Beatty, David

David Beatty (alternatively spelled “Beaty”) was a landowning farmer who resided in Loudoun County. He had a longstanding business relationship with his neighbor John Elliott, who was overseer for the Mason family on Raspberry Plain Farm in the mid 1790s. In 1772, Beatty and John Elliott together purchased a tract of land from Joshua Jones for £300. The land purchased was bordered by the property owned by the Dehaven, Clapham, Todhunter, and Sinclair families. This purchase expanded property Beatty and Elliott each owned in the same area. Their business relationship continued for decades, and they traded pieces of property in 1792. In his role as overseer, Elliott hired a horse from Beatty in May of 1795 for use on the Mason property. Like his neighbors, Beatty was also involved in local community matters such as roads, which directly affected his role as a farmer and landowner. He again expanded his property in 1805 purchasing “the fee simple estate” of fifteen acres from Samuel and Elizabeth Clapham for £54.

When he died in old age, sometime before 1811, he left a large estate valued at over $3000 worth of goods and property. He left the entirety of his estate to his widow Elizabeth “to manage as she shall think proper” until her own death. He left instructions that upon her death, the property would be equally divided amongst their four sons John, David Jr., William, and Robert. Interestingly, he left one of his two daughters, Jane Steer, wife of John Steer, £50, but was not so generous with his other daughter Mary Elliott, wife of George Elliott, who was kin to his neighbor John Elliott. He left Mary only a shilling, declaring that she “displeased” her parents in her choice of husband and, therefore, would receive no benefit from his will.

Beatty’s widow, Elizabeth, survived him by at least ten years, dying on 19 September 1821 at the age of 71. After her death, the estate, still quite valuable, was divided amongst her and David’s sons who each received an equal share, though David Jr., who was in debt to his brothers, was required to pay the debt out of his share. Unfortunately, David Jr. did not live long beyond his mother, leaving behind more debt and a wife, Catherine Beatty, as well as infant children. By 1832, three of his David Beatty’s sons had died and his property was officially sub-divided amongst their heirs.

By Bridget Swart