BEARD DOCUMENTATION

John Beard first patented 520 acres of land in 1725 in Prince George County,  part of which county afterwards became Brunswick and later Lunenburg and later Bedford.  He patented 400 acres in 1743 in Lunenburg; 364 acres in 1748 in Lunenburg; 402 acres in 1756 in Lunenburg; and a John Beard patented 369 acres in 1749 and 400 acres in 1753 in Augusta county.

Adam Beard, son of John, proved his oath the "instrument of writing" presented at a court held for Bedford county, Jan. 25, 1773, which recorded the marriage of Henry Brown and Alice Beard sixteen years previous and the dates of birth of their first six children: Lettice, b. Dec 3, 1757; Henry, b. August 10, 1760; Elizabeth, b. July 20, 1762; Alice, b. Sept. 9, 1764; Samuel, b. Nov. 10, 1766; and Daniel, b. Dec. 18, 1770.  Adam Beard was appointed a constable of Bedford county, 1754 and two of his sons, David and Samuel served as captains in the Rev. War.  The widow of one of them, Mary Beard, was receiving a pension in 1840 in Bedford county at the age of 85..

Henry Brown's will, dated Jan. 9, 1796, was proved in Bedford county, June 24, 1799and mentions all of the children enumerated above except Lettice and in addition:  Hannah, Ann, Mary and Sarah, besides making mention of his wife and a plantation of 375 acres.  His was a notable Presbyterian family which well deserves recording.  He, together with James Brown, Adam Beard, Samuel Beard, David Beard and others were among the signers of a petition in 1774 to the House of Burgesses from "Presbyterian dissenters of Peaks of Otter Church", Bedford county, a church which was organized before 1766 and which was one of the oldest Presbyterian churches in Virginia ("VA. Mag. Hist.", Vol 12, Page 419 and Vol. 13).  One of the sons of Henry Brown and Alice Beard, Rev. Samuel Brow m. Mary Moore, the heroine in the memoirs of frontier life in the Valley of Virginia, "Captives of Abb's Valley".  He was the second pastr of New Providence Church at Brownsburg in Rockbridge county and d. Oct. 13, 1818 and was buried there together with his wife.  He was the father of eleven children of whom seven were sons and of these five entered the Presbyterian ministry.  His sister, Alice Brown, m. Jesse Witt.  They were the parents of two distinguished Baptist clergymen, Rev. Daniel Witt, who died in Prince Edward county, and who was the father of Hon. Samuel Brown Witt of Richmond, and Rev. Jesse Witt, Jr. who died in Texas."