Beards Of Essex

The British Newspaper Archive is a rich source of information, providing a window into the lives of individuals over the last couple of centuries. Frustratingly in my case the optical character recognition used by the site frequently reads “heard” as Beard, but it has turned up some interesting pieces. This is one.

This short post regards James Beard of Halstead. There were many Beards in Halstead and surrounding villages (mainly to the east and south) from the early 1600s until the mid 1840s. What his connection is with those I have not yet established, and all I really know about him comes from the 1841 census, a single parish register entry, a marriage settlement, a newspaper article and a will.

James was born around 1806-1808, place and parents unknown, but certainly from 1836-1846 he was a resident of Halstead. He married Mary Hitchcock on 11 August 1836 in Great Waltham (with an E Beard as a witness, which may have been a parent or sibling). The marriage settlement refers to land and property in Galleywood and Moulsham, so evidently there was some wealth in one or both families. By 1841 the family was resident in Halstead with Mary and their two children Mary (b.1839) and Elizabeth (b.1841). It seems that Mary died in 1844 (leaving a will, which I have not yet seen), and other than a mention in 1846 of a “cottage by Beard” in Greenstead Field in Halstead the family then disappear.

At that is it. A total of five family members and little else. Until that is I came across an Essex Standard article which tells us something about profession and demeanor….

Clearly James was a man who knew his own mind!

The Essex Standard also provides one other detail; in December 1839 at a meeting of the Halstead Agricultural Society at Blamsters Farm, James won a prize in a ploughing match, and may have then gone to celebrate at the George Inn.

Evidence:

• ERO D/DDw/B16 – Marriage settlement of James Beard and Mary Hitchcock
• Census 1841
• FreeBMD – Marriage of James Beard and Mary Hitchcock in Great Waltham
• ERO D/ABW 136/2/2 – Will of Mary Beard of Halstead
• ERO D/P 630/28/1 – Conveyance of land in Halstead in 1846 ref. Beard cottage