Beech Tree News Network

William Beasley served as a Private in the American Revolution for the state of North Carolina, enlisting before he turned 18 in about 1780. According to Pension document # S*W9352; BLWT #51879-160-55, issued June 6, 1833, in the Butler County, KY court, he served under Captain David Roach who was killed at Camden, SC, then under Captain John Stevenson when he marched on to Wilmington where they joined Col. R. Richards troops. After completing that service, he volunteered and then joined for another four months. He was reported to be an experienced River man as much of his service was along rivers of the area.  It is recorded that he also served under Captain Samuel Jones company of the 10th regiment, until his discharge in South Carolina near Charleston. [Veteran was pensioned at the rate of $60 per annum commencing March 4, 1831, for one year and six months service as a private in the North Carolina militia. From Wm. Hill, Secretary of State, North Carolina]

According to information on ancestry.com, familysearch.org and find a grave, William Beasley, my 5th great grandfather, was born on April 25, 1762, in Craven County, North Carolina to Solomon and Rachel Taylor Beasley. He married Elizabeth Taylor (1761-1856), daughter of Moses Taylor, Revolutionary War Patriot, and Elizabeth Prevatt, in Craven County, NC on February 3, 1784. The Beasleys, Marshalls, Slades and Taylors left North Carolina and came to Logan/Warren County, KY in about 1797, traveling along the river in flatboats. He was listed as a member of the Gasper River Association Baptist Church in 1815 records. Some of the families later moved north and settled in Butler County in about 1817 where he was listed as a hog farmer. The 1820 Butler County Census shows him as age 58. In 1824, his war buddy Paul Ferguson died while visiting William. He died in Butler County, KY on September 26, 1847. According to information on familysearch.org, he was buried in Beasley-Blanchard Cemetery in Benton, TN. 

 William and Elizabeth had a son John Beasley, my 4th great grandfather, in 1785 who died in Butler County on October 6, 1849. He married Sina Doherty ( __-1809) on February 22, 1808 in Warren County, KY. John and Sina had a daughter, Dorcas Beasley, my 3rd great grandmother, on April 3, 1809 in Warren County, KY, who died on September 25, 1855 in Butler County, KY. She married Calvin P Taylor (1814-1886) in Butler County on September 28, 1833. Dorcas and Calvin had a son James Calvin Taylor, my 2nd great grandfather, on October 12, 1839, in KY who died on February 26, 1904 in Morgantown, Butler County, KY. James Calvin married Sarah Ann “Sallie” LeGrand (1840-1924) on August 24, 1862 in Butler County, KY. James and Sarah had a son, Ephraim LeGrand Taylor, my great grandfather, on December 17, 1871 in Casey, Butler County, KY who died on April 29, 1962 in Morgantown, KY. He married Louisa A. Snodgrass (1874-1942) on February 8, 1896, in Butler County. They had a daughter, Lillie Jeames Taylor, my grandmother in 1905 in Butler County who died in 1989. She married Eugene Taylor (1901-2000) on June 29, 1922, in Butler County, KY. Lillie and Eugene had a daughter, Iva Taylor, my mother, on September 22, 1926, in Butler County who died on March 4, 1980, in Fayette County, KY. Iva married my father Ralph Meador (1928-2014) on November 30, 1946, in Ohio County, KY.

As part of Celebrate America 250, the Butler County Chapter NSDAR members will be continuing our series of articles about our Patriots of the American Revolution. If you have a Revolutionary Patriot in your family line and are interested in joining our chapter please contact the Regent, Lynda O’Driscoll at 270.734.5137 or any chapter member.