Beale

The Beales have a long history in Virginia, from some of the earliest days of the colony.  Thomas Beale and his wife Alice Reade came to Virginia in 1640 from Maidstone, Kent County, England.  Some sources suggest that his arrival was somewhat later, after the Battle of Pontefract, which ocurred in 1644 during the English Civil War in which Beale supported Charles I.  Regardless of original arrival date, Beale was made Sheriff of York County in 1645, and acquired lands in the colony as well, taking his “head rights” in 1646.

After the Restoration, he returned to England, but soon went back to the Colony with a letter from King Charles II to Governor Sir William Berkeley requesting that Beale be assigned as commander of the “Fort or Castle called Castle Comfort in York River.”   From the Domestic Entry Book, Charles II, Vol. 31, p. 11.7, From the Sainsbury MSS in the State Library of Virginia; Maria Scott Beale Chance, A Chronicle of the Family of Edward F. Beale of Philadelphia (1943), p. 9-10, we find:

Whitehall
Sept. 30, 1668
The King to the Governor of Virginia, recommends Thomas Beale, of whose abilities and prudence the King hath had long experience, to be Commander of his Majesty’s Fort or Castle called Castle Comfort, in York River, which hath been for somtime void, or if that be disposed of, to any other fort or Castle that may become void.

Beale goes on to command the fortification, and begins acquiring more land and authority within the colony.  There are many financial and real estate transactions recorded in the records of York and surrounding counties.

Thomas Beale and his wife, Alice Reade had a son, Capt. Thomas Beale (1647 – 1679) to whom we will refer as Thomas Beale II, who settled in what is now Richmond County, Virginia and established the Beale home at Chestnut Hill.  Capt. Thomas Beale II married Anne Gooch (1650 – 1701), daughter of Maj. William Gooch and Anne Goodwin of York County, and had among their children:

• Anne Beale (1672 – 1772)
• Hanna Beale (1674 – 1744)
• Capt. Thomas Beale III (1675 – 1728)
• Charles Beale (1678 – 1679)

Capt. Thomas Beale III married Elizabeth Taverner (1681 – 1729), daughter of Capt. John Taverner and Elizabeth Taylor, on 25 March, 1696 and had among their children:

• Col. William Beale (1710 – 1778)
• Anne Beale (1711 – 1784)

Col. William Beale married Ann Harwar (1710 – 1810) and had among their children, the following:

• Winifred Travers Beale (1733 – 1994)
• Maj. Robert Beale (1759 – 1843)

Maj. Robert Beale served in the Revolutionary War and penned an account of his experiences for his children, one handwritten copy for each of his children. Several of these manuscripts remain, and it has been transcribed and annotated for the Library of Virginia. Maj. Robert Beale married Martha Felicia Turberville (1786 – 1822), daughter of George Lee Turberville and Elizabeth Tayloe Corbin, on 1 August, 1802 and had the following children:

• Elizabeth Harwar Beale (1804 – 1805)
• William Turberville Beale (1805 – 1828)
• Robert Beale (1807 – 1844)
• Anne Turberville Beale (1809 – 1884)
• Martha Felicia Turberville Beale (1810 – 1835)
• Frances Lucinda Beale (1813 – 1823)
• Elizabeth Tayloe Corbin Beale (1815 – 1851)
• Emily Mildred Beale (1817 – 1886)
• Brig. Gen. Richard Lee Turberville Beale (1819 – 1893)
• George Lee Turberville Beale (1821 – 1823)
• Mary Margaret Beale (1822 – 1826)

“Bifurcated Doubly?”

At this point, my tree splits. I have two lineages from this group of children. Brothers Joseph Hoomes Davis (1809 – 1879) and Williams Thomas Davis (1817 – 1888) each married at least one sister from this family. Joseph H. Davis married first, Martha Felicia Turberville Beale and had one son, Robert Beale Davis.   Martha died following childbirth and then Davis married Anne Turberville Beale and had many more children. Williams Thomas Davis married Elizabeth Tayloe Corbin Beale and had several children before her death in 1851. Tracing through my father, I go back to Joseph Hoomes Davis. Tracing back through my mother, I can reach either Davis brother. Click the links below to follow the various lines.

• Anne T. Beale to Arthur Whittaker
• Anne T. Beale to Hope Alice Murphy
• Elizabeth T. C. Beale to Hope Alice Murphy