Simon Beaman (Born c1626 in England, died 1676 Massachusetts) - some untangling required

Question

The England Project is a manager for the profile of Simon Beaman . The EP became a manager for his profile back in 2019 to preserve the Project Protection. We are now trying to sort out both Simon and his immediate family. 

The first recorded sighting of Simon was when he was already in Massachusetts in 1648. There are no known records for him in England, although his profile currently says he was born in 1626 in Church Stretton, Cardington, Shropshire, England. Church Stretton and Cardington are two different parishes in Shropshire. The parish register for Cardington 1598-1636 has lost the pages from 1613-1635 and there are no Beaman (or variants) events in the remainder of the register. The Bishops Transcripts do not survive before 1660. The records of the nearby parish of Church Stretton do not survive before 1661. There is no indication on the profile why these locations have been proposed as his birthplace.

His currently attached parents are Adam Beaman and Helena Knightsford. 

Adam is problematic as the version of him that is the father of Simon was born in 1594. The version that is the father of Simon's 6 brothers was born in 1570. Adam born 1594 is also the son of Adam born 1570 and both are linked as spouses of Helena Knightsford.
By her birthdate, Helena would be 51 when she gave birth to Simon. Adam would have been 56 years old.

Adam and Helena are named as the parents of Radalphus (currently listed as Simon's eldest brother) born 1595 in Biddulph, Shropshire, which is 55 miles from Cardington.  Helena is named in the register with her own surname rather than "wife of Adam" which would suggest this is an unmarried couple, although the relationship between Adam and Helena is not stated in the original parish register. (Image for parish register Biddulph 1595 obtained by Nic Donnelly from the FHC).

There are five more sons between Radalphus and Simon, none of which have a source which tie them to Adam and Helena. In fact none of them have a reliable source of any sort. 

Proposals for discussion:

1. Simon Beaman is detached from Adam and Helena as parents. Change his birthplace to England, with the birthyear of 1626 as uncertain.

2. Simon Beaman continues to have project protection, but with a more suitable project such as Southern Colonies who are better placed to investigate his life in Massachusetts.

3. Merge the two versions of Adam Bemon, keeping him as the father of Helena Knightford's child Radalphus rather than her son and second husband.

4. Keep Radalphus as the son of Adam Bemon and Helena Knightsford, as there is a primary source for this relationship. Detach the other 5 sons (Gamaliel, Thomas, John, Richard, Bartholomew)

5. Try to work out where the other 5 sons fit, and label them "Uncertain existence" if no primary sources can be found for them. 

It would be brilliant if the PMs for all the profiles involved would bring their input into this discussion. I will put a comment on each profile to alert the PMs.

Jo

England Project Managed Profiles Team Coordinator

Edit: added PGM tag, corrected spelling of Biddulph

Comments

As far as a project to manage the Simon Beaman profile, I believe that would fall to the Massachusetts Project.  Southern Colonies only goes as far north as Maryland.

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Just to note relevant PGM profiles.  It looks like son John may be confused in some way with PGM profile John Beamond (1612-1647) (at least he seems to be the only John Beamon known to be in New England at that time).

Son Gamaleil is attached as the father of PGM profile Gamaliel (Beamon) Beaman (abt. 1623 - 1678)

And just another note that John Beamon and William Beamon were known to have immigrated from Bridgenorth, Shropshire in 1635, but there is a theory that they were originally from Potton, Bedfordshire. See g2g discussion. 

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Thanks for recommending the Massachusetts Project M!

Answer 1

I would agree with all your proposals, I think that the Cardington reference comes from a publication  named 'The Beaman and Clark Genealogy: a history of the descendants of Gamaliel Beaman and Sarah Clark of Dorchester and Lancaster, Mass. 1635-1909. by Wooden, Emily Beaman. Published 1909. There is a Simon Beman, age unknown, came to New England in 1635. It is suggested in the publication that some of the Beaman family may have come from a place called Bowman's Hill, located in the parish of Cardington and near Church Stretton, although the author could find no records of the Beaman family living there. I think that it is probable that the reference to Cardington came from this publication.

Comments

That is really useful to know Malcolm, thank you very much for that. I will try to find an online copy of the book.

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Links to online versions here https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Space:The_Beaman_and_Clark_Genealogy

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Thanks Malcolm and Andrew - I have added that to the discussion in the Research Notes

Answer 2

Jo said:

Proposals for discussion:

1. Simon Beaman is detached from Adam and Helena as parents. Change his birthplace to England, with the birthyear of 1626 as uncertain.

I have worked through the evidence for Simon Beaman and put a long research note on the profile justifying giving his birth as before May 1627 in England (uncertain), and justifying removing Adam and Helena as his parents.

Comments

I will detach the parents. There have been no objections or comments to the contrary since this proposal was posted.

Answer 3

3. Merge the two versions of Adam Bemon, keeping him as the father of Helena Knightford's child Radalphus rather than her son and second husband.

Adam Beaman-638 who is both half-brother and father of Simon appears in the Ancestry tree listed on that profile as the full brother of Simon, son of Adam and Helena. Possibly there was confusion when profiles were merged in the past. However there is no evidence I can see for there being a brother Adam.

4. Keep Radalphus as the son of Adam Bemon and Helena Knightsford, as there is a primary source for this relationship. Detach the other 5 sons (Gamaliel, Thomas, John, Richard, Bartholomew)

5. Try to work out where the other 5 sons fit, and label them "Uncertain existence" if no primary sources can be found for them.

I have looked at the other brothers

• Thomas: from his date he is probably intended to be the man aged 29 in 1635 who migrated to Virginia. The Beaman-Clark genealogy has him (without justification) as brother to the New England migrants. I propose he is disconnected and given the two line biography that the sources support.
• John: as M Cole noted above, from his dates he is probably intended to be the PGM migrant John Beamond, whose parents are unknown. I propose he is disconnected and merged away into the PGM John.
• Gamaliel: I find zero evidence for him, despite his appearance in over 8000 Ancestry trees. His FamilySearch profile has only Millennium file as its source. I suggest he is a duplicate of his listed son Gamaliel, made up to fit the chronology if Adam and Helen had a son Gamaliel who was brother to the other migrants but with the PGM Gamaliel being too young to be their child. There is a comment on his profile making an argument like this. I propose he is disconnected and merged away into the PGM Gamaliel.
• Richard: 900+ Ancestry trees mention him
• Bartholomew: 700+ Ancestry trees mention him

For both these last two, the trees I've looked at have no sources for their births, but sometimes there are sourced wife and children in random places in England or New England. Until today these profiles have not been edited since import in 2011, unlike the other brothers who have been the subject of multiple merges. I can't figure out where they might have been conjured from.

Comments

Bartholomew Beaman may possibly be a man of the same name who was having children in the parish of Neen Savage, Shropshire in the 1660s, and died as a poor man in 1670. Neen Savage is 60 miles south of Biddulph, and Helen Knightsford would have been 50 years old at his given year of birth of 1626. I have disconnected Bartholomew from Adam and Helen as parents.

Answer 4

Thanks to the Massachusetts Project for taking over Simon Beaman's profile. The England Project has become a co-manager of Adam Beamond who was previously attached as his father.  I will close this question and post new questions about the other Beaman (and variant) profiles which were associated with Simon as the need arises.

Jo, England Project Managed Profiles Team coordinator