Nicholas Beard (bef. 1616 - 1702)

Born before 2 Apr 1616 in Rottingdean, Sussex, England

Ancestors

Descendants

Died 2 May 1702 after age 86 in Rottingdean, Sussex, England

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Nicholas Beard was born in Sussex, England.

Biography

Nicholas was baptised on 2 Apr 1616 in the coastal village of Rottingdean near Brighton in Sussex, England.^[1] He was a son of Richard Beard and his wife Ann.

By all accounts, Nicholas was a wealthy yeoman. He married a lady called Susanna sometime in the late 1640s. Nothing is known about her. The earliest Quaker baptism records for Rottingdean clearly recorded the births of four children born before Nicholas and Susanna "were convinced of the truth" and converted to the Quaker faith. The first of these was a daughter, Sara Beard born in 1650. The next was a son, Nicholas Beard named after his father. The birth record referred to Nicholas junior as the couple's second son suggesting their first child was a boy who died in infancy.

Quakerism or the Society of Friends was founded in 1652 by George Fox following a vision on Pendle Hill in Lancashire. Fox visited Sussex in the late summer and autumn of 1655. It is widely held that Nicholas and Susanna heard him speak in Steyning and immediately converted to the Quaker faith. This was a dangerous time to be a dissenter or non-conformist. Quakers were pacifists who did not baptise their children or believe a priest was necessary to commune with God. Such beliefs put them in direct conflict with the established church. They had a brief period of respite during the interregnum; systemic persecution did not begin until 1662 with the introduction of the Quaker Act by the restored king, Charles II. Even before then, Nicholas Beard was to suffer a great deal both physically and financially for his religious beliefs. The priest of Rottingdean, Robert Baker, immediately set himself against Nicholas. For refusing to pay his annual tithes, 12 oxen, 6 cows and one bull were seized. By 1657, Nicholas repeatedly found himself imprisoned, the first time from 1657 to 1659 in the Fleet Prison in London. In 1661, he was placed in the King's Bench Prison for non-payment of tithes. Between 1664 and 1672, he was held in Horsham Gaol in Sussex with fellow Quakers William Harrison, John Barber (the father-in-law of Nicholas's daughter Elizabeth Beard, John Grover, William Scrase and Walter Scrase. Even as an old man, he was frequently set about whilst at his prayers.^[2]

Despite these trials, Nicholas and Susanna had a total of 20 children between circa 1649 and 1672. As well as the eldest son with no name or birth record, there was also an unnamed daughter born between 1651 and early 1654. We know this because the Quaker record of births before Nicholas and Susannas' conversion states that Sarah born in December 1650 was their first daughter and Hannah born in October 1654 was their third daughter. There is no mention of daughter number 2.

Known issue included in the records:-

1. Sara (1650)^[3]
2. Nicholas (1652)^[4]
3. Hannah (1654)^[5]
4. George (1655)^[6]
5. William (1656)^[7]
6. Richard (1657)^[8]
7. Jeremiah (1658)^[9]
8. Thomas (1659)^[10]
9. John (1661)^[11]
10. Susanna (1662)^[12]
11. Joseph (1664)^[13]
12. Benjamin (1665)^[14]
13. Elizabeth (1665)^[15]
14. Samuel (1666)^[16]
15. Benjamin (1668)^[17]
16. Nathaniel (1669)^[18]
17. Edward (1670)^[19]
18. Daniel (1672)^[20]

Nicholas died on 2 July 1702 in Rottingdean after a life spent defending his Quaker faith at huge cost to his own family.^{[21] [22]}

His devoted wife Susanna predeceased him by two months; she died on 6 May 1702.^[23] They were both buried in the Quaker cemetery in Rottingdean which had been created with money provided by Nicholas.^[24]

Nicholas left a will which is held by the East Sussex and Brighton and Hove Record Office. In it, he left £15 to the Quakers of Brighton for a meeting house, which had already been built by the time of his death. Unusually, the bulk of his estate was left to his youngest son, Daniel Beard. In a codicil, the money set aside for a meeting house was left to his grandson, James Streeter to build a "little house in Pennsylvania to sleep and do his business in".

Research Note

The births of all Nicholas and Susanna's children except the unnamed two born before 1655 were recorded consecutively by the monthly meeting of Lewes and Brighton Quakers in date order from 1656 (William ) to 1672 (Daniel) on pages 32 and 33. They are interspersed only by three children of Nicholas's brother Richard. One reference, found only in the Family Search database, indicates the birth of another daughter, Sarah, on 24 February 1670 and appears on page 43 of the record book.^[25] This is a misleading error. Page 43 is the one that lists the four children born before Nicholas and Susanna became Quakers. The original record reads "the 24th day of the 12th month 1650". This is 24 Dec 1650 not 24 Feb 1670. It is the birth date of Nicholas and Susanna's first daughter, called Sara(h). We can therefore conclude that they had only one daughter with the name Sarah, born in 1650, who lived to maturity and married. The total number of children they had stands at 20. Eady-184 18:03, 26 July 2022 (UTC)

Sources

1. ↑ "England, Sussex, Parish Registers, 1538-1910", database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:KG8K-CNC : 7 December 2017), Nicholas Beard, 1616.
2. ↑ Penney, Norman. My Ancestors. Headley Brothers, Bishopsgate London and Ashford Kent, 1920. The Beard Family, pages 47-55.
3. ↑ "England Births and Christenings, 1538-1975", database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:N12P-6PY : 20 March 2020), Nicholas Beard in entry for Sara Beard, 1650.
4. ↑ "England and Wales Non-Conformist Record Indexes (RG4-8), 1588-1977," database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:FWXC-1LH : 11 December 2014), Nicholas Beard in entry for Nicholas Beard, 17 Jun 1652, Birth; citing p. 113, Sussex, record group RG6, Public Record Office, London.
5. ↑ "England and Wales Non-Conformist Record Indexes (RG4-8), 1588-1977," database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:F7QD-QWG : 11 December 2014), Nicholas Beard in entry for Hannah Beard, 14 Oct 1654, Birth; citing p. 43, Lewes & Chichester, Sussex, record group RG6, Public Record Office, London.
6. ↑ "England and Wales Non-Conformist Record Indexes (RG4-8), 1588-1977," database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:FQTR-Y2B : 11 December 2014), Nicholas Beard in entry for George Beard, 17 Oct 1655, Birth; citing p. 43, Lewes & Chichester, Sussex, record group RG6, Public Record Office, London.
7. ↑ "England Births and Christenings, 1538-1975", database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:JQD4-QJ9 : 20 March 2020), Nicholas Beard in entry for William Beard, 1656.
8. ↑ "England and Wales Non-Conformist Record Indexes (RG4-8), 1588-1977," database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:FQCB-YYC : 11 December 2014), Nicholas Beard in entry for Richard Beard, 06 Dec 1657, Birth; citing p. 32, Lewes & Chichester, Sussex, record group RG6, Public Record Office, London.
9. ↑ "England and Wales Non-Conformist Record Indexes (RG4-8), 1588-1977," database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:F753-K9R : 11 December 2014), Nicholas Beard in entry for Jeremiah Beard, 29 Dec 1658, Birth; citing p. 32, Lewes & Chichester, Sussex, record group RG6, Public Record Office, London.
10. ↑ "England and Wales Non-Conformist Record Indexes (RG4-8), 1588-1977," database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:FQY6-YXP : 11 December 2014), Nicholas Beard in entry for Thomas Beard, 06 Dec 1659, Birth; citing p. 32, Lewes & Chichester, Sussex, record group RG6, Public Record Office, London.
11. ↑ "England and Wales Non-Conformist Record Indexes (RG4-8), 1588-1977," database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:FWG5-TL1 : 11 December 2014), Nicholas Beard in entry for John Beard, 29 Apr 1661, Birth; citing p. 32, Lewes & Chichester, Sussex, record group RG6, Public Record Office, London.
12. ↑ "England and Wales Non-Conformist Record Indexes (RG4-8), 1588-1977," database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:FWFV-D4P : 11 December 2014), Nicholas Beard in entry for Susanna Beard, 24 Dec 1662, Birth; citing p. 32, Lewes & Chichester, Sussex, record group RG6, Public Record Office, London.
13. ↑ "England and Wales Non-Conformist Record Indexes (RG4-8), 1588-1977," database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:F741-43V : 11 December 2014), Nicholas Beard in entry for Joseph Beard, 09 May 1664, Birth; citing p. 32, Lewes & Chichester, Sussex, record group RG6, Public Record Office, London.
14. ↑ "England Births and Christenings, 1538-1975", database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:NV2Q-SPY : 20 March 2020), Nicholas Beard in entry for Benjamin Beard, 1665.
15. ↑ "England Births and Christenings, 1538-1975", database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:NV2Q-98S : 20 March 2020), Nicholas Beard in entry for Elizabeth Beard, 1665.
16. ↑ "England Births and Christenings, 1538-1975", database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:JQD4-35W : 20 March 2020), Nicholas Beard in entry for Samuel Beard, 1666.
17. ↑ "England and Wales Non-Conformist Record Indexes (RG4-8), 1588-1977," database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:VWZD-5RD : 11 December 2014), Nicholas Beard in entry for Benjamin Beard, 09 Jun 1668, Birth; citing p. 33, Lewes & Chichester, Sussex, record group RG6, Public Record Office, London.
18. ↑ "England and Wales Non-Conformist Record Indexes (RG4-8), 1588-1977," database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:FQH2-MXD : 11 December 2014), Nicholas Beard in entry for Nathaniel Beard, 17 Jun 1669, Birth; citing p. 33, Lewes & Chichester, Sussex, record group RG6, Public Record Office, London.
19. ↑ "England and Wales Non-Conformist Record Indexes (RG4-8), 1588-1977," database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:F479-DPY : 11 December 2014), Nicholas Beard in entry for Edward Beard, 21 Dec 1670, Birth; citing p. 33, Lewes & Chichester, Sussex, record group RG6, Public Record Office, London.
20. ↑ "England and Wales Non-Conformist Record Indexes (RG4-8), 1588-1977," database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:VWZH-C4D : 11 December 2014), Nicholas Beard in entry for Daniel Beard, 17 Mar 1672, Birth; citing p. 33, Lewes & Chichester, Sussex, record group RG6, Public Record Office, London.
21. ↑ "England Deaths and Burials, 1538-1991", database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:JCCR-KL3 : 15 March 2020), Nicholas Beard.
22. ↑ * Unclassified: "U.S, UK and Ireland, Quaker Published Memorials, 1818-1919"
    Ancestry Sharing Link Ancestry uk Record 2581 #33664 (accessed 26 July 2022)
    Name: Nicholas Beard; Translated Death Date: 2 Jul 1702; Death Date on Image: 02 Fifth 1702; Title: Piety promoted, in brief memorials, of the virtuous lives, services, and dying sayings, of some of the People called Quakers.; Volume: Volume 1.
23. ↑ "England Deaths and Burials, 1538-1991", database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:2:M8SB-BT8 : 15 March 2020), Entry for Susanna Beard.
24. ↑ Rottingdean's Quaker Burial Ground: https://www.rottingdeanheritage.org.uk/copy-of-quaker-burial-ground (accessed 26 July 2022).
25. ↑ "England and Wales Non-Conformist Record Indexes (RG4-8), 1588-1977," database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:2:MN6M-K8T : 11 December 2014), Entry for Sarah Beard, 24 Feb 1670, Birth; citing p. 43, Lewes & Chichester, Sussex, record group RG6, Public Record Office, London.