Robert Beverley

author of "The History of Virginia: In Four Parts"

Birth: 1673 Death: 1722

LDs record

Family links:

Parents:

 Robert Beverely (1641 - 1687)

Spouse:

 Ursula Byrd (1681 - 1698)

Burial: Jamestown Church Cemetery Jamestown James City County Virginia, USA Plot: Possibly Buried here?

Created by: P Fazzini Record added: Oct 25, 2011 Find A Grave Memorial# 79274063

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Robert Beverley, Jr. (1673 – April 21, 1722) was an important historian of early colonial Virginia. He was born in Virginia and died in King and Queen County, Virginia. He was also a substantial planter of the time as well as an official in the colonial government. He was a son of Major Robert Beverley, Sr. and Mary Keeble. His wife was Ursula Byrd, daughter of William Byrd I.

Robert Beverley, second son of Maj. Robert and Mary Beverley, was born in Middlesex County, Va. His father had emigrated from Yorkshire, England, about 1663 and had become a leading tobacco planter, attorney, and militia officer. Young Robert, schooled in England, inherited his father's plantation and 6,000 acres from two half brothers. He began public life as a scrivener for the secretary of state while studying law and Virginia politics. In 1697 he married Ursula Byrd, the 16-year-old daughter of William Byrd. She died in child-birth the next year, leaving an only son, William. Beverley never remarried.

Beverley held important posts as clerk for king and Queen County and clerk of the House of Burgesses. In 1699, 1700-1702, and 1705-1706 he represented Jamestown in the House. His unrelenting quest for land led to a lawsuit, necessitating a voyage to England in 1703, where he unsuccessfully appealed his case. Writing caustic letters home, he attacked Virginia's ruling clique as his father had done before him. He accused Governor Francis Nicholson and the surveyor of customs of scheming against the colony's liberties. Beverley's quarrelsomeness, despite his concern for Virginia's welfare, cost him his clerkship of King and Queen County. With his political position undermined, he was rarely active again in public life and after 1715 retired to his plantation, Beverley Park. Though he continued to acquire land, he remained unpretentious, leading a quiet life devoted to reading and studying nature.

While in London, Beverley had read John Oldmixon's history of British North America in manuscript. Appalled by its errors, he wrote The History and Present State of Virginia (1705), which appeared in print 3 years ahead of Oldmixon's account. In the original edition (which was also translated into French) Beverley combined shrewd insights into the Virginia of his day, sharp comments about the colony's leaders, and vivid descriptions of the natural world, all written with an engaging enthusiasm for his native land. Though a section on Virginia's early history is cursory and at times inaccurate, the book as a whole remains important. Beverley drew on John Smith's General History of Virginia but sketched the colony's development to 1704, incorporating valuable observations of his own. The author's descriptive powers are best revealed in the section on the culture of Native Americans in Virginia. This sympathetic account presents the Native Americans "in their simple State of Nature, and in their enjoyment of Plenty, without the Curse of Labour," an existence which Beverley himself appeared to envy.

In his last years Beverley revised but did not improve his volume, eliminating controversial comments but sacrificing the original verve. The new edition was published in 1722, the same year his compilation of the local laws, entitled An Abridgement of the Public Laws of Virginia …, appeared. Beverley probably did not see either edition in print, as he died on April 21, 1722 _____________________________

Beverley's History and Present State of Virginia, published originally in London in 1705, is considered by many to be the most important and accurate history of early life in the Virginia colony.

Beverley took part in Lt. Governor Alexander Spotswood's 1716 "Knights of the Golden Horseshoe Expedition" to the Shenandoah Valley. Journalist John Fontaine records that on the return trip, both Beverley and his horse fell, and rolled to the bottom of a hill, but without serious injury to either. However, when Beverley published a revised edition of his History in 1722, he continued it only to 1710, so there is no known account by Beverley of this event.[1]

Concerning slavery, in the 1722 re-edition, Beverley says that whilst both black males and females were likely to work in fields, white women were not.[2]

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ROBERT BEVERLEY, JR., Historian, of "Beverley Park", the eldest son of Maj. Robert Beverley, was a "Knight of the Golden Horseshoe" which was an expedition mounted under Gov. Spottswood. This expedition was the first white men to see the Shenandoah Valley. There is a monument with their names on it at Swift Run Gap. (RE: letter from Stu Vogt of Westfield, MA.)

Until about 1970's, the Beverley ancestors still resided at the ancestral estate "Blandfield" in Essex County. However, they had to sell it to pay the taxes.

ROBERT married URSULA BYRD, the daughter of Col. William Byrd of Westover. Their son William married Elizabeth Bland. ( It is their daughter SUSANNA BEVERLEY who married BENJAMIN WINSLOW, SR., and are 5th great grandparents to Barbara Ballard of this record.)

He wrote "History of Virginia" and it was published in London in 1705, and a second edition in 1722. Robert Beverley Jr, known as historian of Virginia was the second son of Maj. Robert Beverley and his wife Mary (Keeble) Beverley, He was born on his fathers plantation in Middlesex Co., went to England for his education and was there at the time of father's death.

Quoting from Vol II. Tappahannock, Virginia, May 1977 article on Major Robert Beverley and His Three Sons: Peter, Robert and Harry, by Charles W. H. Warner: "Upon returning to Virginia, he enrolled himself as a volunteer scrivener in the office of the Secretary of the Colony. Soon he became clerk of a legislative committee. By 1696, he had achieved the important posts of Clerk of the General Court, Clerk of the Council and Clerk of the General Assembly. As a freeholder of Jamestown he served in the House of Burgesses, in the Assemblies of 1699, 1700-2 and 1705-06.

"He inherited the "Poropotank" plantation in Gloucester Co. and "Beverley Park" in King and Queen Co. He served also as Clerk of this County. Robert Beverley, Jr. owned considerable other property.

"In June of 1703, Robert Beverley went to England to protect his interest in a litigation there pending before the Privy Council, and was detained for eighteen months in this matter. He was invited by a bookseller to criticize the manuscript of Oldmixon's British Empire in America. Stimulated by his litigation and resenting Oldmixon's account of Virginia in his book, he wrote his own book--History of Present State of Virginia. This was published in London in 1705, bearing in the front the Arms of Virginia and "by R. B. gent." The book was divided into four sections: The History of the First Settlement of Virginia and the Government thereof, to the present time; The Natural Productions and Conveniences of the country, suited to Trade and Improvement; The Native Indians, their Religion, Laws and Customs in War and Peace; The present State of the Country as to the Polity of the Government and the Improvements of the Land."

Robert Beverley, Jr. is the ancestor of all the "Blandfield" Beverleys, the Wellfords of "Sabine Hall" and of "Kendale," in Essex County. The mother of Senator Harry Flood Byrd, Jr. was of the "Blandfield" Beverley family.

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Robert Beverley, also known as Robert Beverley Jr. or Robert Beverley the historian, was a member of the House of Burgesses (1699–1706) and clerk of that body, and served as chief clerk of the governor's Council. He is best known, however, as author of The History and Present State of Virginia, In Four Parts (1705), the first published history of a British colony by a native of North America. Probably born in Middlesex County, Beverley worked as a clerk in Jamestown, using family connections to advance politically while acquiring substantial wealth. In 1703 he sailed to England to appeal a suit he lost before the General Court, and there he penned his history, a collection of personal history, official accounts, and material borrowed from others. Beverley self-consciously identified himself as a Virginian and used the books to settle political scores. In particular, he was highly critical of Lieutenant Governor Francis Nicholson, who made sure that Beverley lost his positions as clerk of the House of Burgesses and of King and Queen County. In his later years, Beverley retired to his large estate, Beverley Park, where he experimented with wine-making. He may have accompanied Alexander Spotswood on his journey to the crest of Blue Ridge Mountains. Beverley died in 1722.

from: http://www.encyclopediavirginia.org/Beverley_Robert_ca_1667-1722

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https://www.encyclopediavirginia.org/Beverley_Robert_ca_1667-1722

Robert Beverley, also known as Robert Beverley Jr. or Robert Beverley the historian, was a member of the House of Burgesses (1699–1706) and clerk of that body, and served as chief clerk of the governor's Council. He is best known, however, as author of The History and Present State of Virginia, In Four Parts (1705), the first published history of a British colony by a native of North America. Probably born in Middlesex County, Beverley worked as a clerk in Jamestown, using family connections to advance politically while acquiring substantial wealth. In 1703 he sailed to England to appeal a suit he lost before the General Court, and there he penned his history, a collection of personal history, official accounts, and material borrowed from others. Beverley self-consciously identified himself as a Virginian and used the books to settle political scores. In particular, he was highly critical of Lieutenant Governor Francis Nicholson, who made sure that Beverley lost his positions as clerk of the House of Burgesses and of King and Queen County. In his later years, Beverley retired to his large estate, Beverley Park, where he experimented with wine-making. He may have accompanied Alexander Spotswood on his journey to the crest of Blue Ridge Mountains. Beverley died in 1722.

Early Years

Beverley was probably born in Middlesex County, the eldest child of from four to six sons, three of whom survived childhood, and one daughter of the immigrant Robert Beverley, usually referred to as Major Robert Beverley, and his second wife, Mary Keeble Beverley. He was most likely born about 1667 or 1668 and was of legal age before September 1, 1690, when he succeeded his elder half brother, Peter Beverley, as legal guardian of their younger brother John Beverley.

Beverley was educated in England, possibly at Beverley Grammar School in Yorkshire. In 1697, he married Ursula Byrd, the sixteen-year-old daughter of William Byrd I. She died on October 11, 1698, not long after giving birth to their only child, William Beverley, who grew up to become a member of the governor's Council. Beverley evidently never married again.

Politics

During the 1690s, Beverley lived in Jamestown and became a man of reputation and influence. He used his family connections to obtain prestigious and remunerative clerkships that in turn enabled him to add to his large inherited estate, including 6,000 acres in King and Queen County on the Mattaponi River. In the spring of 1688 Beverley was working as a copyist in the Jamestown office of the secretary of the colony and doubling as deputy clerk of James City County, but he probably lost his berth in October 1691 when Lieutenant Governor Francis Nicholson ousted William Edwards, the chief clerk of the General Court and the secretary's office.

When Christopher Robinson, the second husband of Beverley's stepmother Katherine Hone Beverley Robinson, became secretary of the colony in the summer of 1692 he appointed Beverley to the lucrative clerkship of the new county of King and Queen. Following Robinson's death the next year, Ralph Wormeley, another Middlesex County gentleman close to the Beverley family, became secretary, and he named Peter Beverley chief clerk of the General Court and the secretary's office. Robert Beverley went to work for his half brother, who by then was also clerk of the House of Burgesses. In March 1693 Robert Beverley became clerk to the Committee of Public Claims, and in May of that year he also filled in temporarily for Peter Beverley as clerk of the General Court.

In October 1693 Robert Beverley succeeded his half brother as chief clerk of the General Court and the secretary's office, and as clerk of James City County. Beverley substituted for James Sherlock as clerk of the Council and as clerk of the General Assembly in 1696, and in June 1697 he became register of the Virginia Court of Vice-Admiralty. Following the fire that destroyed the statehouse in Jamestown on October 20, 1698, Peter Beverley and Robert Beverley salvaged and arranged the valuable surviving public papers. Robert Beverley resigned as chief clerk before the end of the month and was subsequently elected to represent Jamestown in the House of Burgesses in 1699 and 1700, and in 1699 he was also elected to the distinguished committee to revise the laws of the colony. In March 1703 he became, like his father and half brother before him, clerk of the House of Burgesses.

Beverley acquired property in Jamestown and in Elizabeth City County, and he was appointed to the Elizabeth City County Court on December 27, 1700. Litigation over ownership of Elizabeth City County land resulted in an adverse decision in the General Court, and Beverley appealed the decision to the Privy Council. After he sailed for England in the summer of 1703 to prosecute the case, Francis Nicholson, who had returned to Virginia as governor, deprived him of the clerkship of the House of Burgesses and engineered his dismissal as clerk of King and Queen County.

Beverley lost his case in London, and authored a number of letters back to Virginia that especially angered Nicholson. "As to Mr. Beverley's letter and narrative," declared Nicholson, "they are part false, part scandalous, & part Malitious, but I could not expect otherwise from a man of his universal ill character." While in England Beverley also wrote The History and Present State of Virginia, In Four Parts (1705), the first published history of a British colony by a native of North America. Beverley recalled later that he had reviewed for a bookseller "about six pages of paper written, which contained the account of Virginia and Carolina." But "the account was too faulty and too imperfect to be mended," so he proposed to the bookseller to "make him an account of my own country." Three French-language editions were published between 1707 and 1718, probably as promotional literature to be distributed to Protestants in French-speaking portions of Europe.

When it first appeared in London, the book was three hundred pages of text, accompanied by fourteen engravings, and divided into four sections: "The History of the First Settlement of Virginia," "The Natural Productions and Conveniencies of the Country," "The Native Indians," and "The present State of the Country." It is an unmatched source for the Virginia of its time—an amalgam of personal observations and stories heard, material borrowed from published and unpublished accounts, and official reports. He also included significant portions from the unpublished writings of several other Virginians. The early section of the history relied heavily on Captain John Smith's writings, but the later sections on politics, Native Americans, and the flora, fauna, and agricultural products of the colony used several sources.

No prior author identified himself so clearly as a Virginian. "I am an Indian, and don't pretend to be exact in my language," Beverley wrote in the preface. "But I hope the Plainness of my Dress, will give him [the reader] the kinder Impressions of my Honesty, which is what I pretend to." His treatment of Bacon's Rebellion (1676–1677) clearly reflected his father's loyalty to Governor Sir William Berkeley. The History was also sharply critical of Nicholson, including the governor's transfer of the capital from Jamestown, where Beverley owned property, to the "imaginary City" of Williamsburg. Before leaving London, Beverley participated in the campaign against the governor that led to Nicholson's recall at about the same time that the History was printed.

Later Years

Beverley returned to Virginia and resumed the pursuit of wealth. He also returned briefly to politics and represented James City County in the House of Burgesses in 1705–1706 before retiring to his estate, Beverley Park, in King and Queen County. During the 1710s he established friendly relations with Alexander Spotswood and probably accompanied the lieutenant governor on his exploratory journey to the crest of the Blue Ridge Mountains in 1716. Beverley also prepared An Abridgement of the Publick Laws of Virginia, In Force and Use, June 10, 1720, which he dedicated to Spotswood. Before sending it to his London publisher Beverley added abridgements to the acts of the assembly session of November–December 1720, in which he represented King and Queen County. The Abridgement, which also contained forms for writs and other legal processes, was issued in 1722. That same year, the publisher brought out a second edition of the History in which Beverley removed some of his earlier critical remarks about Virginia customs and Governor Nicholson and added new material to bring the historical section up to the same June 10, 1720, date given on the title page of the Abridgement.

Beverley's life during the 1710s is not well documented, but he continued to acquire property, including a large interest in 1719 in an iron foundry. In 1715 John Fontaine visited Beverley "at his residence, near the head of the Mattapony [Mattaponi River]. Here he cultivated several varieties of the grape, native and French, in a vineyard of about three acres, situated upon the side of a hill, from which he made in that year four hundred gallons of wine." Beverley "had nothing in or about his house but what was actually necessary, he had good beds, but no curtains, and instead of cane chairs used wooden stools. He lived mainly within himself upon the products of his land."

While Beverley's experiments in viticulture were successful, he failed in efforts to obtain salaried clerkships to legislative committees. Beverley probably helped his son obtain the clerkship of Essex County in 1717, and he bequeathed most of his large estate to him. Robert Beverley died at Beverley Park on April 21, 1722, possibly without ever seeing the second edition of his History or the first edition of his Abridgement.

Major Works

An Essay upon the Government of the English Plantations on the Continent of America (attributed to Beverley, 1701; however, other possible attributions include Benjamin Harrison III and Ralph Wormeley)

The History and Present State of Virginia, In Four Parts(1705)

An Abridgement of the Publick Laws of Virginia, In Force and Use, June 10, 1720 (1722)

Time Line

April 28, 1603 - The funeral of Queen Elizabeth is held at Westminster Abbey, where she is buried. Her successor, James I, in keeping with royal custom, does not attend the service.

1667 or 1668 - Robert Beverley Jr. is born, probably in Middlesex County. The exact date of his birth is unknown. Spring 1688 - Robert Beverley Jr. works as a copyist in the Jamestown office of the secretary of the colony and doubles as deputy clerk of James City County.

October 1691 - With the arrival of the new lieutenant governor, Francis Nicholson, Robert Beverley Jr. likely loses his job in the secretary's office in Jamestown and his position as deputy clerk of James City County.

1692 - Robert Beverley Jr. is appointed to the clerkship of the new county of King and Queen.

March 1693 - Robert Beverley Jr. becomes clerk to the Committee of Public Claims in the House of Burgesses.

May 1693 - Robert Beverley Jr. fills in temporarily for his half-brother Peter Beverley as clerk of the General Court.

October 1693 - Robert Beverley Jr. succeeds his half brother Peter Beverley as chief clerk of the General Court and the secretary's office, and as clerk of James City County.

1696 - Robert Beverley Jr. substitutes for James Sherlock as clerk of the governor's Council and as clerk of the General Assembly.

1697 - Robert Beverley Jr. marries Ursula Byrd, the sixteen-year-old daughter of William Byrd I. She dies within a year, after giving birth to the couple's only son, William Beverley.

June 1697 - Robert Beverley becomes register of the Virginia Court of Vice-Admiralty.

October 11, 1698 - Ursula Byrd Beverley, wife of Robert Beverley Jr., dies not long after giving birth to the couple's only child, William Beverley.

1699 - Robert Beverley Jr. wins election to the first of his four terms as burgess for Jamestown.

December 27, 1700 - Robert Beverley Jr. is appointed to the Elizabeth City County Court.

1701 - An Essay Upon the Government of the English Plantation on the Continent of America is published. One possible author of the essay is Robert Beverley Jr.

March 1703 - Robert Beverley Jr. becomes clerk of the House of Burgesses.

Summer 1703 - Robert Beverley Jr. sails to England to settle a property dispute.

1705 - While in England, Robert Beverley Jr. writes The History and Present State of Virginia, the first published history of a British colony by a native of North America. After its publication, he returns to Virginia.

1707-1718 - Three French-language editions of Robert Beverley Jr.'s The History and Present State of Virginia are published.

1716 - Robert Beverley Jr. probably accompanies Alexander Spotswood and on his exploratory journey to the crest of the Blue Ridge Mountains.

1717 - Robert Beverley probably helps his son obtain the clerkship of Essex County.

1719 - Robert Beverley Jr. acquires a large interest in an iron foundry.

1722 - An Abridgement of the Publick Laws of Virginia, In Force and Use, June 10, 1720, prepared by Robert Beverley Jr., is published, possibly after Beverley's death.

April 22, 1722 - Robert Beverley Jr. dies at Beverley Park, his estate in King and Queen County.

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GEDCOM Note

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