Jane Beattie

b. circa 1760, d. 21 August 1814
FatherJohn Beattie1,2 d. 1790
MotherElinor Gilmore3
Birthcirca 1760 Jane Beattie is reported to have been born circa 1760.4,5 
Marriage She married first Robert Buchanan, son of John Buchanan and Margaret (?).6,7 
Marriagebetween 1779 and 1781 She married second Mathew Ryburn, son of Mathew Ryburn and Mary Galbreath, between 1779 and 1781.8 
Land-Buy18 Apr 1784 On 18 Apr 1784 Jane's father sold Mathew 350 acres of land for the token amount of 5 shillings.9 
Residence  The land was part of a much larger tract that John Beattie purchased from James Wood some years earlier. John "gifted" large parcels of it to his children as they married and started their own families. Portions of Mathew and Jane's parcel remained in the Ryburn family for several generations. The land generally sat to the west of the current community of Glade Spring, Virginia. 
Dower18 May 1784  One month later, on May 18, 1784, the Washington County court ordered that Jane be assigned her dower rights in the estate of her former husband, Robert Buchanan.10 
Death21 Aug 1814 Jane died on 21 Aug 1814 according to notes found in a Bible formerly belonging to Elizabeth Hall and which had become the property of the Ryburn family.4 
Burial Jane was probably buried in Ebbing Spring Cemetery, Washington County, Virginia.11 

Research Comment:

Jane's date of death was reported as 21 Aug. 1814 in both Early Southwest Virginia Families (Allison 1960), and Buchanan and Gillespie (Trimble, 1992), however neither author cited their source. For some time I discounted this information, believing the date had erroneously been taken from a stone at Buchanan Cemetery which states: Jane B. Buchanan, d. 21 Aug. 1814, age 19y 1m 19d. This Jane was the daughter of Mathew Ryburn's sister Ann (Ryburn) Buchanan. However the recent discovery of an old family record - possibly copied from an earlier Ryburn Bible - sheds a different light on my assumption. The wording:

My beloved wife Jean departed this life August 21th 1814 Aged 54 yrs


suggests the original record may have been made by Mathew Ryburn himself. If this is accurate it means both Jane and her namesake, Jane Buchanan, died on the same day. The same old record lists the birth dates for Mathew and Jane's children, however some of those dates do not appear to be entirely accurate (see analysis below).

It is clear that Jane (Beattie) Buchanan Ryburn died between 15 Nov., 1813 and 22 Feb. 1818 as she signed a deed on the first date and was deceased when Mathew wrote his will on the latter date. Her headstone has never been located.3,12,4,13,14

Related Links and Images:

Mathew and Jane Ryburn Family data - possibly copied from an earlier Bible (image + analysis)15
The Ebbing Spring Church and Cemetery page identifies the location of the old cemetery and tells a little about its history
Jane's granddaughter Mary Jane (Davis) Moffett left a journal in which she mentioned Jane. See Mary Jane's Journal for images and text; in particular see pages 1 and 7-10

Family 1

Robert Buchanan b. 25 Sep 1747, d. bef Sep 1779
Child

Family 2

Mathew Ryburn b. 26 Aug 1753, d. 6 Mar 1818
Children
Last Edited13 Dec 2013

Citations

  1. [S957] John Beatie will (recorded Sept 1790), Washington Co., Virginia Will Bk 1: 160. John's will, written 18 Aug. 1790 was recorded at the Sept. court session in 1790. John's will named his sons David and William, and sons-in-law David Sawyer, James Logan, James Dysart and Mathew Ryburn.
  2. [S10] "Journal of Mary Jane Beaty (Davis) Moffett", p. 1.
  3. [S5] Elizabeth Kelly Allison, Early Southwest Virginia Families, p. 102-6.
  4. [S2648] Mathew Ryburn Family Record, handwritten copy, original held in 2011 by Carolyn Ryburn, Glade Spring, Virginia. Entry reads: "My beloved wife Jean departed this life August 21th [sic] 1814 Aged 54 yrs."
  5. [S16] Jane's brother William, who died in 1860, was reported to be about 100 years of age at his death leading to some confusion regarding their respective birthdates. However the 1860 federal census mortality schedule states that William was 98 at his death, lending support to the possibility that Jane was indeed born in 1760.
  6. [S10] "Journal of Mary Jane Beaty (Davis) Moffett", p. 1. .."my grandmother's maiden name was Jane Beaty married Robert Buchanan of Augusta County VA. He died and she afterward married grandfather Ryburn, she only had one child by Buchanan - Margaret Buchanan.
  7. [S330] Lyman Chalkley, Chronicles of the Scotch-Irish Settlement in Virginia Extracted From the Original Court Records of Augusta County 1745-1800, 3:560. Jean Buchanan, wife of Rbt. Buchanan, deceased, relinquishes her right of dower in 260 acres in Beverly Manor, joining Patrick Buchanan's land, 4 Sept. 1779.
  8. [S10] "Journal of Mary Jane Beaty (Davis) Moffett", p 1. The fact of the marriage and the names of the participants was recorded in the journal but the date was not. Date range is estimated based on the date (Sept 1779) Jane released her dower rights in lands of her deceased husband (and was referred to as Jean Buchanan), and the birth date of her first child with Mathew Ryburn (Sept. 1781).
  9. [S1046] Washington Co., Virginia Deed Book 1: 7. Original deed is very difficult to read from film.
  10. [S726] Lewis Preston Summers, Annals of Southwest Virginia, p. 1177; abstracted from Washington County Minutes, dated 18 May 1784: ordered that James Kincannon, Andrew Kincannon, William Edmondson and Samuel Edmondson assign to J. Ryburn her right of dower and lawful part in said estate of Robert Buchanan, relict.
  11. [S5] Elizabeth Kelly Allison, Early Southwest Virginia Families, p. 103. It is not clear if the author was suggesting that Mathew OR his wife Jane was buried in Ebbing Spring Cemetery. It is likely they were both buried there.
  12. [S124] David Trimble, Buchanan and Gillespie, p. 208, 218.
  13. [S2] Catherine McConnell, High On A Windy Hill, p. 150. Jane B. Buchanan, d. 21 Aug. 1814, age 19y 1m 19d.
  14. [S719] Washington Co., Virginia Deed Book 5: 321. Deed dated 15 Nov. 1813 from Mathew and Jane [also Jean] Ryburn to Ezra Pierce for $276.00 - a tract of land containing 34 and 1/2 acres lying on the waters of the Middle Fork of the Holston River, being part of a tract whereon said Ryburn lived. Deed recorded 16 Nov. 1813.
  15. [S1376] Image courtesy of Carolyn Ryburn.
  16. [S10] "Journal of Mary Jane Beaty (Davis) Moffett", p. 8. Children of Mathew Ryburn and Jane his wife: Elen, Mary, Jane, Sarah, Beaty (oldest son), Ann, Nancy, and Mathew (youngest son).