William Beamsley

Citations

1. [S115] Genealogical Dictionary of the First Settlers of New England, Showing Three Generations Of Those Who Came Before May, 1692, On The Basis Of Farmer's Registar, Volume I: page - William Beamsley 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 Eliz. and Mary, both, perhaps, b. bef. com. from Eng. and 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 Ipswich; Hannah, w. of Bushnell, wh. after m. 16 Oct. 1661, Abraham Perkins; Eliz. 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 e
   st. in Nov. 1668, when perhaps his wid. was dec.
2. [S1131] Mary Walton Ferris, Dawes-Gates ancestral lines, a memorial volume containing the American ancestry of Rufus R. Dawe, William Beasley with his wife Anne crossed the ocean in 1630 in one of the eleven vessels of the Winthrop Fleet** and settled in Boston. He called himself a yeoman, a term which, in England from whence he came, implied a class of home owners, farmers, or mechanics, but a class definitely above the peasantry. The term "yeoman" was invariably applied to him when he transferred lands whether he appeared as grantor or grantee, but when he became a member of the First Church of Boston on August 2, 1635, he was listed as "Labourer." However, his land holdings, the offices he held" and the estate he left indicate that this word was not used in a literal sense. Since the vote was then granted, in Massachusetts Bay Colony, only to church members, and since time had to elapse after application for freemanship before the privilege was granted, it is significant of the intention of WILLIAM BEAMSLEY to meet his full responsibility and exercise his full privilege that he was made a freeman" May 25, 1636, one year and a month after he acquired church membership.
   His home lot contained⁸ about one-half acre near Merry's Point, later North Battery, and ran from Hanover Street through to the Bay. It lay between Salutation Alley (adjoining the widow Ann Tuttle's famous Salutation Inn) and what became Methodist Alley or Hanover Avenue. This Salutation Alley or Street was originally only five and one-half feet wide and was created as a passage way between the BEAMSLEY home and a piece of land sold by WILLIAM to Henry Kemble (see map p. 30). WILLIAM and his family appear to have lived here at least until 1645 and very probably until his death.
   In 1637 he was granted' sixteen acres at Muddy River and in January, 1638, it was surveyed or bounded. In 1641 he was paid by the town for about ten rods of causeway' built by him at Rumney Marsh, now Chelsea; in 1644 he bought a shore lot near Merry's Point, probably an addition to his home lot, and in 1650 built a wharf out from it.' He was elected one of four constables in March 1648-9, was honored in March, 1650-1, by making a third on a committee with Adam Winthrop and William Phillips to join with the selectmen in laying out highways to the new meeting house. In his later life he was made Ensign and was so referred to after his death." He held certain other minor positions and offices," frequently witnessed documents, was many times referred to as an abuttor, made various purchases of land including some on Hog Island' in 1651 which he sold in 1657; and he confirmed by deed on September 14, 1658, (the date of his will) the land, house and orchard adjoining his own on which his daughter Anne and her husband Ezekiel Woodward had lived about seven years.
   In March 1656-7 a committee was selected' to plan a "towne house" as suggested in the will of Robert' Keayne who gave £300 for the project. Other citizens who subscribed a total of over £367 included WILLIAM' BEAMSLEY and THOMAS' BUMSTEAD who each gave Li. It stood on the site of what was later called "The Old State House" (see map, p. 3o) and was destroyed by fire on October 7, 1711.
   But an especial gratification to him must have been the acquirement in 1656 of membership' in the Ancient and Honorable Artillery Company. We must record, however, certain slight misdemeanors on his part which brought him official criticism for in August, 1650, he was ordered" "to remove away his oyster shells from the Towne's hye way before his dore" by the first of the eleventh month or pay twenty shillings. And in May, 1656, WILLIAM' was fined ten shillings for receiving into his home some person who had not received from the town permission to become an inhabitant."
   His wife Anne who had ventured across the sea with William died at an unknoow date and he married secondly by 1645 Martha (Hallor) Bushnell** a widow with three children, one posthumous. WILLIAM' evidently became a good father to these stepchildren for his will dated September 14, 1658, during his last illness and only a fortnight before his death on the 29th of that month,' made his wife Martha his executrix and sole beneficiary during her life, directed that at her death the entire estate should be sold and the proceeds "equally distributed amongst all my children" - naming then his own four and her three children without any differentiation. The fact that at the time of his will his wife's two daughters, Elizabeth and Mary Bushnell both bore married names .has caused many people to believe that they really were daughters of WILLIAM' himself. His estate was inventoried at over £251 with the house and land at Boston making up £140 of the amount. From 1659 until 1668 a number of deeds were made by the various heirs in order to clear title to the land he had owned."
   The known children of WILLIAM' and ANNE (     ) BEAMSLEY all born in Boston
   
   I. ANNE, b. Feb. 13, 1632-3; d. between 1670 and 1672; m. by 1650 as his first wife EZEKIEL' WOODWARD (see Woodward, p. 667).
   ii.Grace', b. Sept. ro, bp. 20, 1635; d. Nov. 26, 1730 ae 95 or "in her 99th year"; m. about 1657 Samuel' Graves of Ipswich.
   iii.Mercy' b. Dec. 9, bp. 1o, 1637; d. Nov. 5, 1726; m. 1st Oct. 17, 1656, by the Deputy Governor, to Michael Wilborne who d. soon; m. 2nd between Sept. 14, 1658, (date of her father's will) and Nov. 18, 1659, Andrew' Peters.
   Samuel', (twin) b. Dec. 31, 1640; bp. Feb. 7, 1640-I; d. Apr. 1641.
   Habbakuk², (twin), b. and bap. and d. as above.
   vi. Hannah°, b. Dec. 13, bp. 17, 1643; d. Oct. 16, 1732, ae 91 at Ipswich;³ m. there Oct. 16, 166i, Abrahams Perkins (JOHN, Jolty')."
   The child of WILLIAM/ BEAMSLEY and his second wife Martha (Hallor) Bushnell was
   vii. Abigail°, b. and bp. Feb. 8, 1645-6; not named in her father's will.
   
   *This infrin_gement may pertain to one Elizabeth Blesdate who had earlier been "warned out" but of whom it was recorded on January 25, 16₅₇, that she "hath liberty to reside in the towne, and WILLIAM BEAMSLEY is bound in a bond of twenty pounds to save the towne from any char_ge that may arise by her durin_g her said residence."n WILLIAM/ si_gned this document.
   
   
   **Edmunds Bushnell (Francis, see Dawes-Gates, II, 163), was baptized at Horsham, co. Sussex, England, on June 27, 1606, and married, probably there, Oct. 2, 1627, Martha Hallor. They emigrated to Boston before 1636 and there he was employed on their farm at "Ten Hills" by the Winthrop family. Letters between members of that family show that Bushnell died March 28, 1636, and that his widow Martha bore a posthumous child about the middle of June, 1636. It was this widow Martha who joined the First Church of Boston on February 3, 1638, had her daughter Mary baptized there on February 17 and who married as his second wife before 16₄5 WILLIAM BEAMSLEY. The will of the latter man after naming his eldest daughter ANNE' and her three sisters, according to their age, continued directly with mention of his step-children Edwards Bushnell, Elizabeth Page (married 1652-3 to Edward Page of Boston) and Mary Robinson (married 1st Oct. 3, 1657, to George Robinson and married 2nd between March 1665 and November 1668 to Thomas Dennis) These three were living in November 1668.
3. [S2301] William Beamsley.
4. [S1129] Winthrop fleet of 1630 - http://ourpast.org/genealogy/histories/winthrop.htm
5. [S135] Clarence Almond Torrey, New England Marriages Prior to 1700, page 126 - Edward Bushnell died 1636 Boston& MarthaHallor - she married2n William Beamsley.
6. [S1130] Bartlett J. Gardner, The Ancestry of Daniel Bushnell, page 2-3 - Edmund Bushnell chr. 27 April 1606 Horsham, County Sussex, England; m. 2 August 1627 there, Martha Hallor; children: Edmund chr. 16 September 1628 d. 27 January 1629, Edward chr. 10 December 1629, Elizabeth chr. 2 April 1632 [m. Edward Page of Boston], Franis chr. 16 March 1634 d. 5 May 1635, Mary chr 17 February 1639 [born: June 1635 Ten Hills Farm][m. 1st Boston George Robinson and 2nd Thomas Dennis].