Beeks line: Randall Malin 1649-abt 1728

Randall Malin is one of the men I would most like to meet in the Beeks line.  He was an interesting man, a Quaker, and not necessarily one of the quiet ones.  His life began in Netherton, Cheshire, England in 1649, when he was born to parents identified as Isaac Malin and Elizabeth Jones.  I'm not sure that is correct because a son Isaac also married an Elizabeth Jones, it seems. I'd like to see the documents for both Issacs.   We don't know who his wife was, either, except that her first name was Elizabeth and that they married in 1676.  Six years later, Randall and Elizabeth sailed for America, possibly in William Penn's fleet, but not before Randall got in trouble with the law.

Quakers were not appreciated in England because they typically refused to pay their tithes to the church, and their taxes to the government.  Somehow, Randal learned of a "priest" who had an informer, advising the priest of who was counted among the Quakers.  These persons then had their goods, household and business, confiscated, or distrained.  Randal had discouraged a local butcher from selling meat from cattle he knew to have been distrained, and for this, the informant turned him in.  Presumably the informant was rewarded, but certainly Randall was fined 20 pounds (a huge sum, so he must have had some wealth).  Randall refused to pay the fine, and his household goods, corn, and hay were seized to cover the fine.  This was in 1678, and we don't know how the family survived until they left for America.  Is it any wonder that the family sailed to Pennsylvania in 1682? 

In 1681, Randall had purchased 250 acres, sight unseen, from William Penn, in what became Pennsylvania, for the sum of 5 pounds.  The following year, the Malins went to Pennsylvania and settled on their farm in Upper Providence Township, Chester County.  Some of his descendants still lived on the farm over 200 years later.  Randall also owned a lot in Philadelphia itself, lot # 192.  This again makes one think that this man was not dirt poor. 

Randall and Elizabeth had three children together, before she died in 1687.  He waited 5 years, and then married Mary Hollingsworth Conaway.  Mary also had three children, so this blended family was already large, but became larger as each of four children were born to this new couple. 

Randall and Elizabeth had been active in Chester Monthly meeting, and the new couple also attended there.  Randall was made an elder and then possibly a minister, or at least he was recommended to be a minister.  He suffered the indignity of having his daughter marry outside the Quaker religion, and asked that the constable of Chester arrest the groom for marrying his daughter contrary to law (I'm not sure what the legal issue was.)  The Quakers also put the young couple out of the church.

Randal held several offices at different times during the later years of his life, including constable, and as a road viewer.  He was on several juries and at least once served as the foreman. 

Although reference has been made to how his assets were divided after his death in 1728, I've not seen a copy of the will.  More than the will, I'd like to see his inventory.  Did he still live by himself, with a sizable inventory, or was he living with an adult child, I wonder.  Did his inventory contain books?  Since he was an elder and perhaps a minister, it is likely that he could read and write, but we don't know that.  What tools were listed, which could give us insight into any side occupations he may have had, and which could explain the lot in Philadelphia?  There are always questions, it seems.

Update 8/31/2021:  Dennis Krebs, who is a descendant of Randall Malin, contacted me with information that suggests that Mary, the second wife of Randall Malin, was not alive when Randall wrote his will.  There is no mention of her in his will, and it would be usual to at least confirm the widow's third to her.  He sent me a copy of the will, for which I am grateful! (Mary likely had died by 1728, it seems.). 

Here's the line of descent:

Randall Malin-Elizabeth
Isaac Malin-Elizabeth Jones
Sarah Malin-David Ruble
Hannah Ruble-Samuel Dunham
Jacob Dunham-Catherine Goodnight
Samuel Dunham-Eliza Reese
Margaret Catherine Dunham-Harvey Aldridge
Cleo Aldridge-Wilbur Beeks
Mary Margaret Beeks-Cleveland Harshbarger
Their descendants