a line drawing of a tree with leaves

My Beasley & Cauthen Ancestry.

Can You Help? Are You A Beasley Gap Beasley?

Key words: genealogy, ancestors, origins, genealogist, lineage, family tree.

My 3rd great grandfather was Ambrose Beasley (labeled as Bireley on Ancestry.com transcription of the 1860 US Census - we think that's a mislabel, since the earlier 1850 Census and every document after 1860 says Beasley).

My great grandfather, William Ambrose Beasley, of Henderson County, Kentucky, was named after our ancestor (but my great grandfather never knew this grandfather of his, or any of his grandparents).

I am searching for the
Family lore says that Ambrose and the family, or his children, moved to Kentucky from either Tennessee or Georgia, to avoid being drafted into the Confederate army. Another family story is that he and his family lived around Stone Mountain, Georgia and came north to the area around Nashville, Tennessee "following the crops." Given that his grandson, my great grandfather, WA Beasley, started off as a share cropper before at last becoming a land owner, it's likely Ambrose did not own land.

There is a Morris Beasley in the trees of a few people who I have a DNA match to - and so do other Beasley family members of ours. This Morris Beasley was born 7 October 1785 in either South Carolina or Georgia, and died sometimes before 1860 in Beasley Gap, Cherokee County, Georgia. This Morris Beasley can be found in the 1830, 1940 and 1850 Census. No one has a record of this man's brothers, and no child is listed as "Ambrose", or even close to that. Given that Ambrose named one of this sons Morris, I think there is a possibility that the earlier Morris Beasley had a brother, or brothers, and one of those is the father of our ancestors, Ambrose Beasley.


Missouri (or Morouel or Miouri) Beasley (maiden name Cauthen according to other family members - perhaps that's a misspelling of her maiden name?)
My 3rd great-grandmother
I am searching for
  • the exact place Missouri was born,
  • the place where she is buried (I suspect it's Indiana),
  • her siblings' names and anything else about them (marriages, date and place of death, etc.)
  • her parents names and where they were born (those would be my fourth great-grandparents). The names of THEIR parents and where they were born would, of course, be amazing as well.
Both the 1850 and 1860 Census say Ambrose Beasley and his wife, Morouel or Miouri or Missouri
  • were living with their children were living in Polk, Tennessee.
  • Ambrose was born in South Carolina.
  • Ambrose is a farmer
In the 1850 Census, they are listed as living at dwelling Number 678.
In the 1860 Census, dwelling number 501.

The 1860 Census has the wrong last name - Bireley.

The name "Rome" in the context of Polk County, Tennessee, could refer to the Ocoee River, near the town of Copperhill. The Ocoee River was formerly known as the "Old Rome" river. There is no town of Rome in Polk County.

Neither Ambrose nor Missouri can be found in findagrave.com and neither are listed on any of the records that have been posted online by the Polk County Historical & Genealogical Society.

Missouri was about 15 years younger than Ambrose. For a while, I had "Sarah" as a daughter of Ambrose, only 13 years younger than Missouri. But I can't find any record of Sarah, and I decided after many years to delete her from the tree altogether - I don't think Sarah Beasley is the daughter of Ambrose Beasley and I'm not even sure how she got in that tree. 

Many of the descendants of the the three children male children (Morris, Madison and Monroe) and grandchildren of Ambrose and Missouri have taken DNA tests on Ancestry.com, and I am related to all of them.

Missouri outlived Ambrose and she came to Indiana, not far from Western Kentucky, where one of her sons and his family settled.

Here is part of my family tree, starting with my great-grandfather and going back to Ambrose and Missouri. It shows what I'm missing.

part of my family tree

And here is their tree in the other direction, starting with them and then showing their descendants. If you click on it, you should get a full size (you need to do this on a laptop, tablet or desktop). Below the graphics are the names of their children and the spouses of their children, in text form. And then there's another presentation of the tree, starting with my great-grandfather and going back to Ambrose and Missouri.
family tree of Ambrose and Missouri Beasley
The children of Ambrose and Missouri Beasley:
  • Madison H Beasley (1842–1905)
  • Lurana or Luvana S Beasley (1847–1860)
  • Francis S Beasley (1849–1860)
  • Monroe Beasley (1849–1900)
  • Sampson Beasley (1854–1880)
  • Morris David Beasley (1857–1893)
  • B Beasley (1858–?)
Lurana Luvana S Beasley (1847–1860) died at 12 or 13.
Francis S Beasley (1849–1860) died at 10 or 11.
B Beasley (1858–1869) died at 11 or 12.
Sampson Beasley 1854–1880) died at 26. Certainly old enough to have children, but there is no record of him having such.

Their grandchildren (that I know of):

Madison H Beasley (1842–1905) with Martha O A Junier (1848–1899) had the following chldren (and according to Ancestry.com, some of the descendents of these folks are Beasley DNA matches):
  • Henry Beasley (1863–1887)
  • Julia A Beasley (1867–1893
  • William S. Beasley (1875– ?)
  • Hiram Gardner Beasley (1878–1948)
  • Thomas A Beasley (1885–1932)
and with Anna C "Nannie" Brown (1845–?) had
  • Sally Virginia Beasley (1891–1948)
  • Anna Beasley

Monroe Beasley (1849–1900) with Hariet Nelllie Victor (1846–1911) had the following chldren (and according to Ancestry.com, some of the descendents of these folks are Beasley DNA matches):
  • Kate Beasley (1873– ?)
  • Adelyn "Addie" Missouri Beasley (1874–1901)
  • Mary Mabel Beasley (1876–1901)
  • James M Beasley (1878–1904)
  • Edward Victor Beasley (1881–1904)
  • Carrie Legrand Beasley (1884–1946)

Morris David Beasley (1857–1893) with Emma Smith (1854–1918) had these children (WIlliam Ambrose Beasley was my great-grandfather):
  • India C Beasley (1880– )
  • Emmett Johnson Beasley (1883–1961)
  • John M Beasley (1885–1963)
  • William Ambrose Beasley (1887–1974)
  • Georgie M Beasley (1889–
  • Clarence Beasley (1891–
  • Walter Morris Beasley (1893–1974)

Again, please note that many of the descendants of these children and grandchildren of Ambrose and Missouri have taken DNA tests on Ancestry.com, and I am related to them (it's how I discovered Monroe Beasley). I have color-coded my ancestry.com DNA matches for years - I started with people that had common ancestors with me and were very close relatives, then looked to see what people shared DNA with that group specifically. It's been essential in confirming information.

Suspicions

I have a tree on Ancestry called Beasley Gap, Georgia tree INVESTIGATING. I created it because I have at least six Beasley DNA matches that I cannot trace on a tree to me, but that I can trace to Beasleys that come from this tree. On this tree, there are these two people:

Morris Beasley
Birth 7 OCT 1785 • South Carolina or Georgia
Death BEF 1860 • Beasley Gap, Cherokee County, Georgia
Morris is listed in the 1830 Census as living in Walton, Georgia. No family names are listed.
He is listed in the 1840 Census as living in District 960, Cherokee, Georgia.
He is listed in the 1850 Slaveholder Census as a slave owner.
He is listed in the 1850 Census as 65, with a wife, Sarah Beasley, 65, and a daughter, Martha, 31.

Morris has a father, Henry or J Beasley,
Birth 1750 • Wake, North Carolina
Death 1840 • Walton County, Georgia or South Carolina
Henry or J is listed in the 1830 Census as living in Walton, Georgia. No family names are listed.

I suspect Morris Beasley (1785-1860) had siblings. I don't think my 3rd great grandfather, Ambrose Beasley (born in 1810), is Morris' son, but I think Ambrose could be a nephew of Morris - a child of one of Morris' brothers.

Are you a surprise relation to Ambrose & Missouri?

If you are a DNA match on Ancestry at least 20 cm or over, but you don't know how we're related, I may know how. Here's more information about reaching out to me - please read it before you write me.

Have info that could help me?

I have a list here of specific documents and records that can help me.

If you have information that could help me know more about Ambrose and Missouri, or you are a descendant, please contact me at
 jcravens42 "at" yahoo "dot" com

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The personal opinions expressed on this page are solely those of Ms. Cravens, unless otherwise noted.