Elizabeth Brey
Elizabeth Brey was born on 1 March, 1808, in eastern Pennsylvania, possibly Lehigh County. Her parents, Michael Brey and Maria (Unknown), resided in Lehigh County for a time and owned land in Lower Macungie Township. Elizabeth Brey and Jacob Beals were married in about 1828, probably in Lehigh County. Their first three children, Flora Ann (b.1829), Samuel (b.1831), and Benjamin (b.1833), all reported being born in Lehigh County.
By 1839 Elizabeth and Jacob had migrated westward to the border area of Venango County and the newly-created Clarion County. They settled in Beaver Township, but after the creation of new townships in 1856, they found themselves living on the boundary of Richland and Salem townships. Their homestead is said to have contained 540 acres.
(Click here to read the full biography of Elizabeth Brey)
Date | Location | Notes | Sources | |
---|---|---|---|---|
Birth | 1 Mar 1808 | Lehigh County, Pennsylvania expect Upper Milford or Whitehall Twp. |
[11][12] | |
Marriage | expect 1828-1829 | expect Lehigh Co. PA | To Jacob Beals | [11][5][16][17] |
Death | 15 Jan 1899 | Venango County, PA | [9][11] | |
Burial | Salem Lutheran Cemetery, Clarion County, PA | [9][10] |
Immediate family in my direct ancestry
Generation 4 Generation 5 Generation 6 +-- Jacob Beals | (1806-1890) James Francis Beals --+ +-- Michael Brey (1846-1930) | | (1773-1859) +-- Elizabeth Brey --+ (1808-1899) | +-- Maria [unknown] (????-????)
Sources: [10][11][13]
Children
Children with Jacob Beals:
Name | Gender | Date of Birth | Birthplace | Spouse | Notes | Sources |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Flora Ann Beals | F | Apr 1829 | Lehigh County, PA | Nathan S. Biery | [5][13] | |
Samuel Beals | M | 5 Sep 1831 | Lehigh County, PA | 1) Catherine Marsh 2) Elizabeth Levy |
[5][13][17] | |
Benjamin Beals | M | 15 Feb 1833 | Lehigh County, PA | 1) Sarah Shirey 2) Elizabeth Shirey 3) Mary Himes |
[5][13][16] | |
Jacob Beals, Jr. | M | 13 Feb 1836 | Clara Unknown | [5][13][16] | ||
William Beals | M | b. 29 Jan 1839 bapt. 24 Feb.1839 |
Emmaus,Lehigh Co. PA | Susan Kline | [5][13][16] [18] | |
Hiram Beals | M | 31 Jul 1840 | Venango County, PA | Sarah Edinger | [5][13] | |
Levi F. Beals | M | Aug 1845 | Sara A. Kribbs | [5][13] | ||
James Francis Beals | M | 1846 | PA | 1) Adeline Kribbs 2) Olive Samantha Bower 3) Elizabeth Rhoades Ashbaugh |
Direct line | [5][13] |
Places of Residence
Location | Dates | Notes | Sources |
---|---|---|---|
(Michael Brey )Upper Milford Twp., Northampton (now Lehigh) Co., PA | including 1800-1806 | see Michael Brey | |
(Michael Brey)Whitehall Twp., Northampton (now Lehigh) Co., PA | including 1810-1812 | see Michael Brey | |
Lower Macungie Twp., Lehigh Co., PA | 1812 - 1821 | see Michael Brey | |
Venango Co., PA | 1839-1841 | [4][13] | |
Clarion Co., PA | 1841- 1899 | [5][9][13] |
Photos
Sources
Ref. Num. | Description | Image of original |
---|---|---|
1 | 1810 United States Federal Census, Whitehall Twp., Northampton Co., PA, No census date given. Page 4, column 2, line 1 lists Michael Brey as the head of a household with people of the following ages: 1 male 10-15 years of age, 1 male 26-44, 1 male 45+, 3 females less than 10, 2 females 10-15, and one female 26-44. Margin notes in the census suggest that the place of residence was actually Upper Saucon and not Whitehall Twp., but ancestry.com lists the entry under Whitehall. Elizabeth Brey would be ~ 2 in this year. | |
2 | 1820 United States Federal Census, Macungie Twp, Lehigh Co, PA, page 2. Family of Michael Brey: 1 male 16-25, 1 male >44, 2 females <10, 3 females 10-15, 2 females 16-25, 1 female >44; 2 persons engaged in agriculture. Elizabeth Brey would be 12. | |
3 | 1830 United States Federal Census, Could not find Michael Brey in full page search of Lehigh (Macungie and Upper Milford), Montgomery (Upper Hanover) and Venango (Elk, Beaver, Richland). | |
4 | 1840 United States Federal Census, Richland Twp., Venango Co., PA, Page 60, line 11 lists Jacob Beals as the head of a household containing 2 males between 0 and 5 years of age [probably Jacob Beals, Jr., and William Beals], 2 males between 5 and 10 [probably Samuel Beals and Benjamin Beals], one male between 30 and 40 [probably Jacob Beals], one female between 10 and 15 [probably Flora A. Beals], and one female between 20 and 30 [probably Elizabeth Beals]. This census page is not dated. | |
5 | 1850 United States Federal Census, Beaver, Clarion Co., PA, Page 33, lines 5-14 lists Jacob Beals, 44, married to Elizabeth Beals, 40. They live with their eight children: daughter Flora A. Beals, 21; son Samuel Beals, 19; son Benjamin Beals, 17; son Jacob Beals, 15; son William Beals, 12; son Hiram Beals, 10; son Levi Beals, 7; and son James Beals, [age illegible]. The elder Jacob Beals, Samuel Beals, Benjamin Beals, and Jacob Beals, Jr. are all farmers. Everyone was born in PA. Elizabeth Beals cannot read and write. Samuel, Benjamin, Jacob Jr., William, and Hiram all attended school in the year. Next door is family of Michael Brae, male age 76,occupation illegible, possibly "none", born PA; Maria Brae, female age 78, born Germany; Hatty Brae, female age 56, born PA, "idiot". This census is dated 24 Sep 1850. |
|
6 | 1860 United States Federal Census. Page by page search unsuccessful in finding family of Michael Brey. See note below. | |
7 | 1870 United States Federal Census, Richland Twp., Clarion Co., PA, Page 4, line 40, and Page 5, lines 1-3 lists Jacob Beals, 65, married to Elizabeth Beals, 62. They live with two children: son Levi Beals, 24, and son James Beals, 22. Jacob Beals and Elizabeth Beals cannot write. Everyone was born in PA. Jacob Beals has no occupation, Elizabeth Beals is keeping house, Levi's occupation is Workout Carpentry, and James is a laborer. This census is dated 30 Aug 1870. | |
8 | 1880 United States Federal Census, Richland Twp., Clarion Co., PA, Enumeration District 79, Page 33, lines 9-11 list Jacob Beels, 75, married to Elizibeth Beels, 72, living with a servant named Lilli[?} Rochel[?], 14. Jacob Beels is a farmer and Elizibeth keeps house. Elizabeth Beels cannot write. Everyone and their parents were born in PA. This census is dated 10 Jun 1880. The following entry on this page is that of Jacob Beals' son, Levi F. Bells, 34, and his family (including 4 children), suggesting that they lived on adjacent property. | |
9 | Gravestone transcription, Salem Lutheran Cemetery, Clarion County, PA. Transcribed Sept. 1991 by Elizabeth Wilson Williams
|
|
10 | Cemetery Association Record: Jacob Beals from Salem Lutheran Cemetery Association lists Jacob Beals, 1806-1899, as married to Elizabeth Brey, 1808-1899. It lists their descendants down as far as four generations in some places. Some of those descendants are my anscestors, including son James Beals, daughter-in-law Olive Bower, grandson Elgie Beals and grandaughter-in-law Winnie Kline. | See transcript |
11 | Book: History of Clarion County PA 1887 by A. J. Davis, Closson Press, Apollo, PA
|
|
12 | Personal correspondence from Elizabeth Wilson Williams. | N/A
|
13 | Research Manuscript of Ella May Beals (Wilson) researched 1975-1985, including personal knowledge and interviews of her siblings Robert Beals and Bertha Beals (Chambers), and of her aunt Mary P. Kline (Fillgrove).
_ | |
16 | Records of Salem Lutheran Church, Salem Twp., Clarion Co. Pa, partial transcription March 1995 by Elizabeth Wilson Williams and Nancy Beals Walls. From handwritten record book dated 20 Feb 1846, alphabetical list of members: Beals, Jacob Sr., Jacob Jr., Benjamin, Elizabeth, William, Wm. Note: With Jacob Beals, Sr. & Elizabeth Brey are 3 of their children (Jacob, Jr., Benjamin, & William); the identity of the second "Wm." is unknown. |
Records of Salem Lutheran Church, partial transcription 1995 |
17 | 1831 Baptismal Records, Emmaus Moravian Church, Lehigh Co PA; page 276 (pg.129 Ancestry.com), line 34. (Transcribed from German text.) Born 5 Sept. 1831; Bapt. 20 Oct 1831; Samuel Biehl to parents Jacob Biehl and wife Elisabeth nee Brey. (Godparents?) Samuel Brey and wife Elisabeth Shafer. | |
18 | 1826 Baptismal Records, Emmaus Moravian Church, Lehigh Co PA; page 155 (pg.86 ancestry.com) line 86. (Transcribed from German text.) Sallie Ann Brey born 24 March 1826, bapt. 21 May 1826; parents Samuel Brey and wife Elisabeth nee Schaefer. (Godparents?) Salomon Wickert and wife Elisabeth nee Diehl. Note:Samuel and Elisabeth Brey were present, possibly godparents, at the baptism of Samuel Biehl, son of Jacob and Elisabeth Brey Biehl, in 1831. |
Source Notes
- Regarding the lack of an 1860 census record: I have manually reviewed all census entries for Richland, Beaver, Salem, Elk, and Licking Townships, Clarion County, PA, along with Richland Township, Venango County, PA. No sign of the Jacob Beals family was found. The census for Richland Twp. Clarion Co. contains only one Beals residence, that of William Beals [son of Jacob] and his wife Susana. In Beaver Twp., we find another son, Jacob Beals, Jr. and his wife Clara. In Salem Twp., we find a third son, Samuel Beal and his family, as well as the infamous Daniel Beals and his wife Elizabeth. No Beals (or variants) in Elk & Licking Twps.. Richland Twp, Venango Co., has a David Beels w/ wife Margaret, as well as an Elizabeth Beels (37) working as a "domestic" in the home of a Mr. Coutter.
- Could not find Michael Brey in full page search of Lehigh (Macungie and Upper Milford), Montgomery (Upper Hanover) and Venango (Elk, Beaver, Richland).
- Samuel Brey appears as a witness or godparent at the birth of Elisabeth Brey Beals' son Samuel, Emmaus Moravian Church, Lehigh Co. PA in 1831. Sallie Ann Brey apprears, daughter of Samuel Brey and wife Elisabeth Schaefer, in 1826 baptismal records of Emmaus Moravian Ch., Lehigh Co. PA. Conjecture: Samuel is possibly a brother of Elisabeth Brey, though we have no conclusive record of him among the children of Michael Brey, apart from census indication of a Brey son. It is also possible that Samuel Brey was an uncle of Elizabeth Brey, a younger brother of Michael Brey.
- Emmaus, PA today lies across the boundaries of Lower Macungie, Upper Millford, and Salisbury townships, SW of Allentown.
Conjecture
- Regarding the 1860 Census: The fact that Jacob's sons are all still in the area, and that there is also no sign of Jacob's wife or other children (especially James Francis Beals) in 1860, that their home was simply left out of the census for one reason or another.
Wish List
Census: 1890, 1830