Colonel Ninian Beall - Time to prune Col. Ninian Bealls family

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Was Ninian Married first to Elizabeth Gordon in Scotland?

Assuming the birth year estimate of 1625, Ninian Beall would have been 21 in 1646. The earliest estimate of his arrival in Maryland is 1652. This gives a period of roughly 6 years in which he could have married and had a family in Scotland. But did he?

Alice Norris Parran[41]) states that Ninian Beall married first in Scotland, wife's name unknown, and of Ninian's children, four (Thomas, John, Sarah, and James) were born in Scotland.

Elizabeth Heterick,[42] an otherwise reliable and detailed scholar, cites a Waters family book containing original papers by Edith Waters Beatty naming Ninian's Scottish wife as Elizabeth Gordon and claiming Thomas was born before coming to the colonies. Heterick cites Thomas's will: Whereas it doth please God by his Providence to cause me to leave the place and land of my nativity and intending God willing to leave for England" as evidence; however a more logical reading is that the place of nativity is Maryland, which he was leaving on the trip to England.

Another writer, J. Ninian Beall,[43] asserted, however, that two of the above children, Thomas and John, were born of the immigrant Ninian's marriage in Calvert County.

Nettie Leitch Major[2] stated, "It has been reported that he had married prior to coming to America to Elizabeth Gordon, but this has not been proved."

No actual documentation has been found to support Ninian's marriage in Scotland, in 1646 or at any other time, to a woman named Elizabeth Gordon or to any other woman while in Scotland.

In addition there is no documentation of any of the supposed children of Ninian and Elizabeth either having a continuing life in Scotland or immigrating to Virginia or Maryland.

Fielder M. M. Beall said, "Fiction writers have made the following two statements: That Ninian Beall married Elizabeth Gordon in Scotland, where she had two sons, John and Thomas; she died in Scotland. That Ninian Beall had two daughters in Maryland named Sarah and Margery. These two inventions are of their imagination, as they offer no proof of accuracy."[13]

Nevertheless, reports of an Elizabeth Gordon continue to surface. A page posted to Ancestry.com from Ancestor Lineages of Members Texas Society/ National Society Colonial Dames Seventeenth Century reports that Beall, Ninina Col/Capt, b. 1625...married 1 before 1647, Scotland, Elizabeth Gordon, d. 1648, Scotland; m 2. ca 1667, MD, Ruth Moore, b. 1652, St. Mary's Co, MD, d. 1707, Prince George's Co, MD." The entry further identifies the one son of Elizabeth and Ninian as John, Sr, b. ca 1647, died England. [44] Regrettably, the only sourcing provided in this material is membership applications to the society.

Was Ninian the son of James Beall and Ann Marie Calvert?

Popular genealogies often suggest that Ninian was the son of James Beall, who was supposedly born in Scotland 1603 and died in Scotland 1646. No basis has been found for this connection and Ninian has been delinked from this father.

Find A Grave has asserted, without sources, that Ninian was the son of James Beall. (1603 – 1646) and Anne Marie Calvert (1603 – ____)"[39] No documented facts have been found to confirm Ninian as the son of Anne Marie Calvert. No facts confirm Ninian as the sibling of any other children of James Beall and Anne Marie Calvert, if they existed. Mackenzie's book circulates such reports, but without sources: "Col. Ninian Beall had three brothers who settled in the Province of Maryland; namely, Thomas, John and George. Their descendants are numerous." [5]

Was Ninian Born at Largo in Fifeshire?

Mackenzie gives the year of birth as 1625 and the place as Largo, Fifeshire, Scotland.[5]

No facts can be proved about Ninian Beall's place or date of birth or his parental family. Ninian Beall is said, by an internet source using LDS ancestral files, to have been born at or near Largo, Ligensheim Fyffe (Fifeshire), Scotland, possibly the son of James Beall, Ph.D., born about 1600. No primary source documentation has been found for any of this. No other reliable facts — parents, siblings, spouses, places, or dates — are available about Ninian Beall's origins in Scotland.

The names given to Ninian's property in Maryland strongly suggest a fondness for places in Fifeshire and Stirlingshire, which suggests these as possible places of origin.

Noted genealogist Roberta Hull writes, "It has been assumed that he was born in 1625 to Dr. James Bell in Fifeshire, Scotland, but apparently no one has been able to find any proof." [40]

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So disconnecting Dr. James Beall & Anne Marie Beall as parents & Elizabeth Beall as wife.

Dan Cornett how do we feel about continuing to show Richard Moore, Barrister, of St. Mary’s & Jane Godson as parents of Ruth Beall

As I read it, it’s unproven but not ruled out.

From https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Unknown-345541
Name and Parents

We know that Ninian Beall married a woman named Ruth. No credible documentation has been found regarding her birth place or parents. (See Research Notes.)

Please do not add information to this profile from sources such as ancestry.com, geni.com, or other sources which do not provide credible documentation. These are not considered appropriate sources for pre-1700 profiles.

1650 Birth and Parentage

Ruth is known only as the wife of Ninian Beall. No details have yet become available regarding her birth year, her birth name, or her parents.

Based on a statement of Ninian's in 1669 that he is now a married man, if she were aged 17 at the time her birth year would be 1652.

1669 Marriage to Ruth Unknown

Ninian Beall's land transaction on 20 Sep 1668 must have been one of his last as a bachelor, for in 1669 he stated, "I am a married man." [1]

His known wife was named Ruth. [2]

1706 Land Sale

Did Ninian Beall have Additional Children?

https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Beall-75#Did_Ninian_Beall_have_Additi...

Numerous children have been assigned to Ninian Beall in error or attributed to an earlier marriage. All of these profiles, most of which were once linked to Ninian as his child, have now been de-linked and, where possible, assigned to their correct family.

1. Mary. While Ninian had a real daughter Mary, popular genealogies confuse various Mary's with her -- Mary Waylett, born 1635; Mary Bell born 1640; Mary Mills who married John Pottenger, and Mary Mullikins. Another Mary Beall-364, was born in Largo in 1646, and died in Prince George's County 1720, without spouse or children. See The Mystery of Sarah Magruder and Mary Pottenger.
2. Jane or Margaret: Jane Margaret Beall, born Scotland 1647 and said to have married Joseph Isaac and died Calvert County 1696. Previously shown on WikiTree as child of Ninian Beall and Elizabeth Gordon.
3. Alexander. Alexander Beall was shown as a son of Ninian, born in Maryland 1649 and died in Largo, Prince George's County. Alexander Beall is an immigrant in his own right; he may be a kinsman of Ninian, but is not his son.
4. Sarah married Samuel Magruder. The best evidence now is that she was born Mills. Thorough discussion at The Mystery of Sarah Magruder and Mary Pottenger.
5. Margery Beall said to have been born in Montgomery County in 1685 and died in Anne Arundel County 6/26/1765. Also said to have married Joseph Belt. Margery Beall is likely a conflation of Joseph Belt's two real wives, Hester Beall and Margery Wight.
6. Robert Beall, b. 1713, unknown, d. 1788, Montgomery Co. no spouse, no children.
7. Rachel Beall, b. Prince George's County 1679, d. abt 1740. Do not confuse with a different Rachel who married in Dorchester 4 Apr 1698 Richard Owen, then one other husband. Some genealogies, without verification, give Ninian Beall a daughter Rachel, born 1662, who in 1698 in Dorchester County married Richard Owings.
8. Tabitha Beall, b. c. 1673 is also said by some to be a daughter of Ninian.

Disambiguation

Two or more Rachels are often confused but should not be! See also Research Notes below.

https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Beall-1623

• Rachel ferch Robert, born Wales 1662, married Richard Owings in Wales, around 1683. Immigrated with Owings first to Pennsylvania then to Anne Arundel County, Maryland, then to Baltimore County, Maryland.
• Rachel Beall, daughter of Ninian Beall, born Calvert County, Maryland, say, 1679. Rachel Beall was still single in 1706; may not have ever married anyone.
• A Rachel Beale married a Richard Owings on 4 April 1698 in Dorchester County, Maryland. [1] This does not appear to be Rachel Beall, daughter of Ninian, who was still single in 1706, and it does not appear to be Richard Owings, husband of Rachel Roberts, who was already married long before this.
• Rachel Beall whose name at birth is really unknown, married James Offutt by about 1725. Her year of birth has been estimated variously anywhere between 1693 and 1704. Rachel was dead by about 1742 when Offutt married his second wife

Not a a known child of Colonel Ninian Beall

Alexander Beall, Jr.

Margery Beall

Robert Beall

Sarah Magruder

William Beall

James Beall

Thanks, Billie June.

“ The first British settler west of Rock Creek and the owner in 1710 of much of the future park was Ninian Beall, a Scottish prisoner of war who was sent to Barbados as an indentured servant but rose to become one of Maryland’s wealthiest planters and most prominent politicians. ”

Good find!

Diana Collins - that’s a “claimed historic profile.” I’ll report to Geni.