b. say 1780, d. before 22 November 1821
Birth-Say | say 1780 | James Beattie was born say 1780 in Virginia. |
| | He grew up on his father's lands in the eastern end of present day Washington County, Virginia. |
Occupation | | David sent James to learn the trade of blacksmith in the shop of John Sawyers at Col. Dysart's [also in Washington County]. James then worked as a blacksmith at his father's place.3,4 |
Marriage | 13 Jan 1803 | He married Esther Fulton, daughter of David Fulton and Elizabeth Yerkes, on 13 Jan 1803 in Washington County, Virginia.5 |
Land-Buy | 1 Aug 1803 | Later that summer James bought 121 acres of his father's land for $300. It was located at the eastern edge of the 473 acre tract David Sr. received from his father John Beattie in 1786. In Feb. 1805 he acquired 50 additional acres to the north from William and Lucy Stewart for $333.33.6 |
Legatee | 30 Jul 1805 | David Beattie wrote his will in 1814, leaving James a Negro girl Mary.1 |
Exec-Legatee | 17 Oct 1818 | His mother wrote her will a few years later, leaving him her cupboard and a share in her remaining property. She also named James as her executor.2 |
Land-Sell | 24 Sep 1820 | By the late summer of 1820 James was making plans to leave Virginia. On Sept. 24th he and Esther sold their Washington County tract to Edward Hutton for $1,500.7 |
| 29 Sep 1820 | On September 29th, 1820 James executed a paper in Washington Co. Virginia stating that he was about to remove to Howard Co., Missouri and naming his good friend Thomas Edmondson [Edmiston] as his attorney to attend to lawsuits and other business in which he was involved.8 |
Migration | 1 Oct 1820 | Three days later James took his family and left for Missouri.9 |
Court Record | Oct 1820 | About this same time James filed a lawsuit in Wythe County, Virginia, against his brother David and sister Mary (Beattie) Clark. On the surface the suit had to do with the question of whether a slave named Delilah had belonged to the estate of their father, David Beattie Sr., or their mother, Mary Beattie. James also claimed that the siblings had each received a slave from their father after he wrote his will and prior to his death. James wanted these slaves returned to their father's estate. The judge ruled against James [see link below for more information].10 |
| | James and his family settled in that part of Howard County which became Boone County Missouri in Nov. 1820, however they did not fare well in their new home. By the end of their first summer the local doctor was visiting their home on a regular basis.11 |
| | Although the facts are not known for sure one can deduce that at least 5 members of the family were seriously ill and that 4 did not survive. Bills contained in James's probate file indicate that the local coffin maker was called on to make 4 coffins. The exact dates of death for James, Esther, and their 2 children who died is not known, but another bill in the estate file included 5 yards of cambric purchased on Sept. 1st, 7 yards of cambric purchased on Sept. 7th and 5 yards of muslin purchased on the 24th. Cambric was commonly used for shrouds. A physician's bill indicated that "Betsy" was among the family members who was sick; assuming this was daughter Elizabeth, she survived.12 |
Will | 22 Sep 1821 | James wrote his will on 22 Sep 1821 in Boone County. In it he named his daughters Betsy, Melinda, Margaret, and Henrietta Beatie. He also named his 3 sons Ryburn, Armstrong and Thomas E. Beatie. He refered to his wife (or more accurately his daughter's mother) as deceased, and he did not mention his daughter Mary who was also likely deceased. Samuel Beatie [a first cousin who had settled in the area in 1818] and Michael Woods were appointed executors. James stipulated that certain items were to be sold and the proceeds held until Missouri land opened for sale at which time the money was to be used to buy parcels for the three boys.13,8 |
Death | before 22 Nov 1821 | James died before 22 Nov 1821, on which date his will was recorded.13 |
Probate Recd | | James's probate file contains many original documents, including two that contain samples of his handwriting. The first is the 1820 document he executed just before he left Virginia designating Thomas Edmiston to serve as his "agent" in Virginia. The second signature is on his original will, written shortly before he died. The body of the will is not in James's hand, but the signature is his, and his weakened state is evident. Also of interest is the fact that he signed both documents "James Beattie", whereas the individual who wrote the will used Baitie and the individual who wrote the Edmiston designation used "Beaty."8 |
Probate Recd | | The probate file also includes bills submitted to the estate for various costs incurred for the support of James's children following his death. This included shoes for Elizabeth, Ryburn, Melinda, Peggy and Henrietta, as well as a hat (75 cents) for Thomas. The same bill included a charge of $30 for "hauling Henrietta, Malinda & Peggy to Adam Middletons in Shelby County, Kentucky" [Adam was married to their mother's sister Mary (Fulton) Middleton]. |
Probate Recd | 22 Feb 1832 | The settlement of James's estate took 17 years. By February 1832 Samuel Beattie, the original executor, was deceased and Mathew R. Beatie, now old enough to settle his father's estate, was appointed administrator. He submitted his list of accounts for final settlement in 1838.14,12 |