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Many Beckworth descendents in the south can comfortably document their descent from Henry Beckwith who witnessed a deed in Edgecomb Co NC in 1746 and died there (by then Nash Co) in 1796. Prior to those dates I have nothing with certainty on this family. But three very avid researchers on this line have kindly shared their notes with me over the years: Hazel Clark of Pampas TX, Daisy Cook of Dallas TX and Joan Smola of Austin TX.
In the late 1970s Ms. Cook commissioned Debrett’s Ancestry Research to check on earlier generations of this line. They found a Henry Beckwith who died testate in Dorchester Co MD in 1756 and made a small bequest to a son Henry “if he should ever return.” No mention is made of checking the estate papers (if they exist) to see if that bequest was ever paid and to whom/where. With her initial research funds exhausted, Ms. Cook did not opt to continue the research but generously shared Debrett’s report with many.
As will often happen in the dissemination of genealogical notes, for brevity something will be pulled out of context, published without footnote and generously distributed to who knows how many people. Pretty soon supposition becomes fact and that has happened with this line.
Recently, although my “pure” researcher’s mind told me to be careful, I very nearly fell into the trap of believing something based on one strand of circumstantial evidence--"Henry, if he should return." But one other thing really bothered me: the lack of continuity (except for Henry) between given names in Maryland and those families further south. (You know how the Beckworth’s are about using the same names generation after generation.) In Maryland the name Nehemiah appears repeatedly but I have never seen that name used in the lower South Beckworth’s.
I shared my concerns with Allison Dean Beckworth (we share a distant descendent from Henry in NC) and he told me again two key points in a story which has passed through his family:
- The family name is Beckworth. (I also had a great-uncle tell me emphatically we were Beckworth’s and no relation to those Beckwith’s)
- The earliest immigrant was Thomas Beckworth (but he had never been able to find one).
When Allison made that last remark, I knew I had seen that name on one the pages the earlier researchers had sent me. I found it in Ms. Smola’s notes from a book “The Early Settlers of Maryland” (sorry, no author or date) on page 33: Thomas Beckworth, transported 1633, servant.
If Allison’s family story is true (and there’s often a shred of truth in family stories), it appears we are descended from a common man named Beckworth and not the Lord of Clint of Yorkshire or the Royal Bruces of Scotland as are the Beckwith’s. And there are some Beckworth’s in England several hundred years ago. Go to www.FamilyTreeMaker.com and search on the name Beckworth; note the very early records which appear in England.
From the arrival of Thomas Beckworth in 1733 to the witness of Henry Beckwith in Edgecomb Co NC in 1746 covers more than 100 years through an area with many burned or missing public records. And the name will appear both ways during this period. Does anyone have anything that could help us link these two men? If so, please respond here.
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