Misc. Notes
James' father was a native of Scotland and emigrated to America before the Revolutionary War
Marriage Register #1, Washington Co, VA, LDS film #?, viewed by Joann Tortarolo and reported to Ray Beaty, January 5, 1997.
351 He grew up on his father's lands in the eastern end of present day Washington County, Virginia.
Occupation
David sent James to learn the trade of blacksmith in the shop of John Sawyers at Col. Dysart's [also in Washington County]. James then worked as a blacksmith at his father's place.352 353
He married Esther Fulton, daughter of David Fulton and Elizabeth Yerkes, on 13 Jan 1803 in Washington County, Virginia.354, pg. 4
David Beattie wrote his will in 1814, leaving James a Negro girl Mary.355
His mother wrote her will a few years later, leaving him her cupboard and a share in her remaining property. She also named James as her executor.356
On September 29th, 1820 James executed a paper in Washington Co. Virginia stating that he was about to remove to Howard Co., Missouri and naming his good friend Thomas Edmondson [Edmiston] as his attorney to attend to lawsuits and other business in which he was involved.357
Three days later James took his family and left for Missouri.358
About this same time James filed a lawsuit in Wythe County, Virginia, against his brother David and sister Mary (Beattie) Clark. On the surface the suit had to do with the question of whether a slave named Delilah had belonged to the estate of their father, David Beattie Sr., or their mother, Mary Beattie. James also claimed that the siblings had each received a slave from their father after he wrote his will and prior to his death. James wanted these slaves returned to their father's estate. The judge ruled against James [see link below for more information].359
James and his family actually settled in Boone County, Missouri, however they did not fare well in their new home. By the end of their first summer the local doctor was visiting their home on a regular basis. The probate file includes a bill submitted by G. W. Wilcox for physician services; the first date of [this] bill was 29 Aug 1821; fthe ile also includes a bill from Thomas Todd for attendance on him [James Beattie] and family from 21 Sep until 20 Oct in the last sickness of the deceased.360
Although the facts are not known for sure one can deduce that at least 5 members of the family were seriously ill and that 4 did not survive. Bills contained in James's probate file indicate that the local coffin maker was called on to make 4 coffins. The exact date of death for James's wife, Esther and his 2 children who died is not known, but another bill in the estate file included 5 yards of cambric purchased on Sept. 1st, 7 yards of cambric purchased on Sept. 7th and 5 yards of muslin purchased on the 24th. Cambric was commonly used for shrouds. A physician's bill indicated that "Betsy" was among the family members who was sick; assuming this was daughter Elizabeth, she survived.360 Research Comment: The probate file created after James's death contains several items of interest. One is a bill from a John Reed for 4 coffins; 3 were charged at $7.00 and were listed as having been made for James Beattie, his wife and his daughter. Another entry was for $3.00 and states "to making one small one for his __". The letters appear to be dter which may have been intended as an abbreviation for daughter, since the person who wrote the bill was running out of space [see scanned image below]. The bill appears to be dated September 1_ th [possibly13th or 15th], 1821 which itself is curious as James was still alive as late as Sept. 22 on which date he wrote his will. However, the record does confirm that James's wife died about the same time that he did, along with a daughter and possibly a second, younger daughter. Since the daughters named in James's will can all be accounted for after his death, one can assume that the deceased daughter(s) died before he did. One can speculate that the older daughter who died may have been Mary, who was named as James's daughter in the will of his mother (written in Oct. 1818) but who is not mentioned in James's will and does not appear in any of the other probate records created as a part of his estate.
357