Do you know of Nimrod?
Q I am trying to identify my husband’s 5x greatgrandfather! My research thus far has been made relatively straightforward because his 3x great-grandfather had a possibly unique name: Nimrod Beaumont, baptised 14 September 1800 in Flockton, Yorkshire (West Riding). Nimrod’s father was Charles Beaumont who married Martha Bennett on 11 November 1793 in Thornhill, Yorkshire (West Riding). Thornhill and Flockton are not far apart. There were two witnesses recorded to the signing of banns for Charles’s marriage (William Beaumont and John Beaumont).
I have two possible contenders for Charles’s father: William Beaumont and Abraham Beaumont. There is a record for the birth of a Charles Beaumont in Almondbury (1764), (father William Beaumont) and another birth of a Charles Beaumont in Kirkheaton (1770), (father Abraham). Both dates seem feasible and Almondbury and Kirkheaton are again not far away from Thornhill and Flockton.
Unfortunately, knowing the witnesses to Charles Beaumont’s marriage has not helped. William Beaumont of Almondbury had another son called John and these are, therefore, possible witnesses to Charles’s marriage. Abraham Beaumont appears to have died before Charles married but produced sons including a William and a John who might have been Charles’s brothers and again, therefore, witnesses to his marriage!
My only other purely circumstantial evidence is that Charles’s family seemed to favour biblical names. In addition to Nimrod, Charles had sons called Israel and Enoch Beaumont and Abraham named two of his sons Abraham and Joseph. Is there any way I can verify the father of Charles Beaumont?
Teresa Wormald
A Unfortunately, like most records before 1812, the baptism registers don’t show the mother’s name when a child is christened which makes it difficult to be absolutely certain about parentage.
One potentially useful technique is to trace the families of both William and Abraham Beaumont, forward and back, to see where that leads. It’s no longer beyond the realms of fantasy that if you can trace the current generations of both families a DNA test might help.
I note from Ancestry that another researcher has also been tracing the family. Maybe you know her but, if not, I suggest you get in touch. She has Charles’s father as William and his father as Josephus and has carried the line on before that into a period where the parish register is less easily read. I always advise caution when using
One potentially useful technique is to trace the families ... forward and back, to see where that leads
information on another person’s family tree as, at least initially, you cannot be sure of the standard of research.
Prior to 1812 it becomes increasingly difficult to be certain of relationships, especially if there is more than one family of the name in the parish. The standard of ‘beyond reasonable doubt’ is not easily achieved and you may be back to ‘on the balance of probabilities’ or even ‘educated guess’. Your own records should always be annotated if you have reason to be uncertain about the accuracy of the records.
There is a strong interest in family history in Yorkshire so it’s worth contacting the local family history society umbrella organisation https://yorksgroup.org.uk/ who may well have members who are able to help. The Beaumonts I have found worked in both the cloth trade and coal mining so records of these industries are worth a look. DF