Nicholas Beery II1,2,3,4

M, b. 16 June 1739, d. 16 February 1811
FatherNicholas Bieri I b. b 6 Apr 1704, d. 1 Oct 1762
MotherBarbara Miller b. 1708, d. 27 Jul 1788
     Nicholas was born on Tuesday, 16 June 1739 in Springettsbury Manor, Manchester Township, York County, Pennsylvania. [Note - Nicholas' birth date was calculated from his tombstone would be 16 March 1740 - KLM] Nicholas married Mary Elizabeth Keller, daughter of Johan Jacob Keller, circa 1763 in York County. About 1770, Nicholas resided in Rockingham County, Virginia. He bought 10,000 plus acres of land for two dollars an acre in Rush Creek Twp., Fairfield Co., Ohio. Nicholas's wife, Mary, died in 1788 in Rockingham County, Virginia, leaving him a widower. Nicholas married 2nd Mary Grow in 1789 in Rockingham County. Mary was first married to a Mr. Good. Nicholas made his will on 15 May 1810 at Rush Creek Township, Fairfield County, Ohio. His will was written in German.

" In the name of God, amen. I, Nicholas Beery, of the State of Ohio and County of Fairfield, being weak in body but of sound mind. and understanding; blessed be God for the same; do make this, my last will and testament . … First, I direct that my just debts shall be paid. I then bequeath to my wife, Mary Beery, the one-third of the home farm . . . so long as she remains my widow, and in case she marries again she is to have one-third of the annual rent. I authorize my executors to have said farm and appurtenances valued by twelve disinterested freeholders, and from such appraisement value the one-third of the rent or interest shall go to my said wife during her natural life. I likewise bequeath to her one milch cow of her choice, one bed and bedding, two sheep, one bake oven, one pot, one set of knives and forks, and one-half dozen plates, and the remaining part of my estate shall be equally divided among my children, excepting the land, which I give and bequeath to my son, Joseph Beery, 150 acres of the home farm, to be his own at his mother's death. During her widowhood and while she lives in the mansion house he is to have the use of the farm and pay her one-third of the profits, which in case of her remarriage, the remaining two-thirds arc to be paid to my daughter, Rebecca *Beery, to be conveyed by my son, Jacob Beery, with other lands therein specified. And I give and bequeath unto my son, Christian Beery, the one-fourth section of land lying on the south side of Rush Creek, and the first money that can be collected shall be taken to pay said quarter section, as also the quarter section on which my son, Abraham Beery, now resides.
" Lastly, I appoint my trusty friends, John Beery and William Trumble, to be my executors of this, my last will, hereby revoking all other wills and testaments by me heretofore made. In witness whereof I have hereunto subscribed my name and affixed my seal this 15th day of May, 1811.

"Signed, sealed, and published in the presence of witnesses; George Hensel, (Translated), Nicholas Tippel, (Translated), Nicholas Beery."
Presented by J. S. Sites, Lancaster, Ohio.
Recorded by Joseph H. Wenger, South English, Iowa.11Joseph H. Wenger, History of the Descendants of Nicholas Beery Born 1707. Immigrated from Switzerland to Pennsylvania in 1727, pages 18-19 - Nicholas Beery II's Will.5


Nicholas departed this life on Saturday, 16 February 1811 in Rush Creek Township at age 71 years and 8 months. He was buried there in Miller Cemetery. The inscription on his tombstone reads: Nicolas Beery - Died February 16, 1811 - Aged 70 Years 11 Months.

Family 1

Mary Elizabeth Keller b. c 1742, d. 1788
Children

Family 2

Mary Grow b. 1756, d. 31 Oct 1840
Children

Citations

  1. [S51] Joseph H. Wenger, History of the Descendants of Nicholas Beery Born 1707. Immigrated from Switzerland to Pennsylvania in 1727, pages 15-17 - Nicholas Beery, born in Pennsylvania, June 16, 1739; died near Bremen, Ohio. Feb. 16, 1811.
    The subject of this sketch was born in Adams Co., Pa. (Some say in Berks Co.) Later in life he came to the Shenandoah Valley, near Harrisonburg, Rockingham Co., Va., where he and his family lived many years. He married Elisabeth Keller, by whom he had twelve children. Later, and in Virginia, in 1789, he married Mrs. Mary Good, nee Gro, who was born in Rockingham Co., Va., in 1756, and died near Bremen, Fairfield Co., Ohio, Oct. 31, 1840. Four children by the second marriage; total 16, all married except one and had families, In those days the Beerys were stalwart and prolific.
    Nicholas Beery, No. 2, died Feb. 16, 1811, and is buried in the Miller cemetery, about one mile southeast of Berne Station, near Lancaster. Fairfield Co., Ohio.
    In 1805 he, with a portion of his family, emigrated from Virginia to the above named place, where some of his older children had previously settled. Some say that he entered a section of land; others claim that he entered from the government, in John Q. Adams' administration,. sixteen sections of wild timber land, equal to 10,240 acres, on Raccoon Creek, in Fairfield Co,, not far from Bremen, upon which he built a cabin, sawmill and flouring mill. These sixteen sections of land were equal to his sixteen children. Tradition has it that the old Beery generations were very prolific families, which can evidently be noticed by their history, and up to about the year 1800 Rockingham Co., Va., rocked the cradle for the large family of Nicholas Beery…
    ...It is worthy of note that the children and some of the grandchildren, of Nicholas Beery, No. 2, were born near Harrisonburg, Rockingham Co., Va., the former home of the author.
    For the interest of the Beery descendants, I would say that the above county was in 1777 formed from Augusta Co., which at that time included what are now known as many counties, reaching several hundred miles west to the Ohio River, the hunting grounds of the Indians.
    Rockingham county is in the central part of the Shenandoah Valley, ranging from thirty to fifty miles in width and over a hundred miles in length. It is bounded on the east by the Blue Ridge Mountains and on the west by the Alleghanics. Harrisonburg, the county seat, was founded in 1780 by Mr. Thomas Harrison, who donated the site for the first court house.
    The most important part of this sketch is that the sixteen children of Nicholas, No. 2, as well as of his descendants, were born and reared in the above vicinity. When as a flood, soon after 1800, they removed to Bremen, Fairfield County, Ohio, they soon became so numerous that fictitious names had to be resorted to in order to distinguish one from the other. At one time nearly everything in Rockingham Co. was Beery, and later Bremen, Ohio. rocked the Beery cradle. and still continues. Yet many of the Beerys have scattered to many parts of the United States.—J. H. W.
    Children: John [November 4, 1765]; Jacob [1766]; Barbara [April 6, 1764]; Elizabeth [April 11,1771]; Abraham [July 20, 1773]; Mary [September 4, 1775]; Israel [June 10, 1777]; Nicholas [1780 – died in infancy]; George [1783]; Susan [October 4 1785]; Martha [ 1787]; Henry [1788]. By the second wife: Joseph [February 8, 17990]; Christian [August 1, 1792]; Margaret [June 15, 1795]; Frances [1796].
  2. [S595] Doran Kenneth Wilde, The Desendants of Hartman Hunsaker, Nicholas BIERI - born: 16 Jun 1739 Springettsbury Manor, York, Pennsylvania; died: 16 Feb 1811 Bremen, Fairfield, Ohio;Buried: at: Miller Cemetery, Rush Creek, Fairfield, Ohio; son of Nicholaus Bieri & Barbara Ann Miller; married: Maria Keller born: abt 1743; died: abt 1788 Rockingham, Virginia; daughter of Jacob Keller
    Children:
    Barbara; John "Red John"; Jacob; Elizabeth; Abraham; Mary;
    Isaac; Nicholas [born: 1780 died: 1780]; married 2nd: Mary [Grow] Good; children: Henry; George; Susan [born: 4 Oct 1786 Rockingham, Virginia died: 27 Dec 1839 at: Bremen, Fairfield, Ohio; married: Abraham Beery 6 Nov 1809 Fairfield, Ohio]; Martha.
  3. [S599] A. A. Graham, History of Perry & Fairfield Counties, Ohio, Chapter 41: page 1148 - pages 1148-1149 - It was about in 1808 that the first white settler made his home in Marion Township, and this was probably Christian Beery, who came from Fairfield County about the time mentioned above, and settled on Rush Creek, section 7. He was soon followed by George Hansell, George Engle, and perhaps a few others, and in about 1811 came Abraham Beery, George Beery, Jacob Miller, and about two years later Jacob Good and another Christian Beery. These nearly all settled on and near Rush Creek, on sections 6, 7 and 8. These were the pioneers of the township, and they blazed the way for those who followed. Mr. Rudolph Scherchel settled in the township in 1825, and for half a century was a leading citizen of the township. He was a Prussian by birth, and brought with him a colony of his countrymen. He died Aug. 25, 1875.

  4. [S598] Mennonite Families: Rockingham County Mennonites and Dunkard Petition: The following names were found on a petition dated 2 Nov 1784 asking for exemption from military service in Rockingham County, Virginia. 1 There were many who signed
    the petition who actually lived in Shenandoah County, but apparently the petition was signed at Rockingham County.
    Heinrich Shang (Sha nk), Benjamin Bowman, Joseph Bowman, John Crumpacker, Peter Cede, Abraham Miller, Peter Crumpacker, Nicholas Biri, John Maschberger, Michael Sheng (Shenk), Abraham Brenneman, Jacob Hight, Heinrich Gaderman, Jacob Bauman, Jacob Reiff, Christian Fry, Nicholas Beare, Henrich Wissler, Ulrich Kessler, Jacob Ebersole, Jacob Miller, Henrich Roth, David Brenneman & Jacob Kauffman. - transcribed by Richard W. Davis - www.mennosearch.com.
  5. [S51] Joseph H. Wenger, History of the Descendants of Nicholas Beery Born 1707. Immigrated from Switzerland to Pennsylvania in 1727, pages 18-19 - Nicholas Beery II's Will.