Beeks line: George Fee abt 1700-1790

 I've written about George Fee's father, also named George Fee, before.  I've mentioned that the family came from County Fermanaugh, Ulster, Ireland, but that prior to 1600 the ancestral home had been somewhere in Scotland.  George is believed to have been born in County Fermanaugh in about 1700, although records have not been found to support this.  He was in Baltimore County about 1725 (there is a George Fee who owned land in Dorchester County in 1722, a tract called "Glasgow".  This may belong to George's father, and if so, may also provide a clue to the area of origin of the family.)

George settled first in what became Frederick County, Maryland, by 1745, when he received a patent for 150 acres of land, and was there until at least 1760, when he sold land there.  This may be when he moved to either Fayette or Washington County, Pa, near present day Brownsville.  It is more than possible that he was involved in the French and Indian War, and possibly even the Revolutionary War, although he would have been quite old for the second war.  At any rate, based on where he lived, he would have constantly been on the lookout for raiders of various Indian tribes, first those allied with the French and secondly those allied with the British.  Much has been written about life on this frontier and about the hardships the people endured.  George's family was extremely fortunate in that none of them seem to have been injured, captured, or killed during the uprisings.  

George was married to Parnell widow Snowden sometime between April 22, 1725 and July 1726.  Quite a few trees, with no sources, give her maiden name as Lakin, saying she was a daughter of Abraham and Martha Lee Lakin.  I am not yet convinced, but I'm putting it out there as a possibility.  (If anyone finds a marriage record for Henry Snowden and Parnell, that should give us a last name.  Hint, hint!)  The problem with this is that George and Parnell's daughter Elizabeth Fee, married Joseph Lakin, who is also shown as a child of Abraham and Martha Lakin.  So Elizabeth would have been marrying her uncle, which is not totally impossible but certainly needs further investigation.

George and Parnell had at least three children, Elizabeth, Rachel, and Thomas, and possibly John.  The two daughters married Lakins and Thomas's second wife was the daughter of Robert and Sarah Lakin Leith, so this was a tight-knit family.  

George undoubtedly farmed and it is not unlikely that at least some of his crop was turned into whiskey, as this was a more profitable product than plain corn for the farmers of that area.  He died before the Whiskey Rebellion, but may have been involved in some of the tensions leading up to that event.  He is believed to have died about 1790, although again, I have not found any documentation for this.  

I've not found a will or estate papers for George, so this is as much as I know about him.  I'd like to find more records and learn more about this man, who may have spoken with an Irish lilt or a Scottish burr.  It's fun to imagine his voice, and the stories he might have told.  

The line of descent is:

George Fee-Parnell

Elizabeth Fee-Joseph Lakin

Mary Lakin-John Simpson Aldridge

John Simpson Aldridge-Lucinda Wheeler

Darlington Aldridge-Leah Folsom

Harvery Aldridge-Margaret Catherine Dunham

Cleo Aldridge-Wilbur Beeks

Mary Beeks-Cleveland Harshbarger

Their descendants