishing Company, Baltimore, MD, 2000. Page 24 (In print, available at Amazon.com)
    2. ) Free Online transcription: New London, New London Co. CT, 1646 - 1854 Vital Records from Barbour, Transcribed by Coralynn Brown.
    3. ) Online at Ancestry. com: Connecticut Town Birth Records, pre-1870 (Barbour Collection) Ancestry.com online database. White, Lorraine Cook, ed. The Barbour Collection of Connecticut Town Vital Records. Vol. 1-55. Baltimore, MD, USA: Genealogical Publishing Co., 1994-2002. Page 24; Image 24 of 469.
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 4.4 Hempstead, Joshua, Diary of Joshua Hempstead of New London, Connecticut covering a period of 47 years from Sept 1711, to Nov 1758. Published by The New London County Historical Society, New London CT., Printed by the Journal of Commerce Co., Providence RI. 1901. Public Domain. Diary of Joshua Hempstead online - Title Page
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 5.3 5.4 5.5 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; Public Domain. Profile (33), page 22; and profile (55) page 25. Clarence Beebe Genealogy online -Title Page
  6. ↑ Sheldon, George; [https://archive.org/details/historyofdeerfie02shel/page/n5/mode/2up? A History of Deerfield, Massachusetts: the times when the people by whom it was settled, unsettled and resettled, Vol II; Greenfield, Massachusetts; Press of E. A. Hall & Co.; 1896.

Other Sources

  • "Connecticut, Vital Records, Prior to 1850," database, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:QPS2-9QBV : 15 April 2022), Joseph Beebee, ; citing Birth, Fairfield, Connecticut, United States, Compiled by Lucius A. and Lucius B. Barbour, housed at State Library, Hartford, Connecticut; FHL microfilm 008272220.

Web based Genealogies

The following section provides a listing of web-published genealogies pertinent to the profile subject; these genealogies are valuable in presenting an alternate perspective on family links for the profile subject. However, these genealogies may or may not be correct and are not presently cited as source material in the narrative text of this profile.


Search for Mehetable Beebe

The missing source is here: A History of Deerfield, Massachusetts: the times when the people by whom it was settled, unsettled and resettled;

This 1683 Mehetable could not be Joseph's wife . She was born 1683 in Connecticut. Almost perfect: was born, per Barbour, Mar 29 1682 in Stratford Fairfield CT, but alas died Sep 27, 1684.: Mehitable Fairchild Father: Zachariah Fairchild Mother: Hannah Beach Birth Date: 29 Mar 1683 State: CT Country: USA SAVE Cancel Source Information Edmund West, comp.. Family Data Collection - Births [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2001. Mehetible Fairchild b. 1683

this Mehetable is a promising candidate as she was born Hadley MA the childhood home of Josephs father James and appears to be related to the first wife of James; but there is some indication that she married a Mr. Clapp. Mehitable Warner Father: Isaac Warner Mother: Sarah Boltwood Birth Date: 1 Oct 1683 City: Hadley County: Hampshire State: MA Country: USA SAVE Cancel Source Information Edmund West, comp.. Family Data Collection - Births [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2001.

possible marriage--Is there a Mehetable White? Answer yes, but this looks like noise masquerading as information. There was a Mehetable Walker b 1685. she married James Walker and died in 1759 :Mehitable (Walker) White (b. 1685) married Joseph Beebe (b. 1667). Source number: 1606.000; Source type: Electronic Database; Number of Pages: 1; Submitter Code: MAB. Source Information: Yates Publishing. U.S. and International Marriage Records, 1560-1900 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2004. [http://search.ancestry.com/cgi-bin/sse.dll?_phsrc=CjB3204&_phstart=successSource&usePUBJs=true&gsfn=Mehetable&mssns=Beebe&msgdy=1700&new=1&rank=1&redir=false&gss=angs-c&pcat=BMD_MARRIAGE&h=1313776&recoff=3%2018&dbid=7836&indiv=1&ml_rpos=2 Mehetable White - Joseph Beebe marriage Yates is tertiary and unreliable, and the source of this marriage data is unknown. Clilfford Beebe on page 15 of his 1992 Beebe Geneaology shows a married of a Joseph Beebe b. 1667 to a Mehitable White b. 22 Nov 1685 daughter of Henry White and Martha Montague Harrison White of Deerfield Mass. There is a Mass birth record for this Mehetible White, Mehitable White daughter of Henry and Martha b 22 nov 1685 & {https://search.ancestry.com/cgi-bin/sse.dll?indiv=1&dbid=2495&h=5938196&tid=&pid=&usePUB=true&_phsrc=naV1498&_phstart=successSource Ancestry port] Martha Montague Harrison White (daug of Richard and Abigail) was from Hadley Massachusetts. Descendants of Richard Montague geneology book Pg 48





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