Indiana Messenger Indiana, PA April 14, 1869 Married On the 8th inst., at the Continental House, in the place, by Rev. David Blair, Mr. Hamilton Beatty, of Selly (Sibley) county, Minnesota, to Miss Sallie Speedy, of Washington township, this county. xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx 1880-Henderson, Sibley, Minnesota Source: FHL Film 1254634 National Archives Film T9-0634 Page 330A Relation Sex Marr Race Age Birthplace Hamilon BEATTY Self M M W 51 PA Occ: County Treasurer Fa: IRL Mo: IRL Sarah BEATTY Wife F M W 34 PA Occ: House Keeping Fa: PA Mo: PA Harry W. BEATTY Son M S W 18 MN Fa: PA Mo: PA Mattie F. BEATTY Dau F S W 6 MN Fa: PA Mo: PA Washington BEATTY Brother M S W 23 IL Occ: Dpty. Treasurer Fa: IRL Mo: PA xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx Other references to Hamilton. From: "Beatty Collins" <cbchrc@earthlink.net> To: <BP2000-L@rootsweb.com> Subject: [BP2000] Beattys in Minnesota Date: Wednesday, July 11, 2001 8:39 PM The Minnesota Historical Society has recently added to its website details from a book, "Minnesota Place Names". The book was first published in 1920 by Warren Upham who is described as "a compulsive collector of minutiae". The third edition of the book has just been released, and the data is also online at http://mnplaces.mnhs.org References to Beatty place names in Minnesota are as follows: In St. Louis County, MN (near Duluth), "Beatty Township honors five brothers, pioneers there in lumbering and farming." No other details provided on this family. In Sibley County, MN (west of Minneapolis/St. Paul), there are two references. 1) "Dryden Township, settled in 1854 and organized May 11, 1858, was at first called Williamstown but was renamed by request of Hamilton Beatty and others, he being chairman of the first township board of supervisors. This name, in honor of the celebrated English poet and dramatist John Dryden (1631-1700) is borne also by villages and townships in Maine, New York, Virginia, Michigan,and Arkansas." 2) Beatty Lake, in Sibley County, is named after Robert Beatty. "Robert Beatty was born in the North of Ireland in 1803, came with his parents to Pennsylvania, and removed, with his several sons, in 1857 to Dryden in this county. His son Samuel B. Beatty, born in Pennsylvania in 1841, settled in Dryden in 1857; served in the Tenth Minnesota Regiment 1863-65; was a representative in the legislature in 1877." None of the above are my line. --- Beatty Collins (L-073) Subject: [BP2000-L] Lineage 84- BEATTY Cemetery-Sibley Co., Minn. Resent-Date: Wed, 8 Dec 1999 19:33:16 -0800 (PST) Resent-From: BP2000-L@rootsweb.com Date: Wed, 8 Dec 1999 22:31:55 EST From: DonBea@aol.com To: BP2000-L@rootsweb.com File as : BeattyCm.wps BEATTY CEMETERY, Sibley County, Minn. Article published in "THE LAND" Friday, Dec. 5, 1986, Gaylord, Minn. HISTORY OF PIONEER FAMILY CHRONICLED AT RURAL GRAVESITE Gaylord. On the southeast shore of Beatty Lake, carefully cordoned off from the rest of David Ruehling's corn field, is a small cemetery, resting place for some of the area's earliest settlers, members of the pioneer Beatty family. For 128 years, this small corner of a Dryden Township farm has remained placidly undisturbed by the seasonal labors of generations of farm families, the tempests of nature, and the casual gazes of passersby along County Road 13. Two tall oaks stand nearby, silent sentries over the weathered markers of nine graves. Grass and weeds choke the stones, this year, Ruehling said, the County missed its annual mowing. Still, its a tranquil place of quiet beauty. " I wouldn't mind being buried there myself" Ruehling said. The site is typical of Minnesota's earliest graveyards where pioneers buried their loved ones on newly broken farmsteads. Because burial permits were not required until 1907, and early death records are sketchy at best, no one is quite sure just how many pioneer cemeteries are scattered thru the state. An official of the Minnesota Cemetery Association guessed that there could be several hundred. Sibley County Assessor, Cal Roberts, noted that his office keeps a record of cemeteries as tax-exempt parcels, but that such listings don't distinguish between private rural cemeteries and homesteaders family plots. Some of the sites, like the Beatty Cemetery, are fairly visible and close to the road, he said. "But some are on farms, hidden away in old groves or behind building sites." Roberts estimates about a dozen of the small sites - with anywhere from six to twenty graves each- are located in Sibley County. For example, one half mile from the Beatty plot is the old Altmow family cemetery. " Just in this neighborhood there are two " Ruehling said. " That must have been the style at the time. Each family had their own." A local history book, Gaylord Hub on Sibley County, states that many settlers deaths were not recorded: " Life was simple ad severe. Infant death was common and old age rare." Sibley County death records date to 1870, however, and do include some of the names on the Beatty Cemetery markers. THE STORY UNFOLDS In visiting the cemetery and reading the time worn markers, the story of the Beatty family begins to unfold. Early history books and County records add bits of information and descendant, Jim Beatty, currently Nicollet County Assessor and a great grandson of the pioneer patriarch, can supply more details. Jim grew up on a farmstead on the east side of Beatty Lake and recalls that at one time, all the land surrounding the lake belonged to the Beattys. Robert Beatty, Sr. and his wife Sarah came to Minnesota in the spring of 1857 from Illinois. Beatty and four of his sons, Andrew, Hamilton, Robert, Jr., and Joseph W. each made claims of 160 acres, each in Dryden Township. Beatty, the son of Irish immigrants first settled with his parents in Quebec and later in Pennsylvania. There he married Nancy Wi;son in 1824, the couple had 12 children. After the death of his first wife, Beatty married Sarah and the family resided in Illinois breifly before coming to Minnesota. " The original homestead was on the south side of the lake, by the cemetery," Jim added. Hamilton later built on the east side of the lake. In 1890, when Hami;ton moved to Oregon, " the whole clan from up on the hill moved to the east side." In spite of the hardships- early historians document a grass hopper plague in 1873 and a diptheria epidemic in 1881- the family appears to have prospered. Samuel B. Beatty enlisted in the Union Army and survived several Civil War battles. In 1868, he purchased 160 acres in Sibley County. He served a term in the Minnesota Legislature in 1877. Jim noted that Samuel moved to Brownton in the early 1900s and was buried there in 1921. He had four children. . Hamilton became Sibley County Treasurer in 1882 His picture and a plaque hang in the Sibley County Historical Society Museum in Henderson Another son, James R. marries Emily Maas of Arlington in 1880. The couple had several children, including Robert, Jim's father. James R. was a Sibley County Commissioner from 1898 to 1926 TRAGIC HISTORY But there is a more poignant side to the Beatty history. Jim recalls hearing about " a couple of the girls " who died in Pennsylvania before the moves to Illinois and Minnesota. Another son, George, died in Missouri in 1890 The grave markers in the Beatty cemetery starkly depict the irony of a harsh, yet fragile, life for the settlers. In 1858, when Minnesota was becoming a state, and James Buchanan was President, the Beattys buried their son, Robert, Jr. on land they had claimed for just a year. He was 29. His tombstone is a kiosk -like monument he shares with three of his siblings. The name of William A. Beatty, who died May 29, 1859 at the age of 20, is etched on one side. A third side of the marker reads simply " Nancy Jane, born Oct. 3, 1846, died Feb. 4, 1862" On the fourth side of the monument , Joseph W.'s death , April 2, 1863 at the age of 27 is recorded No causes are given for any of the untimely deaths, and these names are not included in Sibley County records . Jim speculates that the four may have died from influenza. Two of the children of James R. and Emily were buried in the family plot in 1903. Grace died of appendicitis at the age of 5, Clark was stricken with pneumonia while attending Dental School in Indianapolis, Jim said. " Clark died in March. That was always the worst month for pneimonia in those days." Robert, Sr., and Sarah are buried alongside each other in graves marked with identical flat stones. One reads ," Sarah, wife of Robert Beatty. Died Feb. 4, 1875, age 62 tears, 11 months, 7 days." Roberts marker indicates he lived to be 87. Records at the Court House list old age as official cause of death. Andrew, the bachelor, died June 27, 1893 at 69. His tombstone reads " A kind brother and a true friend. " In that tiny corner of section 23, Dryden Township. Beatty Cemetery is a tribute to the nine people buried there and a reminder of the resiliency and steadfastness that became the homesteaders legacy for future generations. XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX Subject: [BP2000-L] JOHN BEATTY- Lineage BP 82 Resent-Date: Mon, 16 Aug 1999 09:30:46 -0700 (PDT) Resent-From: BP2000-L@rootsweb.com Date: Mon, 16 Aug 1999 12:19:38 EDT From: DonBea@aol.com To: BP2000-L@rootsweb.com BP 2000 Inquiry Does any one recognize or connect with this family ?? JOHN BEATTY- born N. Ireland 1789 or 1790 Came to America with parents in 1806, and settled in Indiana County, Pa. Married ISABEL STEWART ( Jimmy Stewart lineage ) 1830 census shows John and Isabel with 3 sons and 2 daughters. They had several more children while still in Indiana County, Pa., including REBECCAH BEATTY, born 20 July, 1836 in Pa., died 4 May, 1909 in McLeod County, Minnesota.. Rebeccah married HIRAM R. ALDEN 26 August, 1867 in Henderson, Sibley County, Minnesota. The family disappeared from Indiana County, Pa., and do not show in the 1840 census. ISABEL died in 1855, probably in Illinois. It appears that John and his children moved to Sibley County, Minnesota in 1857 . JOHN BEATTY is shown in the in the 1860 census of Sibley County, Arlington Township Minnesota , Dwelling 470, as age 69, farmer, born Ireland. Also in household is ANN BEATTY, age 35, born in Pennsylvania. Ann is probably an unmarried daughter of John. Also shown in dwelling 471 in WILLIAM S. BEATTY, age 27 and REBECCAH BEATTY, age 23 Also shown in dwelling 472 is BENJAMIN B. BEATTY, age 21 This family is BP Lineage 82.Any connecting info would be appreciated. Thanks Don Beatty, (Donbea@aol.com) BP Lineage 82 ==== BP2000 Mailing List ==== Have you considered joining the Rootsweb Genealogical Data Cooperative? Voluntary support helps keep access free. http://www.rootsweb.com/rootsweb/how-to-subscribe.html For us forgetful types there is new on-line credit card option. Someday YOU'LL be an ancestor too