Ens. William Beamsley

Evidence needed to support as son of William Beamsley & Anne Beamsley

William Beamsley

• Born about 1607 in England
• Died 29 Sep 1658 in Boston, Suffolk, Massachusetts Bay Colony
• Parents: unknown
• Husband of Ann (Unknown) — married before 1632
• Husband of Martha Hallor, widow of Edmund Bushnell — married before 1645 in Boston, Massachusetts

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Some presume that William and Anne Beamsley arrived together in America in 1630, aboard one of the eleven vessels of the Winthrop Fleet.

https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Beamsley-2

Disputed Origins

According to Anderson/The Great Migration Begins, the origins and parents of this person are unknown.[1]

A previous version of this profile linked him, without source, to an uncertain father, William Beamsley. He has been detached.

Family

William married Ann - by 1632,[1] whether they married in England or America is unknown. They had six children, all born in Boston.[2] Ann died between Dec 1643 and early in 1645.[1] They might have been married by 1630 in England, as they are listed as husband and wife on the list of passengers of the Winthrop fleet.[4]

William Beamsley and Ann had the following children:[1][3]

1. Anne, b.13 Feb 1632/3, m.Ezekiel Woodward by 1651;
2. Grace, b.10 Sep 1635, m.Samuel Graves by 1658;
3. Mercy, b.9 Dec 1637, m1.Michael Willborne 1656, m2.Andrew Peters 1659;
4. twin, Habakuk bap.7 Feb 1640/1, d.Apr 1641;
5. twin, Samuel, bap.7 Feb 1640/1, d.Apr 1641;
6. Hannah, b.Dec 1643, m.Abraham Perkins 1661.

William married second, by 1645, Martha (Hallor) Bushnell, widow of Edward Bushnell. Martha had three children surviving from her first marriage, who were all named in the will of William Beamsley.

William Beamsley and Martha Hallor had one child:[1][3]

1. Abigail, b.8 Feb 1645/46, prob. d.bef.1658 as she was not named in her father's will.[2]

Will and Probate - 1658

William Beamsley's will (#196) dated 14th September 1658 was recorded in the probate court at Pemberton Square, Boston, Massachusetts Bay Colony on 28 Oct 1658 and named the following:[5]

"my 2nd wife full executrix and administratrix of all my houses, lands, orchards, goods and chattels whatsoever that she shall enjoy and possess the same unto her own proper use as long as she shall live provided she shall let Mercy have that chamber wherein she now lies for her own, and that there shall be with all conveniency made therein a chimney & she to enjoy it during her widowhood and I desire that my wife may take the charge and care of her and see that she wants neither meat, drink nor clothing during the time of her widowhood, and further my will is that after my wife's decease my whole estate shall be then prized and set to sale, the whole estate that is then left to be equally distributed amongst all my children, namely Anne Woodward, Grace Graves, Mercy Wilborne, Hannah Beamsley, Edward Bushnell, Elizabeth Page and Mary Robison..."[1]

An inventory of William's estate was taken 15 Oct 1658 and totalled £251 14s. 1 d., of which £164 was real estate.[1][3][7]

Notes

Admitted to the Artillery Company 1656

William Beamsley held a number of Boston town offices and was also admitted as a member of the Artillery Company of Massachusetts in 1656/7, and attained the rank of Ensign.[1] The Company was chartered by Gov. Winthrop 13 March 1638, and is the oldest chartered military organization in North America. By 1737, it became known as the "Ancient and Honorable Artillery Company".[6]

License to Distill & Retail 'Strong Waters' in 1663

Widow Martha Beamsley received approval from the court on 12 June 1663, in answer to her application for a license to distill and retail strong waters, and posted a bond "for the keeping of due order". [1] ['Ensign William Beamsley was an innkeeper and distiller' - no sources found.]

Property sold by Heirs in 1668

The heirs of William Beamsley sold his houselot in Boston on 16 Nov 1668, presumably after the death of his widow, Martha, who had been given that property for her lifetime in William's will.[1]

From Savage

From A Genealogical Dictionary of The First Settlers of New England, Before 1692, by James Savage, vol. #1, pgs. 144-155:

"BEAMSLEY, WILLIAM, Boston 1632, freem. 25 May 1636, ar. co. 1656, by w. Ann had Ann, b. 13 Feb. 1633; Grace, 10, bapt. 20 Sept. 1635; Mercy, 9, bapt. 10 Dec. 1637; Samuel, and Habakuk, tw. 24 Jan. bapt. 7 Feb. 1641, both d. Apr. foll. Hannah, bapt. 17 Dec. 1643, "a. 4 days old;" beside Elizabeth and Mary, both, perhaps, b. bef. com. from Eng. and [vol. 1, p. 148] by w. Martha, wh. had been, I presume, wid. Bushnell, had Abigail, b. 8 Feb. 1646, wh. prob. d. young. In his will, made 14 Sept. pro. 28 Oct. 1658, provis. is made for wid. and for Ann, w. of Ezekiel Woodward; Grace, w. of Samuel Graves of Ipswich; Mercy, wh. m. 17 Oct. 1656, Michael Wilborne, and next Andrew Peters, of lpswich; Hannah, w. of Bushnell, wh. after m. 16 Oct. 1661, Abraham Perkins; Elizabeth w. of Edward Page; Mary w. of Robison, wh. after m. Thomas Dennis; and for Edward Bushnell, perhaps s. of his w. by her former h. The ch. made sale of the est. in Nov. 1668, when perhaps his wid. was dec."[2]

References

• https://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=128315577=24... 1,48226::248769
• Parents: William Beamsley (1575–1658), Anne Ryley (1575–1605). Spouse & Children: Martha Hallor (1607–1658). Mercy Beamsley (1637–1726) & Hannah Beamsley (1643–1732).
• https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Beamsley-2 cites

1. Anderson, Robert Charles. The Great Migration Begins: Immigrants to New England 1620-1633, (Online database: AmericanAncestors.org, New England Historic Genealogical Society, 2010). Online access with subscription via American Ancestors or Ancestry.com, Vol. 1, pages 139-142.
2. Savage, James. "A Genealogical Dictionary of the First Settlers of New England, Showing Three Generations of Those who Came before May, 1962, on the Basis of Farmer's Register" Boston MA: Little Brown & Co., 1860. Accessed online at US GenNet. Vol. #1, pages 144-155.
3. Ferris, Mary Walton, “Dawes-Gates Ancestral Lines: A Memorial Volume Containing the American Ancestry of Rufus R. Dawes.” Accessed at HathiTrust, vol. 1, pg. 84-86.
4. , Charles Edward. "The Winthrop Fleet of 1630." Genealogical Publishing Co., Inc. Accessed online at Ancestry.com. Page 59.
5. Peters, Eleanor Bradley. Peters of New England: A Genealogy and Family History. (Madison, WI, Knickerbocker Press, 1903) Access online at Archive.org. Pages 357-60: Quotes primary sources.
6. Ancient and Honorable Artillery Company of Massachusetts at Wikipedia.org. Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License.
7. Abstracts from the Earliest Wills on Record in the County of Suffolk, Mass., The New England Historical & Genealogical Register. (New England Historic Genealogical Society, Boston, Mass., 1855). Accessed online at Google Books. Vol. 9, Page 37.

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GEDCOM Note

[Master File.ftw]

He arrived as early as 1630 in one of the eleven ships of the Winthrop fleet. He first appeared in the records of Boston in 1632. The term 'yeoman' was applied to him in deeds. Joined First Church of Boston on 02 Aug 1635. On 25 May 1636, he was made a freeman. In 1637, he was granted 16 acres at Muddy River

RESEARCHER: Name from Journal of American Genealogy.

IMMIGRATION: 1632, arriving at Boston.

CHURCH-RECORD: CHURCH MEMBERSHIP: "William Beamsley labourer" admitted to Boston church 5 April 1635 The Records of the First Church in Boston, 1630-1868, Publications of the Colonial Society of Massachusetts, Volumes 39, 40 and 41, Richard D. Pierce, ed. (Boston 1961) 20].

HONORS: Constable for Boston, 13 March 1647/8 [BTR 1:92]. Committee to lay out highways, 11 March 1649/50, 12 April 1650 [BTR 1:99, 100]. Fenceviewer, 23 February 1651/2, 26 April 1652 [BTR 1:108, 110]. Water bailey, 10 March 1655/6 [BTR 1:129]. Highway surveyor, 9 March 1656/7, 29 June 1657 [BTR 1:134, 138]. Admitted to the Artillery Company in 1656/7 [HAHAC 1:179-80], and attained the rank of ensign [SPR 3:224].

WILL: In his will, dated 14 September 1658 and proved 28 October 1658, William Beamsley made "my wife full executrix and administratrix of all my houses, lands, orchards, goods and chattels whatsoever that she shall enjoy and possess the same unto her own proper use as long as she shall live provided she shall let Mercy have that chamber wherein she now lies for her own, and that there shall be with all conveniency made therein a chimney & she to enjoy it during her widowhood and I desire that my wife may take the charge and care of her and see that she wants neither meat, drink nor clothing during the time of her widowhood, and further my will is that after my wife's decease my whole estate shall be then prized and set to sale, the whole estate that is then left to be equally distributed amongst all my children, namely Anne Woodward, Grace Graves, Mercy Wilborne, Hannah Beamsley, Edward Bushnell, Elizabeth Page and Mary Robison..." [SPR 1:336].
The inventory of "the estate of the late Ensign William Beamsly (who departed this life the 29th of September last) taken this 15th of October 1658" totalled œ251 14s. 1d., of which œ164 was real estate: house and land at Boston, œ140; and land at Muddy River, œ24; on 28 October 1658 "Martha Beamesly deposed this to be a true inventory of Wm. Beamesly her late husband's estate" [SPR 3:224].
On 16 November 1668 "Ann Woodward with Ezekiell Woodward her present husband, Grace Graves with Samuell Graves her present husband, Mercy Wilborne alias Peterson with Andrew Peterson her present husband, Hannah Beamsley alias Perkins with Abraham Perkins her present husband, Elizabeth Page with Edward Page her present husband, Mary Roberson alias Dennis with Thomas Dennis her present husband, [and] Edward Bushnell all formerly of Boston" sold to Key Alsop of Boston, merchant, for œ200 "a certain houses or houses [sic] with an orchard, yards and gardens" in Boston, and also additional ground to the east of this lot [SLR 5:519-22; also SLR 5:518-19].