To Laurel Baty, my new Beatty/Beaty cousins of L-134, and the larger BP2000 family, I received the rest of the military file of James L. Beaty from you, Laurel, in the mail today, and I thank you very much for all of the extra attention given to this search! I realize that this is lengthy, but I need to write this while it feels like I am making progress and fitting pieces together. Isn't it maddening, that there is not one word about James L. Beaty's family and no proof of his birth date in any part of his military file, including the pension file, itself, which is 104 pages of paperwork showing that poor James L. Beaty spent 22 years, from 1866 until 1888 trying to get a disability pension? On 09 Nov. 1863, when he enlisted, his birth year shows to be the birth year that I have but do not know where or when I got it! By subtracting his age of 44, from 1863, it shows his birth year to be 1819. My records state that he was born in Stark County, Ohio 20 Nov. 1819 and died in the County Poor House, South Bend, St. Joseph, Indiana on 17 Oct. 1888 and was buried 19 Oct. 1888 in Walkerton, St. Joseph Co., IN. I am convinced that he was a very proud man and did not want anyone to know the stressful situations and tragic events of their family: Their oldest daughter died at 27 in 1870; their next-oldest daughter married the same year and moved out of state; their oldest son married in 1872 and moved out of their home; his wife died 1874; his 17 or 18-year-old son drown in 1875; and his youngest son, a twin, died of Spinal Meningitis at age 16 in the same year or early the next year in 1876. Another card in the regular military file shows that on Feb. 19, 1865 that he was age 52, and when I subtract 52 from 1965, then his birth date appears to be 1913, which was the date that Lineage-134, my newly-found family, had, and so did my great-aunt Hazel at first. On the Feb. 19, 1865 card, as well as the very next card, they have him described as having "Dark complexion" and "Dark hair," instead of the light complexion and auburn hair he had when he volunteered. The height is consistent: 5' and 5.5" tall. Of course, he had already spent some time in the hospital and much time outside in the southern sun experiencing what he called "Sun Stroke!" On the Feb. 19, 1865 card, and the next card, they call him a "Straggler," (Why, because he didn't show up for duty simply because he was very ill and in the field hospital?) and he was "Sent to Cumberland" the next day on Feb. 20th. It almost makes me wonder if they had him confused with some other James L. Beaty! On 24 Oct. 1882 while he was living in Flower Creek, Oceana Co., MI, James L. Beatty wrote to Wm. W. Dudley of the Pension Bureau, that these are the field hospitals he was in and states the dates the best he could: Georgia, Aug 1864; Columbia, Tenn., last of Aug. or first of Sept. 1864, Nashville, Tenn., Sept. 1864, Louisville, Kentucky, last of Sept. 1864; Keokuk, Iowa, Sept or Oct. 1864. He signed his name as James L. Beaty, A Private, Company B 128, Ind. first Brigade and first division, and 23 "Core" (Corp?). On May 24, 1883 he wrote to Mr. Dudley: "I have sent all the proof that I can, as I haven't got any money to go to see Dr. Meeker. He lives so far off that he don't answer when I right (sic)." Then, James L. Beatty, after being asked to tell the military about his family, he finally shares this, "I am destitute of a living. I lost my wife ten years ago, so I haven't got no home, only stop with my children and they are all groan (sic). I think I am duly intitled (sic) to some help from the government, as I lost my health in the army, so I can't work and I ain't able to do business, because I ain't a good scholar." >From the letters from friends and relatives and some written in James L. Beaty's own hand, until he was so ill he that he could only sign an X, these were his symptoms: Sun Stroke, "bad" headache, "Insensible for 11 days," (When it all began), shaking all over, fits, spells, and in warm weather, he was obliged to quit work wherever he may be. Doctors' attempts at diagnoses: 1. Scrofula: Dictionary defines it as, "A constitutional condition affecting the tissues of the young and characterized by predisposition of Tuberculosis, lymphatism, glandular swellings, and respiratory catarrhs." Scrofula Diathesis was mentioned in the same letter. 2. Epilepsy 3. Debilitating Rheumatism The military expected him to travel hundreds of miles for physical examinations. How, by horseback? Granted, after his wife died and he probably had to give up his house, he traveled around living with his children and relatives, it makes sense that he was seen by doctors in three or four different states. There were a couple of letters, though, that pointed out that the military wanted him to travel great distances to be examined by doctors. Right at the present time and for the last week, I am very close to the daughter of a grandson of James Lewis Beatty IV. A week ago yesterday, Friday, she had lung surgery to have a cancerous growth removed. She will be 80 years old on Monday, January 20th and was determined to have the surgery instead of Chemo and Radiation Therapy. Her doctor admitted to her while I was in the room with her Thursday, the date she was released, that she surprised him and "Sailed right through the surgery!" My dear second cousin looked at him with her chin held high and a broad smile and said, "I told you I would!" She agrees with me, that her own father, Williard/Willard Bea(t)y, was exactly like his grandfather, James L. Beaty/Beatty IV. Her father had a tragic life, losing many children and two wives, and a daughter who disappeared leaving five very young children, but Willard was too proud to let anyone know about his suffering or about his business. This might be typical personal! ity of our Scots and Irish ancestors. We also have several Beatty young people who ran away from home, some even making a better life for themselves! But, I recognize that there are probably stories like this in every early Amerian family. Just listen to presidential candidates, and not just this year! I know that I need to find out where I obtained--or where Great-aunt Hazel obtained--an exact birth date and exact death date, so I need to write to Stark Co., OH, where he was born, and St. Joseph Co., MI, where he died. Also, I am now wondering once again, as I have for years, where and how did someone find out the middle name of our James? It had to have come from the old letter of Orren Beatty, son of William Henry Bea(t)y, who was the oldest son of James Lewis Beatty and older brother of my great-grandfather, John Clinton Beatty. In the letter, Orren writes that "The names of the children of James Lewis Beatty can be substantiated by E.B. Beatty of Beattyville, Kentucky." If the letter did not have "Beattyville" after E.B.'s name, I would have thought that "E.B." referred to Wm. Henry's son and grandson, who were both names Edward Benjamin Beaty. We have at least two other men with that first and middle name. But, the E.B. Beatty of Beattyville was Judge Emile Beatty, of Beatyville, and his father was Capt. J.M. Beatty, who was married to Josephine. I think I shared this before, but only as a scanned article to Mike Allen: *** CLAY CITY TIMES, Clay City, Kentucky, August 14, 1975 BEATTY - Among the early settlers of Kentucky were a number by the name Beatty, including James and Cornelius Beatty in Fayette (1790): Joseph, in Clark, and Daniel, John, and Thomas in Montgomery (1800). One early Eastern Kentucky pioneer was Samuel Beatty, born about 1794 in Fayette County, KY. He went from Fayette to Madison County, where he married a daughter of General Baxter of the American Revolution, and they had issue: 1. Decatur Beatty, born about 1822, married Arthusa. 2. A daughter, who died in infancy. 3. Capt. J.M. Beatty. (It is said that Samuel Beatty was the first settler of what is now Lee County, Kentucky, and that the town of Beattyville was named for him. - part of the article) Capt. J. M. Beatty married Josephine - and their children included: 1. Harlan T. Beatty, lawyer of Beattyville. 2. Virgil Beatty, 3. Judge Emile B. Beatty of Beattyville. 4. Prentice Beatty, who moved to Iowa. 5. Roselle. W. Beatty, of Akron, Ohio. 6. Lula Beatty, married Theodore B. Blakey. 7. Milward Beatty (daughter), of Beattyvillle, KY. *** The Beatty who went to Fayette, KY was believed to be our James Lewis Beatty III, father of our James IV. James III was not born in Fayette, KY but went there in 1790 from Pennsylvania and bought 1,000 acres of land from Richard Masterson. It was James III who married a red-haired German girl named Molly. James II was "found living" (census, probably) in western Pennsylvania. Our first James Lewis Beatty was born in Quarantine about 1750 as soon as they arrived in this country. According to an article in a Knightstown, Indiana publication, "Antique Week/Tri-State Trader, May 14, 1984," if immigrants arrived Pre-Ellis Island, immigrants could have arrived by ship into Castle Garden at the lower tip of Manhattan. The same article states that, "as early as 1718, health officers boarded immigrantt ships to look for passengers with infectious diseases, and none were allowed ashore until cleared by the doctor. Philadelphia had a 'pest' house at Province Island at the mouth of the Schuylkill River." This was a quote in a letter written on 28 April 1986 to my own mother from Veneta Mary (BEATY), or Mrs. Merrill NOURSE. To mention some different names in this family: Veneta Mary (BEATY), m. Merrill NOURSE William Murray Beaty, m. Georgia Frances SNYDER, brother of Veneta. Veneta and William: only two children of Jesse James BEATY and Mae Edith (MORTON). Jesse James BEATY: 7th-born of the 13 children of William Henry BEATY and Mary Jane (GOULD). William Henry BEATY: 3rd-born and oldest son of James Lewis BEATTY, IV. Veneta quoted her uncle Orren BEATY: "The BEATY family came from Ireland in the 18th century and settled in Pennsylvania. The first BEATY to come to the U.S. was the great-great-grandfather [I], of our grandfather, [IV]. James BEATY's father [III] found a pretty German lass in Pennsylvania and married her. That broke up the straight Irish family, and grandfather, James Lewis BEATY [, IV] was half Irish and half German." - Orren BEATY Thank you again, Laurel Baty, and thank you to BP2000 for letting me "think out loud," or in this case, share my thinking via e-mail on the BP2000! Lois (Griffes) Kortering