(E) NATHAN BEASON, sixth child of (D) Thomas Beason who was the eighth child of (C) William Beason who was the seventh child of (B) Richard Beason who was the second child of (A) Edward Beason who migrated from Lancaster, England to America in 1682, was born in a log cabin, the home of his parents, in North Carolina December 22, 1787, 105 years after his great-great-grandfather (A) Edward Beason had settled in the village of Irishtown, New Castle County, Delaware. Nathan and his brother William were twins. At the time of their births, they had two older brothers and two sisters; (D1) Margaret 9, (D2) Joseph 7, (D3) lsaac 5, (D4) Abetha, (D7) Thomas was born here in 1790.
When Nathan was about 7 or 8 years old, his family, along with several others, moved to Ohio Territory and settled on the Miami River in the locality of what is now Dayton, Ohio. While living there, a baby girl was born to the family. (D8) Mary was born November 26, 1796. Within a couple of years after that, the family moved about 25 or 30 miles to the east and settled on Caesar Creek south of Xenia, Ohio. Another brother, (D9) Amasa was born there in 1798 and the last child of the family, (D10) Elizabeth, was born there November 5, 1800.
All the children grew to maturity on the Caesar Creek farm; and all married in that community. (D4) Abetha was first to leave the home. She married Samuel Bone November 8, 1803. Theirs was the tenth wedding in Greene County, Ohio. (D2) Joseph married Samuel's sister Susan Bone April 13, 1805. (D3) lsaac married Jane Sanders on Christmas day the following year. The next marriage took place when (D5) William married Mary Stansbury February 28, 1811.
(E) Nathan Beason married Sarah Turner at Xenia, Ohio December 10, 1812. They were married by Justice of the Peace Isaac Gird. Sarah was eighteen. Nathan's brother Thomas married Sarah's sister, Kisen Turner, August 11, 1814; and Nathan's sister Elizabeth married Sarah's brother, Henry Turner, July 26, l819. (D8) Mary married Henry Bone, younger brother of Samuel and Susanna Bone in 1820. The last wedding in the family was a double wedding on December 15, l821. (D1) Margaret married Malon Seward, and (D9) Amasa married Margaret Price.
As was customary in this frontier settlement, each pair of newly weds set up housekeeping in a new log house on their own land. When the wedding date was announced, brothers, cousins, uncles, neighbors, all gathered to cut the trees into logs and to build the house, The women helped too, cooking, interior finishings and furnishings, food supplies, etc. Such preparations were made for Nathan and Sarah. The log house was built on a parcel of land that Nathan had purchased on Caesar Creek near his father's farm. Nathan and Sarah lived in this house for 17 years; and eight of their children were born here: (E1) Joseph in 1814, (E2) Robert 1816, (E3) Sophire 1817, (E4) Nellie 1819, (E5) Ephraim l823, (E6)Dinah 1825 (E7) Nathan 1827, (E8) Sarah (Sally) 1829. (E) Nathan's wife Sarah was born in Tennessee in 1794.
Nathan added more land to the farm. While some territorial and early state records are missing, we do find that Nathan bought 70 acres of land "adjoining other land that he owned on the waters of Caesar Creek" from Mr. Murphy for $180.00 in 1823. This transaction was recorded in l824. The records also show that in 1824 he "sold 70 acres of land to his brother-in-law, Samuel Bone." He "purchased a parcel of land in Greene County on the waters of Caesar Creek" from Richard Anderson for $156.00 in 1823. He sold 4.0 acres to someone whose name is not legible. He sold another piece of land to Ambrose Beason and still other land to his brother, Thomas Beason.
Nathan left Ohio in 1829 and traveled north-west nearly all the way across the state of Indiana. He settled near the little town of Williamsport, Indiana near the western boundary line of the state. Williamsport was destined to be the hometown of the Beason family for the next 17 years. (E9) Mace was born there in 1830, (E10) Margaret in 1835, and (E11) James in 1837. Here, as in Ohio, the files of early records are incomplete. However, there are a few records of land transactions that have to do with the Beason's. Nathan bought a "plot of land (No.66)" May 12, 1834. in Rainsville, Warren County, Indiana from Isaac and Sarah Rains for $10.00. Rainsville is about 11 miles north of Williamsport and was founded in the year 1833. On February 22, 1835, Nathan sold this plot #66 to Michael Creekpaum for $1200.00. He also sold the NW 1/4 of the NE 1/4 of section 35, township 23, range 8 to Creekpaum and P. Davis for $300.00. These transactions were witnessed by Jesse Endicott. Other members of the Beason family grew to maturity and purchased land also. By the spring of 1846, the Beasons had disposed of all their land and decided to move to Missouri.
The depression had reached Missouri "by the time that state was admitted to the union August 10, 1821. Both the Bank of St. Louis and the Bank of Missouri failed. The barter system was coming into use. There was still trouble with the Indians. However, with the introduction of steamboat traffic on the Missouri River and the overland trade with Mexico, prosperity gradually returned and treaties with the various Indian tribes reduced fear. In 1836, the Indians relinquished their title to the Platte Country. This included land along the Missouri River from Platte County, Missouri to the Iowa state line. The Mormons were driven out by the Missourians in 1838. Other immigrants came. The spotlight was on Missouri. It was a frontier state, wild life, vegetation, fertile soil, open to settlement.
It seems that the (E) Nathan Beason family and the Jesse Endicott family had been friends through the years. Jesse Endicott married Sarah Lowe at Xenia, Ohio in 1811. Earliest record of Nathan's residence at Williamsport lists the name of Jesse Endicott, also the census record of 1830. They witnessed business documents for each other; Nathan's son Joseph and Jesse's daughter Polly married at Williamsport in 1832; and now the two families or clans traveled together to settle in Missouri. They traveled in covered wagons drawn by oxen. They took along household belongings, farm tools and equipment, livestock, cattle, hogs, chickens, horses. It is not known how many wagons traveled in this caravan. However, it is quite probable that there were at least ten, perhaps more. The Beason's drove seven or eight wagons. How many were driven by the Endicotts is not known. We do know that several Endicott families ended up at the new location.
Six of Nathan's children had married during their 17 years residence at Williamsport. Joseph had married Polly Sarah Endicott in 1832; Robert married Rachel Landon in 1841; Sophire married Leonard Doss Brown in 1842; Nellie married (name of husband not known); Eaph married Katherine Kochel in 1843; and Dinah married a Mr. Ganaway in 1845.
There were 33 members of the Beason clan (men, women and children) in the wagon train when it started for Missouri. One more was born along the way.
Traveling was slow and rugged. There were many hardships. There was some sickness, but there were no deaths before the journey's end. Rivers had to be forded, and occasionally the trail had to be opened. A few head of livestock were lost, and wagons had to be repaired. There were a few accidents, but nothing serious. Nevertheless, the traveling and the new sights were interesting, and there was enjoyment. Food along the way was abundant for both man and beast-grass, fruit, wild game. In general, their trail followed the rivers where food and water supply were plentiful. The oxen traveled slowly over the raw and rough trail. The livestock grazed as they traveled. Eight or ten miles made a fair day's travel for the caravan. Evenings were not without their entertainment. Frequently, the violin, banjo and Jew's-harp furnished orchestra music for singing and for dancing games.
Their trail covered between 600 and 700 miles. It ended at Stockton, Cedar County, Missouri. All settled in that vicinity, and most of them remained there until after the deaths of Nathan and his wife Sarah. Sarah died in 1851, and Nathan died a year or two later. After Sarah's death, Nathan and his two children, Margaret and James, moved in with Joseph and his family on the "Doctor Cox Farm". Both Nathan and Margaret died there. Margaret died in 1853. James stayed on and farmed with Joseph.
About this time, members of the Beason clan began to scatter. Most of them moved north and settled in the locality of Hamburg, Iowa and Nebraska City, Nebraska. A few, at least Joseph, Eaph and Nathan with their families remained until the Civil War was in progress.
CHILDREN OF (E) NATHAN AND SARAH BEASON (E1) Joseph Beason, born in 1814 (E2) Robert Beason, born in 1816 (E3) Sophire (Siphy, Sophia) born in 1817 (E4) Nellie Beason, born in 1819 (E5) Ephraim(Eaph)Beason, born in 1823 (E6) Dinah Beason, born in 1825 (E7) Nathan Beason, born in 1827 (E8) Sarah (Sally) Beason, born in 1829 (E9) Macy (Mace) Beason, born in 1830 (E10) Margaret Beason, born in 1835 (E11) James (Jim) Beason born in 1837
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