Beeks line: John Purdy 1654-1712

I'm afraid this is another "no nothing" post, but I'm determined to note these ancestor's lives even if all I can do is offer a name, a location, and maybe a date.  This will remind me that I have work to do, to document these people, and it will serve as possible clues to someone who may be able to dig deeper into records than I can currently do. 

John Purdy is a Maryland resident, the first we learn of him.  He is believed to have been born about 1654, although his parentage and their origin are still something unknown.  I have seen his father listed variously as Henry, William, and Francis, so I'm unwilling to make even a wild guess.  I suppose someone who thought father's name was William thought that because his only (surviving) son was named William.  Francis seems to have spent his life in Connecticut and I can't find a logical explanation for a son showing up in Maryland, although I regard this as still a possibility.  And I don't know where "Henry" came from, as a proposed father.

John was apparently married at least twice.  His first wife was either Mary or Elizabeth, and his second marriage took place in 1701 to Mary Jarvis.  He apparently had children only by his first wife. 

We can guess that he was a farmer because there was real estate listed in his will, which was written October 21, 1709 and proved November 16, 1712.  He left his land to his son William, but if William died without issue it was to be sold with 5 pounds to go to John Purdy, the son of Henry and Ann Purdy.  As far as I know, the relationship of our John to Henry has not been proven, but it is quite possible he was a brother.  The residue from the sale of his land was to go to his daughters Margaret Watts, Elizabeth Aldridge and Susan or Susanna Purdy, at 16 years.  testators were Robert Steward, Joseph Tilly, and Thomas Orem.   

Obvious research possibilities would be land and tax records for the time period.  They should show what land he owed, where it was, and what the value was.  This should indicate whether he farmed, raised tobacco, or perhaps was some type of merchant, or trader.  At this early period in Maryland history, he could have been any of the above.  There may be further information in church records, also, which would at least indicate when he became a member at All Hallow Parish (this would have been Church of England or Anglican).

So it may be that someday we will know more about John.  For now, he's an ancestor in the Beeks line and he died in Maryland.  He or/and his father would have been an immigrant, and that is reason enough to want to know more.

The line of descent is:

John Purdy-Elizabeth or Mary
Elizabeth Purdy-Thomas Aldridge
John Aldridge-Eleanor Watkins
Jacob Aldridge Elizabeth Soper
John Simpson Aldridge-Mary Lakin
John Simpson Aldridge Jr-Lucinda Wheeler
Darlington Aldridge-Leah Folsom
Harvey Aldridge-Margaret Catherine Dunham
Cleo Aldridge-Wilbur Beeks
Mary Margaret Beeks-Cleveland Harshbarger
Their descendants

Beeks line: Thomas Besson 1616-1678

Thomas Besson is the immigrant ancestor in this line. The mystery is, which Thomas Besson is he, and when did he come to the New World?  As is often the case, there are several versions of who he was and when he arrived.  His parents may have been Francis Besson and Marcella, of York, England, or they may be Thomas Besson, or his records may actually be found in the Channel Islands. It seems most likely that he is the Thomas Besson who was baptized January 11, 1617/1618 at St Andrews, Plympton, Devon, England.  These records are not yet available on line, as far as I can find, so we don't know what they might show as to the parents of Thomas. 

We also don't know when or whom he married (apparently a woman named Ann) nor do we know when he arrived in the New World. I've seen records stating he arrived as a servant in 1635 and another that he arrived in 1649 with his wife, two children, and servant. He received headrights for these later, along with three additional persons who were claimed as his headrights.  It is of course possible that he arrived in 1635-1640, went back to England and married, and then brought his family here.

At any rate, we know that he received a grant from Lord Calvert in 1649 on the south side of the Arundel River, and here he stayed.  It is believed that he may have been one of the non-Conformists who were forced from Virginia at that time due to religious intoleration. Fortunately, Maryland was still practicing religious freedom at the time.

Thomas and Ann had several children, as did Thomas and Hester (widow Caplin).  Almost everything I have looked at assigns the children in different order, to differing mothers. There were John, William, two Thomases, Martha, and Anne. On my tree, I've used the most common finding of Hester for Martha's mother, but that is still open to proof, one way or the other. 

Thomas was a respected man in his area as is evidenced by the fact that he held office under the commonwealth in Maryland and attended the last session of the Commision in September 1657, when Lord Baltimore regained sovereignty after the English Civil War.  At the Restoration (of the English monarchy) he was appointed a magistrate of Anne Arundel County and served as such from about 1568 to 1668. He was "Captain of the Trayned Band" (a militia unit, needed because of the ever-present threat from the native Americans) and in 1665 was elected one of the burgesses from Anne Arundel County. 

Thomas's will was written March 10th, 1678/79 and proven May 1, 1679.  His inventory included 16,296 lbs of tobacco, and his debts were almost as large, leaving about 500 lbs of tobacco to be distributed among his heirs. He also had owned about 800 acres of land, and that was given to son John, son William, son Thomas the younger. Thomas the elder was overseer but apparently didn't receive anything in the will.  He may have received his land earlier. 

There's a lot more research to do regarding Thomas. Did he live out his live as a Puritan non-conformist, or did he join the Church of England? Who was his first wife, and which children belonged to which wife? Who was his second wife? When did he first arrive in the New World?  And of course, who were his parents?  I'd like to know about this immigrant ancestor.

The line of descent is:

Thomas Besson-Ann or Hester
Martha Besson-Nicholas Aldridge
Thomas Aldridge-Elizabeth Purdy
John Aldridge Eleanor Watkins
Jacob Aldridge-Elizabeth Soper
John Simpson Aldridge-Mary Lakin
John Simpson Aldridge Jr-Lucinda Wheeler
Darlington Dart Aldridge-Leah Folsom
Harvey H Aldridge-Mary Catherine Dunham
Gretta Cleo Aldridge-Wilbur Beeks
Mary Margaret Beeks-Cleveland Harshbarger
Their descendents

Fun fact:  One of the appraisers of Thomas's inventory was Richard Tydings, who is an ancestor in the Holbrook line.  The families were neighbors, way back when and way back there!

Beeks line: Nicholas Aldridge, immigrant, 1653-1708

Much of what we "know" about Nicholas Aldridge is conjecture.  We know that he was baptized December 28, 1653 in East Wellow, Hampshire, England, to Nicholas Adridge and Martha. At present, Martha's maiden name is unknown.  He was the oldest of six children, but was still a teen- ager when he sailed with his father to the New World in 1667.  (I don't know whether the younger children came also, or came later, or perhaps stayed behind with other relatives.)  The two Aldridges arrived at Annapolis, Maryland from South Hampton, England.  They settled near the Severn River, close to All Hallows Parish, Maryland.  The senior Nicholas lived only two years, and died March 2, 1669.  Nicholas, our subject, would have been only a little over 15.  He was in a strange land and it's hard to know how much or what he had learned to support himself as an almost grown orphan.  The next ten years are a mystery at present.

By 1679, things were looking up for Nicholas.  He married Martha Beeson or Besson in 1679 at All Hallows Parish, Maryland.  The next year, on August 20, 1680, he purchased 300 acres of land named "Aldridge's Beginning" in Anne Arundel County.  I can almost feel the hope in his heart as he came to manhood with a new bride and land of his own in the New World.  By this time, the worst part of troubles with the native Americans and the worst part of the religious disputes between Catholics and Protestants was over.  Slavery had already begun, but much labor was done by indentured servants and by the colonist's own family.  The family of Nicholas and Martha began with son Thomas in 1680, and he would have been doing chores for most of the day by the time he was four or five.  Thomas and his 9 brothers and sisters were all baptized or christened at All Hallow's Parish. 

We don't know if Nicholas owned slaves or not, but it is certainly possible.  He grew tobacco, and tobacco is a labor intensive crop. If he had cleared all 300 acres of land, then slaves would have been considered a necessity. 

We know that Nicholas raised crops, had children, and apparently attended church services at All Hallow's Parish, but that is basically all that I have learned of him.  He died November 20, 1708, at an age of approximately 55, and Martha died October 19, 1719. 

I'd love to know more about him. Was he literate? If he owned slaves, how did he feel about that?  Did he treat them well?  What caused his death?  If someone knows more about the life of this man, I'd love to hear from you!

The line of descent is

Nicholas Aldridge-Martha Besson
Thomas Aldridge-Elizabeth Purdy
John Aldridge-Eleanor Watkins
Jacob Aldridge-Eleanor Soper
John Simpson Aldridge-Mary Lakin
John Simpson Aldridge Jr.-Lucinda Wheeler
Darlington Aldridge-Leah Folsom
Harver H. Aldridge-Margaret Catherine Dunham
Gretta Cleo Aldridge-Wilbur Beeks
Mary Margaret Beeks-Cleveland Harshbarger
Their descendents