My grandparents, Rob and Malinda (Smith) Beaty with my daughter, Molly.
This page will be updated throughout 2016 to include all the stories I have collected about my maternal family line — The Beatys. Two issues complicate the research into this family line: Lots of children and repetition of family names. But, this is what I feel confident is accurate — based on my research and the research of other family historians.
The Beatys
My maternal family line came to North America somewhere around 1750 and, most likely, landed in present-day Pennsylvania. They lived there less than a decade before eventually heading to the Cumberland Plateau region of Tennessee-Kentucky. Based on the research in Albion’s Seed, they were part of the Backcountry Colony.
My American branch of the Beaty tree starts with John Beaty Sr. who migrated from Ireland. He had 11 children.
Revolutionary War era
John Beaty and (wife uncertain). John first married Margaret Montgomery and had eight children, but my line comes from his second wife, name unknown. They had three children: James, Andrew and George. These three sons settled on the Obey River in Fentress County, TN.
- Andrew Beaty (born 1758 in Pennsylvania) and Elizabeth Cooper. They had seven children including Alexander.
Civil War era
Alexander Beaty (born 1798 in Cumberland Co., KY) and Mary (Polly) Hull. They had nine children including James Knox Polk Beaty.
James Knox Polk Beaty and Elizabeth Garrett. They had eight children including James H. Beaty.
- James Hilery (Dan) Beaty (born 1878 in Fentress Co., TN) and Telitha Jane Smith. (Note: I have never been able to uncover why James went by Dan — if anyone knows, I would love to hear why.)
1900s
Robert Henry Beaty (born 1915, TN) and Malinda Victoria Smith (born 1915, TN). They were married on Nov. 6, 1933 and had 10 children including my mother, Mary.
- Mary Beaty and Bill Claywell
- Me
Charlie R. Claywell 