Beal Bale Beale Beall
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COLONIAL FAMILIES OF THE UNITED STATES DESCENDED FROM THE IMMIGRANTS Who Arrived Before 1700, Mostly from England and Scotland, and Tf?ho Are Now Represented by Citizens of the Following Names BELL BEAL BALE BEALE BEALL FROM DATA COLLECTED A.i."ID EDITED BY LrnuT.-CoLONEL FIELDER M. M. BEALL U.S. ARMY F. M. M. BEALL Lieut.-Colonel U. S. Army, Retired 1929 Introduction From state and county records and scraps of history collected here and there throughout the country indicate that the Bells and Bealls have figured extensively in the settlement and development of the nation. Many have been distinguished in the arts and science, in law and literature and in war and politics. We had one or more general officers in every war from the Revolution to and including the World War. We owe to ourselves, to our country and to posterity, the duty of collecting and publishing such information and records concerning the Bells and Bealls, as may become available. Pride: in family his tory should be encouraged and fostered, for it tend3 to strengthen the moral obligations, elevate the individual character, and l,roaden our patriotism. There were eighteen Beal, Beale and Bell immiitrants to the Province of Maryland before 1700, who left permanent descent to be considered. Many of these who spelled their names Bell, changed it to Beall soon after arrival. In many cases individuals have constructed reliable and valuable Bell and Beall lines, covering their own families, and then quietly filed their efforts away, not for a moment realizing that our great family is not only highly interested in, but is entitled to share with them, the knowledge and honors dcvclo,)Cd in their lines. This con dition should not be, for they collectively have not only nothing to be ashamed of but numerous virtues and many brilliant individuals to be proud of. The origin of the Bell Clan of Scotland does not seem to have been definitely recorded. Numerous data have seen collected and digested on the subject, which permits of satisfactory deductions. Previous to the Roman conquest Britain was inhabited by about forty tribes of people called the Cymri, or ancient Britons. Their origin is undetermined. Native legends indicate that they migrated from the East, and took possession of Britain in ancient times, long before the Christian Era. The names of their gods arc similar to those of ancient Phenicia and Babylon. 3 4 GENEALOGY OF THE BEALL FAMILIES The ri:ligion of the Cymri was Druidistical. The objects of their reverence were numerous, viz: Oak: trees, mistletoe, the hills, the rivers, the rocks, the sun or the fire-giver; and an imaginary god called Baal, Bel, Beil or Bell. Their priests were called Druids. Their places of worship did not consist of houses, but certain places in the hills formed by a circle of great stones. Many of the stone circles arc in existence today. The Romans found these Druid priests had great influence over the natives; so they tried to destroy the priests. They found that their directors and their chief meeting place were on the Isle of Mono or Anglesia, on the coast of Wales. They immc• diately killed the priests. and cut down their sacred trees. There were many other minor places of worship left after the chief one on Mono Isle had been dcetroycd, but their general authority had been destroyed, and finally disappeared when Christiani;y appeared. The Druids practiced human sacrifice. C:esar first invaded Britain in 55 B. C., and in 58 A. D. sent a Governor-General to control the Province. The Romans evacuated Britain 410 A. D. Saint Kcntigen and Saint Mungo· the Beloved, lit the torches of early Christianity in Britain, and began the destruction of paganism. Saint Ninian built his first church near Whithorn 391 A. D., and called it Candida Casa. Saint Patrick: commenced preaching in Ireland in 425 A. D. After the introduction of Christianity in Britain the Priests of Baal, Bel, Beil or Bell, finding their occupation gone, assembled, and for mutual protection, formed a clan called Baal, Bel, Beil or Bell. They located in Scotland on t!ie west coast. The first mention of the Bell Clan in Scotland's political history was in 1587, when the Bells arc put on the unruly lists of clans in the West Marshes. The literature of the early fifteenth century, and later, indicates that Scottish citizens by the name of Bell were separated into two classes, viz.: those who preserved the clannish form of government, and were referred to in political documents as the Clan Bell of the West Marshes. The other class we find scattered all through Scotland and Engl:md, paying little attention to clannish organiza tion, but successfully indulging in literary, scientific and military pur suits. These often, especially in England, changed their surname spelling from Bell to Beal and Beale. But the Bell relationship was IN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA 5 acknowledged; especially when a coat of arms is introduced, by using the Bell characters in the chevron. Bells Tower is mentioned in 1481 in an Act of Parliament. William Bell represented the Clan in Parliament in 1545-1547. In 1751 General Bell commanded Queen Mary's army in Sterling, after the capture of Dumbarton Castle. In some of the rural districts of Scotland the Fire Festival is today celebrated in May. This is a survival of the Fire Festivals practiced by the Druid priests, before the advent of Christianity. It was called the Festival Beltain, or Baa:tein or Bealltein. On the day of the festival the fires of the people were extinguished in the land. Then the Druid priests supplied the inhabitants with the Sa cred Fire of Baal, which the priests had kept continuously burning upon their altars.. (See the histories of Scotland by Jam_!!s Logan and John S. Kelsie.) As mentioned above, in 1587 the Bells of the West Marshes were on the lists of the unruly clans of Scotland. Many of them accepted the invitation of King James of England of about 1605, for Protestants to migrate to the Ulster Plantations in N Jrthern Ireland. These Plantations consisted of the Counties Tyrone, Donegal, Arm2gh, Cavan, Tennaugh and Derry, all attained by the English through conquest. King James invited immigrants from Engl:tnd and Scotland to occupy these desirable lands. Manr of the Bell Clan accepted. By 1725 more than 500 families of the Bell settlers had emigrated from Ireland to the American Colonies and flourished. According to the records of the Land Office, Annapolis, a large majority of the Bell immigrants to Maryland came over before 1700 from Scotland. Many of these Bells changed the spelling of their names from Bell to Beall and Beale. The first Bell immigrant who changed his name to Beall was John Bell of Saint Marys County on May 15, 1657. (See Md. Arcb., Vol. X, folios 505, 513, 514.) An incomplete survey of the Revolutionary ,var records shows that the- Bell, Beall and Beale citizens of the Pro,inces of Maryland, Virginia, and North Carolina responded splendidly to the call to anns of 1776. The other provinces did just as well, but had fewer citi zens of the name in question. The records show North Carolina had 124, Virginia 134, and Maryland 188, who loved liberty and honor, and shouldered their rifles to back their love. There were many who 6 GENEALOGY OF THE BEALL FAMILIES enlisted in the militia of their counties, whose names failed to appear on the state records. The comrilation of the immigrants Beall and Beale and Beal and their descendants arc made up from many sources. The greatest care has been exercised. It has required much time and money to col• lcct and compile this record. It has been a great satisfaction to me to have been the humble compiler of a worlc that will be a source of · pride and plcasur.: to a great American family, who today claim 32,000 souls in these United States. Aiiectionately yours, F. M. M. BEALL, Lintmant Colonel, U. S. Army, retired. Member Society of Forci9n Wars. Member Society of Colonial Wars. Member Societ:, of Sons of American Re<r1olution. Chevy Chase, Md. Generations, Abbreviations, Dates, and Counties Used in the Beall Record The children of an immigrant or the bead of a line have a marginal prefix of a capital letter. For example .d, B, etc. The grancchildren of an immigrant or head of a line, have a marginal prefix of a numeral. For example 1, 2, etc. The 2 grandchildren of an immigrant o:- head of a line have a marginal prefix of a numeral in brackets. For example [ 1J, [2], etc. The 3 grandchildren of an immigrant or head of a line have a marginal prefix of a common letter. For example, a, b, etc. The 4 grandchildren of an immigrant. or head of a line, have a marginal index of a common letter in brackets. For example [a], [b], etc. The 5 grandchildren of an immigrant or bead of a line have a marginal index of a Roman numeral. For example, I, II, etc. The 6 grandchildren of an immigrant or head of a line have a marginal index of a Roman numeral in brackets. For example, [I], [II], etc. The common letter b stands for born. The common letters ba stand for born about, and indicate the date of birth is unknown and has been estimated from circumstantial datz. The common letter d stands for died. IN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA 7 The common letters da stand for died about, and indicate that the date of death is unknown, and has been estimated from circum stantial data.