Nancy Dysart Beattie1

b. 21 September 1808, d. 29 August 1872
FatherWilliam Beattie2,3 b. bet 1760 - 1762, d. 4 Apr 1860
MotherMary Allison b. 1763, d. 16 Apr 1830
Birth21 Sep 1808 Nancy Dysart Beattie was born on 21 Sep 1808.4,5,6 
Marriage11 Apr 1826 She married Col. Robert Buchanan Edmondson, son of Thomas Edmiston and Margaret Buchanan, on 11 Apr 1826 in Washington County, Virginia.7,8 
  They were first cousins, once removed (Robert's grandmother, Jane Beattie, and Nancy's father, William Beattie, were siblings). 
Legatee14 Oct 1834 Nancy's father William wrote his will in late 1834. In it he left a Negro girl named Harriet to "my daughter Nancy, now the wife of R. B. Edmondson". She was also to receive 1/4 of the balance of William's estate after other legacies were paid.3 
Cens-18501850  Twenty-four years after their marriage Robert and Nancy were recorded on the first federal census to name all household members. Besides Robert, age 49 (enumerated as "R.B.") and Nancy, age 42, the household included 72 year old Margaret (Buchanan) Edmiston [Robert's mother; she had been widowed for 27 years]. Robert and Nancy's children, ranging in age from 20 to 10 were also listed, with the exception of Mary Elizabeth who had married a few years earlier.9 
Cens-18604 Jul 1860  Nancy and Robert were enumerated again in 1860. Robert's mother had passed away some years earlier and daughter Margaret had married and moved into her own household. However 4 children: Thomas, William, Martin and Virginia, ranging in age from 30 to 18, remained at home.10 
Cens-1860- Slave16 Jul 1860  The household also included 12 slaves.11 
Cens-1860- Agric  They were no doubt primarily responsible for working the large, 800 acre farm, which included 300 acres under cultivation.12 
Widowed15 Jul 1862  Two years later Robert died at age 60. 
  The years following Robert's death remained difficult. In May 1864 Nancy's son Thomas died at age 33, fighting for the Confederate Army at the Battle of Spottsylvania Courthouse. Two years later her daughter Margaret Buchanan died, also at age 33. 
Cens-18703 Oct 1870  Nancy spent the last years of her life living with her son William and his wife Fannie.13 
  They all appear to have resided in the old family home.14 
Residence It sat in a field near the Baptist Cemetery just northwest of present day Glade Spring. 
Death29 Aug 1872 Nancy died on 29 Aug 1872 at age 63.4 
Burial She was buried in the Edmondson family section at the Old Baptist Cemetery Annex in Washington County.4 

Related Links and Images:

Click here for more information (and pictures) of Robert and Nancy's home15
Robert and Nancy's grandson and wife were photographed on the porch of Robert and Nancy's home in 1907. Note the wood structure on the far left side of the photo. Could it be the original Thomas Edmiston and Margaret Buchanan home?16
Nancy's headstone
Other interments in Old Baptist Annex

Family

Col. Robert Buchanan Edmondson b. 24 Oct 1801, d. 15 Jul 1862
Children
Last Edited1 Dec 2012

Citations

  1. [S2352] Document containing names and dates of birth for children of Robert Buchanan Edmiston and Nancy Dysart Beattie; entries in handwriting of their daughter, Mary Elizabeth Beattie (Edmondson) Dickenson (1827-1896); also information on other family members. The entry reads: "Nancy Dysart Beattie Sep 21, 1808."
  2. [S140] "Ryburn History," compiled by P. Shugart, p. 34. Peggie cites an interview conducted in 1948 with Margaret Breckenridge Ryburn, a great granddaughter of John Beattie and Ellen Gilmore.
  3. [S851] William Beattie will (recorded 1860), Washington Co., Virginia Will Book 15: 33. William's will was written on 14 Oct. 1834 with a codicil added on 14 Jul 1849. It was not recorded in court until 28 May 1860. The will was originally witnessed by Samuel Dunn, James Porterfield and Beattie Ryburn. However, by the time the will was recorded only Samuel Dunn was living. James C. Porterfield and Arthur D. Hutton testified that they were well acquainted with the handwriting of these two witnesses. Madison Beattie took the oath of executor with a bond of $2,000.
  4. [S2] Catherine McConnell, High On A Windy Hill, p. 164. Nancy D. Edmondson, w/o R. B. Edmondson, 21 Sept 1808 - 29 Aug. 1872, age 63y 11m 8d.
  5. [S2981] Ellen Eliza (Lansdown) and Thomas Edmondson Gardner Family Bible, The New Testament (Philadelphia: J.B. Lippincott & Co., 1859); held in 2012 by the Smyth-Bland Regional Library, Marion, VA. The Bible included a page with family information apparently copied from other sources. The entries include: "Nancy Beattie (wife of above [Robert Buchanan Edmondson]) Sept. 21 180_. [smudged]"
  6. [S2352] Document containing names and dates of birth for children of Robert Buchanan Edmiston and Nancy Dysart Beattie; entries in handwriting of their daughter, Mary Elizabeth Beattie (Edmondson) Dickenson (1827-1896); also information on other family members. The entry reads: "Nancy Dysart Beattie was born Sept 21, 1808."
  7. [S4] D.E. Brown, Marriages of Washington Co., VA 1781-1853, P. 19. Edmondson, [Col] Robert B. and Nancy [D.] Beattie, 11 Apr 1826; minister: Stephen Bovell.
  8. [S140] "Ryburn History," compiled by P. Shugart, p. 34. Peggie states that Nancy married Col. Robert Buchanan Edmondson and cites an interview conducted in 1948 with Margaret Breckenridge Ryburn, a great granddaughter of John Beattie and Ellen Gilmore.
  9. [S367] R.B. Edmondson household, 1850 U.S. Census, Washington Co., VA, pop. sched., 67th District, p. 207 (stamped), dwelling 2023, family 2023, viewed online at Ancestry.com, Aug. 2005, image 279 of 289. Enumeration includes: R. B. Edmondson, 49, farmer; Thos B. E., 20, farmer; William B., 12; Margaret, 72; Nancy D. 42; Margaret B. 16; Virginia 14; Martin V. 10; Patterson Mountain, 21, blacksmith; all b. VA.
  10. [S234] Robert B. Edmondson household, 1860 U.S. cens, Washington Co., VA, pop. sched., The Western District, p. 82 (orig entry), dwelling 577, family 564, viewed online at Ancestry.com, Aug. 2005, image 84 of 361. Enumeration includes: Robt. B. Edmondson, 58, farmer, owns land val: $20,000 and pers. prop.: $12,200; Nancy 52; Thomas, 30, merchant, pers. prop: $10,000; William, 22, clerk; Martin, farmer; Virginia, seamstress; Emory Hughes, 30, farm laborer; all b. VA.
  11. [S1308] Robert B. Buchanan, owner, 1860 U.S. census, Washington Co., Virginia, slave schedule, p. 7 (original script), line 9, viewed online at Ancestry.com. 12 slaves including 7 males and 5 females; 3 slave houses.
  12. [S1311] Robert B. Edmondson landowner, 1860 U.S. census, Washington Co., Virginia, agricultural sched., Gladespring Post Office, p. 9, line 40.
  13. [S635] W.B. Edmondson household, 1870 U.S. cens, Washington Co., Virginia, pop. sched., 1st Division, p. 187 (stamped), dwelling 62, family 62, viewed online at Ancestry.com, Aug. 2005, image 9 of 44. Enumeration includes: W.B. Edmondson, 32, farmer, owns real estate of $2,700 and pers. prop of $500; Fanny, 31; Thomas 5; Nannie 4; Buchanan 3, Willie 2; Nancy D., 63, retired house keeper; all b. VA.
  14. [S11] "Family notes of Mrs. Lizzie Ryburn" . Annotation added by Carolyn Ryburn, a collateral descendant who presently (2005) lives in the Glade Spring community.
  15. [S1376] Photo courtesy of Carolyn Ryburn.
  16. [S1376] The photo is from the collection of Cindy Gilman, a descendant of Col. Robert B. Edmondson through the line of his grandson, Robert B. Edmondson [2]. The back of the photo reads "RB Edmondson and wife at his birthplace in Glade Springs, Va 1907". The entry is in the handwriting of Fannie Edmondson (b. 1900), daughter of Robert B.Edmondson [2].
  17. [S5] Elizabeth Kelly Allison, Early Southwest Virginia Families, p. 102-6.
  18. [S124] David Trimble, Buchanan and Gillespie, p. 218. Trimble cites records belonging to Howard V. Jones as his source for information on the family of Robert Buchanan Edmondson and Nancy Dysart Beattie.
  19. [S6] Thomas Colley, Washington Co. VA Marriages 1853-1880, p. 41. James Stewart Buchanan, 29y, sgl, b. & resid WC Va, merchant, s/o William & Jane Buchanan AND Margaret Buchanan Edmondson, 22y, sgl, b. & resid WC Va, d/o Robert B. & Nancy D. Edmondson; 15 May 1855.
  20. [S124] David Trimble, Buchanan and Gillespie, p. 219. Trimble cites records belonging to Howard V. Jones as his source for information on the family of Robert Buchanan Edmondson and Nancy Dysart Beattie.
  21. [S2] Catherine McConnell, High On A Windy Hill, p. 164. Stone reported to read: William Beattie Edmondson, s/o Col. R.B. & N.D. Edmondson, 7 Feb. 1838 - 10 Dec. 1874.