John Beesley of Rutherford TN vs John Beasley of Darlington SC

Date: [unknown] [unknown]
Location: [unknown]
Surname/tag: Beasley Beesley

There are literally hundreds of Family Trees on Ancestry.com that identify John Beasley ~1755 of Darlington County SC as the son of Solomon Beesley 1707 Craven County NC. The evidence shows that this is not the case. Solomon's son John Beesley also born ~1755 moved with family and friends to Rutherford County TN. The father of John Beasley of Darlington is not known at this time but is likely the nephew of Solomon. What follows is a research paper from 2016, explaining the matter.

A Case for the Identity of Two John Beasley’s from the YDNA Haplotype Known as “BLUE CLAN” – Doug Beezley, Beasley Project Administrator, Dec 2016

Since 2008, the Beasley DNA Project at Family Tree DNA has grown considerably thanks to the contributions of Mark Beasley of Edgewood, New Mexico. Two large haplotype clusters have emerged including one known as “BLUE CLAN” presently consisting of YDNA tests from 24 Beasley men of varied spellings. Among these BLUE CLAN participants, one of the earliest confirmed Beasley Patriarchs was John Beasley born about 1685, possibly in Maryland but not likely in North Carolina, (hereinafter referred to as “John Beasley 1685” or “John 1685”) who later settled his family in parts of North Carolina now known as Craven County, including a place then referred to as “Beasley Island”. Seven of the YDNA tested men can be directly connected to this John Beasley. This family and others of the same Haplotype spread prolifically through the southern states. As is the case with many successful 18th century colonial families with many children there are names, dates and places that lead to confusion in present day genealogical studies. Among these are the subjects of this paper, the case of two John Beasley’s. These two men are often poorly distinguished or roughly combined in various public family trees that have been copied without sourcing. They were born about the same time, but settled in different colonies; one in Tennessee, the other in South Carolina. Both have been claimed to be sons of Solomon Beasley, born in Maryland about 1707 (hereinafter referred to as “Solomon Beasley 1707” or “Solomon 1707”), son of John Beasley 1685.

Both subjects of this paper are said to have been born 23 Feb 1755 without documentation and perhaps contrary to other evidence. What is certain is that one of them died in Rutherford County, TN and the other died in Darlington County, SC. The one of Tennessee commonly used the Beesley spelling as did many of his descendants. The one of South Carolina commonly used the spelling Beasley as did his descendants. Therefore, I will hereinafter refer to them as “John Beesley TN”, and “John Beasley SC”. It is my conclusion that John Beesley TN was the actual son of Solomon 1707. I will present evidence to support that conclusion. My work here relies heavily on the research of John Beatty, Board Certified Genealogist at Fort Wayne IN in his privately published preliminary study titled “Some Beasley Families of the Colonial South” 2014^[1]. I will occasionally quote him directly but, where applicable, identify his original sources.

JOHN BEESLEY TN: Born perhaps in the early 1750’s and died in Rutherford County, TN after 1806 (latest land record identified^[2]) and possibly as late as 1819. He married Ann (McCoy?). While no will or gravestone has been identified, there is a family Bible left by his son Solomon Beesley with detailed records of births and deaths. Solomon was born in Craven County 15 Jun 1777, married Cassandra Acklin 12 Apr 1799^[3]. For the purposes of this paper, Solomon is the only identified son of John Beesley TN.

JOHN BEASLEY SC: Born likely before 1750 but not likely 1755 because in 1773 he received a royal grant for 100 acres in South Carolina^[4], and would likely have been of majority age. He died, testate in Darlington County SC before 23 Feb 1808 when his will was probated^[5]. He married Margaret “Peggy” (Smith?). There were three sons identified in his will: Daniel (receiving property), Reuben (co-executor and witness) and Abraham (witness)^[6]. Additional children identified elsewhere, William (deeded land)^[7], Charles (nearby land owner)^[8], Margaret and Rachel (mentioned in a church history)^[9]. Identifying John son of Solomon 1707 son of John 1685. To draw the connection, we consider what we know about John 1685 and Solomon 1707. Quoting Beatty: - 2 - “The earliest record of John Beasley can be found in Baltimore County, Maryland, on 7 November 1719, when, as John “Beasly,” he witnessed with Edward Edwards a deed between Abraham Taylor and John Taylor for the sale of 100 acres.^[10] He does not appear in the deeds in his own right or as a witness to other documents. However, the deed links John to Abraham Taylor, whose family also became established in Craven County, North Carolina, and whose daughter married John’s son, Solomon.”^[11]

An early record of John 1685 is in 1733 when his name appears with sons Solomon and Oxford on a petition to the North Carolina Executive Council.^[12] He appeared in several other records and land grants. “Then on 20 April 1745, he was granted a patent for 200 more acres, also on the north side of the Neuse River, a tract that became known as ‘Beesley’s Island’”.^[13]

Solomon 1707 who married Rachel Taylor, daughter of Abraham Taylor (above) is well established in historical records. He was likely born in Maryland. His will was probated March 1791.^[14] Rachel did not appear in the will so she likely predeceased him. Due to the large number of children, he likely remarried but a second wife has not appeared in the record or in the will. If so, then a second wife also predeceased Solomon. Solomon 1707 wrote his will on 13 Nov 1789, appeared in the 1790 census along with his son John^[15] and the will was verified in Craven County court in March 1791, establishing the approximate date of death.

In the will, his children are mentioned in two groups suggesting the existence of two maternal families and possible birth order. The first group includes Abraham, Solomon Jr, Violator, Ann, Martha and Mary. The second group includes John, William, Elizabeth, Benjamin, James, and Samuel. John, likely the eldest of the second group, represents the subject of this paper.^[16]

An important factor identifying Solomon 1707 and his children is their land ownership at Core Creek. His earliest land grant was for 500 acres from Gov. Gabriel Johnston on both sides of Core Creek on the south side of the Neuse River in Craven County on 14 Feb 1739.^[17] Additional land transactions, buying and selling on Core Creek, are found through the years as late as 1783 when he sold to John Beasley, presumably his son, though not specified in the deed, a tract of 140 acres on the north side of Core Creek, witnessed by Richard Nixson and William Beasley.^[18]

Of interest, is the land transactions on Core Creek and Neuse River involving Solomon’s son John. On 30 Dec 1782, John witnessed a deed between his cousin Elisha Beesley and his father Solomon. This land was adjoining land owned by Charles Acklin. Charles was the father of Cassandra Acklin who married Solomon Beesley (b 1777), son of John Beesley TN.^[19] The marriage took place in Craven County on 12 Apr 1799. Solomon 1777 and Cassandra later moved to Rutherford County TN.^[20]

Also, connecting the John Beesley, son of Solomon 1707, and the Acklins: “In December 1786, the Craven County court named John as guardian for Christopher, Elizabeth, and Casander (Cassandra) ‘Aclen,’ orphans of Charles Aclen with Solomon Beesley posting a guardian bond.”^[21]

Finally, making the direct connection between Craven County NC and Rutherford County TN: “On 19 October 1803, described as ‘John Beasley of Craven County, North Carolina’, he purchased from Thomas Armstrong 1,200 acres on Stones River in Davidson County, Tennessee… recorded in Rutherford County, Tennessee.^[22] From that point forward, land transactions involving John Beesley and son Solomon are recorded in Tennessee.

Thus, we have evidence linking Solomon 1707 and his son John and their neighbors the Acklins, close enough to serve as guardian for Charles Acklin’s orphan children, including daughter Cassandra who married John’s son Solomon in Craven County and became established in Rutherford County TN. John who bought land in Tennessee is specifically identified as “John Beasley of Craven County, North Carolina. As Solomon 1707 is clearly a revered patriarch in the family, his name is carried on by his son, Solomon Jr, and two grandsons, Solomon 1777, son of John, and Solomon 1772, son of Abraham. In 1791, at the time of the death of Solomon 1707, his son John was still living in Craven County and served as administrator of his father’s estate.

In contrast, I turn to John Beasley of South Carolina. There is no direct evidence linking him with Craven County, North Carolina. Quoting from Beatty:

“This John resided in Cheraw District in what would become Darlington County South Carolina before 19 March 1773 when he received a royal grant for 100 acres on ‘Gumply Gully’ south of Sparrow Branch and the waters of Lynches Creek.^[23] (This grant was later referenced on 7 March 1812, when Abraham Beasley, John’s son, sold 80 acres of the grant to his brother, John Beasley Jr., and referenced the land as being part of the grant to John Beasley Sr in 1773 on Jumping Gulley)^[24].”

This places John Beasley in South Carolina well before the recorded activities of John, son of Solomon, in Craven County. This would make him unlikely to be the man who served as guardian for the Acklin orphans, unlikely to be the man whose name appeared on Craven County land records through the 1770’s and 1780’s, unlikely to be the man who was administrator of the will of Solomon 1707 and unlikely to be the “John Beasley of Craven County, North Carolina” who bought land in Tennessee. There are no indications that the name Solomon appeared among the descendants of John Beasley SC.

The argument in favor of John SC being the son of Solomon comes in an email from Mark Beasley including attachments dated 16 Dec 2016 (See endnote 27) points to recent study of atDNA among descendants of Austin Beasley and John Beasley SC and a document stating that the father of John Beesley TN was James. This view is elaborated in the text of the email that this James Beasley refers to the son of Oxford, brother of Solomon 1707.^[25]

As for the atDNA evidence, I would suggest that it does not assist the discussion of which John Beasley/Beesley was the son of Solomon 1707. Given that all men shown to be of the BLUE CLAN Haplotype have a common ancestor, autosomal DNA could come from any BLUE CLAN Patriarch. The remarkable finding is that while Austin Beasley, associated with the Craven County Beasley’s, is of a different Haplotype, his descendants to have a broader genetic connection through atDNA. This suggests that Austin may have a maternal connection to the Beasley families of Craven County.

The documents attached to the email appear to be typewritten notes covered by a handwritten letter by an undetermined author from Smithville Tennessee written in 1994.^[26] Aside from referencing the information from the “Elizabeth Moore Papers” found in the East Carolina Manuscript Collection at J. Y. Joyner Library, East Carolina University, Greenville, N.C., there are no original sources noted. With one exception, all the material appears to be referring to John Beesley family of Rutherford County TN and appears to be making use of the Bible Records of Solomon Beesley son of John Beesley of Rutherford County TN.

At the top of page one of the attached documents, after referencing John Beesley who married Anne McCoy, moving from Craven County NC to Rutherford County TN along with his son Solomon married to Cassandra Acklin, there is the following statement: “John Beesley (above) was the son of James Beesley of New Bern, Craven County, whose will mentions all of his then living children and the land which John received from his father in Tennessee.”

There is no source for who, exactly, this James Beesley was nor where the will can be found.27 This original source information would be essential to be considered the weight of evidence connecting John Beesley of Rutherford County with Craven County, with Solomon and with the Acklin family. The contrary evidence to establish John Beasley of Darlington County SC as being connected to Craven County NC leaves no credible option for the identity of John, son of Solomon 1707.

Sources

1. ↑ John D. Beatty, CG, Some Beasley Families of the Colonial South – A Preliminary Study of Certain Families with the Surname of Beasley-Beazley-Beezley-Beesley in Virginia, Maryland, and North Carolina, from the Seventeenth and Eighteenth Centuries. http://www.beasleygenealogy.net/documents/SomeBeasleyFamilies-ColonialSouth_JohnBeatty_Final_Oct2015.pdf
2. ↑ Rutherford County, Tennessee, Deed Book A: 364-365, in Helen C. Marsh and Timothy R. Marsh, Land Deed Genealogy of Rutherford County, Tennessee (Greenville, SC: Southern Historical Press, 2001), 1: 98.
3. ↑ Sharyn Guthrie, Craven County Marriage Bonds (Morehead City, North Carolina: Sharyn Guthrie, 1990), 20. See also Jeannette Tillotson Acklin, Tennessee Records: Bible Records and Marriage Bonds (1933; Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing Co., 1967), 358.
4. ↑ Brent H. Holcomb, South Carolina’s Royal Grants, Volume Four: Grant Books 25 through 31, 1772-1775 (Columbia, South Carolina: Brent H. Holcomb, 2009), 203, citing Grant Book 28: 479
5. ↑ John Beasle [sic] will (1808), Darlington County, South Carolina, Will Book 2: 680.
6. ↑ Ibid
7. ↑ Darlington County, South Carolina, Deed Book B: 250; abstracted in “Darlington County, South Carolina, Grantor Index to Conveyance Books, 1806-1899, A-O,” South Carolina State Archives, roll 8.
8. ↑ Darlington County, South Carolina, Deed Book E: 98; G: 237; abstracted in “Darlington County, South Carolina, Grantor Index to Conveyance Books, 1806-1899, A-O,” South Carolina State Archives, roll 8.
9. ↑ John Lennell Andrews Jr., History of Wesley Chapel United Methodist Church, Lydia, South Carolinas, 1789-1989 (Spartanburg, South Carolina: Reprint Company, 1992), 18.
10. ↑ John Davis, Baltimore County, Maryland Deed Records, Volume One: 1659-1737 (Bowie, Maryland: Heritage Books, 1996), 319.
11. ↑ John D. Beatty, CG, Some Beasley Families: 68, Abraham Taylor will (1751), Craven County, North Carolina, Will Book 5: 262.
12. ↑ http://files.usgwarchives.net/nc/craven/court/alter01.txt: accessed 2 July 2014. See also Robert J. Cain, ed., Records of the Executive Council, 1664-1734 [Colonial Records of North Carolina, Second Series, Volume VII] (Raleigh, NC: Department of Cultural Resources, 1984), 303.
13. ↑ John D. Beatty, CG, Some Beasley Families: 69, Haun, Craven County, North Carolina Deed Abstracts, Deed Book I, Deed Book 5, 1707-1775, Book I, XXX
14. ↑ Solomon Beesley will (1789), Craven County, North Carolina, Will Book A: 240.
15. ↑ 1790 U. S. Census, Craven County, North Carolina, page 432, column 2, line 45, Solomon Beazley; National Archives microfilm publication M637, roll 7.
16. ↑ John D. Beatty CG, Some Beasley Families: 81-83.
17. ↑ Haun, Craven County, North Carolina Deed Abstracts, Deed Book I, Deed Book 5, 1707-1775, Book I, 57, #387, citing Deed Book 1: 352.
18. ↑ A. B. Pruitt, Abstracts of Deeds, Craven Co., NC, Books 25, 26, 27 & 28 (No place: A. B. Pruitt, 2009), 2, citing Deed Book 25: 20.
19. ↑ Pruitt, Craven County, NC Deed Books 20-24, 110, citing Deed Book 24: 309.
20. ↑ Sharyn Guthrie, Craven County Marriage Bonds (Morehead City, North Carolina: Sharyn Guthrie, 1990), 20. See also Jeannette Tillotson Acklin, Tennessee Records: Bible Records and Marriage Bonds (1933; Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing Co., 1967), 358.
21. ↑ John D. Beatty, CG, Some Beasley Families: 82, Weynette Parks Haun, Craven County, North Carolina Court Minutes, 1779-1786, Book VII (Durham, NC: Weynette Parks Haun, 2004), 142, citing Craven County Court Minute Book 1779-1786, 656 [folio 29].
22. ↑ John D. Beatty, CG, Some Beasley Families: 82, Rutherford County, Tennessee, Deed Book A: 23, in Helen C. Marsh and Timothy R. Marsh, Land Deed Genealogy of Rutherford County, Tennessee (Greenville, SC: Southern Historical Press, 2001), 1: 5.
23. ↑ Brent H. Holcomb, South Carolina’s Royal Grants, Volume Four: Grant Books 25 through 31, 1772-1775 (Columbia, South Carolina: Brent H. Holcomb, 2009), 203, citing Grant Book 28: 479.
24. ↑ Darlington County, South Carolina, Deed Book CD: 194-195; abstracted in “Darlington County, South Carolina, Grantor Index to Conveyance Books, 1806-1899, A-O,” South Carolina State Archives, roll 8.
25. ↑ Mark A. Beasley email 16 Dec 2016: This John Beasley went from Craven County, NC to Rutherford, TN after 1804 and this John being the son of James Beasley of New Bern, NC per Hathoway book 3 in the Elizabeth Moore Papers in the East Carolina Manuscript Collection, J.Y. Joyner Library, East Carolina University, Greenville, NC.”
26. ↑ Collected email attachments from Mark A Beasley, 16 Dec 2016. Available here: https://1drv.ms/f/s!AqrESx5rTBC7kNp7UWYTnmOXgw_MHg