Captain John Beecroft, Esq.
Captain John Beecroft, Esq. Origins & Early Life (1790–1828) Arrival at Fernando Po and Local Authority (1829–1834) Exploration & River Voyages — Quorra / Niger / Cross / Benin (1835–1842) Increasing Political Role; Spanish & British Overlap (1843–1849) Consul Appointment and the Era of Gunboat Diplomacy (1849–1854) Lagos, Akintoye, Kosoko — The Lagos Intervention (1851) (key political episode) Continued Local Diplomacy; Treaties; River Influence (1852–1854) Death & Burial (1854)
Jacob Henry Becraft Dilemma
Jacob Henry Becraft Dilemma Jacob Henry Becraft (1821-1856/58) vs. Jacob Henry Becraft (1823-1902) These two individuals have become blurred over time into one individual. Below is my case for them being two separate individuals. Jacob I, the first is from Morehouse, Hamilton, NY, and died right around 1856-1858 (the birth and naming of Jacob H Becraft (b 1857) may be a tribute to his father). Jacob II, the second was born in New York, but is central to the Tioga, PA area and is the one who moves to Wisconsin, marries Hannah Alford and dies in Wisconsin. The FindAGrave marker combines the data from these two Jacob’s with the birth date from Jacob I and the death that of Jacob II. Jacob I is born 10 Oct 1821, in Schoharie, NY, the son of Peter and Elizabeth (Miller) Becraft.Jacob II is born 3 Jun 1823, in NY (possibly Morehouse), but soon after is in Tioga, PA, the son of Jonathan and Catherine Elizabeth (Cornwell) Becraft. Schoharie to TIoga is 131 miles. Schoharie to Morehouse is 74 miles. Morehouse to TIoga is 212 miles. Morehouse to Green Lake, WI is 938 miles. Tioga to Green Lake, WI is 828 miles. There is a census record for Jacob and Serena in Hamilton, NY for 1850.There is a census record for Jacob, unmarried, in Tioga, PA for 1850.By 1860 and after, only one Jacob, has census records in Wisconsin.There are no Jacob census records in Tioga, PA or nearby to indicate Jacob II had remained here or where he might have gone. The sale of the property by Jacob I and Serena in 1857 to Frederick Jacob’s brother is curious and could be construed as a separation agreement and disposal of that property so that Jacob I could go elsewhere, or it could be an indicator of his pending demise. Jacob II fought in the civil war in a Wisconsin unit. In his pension papers, he is explicitly asked if he had any other marriages and children. By the time of this application, he only has one of the 3 children by Hannah Alford. Jacob II’s answer is consistent with him being independent of Jacob I. NONE of the children of Jacob I are found in Wisconsin, all remain in the same geographical area their entire lives. Right after the birth of Jacob H Becraft ( b. 1857), Serena remarries and quickly has two more children, eventually 4 plus the 8 she had with Jacob I. The response on one of the censuses is curious, as the answer to how many children and how many of those are living, the answer is 1 and 1. The genealogy that made this combination (https://www.hamilton.nygenweb.net/bios/Becraft1.html), also says that Jacob I travelled to Wisconsin before the war, working for J.P.W. Severson, enlisting, he then returned NY. We know he had to return to Tioga, PA where he married Hannah before returning to Wisconsin again to stay. There is no indication he returned to NY and the area where Jacob I’s children and other family were. This is also the critical connector event that is crucial in determining the fate of Jacob I and Jacob II. If anyone has evidence of these events, they should be made available to sort this out. Evidence of the summer work on the J.P.W. Severson farm. Evidence of the travel to Wisconsin. Evidence of the travel back to NY. Evidence of a divorce/separation from Serena that allowed her to remarry. A death record in NY for Jacob I. Or in PA a death record for Jacob II. In general, the overall evidence leans to there being two Jacob Henry’s. Accounting for the census and testimony in the pension records, would lean strongly to Jacob II being the civil war veteran and husband of one wife, with three children. The remarriage of Serena after the birth of Jacob Henry would indicate a wife with 8 kids ensuring their support with a solid provider. Small side note, it appears the death date for Hannah is not 1897, but the FindaGrave date of 1890. Wisconsin State Census for 1895 shows Jake and one son, indicating both his other sons and Hannah passed away before 1895.
Appletrewick
Appletrewickby Robert J Becraft (castlewrks@aol.com) In 1993, I was in England and took one of the days I was in London to go and do research instead of site-seeing. It was well worth my time and resulted in some of the earliest records I’ve ever personally found of Becraft’s. What was interesting was that the references originate in and around Bolton Abbey in a small village named Appletrewick. While inconsequential on their own, additional research based on another reference I ran across that attempts to identify sources for surnames, lead me to perform a similar analysis on the Becraft surname. Utilizing IGI records of Becraft/Beecroft/etc from England, I divided them up into 25 year segments and then using maps of England, highlighted the various locations listed in those references. What I discovered was a coalescing of names around the East Riding area of Yorkshire. Appletrewick is one of those locations that is in this area of consolidation. This theory is based on the assumption that Appletrewick earned its name from possibly apple trees and that as a result of having apple trees, bees were kept as part of the industry, hence the origin of “Beecroft” as a surname. © Copyright, 2001. Robert J Becraft, All Rights Reserved.
Becraft Traits
Becraft Traits, (from an email discussion) Traits that people find typical of their Becraft ancestry. I’ve taken the obvious ones and grouped them below with some interpretation of the original collection based on my own bias. Feel free to add to or debate the choices. Green Thumb most Becrafts were farmers. If they aren’t farmers today, their father or grandfather probably was. There aren’t too many Becrafts who don’t get itchy around February to get their hands in the dirt. Introverted “hermit-like”, Becrafts like to be left alone. They mind their own business and expect others to let them do just that. Stubborn “hard-headed”, most Becrafts are pretty particular about their opinions and once decided, stick to their guns. Hot tempered probably what got ol’ George in trouble, seems we’ve all got a bit of the boil to us. Red Hair or red highlights in their hair color, my moustache has these and two of my 3 kids are red-haired. Craftsmen whether it is tinkering, building or constructing. Focused to the point of distraction or forgetfulness. With a tendency to forget other things we should have kept our eyes on. Other Traits One branch claims long noses with hooked ends. © Copyright, 2001. Robert J Becraft, All Rights Reserved. 2025 Update – I’ve not found anyone who disagrees with this. Of note, in every line, in every country where I’ve captured Genealogical evidence, Becrafts, Beecrofts, etc. are all farmers. There are occasional specialists that exceed expectations, but they are few and far between. Tell me “Becraft”, how does your garden grow?
Interesting Becraft/Beecrofts
Interesting Becraft/Beecrofts DAVID BEECROFT (All My Children) and his brother GREGORY, actors Production Designer JEFFREY BEECROFT (Oscar nominated for “Dances With Wolves”) Ray Becraft, the mayor of [ ] VANESSA BEECROFT, Artist PHILIP W. BECRAFT, Assistant Professor of Zoology, Genetics and Agronomy at the Iowa State University Hon. CAROLYN HOWLAND BECRAFT, Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense, also, Assistant Secretary of the Navy Judge Becroft in New Zealand There is a squirrel species that carries the Beecroft name… Beercroft’s flying squirrel Anomalurus beercrofti (ssp.) Beecroft-Dornschwanzhörnchen Anomalure de Beecroft
Things named…
Becraft/Beecroft associated with other things… In the US… Benjamin Becraft in 1739 patented land in Maryland known as “Becraft’s Delight”. In NY, there is a “Beecroft” Mountain In NY, there is a stratification of stone known as “Beecroft“. In Billings, MN, there is a street named “Becraft Lane”. In Elm Creek, Nebraska, there is a street named “S. Beecroft”. Outside the US… In Dunstable, Beds., England, there is a “Beecroft Way”. In Willow Dale, Ontario, Canada, there is a “Beecroft Road”. In Cheltonham, NSW, Austrailia, there is a “Beecroft Road”. In Australia, there is a suburb known as Beecroft, north of Sydney.
Joseph Beecroft’s Fortuitous “Cold”
Joseph Beecroft’s Fortuitous “Cold” (as relayed to me by Jim Beecroft in an email Feb, 2001) On June 30, 1856, Joseph Beecroft arrived in America from Little Horton, Yorkshire, England. He intended to move west with a final destination of the Utah Territory and had progressed nicely on that goal when sickness overtook him in Des Moines, Iowa. He was originally travelling with the Martin Handcart company and they went on without him. Joseph remained behind in Des Moines for two years. During this time, he made enough money to get the rest of his children over from England. In April of 1859, Joseph and family left Des Moines for Salt Lake City. They joined up with Captain Horton D. Haight’s 3rd Company which left out of Florence, Iowa (then part of the Nebraska Territory) and arrived in Salt Lake City on September 2, 1859. The wagon train had 174 people and 71 wagons. They travelled a distance (according to Mapquest) of 1129.3 miles in about a 4 month time period. The same trip today would take about 21 hours. The Martin Handcart company that Joseph had been a part of before he took sick, they were caught in an early fall blizzard in Wyoming which lead to the death of about half the party. A very fortunate illness indeed has left us with many of our western Beecroft descendants of this line. © Copyright, 2001. Robert J Becraft, All Rights Reserved. New thoughts: The little map above was attached to my original story. Mapquest allows you to do a route walking… so here, is the 2025 version showing 487 hours up to 512 hours depending on which route you take. The math on the 487 hour trip, averaging 12-hours per day is exactly 40-days; averaging 8-hours per day is exactly 60-days. So, 4-months, 120-days is about 4-hours per day or about 10-miles per day. Appalachian Trail hikers take 4-6 months to complete the 2,200 mile averaging 12-20 miles per day.
The Morgan Station Indian Raid 1793
Report of a raid just days before April 1, 1793 raid on Morgan’s Station On March 21, 1793, Thomas Ross, the first mail carrier over the postal route established in the fall of 1792, was following the route from Holston to Danville, Kentucky, accompanied by two other men. They were fired on at the crossing of Little Laurel River but were not hit. After riding hard about a quarter of a mile they ran into a large ambush. Ross was killed and the other two wounded. Captain John Wilkinson and 13 militia men went to the scene and found Ross’s body, cut into strips and hung on bushes. They gathered the remains and buried them by the roadside. Five days later, on March 26, 1793, Colonel Whitley received word of another massacre on the Boone Trace, five miles south of the Hazel Patch. With a company of rangers he hurried to the scene where a party consisting of nine men, two women and eight children, led by James McFarland, had been ambushed as they were riding along the Trace. The men had dismounted and, in close formation, returned the fire of the Indians holding the attackers off for about 15 minutes. After that the attacking Indians had moved in and killed or made prisoners of all of the party but four. Colonel Whitley tracked the Indians to their camp, scattered them and rescued a little girl and recovered much of the stolen goods. The Morgan Station Raid Excerpt from “Pioneer Times in Montgomery County” (From a paper delivered to D.A.R. Chapter, Montgomery County, KY, by Lucien Beckner) Started on Page 7 MORGAN’S STATION — Within the borders of present Montgomery County (KY) occurred two major tragedies of the Indian wars. One, Estill’s defeat or the Battle of Little Mountain, occurred within the limits of the present Mt. Sterling. It was a Revolutionary battle. The other, the sack of Morgan’s Station, was subsequent to the Revolution but a part of that Indian war which continued without interruption from 1774 to 1794, when Mad Anthony Wayne, at the Battle of Fallen Timbers, crushed the hostile tribes and cowed their British allies and sponsors; twenty bloody years. During the past century the spirit of man has so supplied itself with civilized tools, arms and methods that a group of savages today would be unable to cower a community or vanquish as few as a tenth of their own number, much less fight on equal terms. But in the spring of 1793 Americans were living much as their ancestors had done for thousands of years past; log cabins, tallow candles, leather and home spun clothes, goose-quill pens, horses and saddles, log fires and their simple appointments, home grown foods and mud roads. The stimuli of mental freedom guaranteed first in this world by the American Constitution, had no had time to create the educational systems and the inventive progress which it later did. So, in order to understand our pioneer times, we must shut our eyes to the present and dream back into the primitive homes and little communities from which our present has grown. RALPH MORGAN — Ralph Morgan was born in Frederick County, Virginia, and came to Kentucky with his father and uncle in 1779, at which time he was nearly a grown lad. They settled at Strode’s Station, its builder having been their neighbor in the adjoining Virginia County of Berke (now in West Virginia). The Morgans had gone first to Boonesborough, built by their cousin, Daniel Boon, whose mother was a sister of the father of Gen. Daniel Morgan of the Revolution. While at Strode’s, Ralph had quite an adventure in which he escaped by outrunning the Indians. In the chase he had to throw away his gun and then got lost for several days and had to subsist on one squirrel. When found he was so weak he had to be carried home. JAMES WADE (12 CC 11-41) James Wade tells Shane a very detaile dand interesting story of the settling of Morgan’s and the adjacent territory and of the sack of that station. His memory was so good that Shane, who had listened to hundreds of the pioneers try to recall their early days, comments upon it favorably. He also furnished a map of the station so detailed that if desired, it can be located and rebuilt. Morgan’s Station was nearly east of Mt. Sterling on Slate Creek Wade says that Morgan ofered his settlers land at one dollar an acre and that the first who came unpacked their horses on February 10, 1789. They were Tom Montgomery, Silas Hart, George Naylor, Robert Doughert, Peter and William Hanks, and a little later, James Dougles and John Holmes. They planted their corn and appointed June 1, 1789, to rendevois at Strode’s and return in a body to settle. Fear of the Indians compelled them to come in a body. Strode’s was their best neighbor; in fact, that well stockaded station was the strength of the neighborhood for many years. Hood’s was a little closer but not so large and so well defended. By June 3, three cabins had been built, all facing each other so that they could defend each other’s doors. Later more were built and they were stockaded. The settlers had planted their corn a little late, so that early frosts hurt it, causing them all to leave save the brothers, John and James Wade. James was employed by Morgan as a spy or scout to keep watch for Indians. John Luster was induced to stay with them for awhile but got uneasy and soon left. Other less pretentious settlements began to spring up. Peter Harper and his nephew George Harper came in the spring of 1790 and settled about four miles from Morgan’s, building cabins and planting corn. Peter was half Shawnee, hsi mother having been captured and compelled to live with an Indian. The fat that she named her Indian son for her white
George Becraft, The Man with a Temper
George Becraft SR, A Man with a Temper In 1772, George Becraft Sr, was tried and banished from Maryland for the killing of Thomas Buckingham. In the document detailing his trial and evidence presented to the court, is the following description of the incident: Commission Book 82 — P. 282 from 7/1733 to 1773 8th July 1772Maryland, Frederick – Absolute Lord and Proprietary of the Provinces of Maryland and avalon Lord Baron of Baltimore & so forth.To all our Bailiffs and Good People to whom these presents shall come.Greeting.Know ye that of our especial Grace we have pardoned unto George Becraft late of Frederick County yeoman as a proper object of our mercy the suit of our peace and whatsoever appertaineth unto us for that he the said George Becraft no having the fear of God before his eyes but eing moved and seduced by the instigation of the devil on the twenty fifth day of April in the yar of our Lord Seventeen hundred and seventy two with force and arms at Frederick County afresaid in and upon one Thomas Buckingham in the peace of God then and there being then and there feloniously willfull and of his malice aforethought did make an ssault and that he the said George Becraft with a certain club of the value of one Penny Sterling which he the said George Becraft in his right hand then and there had and held the said Thomas Buckingham in and upon the head belly stomach sides back thighs legs and feet of him the said Thomas Buckingham then and there feloniously wilfully and of his malice afrethought did strike beat and bruise giving to the said Thomas Buckingham in and upon the head belly stomach sides back thighs legs and feet of him the said Thomas Buckingham with the club aforesaid in manner afresaid several mortal bruises of which said mortal bruises the aforesaid Thomas Buckingham instantly died and that the said George Becraft the afresaid Thomas Buckingham in manner and form aforesaid feloniously willfully and of his malice afrethought did kill and murder against our peace Good Rule and Government whereof he was convict on the Eighteenth day of June in the year of our Lord Seventeen hundred and seventy two before Thomas Prather, Esquire and others Justices of an Especial Court of Oyer and Termination and General Goal Delivery held in and for Frederick County afresaid. Nevertheless we grant unto him the said George Becraft our firm peace and will not that he suffer any corporal punishment therefore provided that he the said George Becraft shall transport himself or cause himself to be transported out of this our Province within ten days from the time of his delivery out of prison and never return again, otherwise this our pardon shall and is hereby declared to be void and of none effect anything herein contained to the contrary notwithstanding.Witness our trusty and well beloved brother Robert Eden, Esq. lieutenant General and Chief Governor in and over our Province this eight day of July in the twenty second year of our Dominion Anno Domini Seventeen Hindred and Seventy two.Signed by OrderU. Scott, S. Cow The first question that comes to mind when reading this account is “What did Thomas do that got George so mad?” It is obvious from the description and from the lack of other incidents in George’s life that this was a single isolated occurrence in a long life. Even going through the other interesting events in George’s and his son George Jr’s lives, nothing comes close to this singular violent event. One might also take into account the time at which this incident occurred. Just prior to the Revolutionary War and at a time when Americans were pushing for their freedom from oppression. As a comparison, we can look at the death of James Hood, who was killed by a field hand in 18xx. His punishment was to be hanged for the crime. There are two ways to look at this… one takes into account social status, George being a well-to-do landowner, the other a field hand… we have pre-revolutionary war vs. post-revolutionary war and a new government administering justice. © Copyright, 2001. Robert J Becraft, All Rights Reserved.
Beecroft Coate of Arms
Beecroft Coate of Arms Background Many people have seen and bought into the family heraldic devices being sold in malls and tourist places around the world. While it is neat to think that your family name has a coate of arms assigned to it, it is important to realize that in most cases, what you are buying has absolutely no relation to your family at all. In most cases, what you are buying is someone else’s legal heraldic device. Heraldic devices came about in medieval times as a means of recognizing knights on the field of combat and from a distance. Heraldic devices allowed people to recognize friend and foe from a distance without the aid of modern inventions like binoculars and telephoto lenses. These blazons were so coveted that entire institutions were established to track and grant them to individuals. (1) A Coate of Arms is assigned to an INDIVIDUAL (not a family) A coate of arms was passed down through a family from the INDIVIDUAL who owned it to a son or daughter upon the death of the original owner. In general, heraldic devices did not traverse up a family tree and back down another branch. Again, only one individual was ever recognized as the legitimate owner of any device. (2) A Coat of Arms may be inherited by family members directly related to the INDIVIDUAL owner During the lifetime of a device’s owner, his children were given their own devices. These devices were made unique to each child by a process called differencing. There are very specific rules that are used in this process. Because this process exists, all devices, even when similar to the parents, were unique to individuals. The Beecroft Coat of Arms (Bishop Wearmouth, co, Durham). Per cross vert and ar. in the 2nd and 3rd quarter an annulet gu. Crest– Two arms, dexter and sinister, in armour ppr. erect and embowed, holding between the fingers an annulet gu. The device assigned to “Beecroft”, described by the description above is a green and silver background with two red donuts or hoops in the upper right and lower left silver squares. The crest is two arms in armour holding a red donut or hoop. Burkes’ Landed Gentry page 81 gives the seat of the Beecroft’s as “the Abbey house, Kirkstall near Leeds”. It lists “George Skirrow Beecroft, Esq of the Abbey House, Kirkstall Co, York, J.P. & D.L., M.P. for Leeds, born 16 Nov, 1809; married 28 July 1842, Mary Isabelle, only daughter of the late George Beaumont, Esq of Halifax, and has only one son, George-Audus-Beaumont, b 21 July, 1844.” “Mr. Beecroft is son and heir of the late George Beecroft, Ironmaster of Kirkstall (who died in 1840), by Mary, his wife eldest daughter of the late John Audus, Esq. of Selby.” The coate of arms was assigned to a George Becraft in England. He is the original owner of the device and therefore, if you were descended off of Becraft’s or Beecroft’s in the US at that time, have no legal right to the device. In addition, a second reference indicates that George only had a daughter. The legal entitlement of the device fell to her upon his death. By the time of her death, her name was no longer Beecroft and thus, the device at the last time it was officially owned, wasn’t even assigned to the Beecroft name. The College of Arms, England As of several years ago, the College of Arms in England was granting official coates of arms to individuals who could show lineage to English citizens. Basically, if you can show that you descended from an individual who was English you can have your own official coate of arms. It is important to note that anyone related to individuals in the colonies prior to 1776 who was English, count towards this requirement. Hence, Peter Becraft, Rebecca and all their children were officially English subjects prior to the American Revolution. The cost of this was (in 1993), around $1500. Should anyone undertake this, we would love to see their official device. © Copyright, 2001. Robert J Becraft, All Rights Reserved.