The Family of Susan KEITH

When and where was Susan KEITH born?

As we do not have a baptism for Susan we cannot be sure when she was born or where.

Could Susan have been the oldest child of Daniel and Jane? They married in Canada in October 1794 so Susan could have been born in 1795 (July onwards - we must assume that as Daniel was an ordained minister their first child would be at least 9 months after their marriage. But we know her sisters Isabella and Mary were born in Canada before the family departed for Bristol in late 1796, so this option is not possible.
Could Susan have been born around 1811-1812, the youngest child of Daniel and Jane, noting Daniel died in February 1811? This is possible, making Susan only 14 years old when she married John BEAL in 1825. It is unlikely that her family (her aunt Anne, brother Edward and sisters Frances and Jessica) would have sanctioned this event.
She married in Cape Town in 1825 but no age was recorded. There was no need to prove her age - in fact the legal age for marriage in Britain at that time was 14 for a boy and 12 for a girl.
The 1841 census record may be some help. Susan is shown as aged 35, but ages were rounded down to the nearest 5. That would suggest an age of 35 to 39, or a birth date of 1801 to 1805, assuming of course Susan gave her true age on the census form and the enumerator correctly rounded down the age he was given (which he did for others on that page). Susan cannot be found in the 1851 census.
The age given on her death certificate in 1852 is 50 years - born 1801/1802 - but the informant was the illiterate Margaret Dawson so the age could be approximate. The age given would have come from Susan, so should be consistent with the 1841 census age (whether correct or not).
Could she have been born between Mary and Edward? We do not have Mary's date of birth (1796-1798 is our best guess) but there appears to be about 4 years between Mary and Edward, plenty of time for another birth - in fact a birth . in this time period would be expected. If Susan had been born after Mary, in late 1798 through to early 1800, she would have been 41 in the 1841 census and her age should have been shown as 40, unless Susan was in the habit of giving a younger age.
It is unlikely (or impossible) that Susan was born between any of the four boys, there is not enough time. It is generally accepted that there needs to be a minimum of 300 days between full-term births. Similarly it is unlikely that she was born after Thomas and before Frances.
Could Susan could have been born after Frances and before Jessica? We do not have an exact date for Jessica's birth, but regardless this would have made Susan only 33 in the 1841 census and her age would have been rounded down to 30.

In my estimation, Susan was either born in 1898/99 in Bristol soon after their arrival, or (perhaps the most likely) that Susan was a twin of Edward Joseph KEITH, born 2 May 1801 in Bristol. Perhaps we might have expected Susan to have been baptised with the twin brother but there is no evidence for this. However we do know only one of the five girls appears to have been baptised, so even if a twin, Daniel and Jane may have decided not to have her baptised (or may have done so privately and not had the event recorded at the local church).

This table summarises the information.

Name	Date of Birth	Evidence
Isabella	Aug - Oct 1795	Assume minimum of 365 days after marriage
Mary	Aug 1796 - Feb 1797	12 to 18 months after Isabella
Susan	Late 1798 to Oct 1799	18 months after Mary to 18 months before Edward.
Edward Joseph	2 May 1801 - from baptism record
James George Bowen	23 Dec 1802	600 days or 18 months between Edward and James
Robert	22 April 1804 - from baptism record	486 days after James
Thomas Davis	5 Aug 1805 - from baptism record	470 days after Robert
Frances Jane Avice (Fanny)	16 May 1807 - from baptism record	649 days after Thomas
Jessica Amelia	Nov 1808	18 months after Frances.

Based on the information we have currently, I suggest Susan was likely to have been a twin sister to Edward Joseph, so born May 1801. This would agree with the census record. Otherwise she was probably born near the end of 1799 or early 1800 but this would have given only around 600 days between the births of Mary and Susan and between Susan and Edward. All the other options seem unlikely unless Susan was several weeks premature.

Whether a twin to Edward or born 10 months prior, Susan would have been born at Church Lane, Bristol. An extensive search of all the Bristol parish registers has not located a baptism for Susan, or for her sisters except Frances. Susan would have accompanied her parents when they moved to Kent House, Hammersmith, London in around 1809 and survived the disease that killed her father and two siblings in early 1811. We presume she travelled to Canada with her mother in 1816 and returned with her to England, probably back to Bristol before 1824. Her mother died in Bristol in 1824 when Susan was probably only 17 years old.

Departure for Van Diemen's Land (Australia)

We do know that on 25 April 1825 Edward Joseph KEITH and his new wife Ann boarded the ship Mountaineer in Portsmouth, bound for Van Dieman's Land (Tasmania) and then on to Sydney, via Cape Town. We also know that Edward with Ann and two of his sisters (Fanny and Jessica) eventually arrived in Sydney. On its way into Cape Town on 14 July 1825 the ship struck a rock and was badly damaged. Its cargo would need to be unloaded so repairs could be carried out. The passengers would be stuck in Cape Town for nearly 3 months. It appeared that Edward Joseph had a problem on his hands - three very eligible teenage sisters who had nothing to do but attract the attention of the well-to-do gentlemen of the Cape Town society. The sisters were accompanied by Edwards's wife Ann (aged 32) and their housekeeper Mrs Saunders. The problems with the Mountaineer were reported in Lloyd's List in London and provincial newspapers.

Note in Lloyds List about the Mountaineer in Cape Town.

Report in the Hampshire Telegraph, 28 November 1825.

The newspaper report mentions that a "Miss Prith" had married a John BEAL, purser on board His Majesty's Ship Owen Glendower, Miss PRITH being a mis-transcription of KEITH. Following up this reference has produced two vital documents - John BEAL's application for a special marriage licence, and the marriage record itself. Together they confirm that John BEAL did indeed marry Susan KEITH, and that Susan was a passenger on board the Mountaineer, thus confirming she was Edward's sister.

Marriage of Susan KEITH to John BEAL Esq, Purser in the Royal Navy

Just 39 days after the ship Mountaineer arrived in Cape Town with a hole in its hull, a John BEAL Esq petitioned the local Governor and Matrimonial Court for permission to marry.

	His Excellency The Right Honourable General Lord Charles Henry Somerset, Governor & Commander in Chief & & & The Memorial of John Beal, Purser on board H.M. Ship Owen Glendower, Humbly Sheweth! that it may please your Excellency to authorise the Matrrimonial Court of CapeTown to register herewith(?) marriage with Miss Susan Keith, a Lady passenger on board
	board the Mountaineer, and to grant him a special Licence to be joined in Wedlock. And Mention as in Duty bound will ever Pray etc. JOHN BEAL. Cape Town, 22d. August 1825.
	22^d Augt 1825 Mr J. Beal. (Purser of HM Ship Owen Glendower) Requesting that the Matrimonial Court of Capetown may be authorized ro register his marriage with Miss Keith, and that a Special Licence may be granted to him.

The marriage licence (number 196) was granted, so the next day, on 23 August 1825 Susan KEITH married John BEAL in the Colonial Church at Simon's Town. The service was conducted by the Rev. George STURT, Colonial Chaplin. Importantly, the witnesses included Fanny KEITH and Edward Joseph KEITH, Susan's sister and brother.

By special authority of His Excellency
the Governor. John Beal Esq. Purser of His
Majesty's Ship Owen Glendower Batchelor
of Bath in the County of Somerset and
Miss Susan Keith Spinster of the City of
Bristol in the County of Gloucester.
wre legally married, according to the
righta of the established Church of England this
23rd day of August 1825. By me
Witness George Sturt AB.
Fanny Keith Colonial Chaplin
This marriage was solemnized between us
Thomas Bull John Beal
Edward Joseph Keith Susan Keith

So Edward now had one sister off his hands, two more to go. It would appear that Fanny had become enamoured with the dashing Dr Robert Montgomery MARTIN, fresh off a voyage of discovery around Africa. He followed Fanny to Sydney and married her on 13 November 1826. Only Jessica, aged 16, escaped the marriage suitors in Cape Town. She never did marry.

Who was John BEAL?

We know very little about John BEAL (or cannot find much about his early life in the records). The census records consistently show he was born about 1795-96 in Exeter, Devon, and the newspapers tell us he was from a long established Exeter family. John's second marriage in 1856 shows his father was named William and a "gentleman". The 1871 census tells us John had a sister - Elizabeth Bishop RIDGE - who was about 10 years older than John. There is a baptism (transcription) for Elizabeth BEAL at Exeter St Lawrence on 15 May 1785 to parents William and Elizabeth BEAL. Also at Exeter St Lawrence there are baptisms for John BEAL, parents William and Elizabeth that may be him, along with siblings William, George and Charlotte.

Elizabeth Bishop BEAL (1785-1875)

As an aside, and because it assists with understanding later Wills, Elizabeth Bishop BEAL married Thomas GOOCH at St George Hanover Square, London on 4 January 1805. They had three chidren - Eleanor GOOCH, William Beal GOOCH and George Beal GOOCH - before Thomas died around 1820. Elizabeth Bishop BEAL/GOOCH then married James RIDGE at Exeter St Martin on 8 November 1828. James RIDGE was a widower with several children - sons John and James are named as Executors of his Will.

1805 marriage of Elizabeth Bishop BEAL to Thomas GOOCH.

1828 marriage licence for Elizabeth BEAL/GOOCH to James RIDGE.

James was a tailor in Exeter, living at Cathedral Yard. James and Elizabeth are recorded in the1841, 1851 and 1861 censuses before James died at Cathedral Yard on 21 October 1863. Elizabeth then moved to live with her brother John at Mt Pleasant Villa, St Sidwell, Exeter where she was living at the time of the 1871 census. Elizabeth died on 4 October 1875. Her Will names her children with Thomas GOOCH, but they had all pre-deceased her. Her estate was left to the grandchildren of John BEAL, but John failed to obtain probate before he died on 19 October 1875. Both Elizabeth and John's Wills were administered by John's widow (Mary Ann BEAL) and later one of the grandchildren, Frederick HELMORE.

1875 Will of Elizabeth Bishop RIDGE.

1875 Grant of Administration for Elizabeth RIDGE.

John BEAL joins the Navy

John BEAL joined the Royal Navy on 5 May 1814 as a purser and on 1 July 1814 was appointed to the Cordelia, a small 10-gun sloop one of the 104 Cherokee-class built for the Royal Navy. Employed as a purser, John BEAL was a "warrant officer" and of the "gentleman" class, alongside Surgeons and chaplains. The position required a good education and to be competent with numbers and accounting. Assuming John was born in 1796, he was probably only 18 or 19 when he joined. On the other hand, a later Admiralty document records his age as 41 in July 1834, suggesting he was born in 1793.

The first newspaper record of John BEAL is in 1823 whe he was appointed as purser onboard the ship Victor at Portsmouth. He would have been aged about 27. Soon after this appointment he transferred to the Owen Glendowner and found himself in Cape Town in 1825.

John's naval career as a purser and later as paymaster. He became Chief Paymaster on 25 July 1856.

In 1823 John Beal was appointed purser on the "Victor". Exeter Flying Post 21 August 1823

His appointment to the HMS Owen Glendower on 13 April 1824 took him to the coast of Africa and a base in Simon's Town. Here he met and married Susan KEITH.

Return to Britain

John BEAL and the Owen Glendower remained on the Africa station until early 1828 when they returned to Britain. Susan would have lived in Simon's Town during this period, with John away at sea for days to months at a time. John was paid off from the ship on 16 August 1828 after a term of almost 5 years. he then would have been on shore (in Exeter) until his next appointment on the Sparrowhawk on 11 June 1829. He was paid off again on 12 March 1831.

Birth of their daughter Sophia Jesse (Jessica) BEAL in 1829

We do not know how or when Susan arrived back in England. Presumably she travelled back from Cape Town on a commercial ship rather than on one of His Majesty's warships, although as an officer John could have sought the captain's permission to have Susan onboard but the dates associated with the next event in their lives suggests otherwise. Their first (and only) child was baptised in London on 30 September 1829.

Baptism for Sophia Jesse BEAL at St George the Martyr Church, Southwark, London on 30 September 1829.

It is not clear why Sophia (Jessica) was baptised at Southwark, when the BEAL family was resident in Exeter. We know that Susan's sister Fanny was living with Robert MARTIN in The Strand, London (before she eloped with John SHERIDAN in 1831). John BEAL was posted to HMS Sparrowhawk on 11 June 1829, so if he was at sea soon after, he was away when his daughter was baptised and he may have been at sea when she was born. Perhaps Susan travelled to London to visit her sister and to have her daughter baptised with her family as witnesses.

The church of St George the Martyr, Southwark, London today

Half pay and a new career

John BEAL was paid off from the Sparrowhawk on 12 March 1831. He was aged about 34 to 38 and his time with the Royal Navy was effectively over. The Napoleonic and other wars had ended so the King laid up most of his warships. Officers were either pensioned off, or the more fortunate were sent home on half pay. John BEAL, a purser and strictly not a commissioned officer was on half pay.

He returned to his property in Heavitree, Exeter and promptly looked for a new role. It is not clear what role he found, but in January 1835 he was the Inspector of Weights and Measures, notifying the citizens of Wingham, Kent that he would soon be available to certify their measures. This role had come about by a new Act of Parliament in 1834 that clarified two earlier Acts regarding the shape and size of standard measures for weight and capacity. The previous Acts had not been administered effectively so the new Act required all existing measures and new copies to be re-validated under the authority of the Auditor or Comptroller General, or some other Superintending Officer of the Exchequer at Westminster.

In 1835 John BEAL was Inspector of Weights, sitting at Wingham, Kent. In Kentish Gazette 6 January 1835.

Either the weights and measures role ended or he tired of the travel, for in early 1836 he applied for the newy created position of auditorship of the Poor Law Unions, currently being combined under a new Act. He made several pitches for this role in the papers, but apparently was unsuccessful. It appears the role went to an incumbent from one of the Exeter parishes being united.

In early 1836 John BEAL was looking for a new role: The Western Times 9 January 1836.

And further information about the Poor Law auditorship: The Western Times 18 March 1836.

And a claim the role did not require a Gentleman of the legal profession: The Western Times 18 March 1836.

Superintendent of Factories and departure from Heavitree

Not deterred by his failure with the Poor Law auditorship, John BEAL was next apppointed to a key role as a Government Superintendent of Factories for the district of Rochdale in Lancashire. This required his to leave Heavitree in Exeter, and to sell his property there.

In 1836 John BEAL, ex-Navy, was appointed Superintendent of Factories. Notified in the Morning Advertiser, 21 April 1836.

Having obtained a new role, John Beal sold his property in Heavitree. Exeter and Plymouth Gazette 30 July 1836

Today, 7 Church St Exeter is the headquarters of the Heavitree Conservative Club. From the description given in 1836 this is probably not the building owned by John BEAL.

In 1838 John BEAL was still the Inspector of Factories

In 1838 John BEAL, Inspector of Factories was acclaimed for his actions in a mill fire in Dundee. The Western Times, Exeter, 3 November 1838. .

1841 Census

The appointment of John BEAL as Superintendent enables us to find him in the 1841 census. The family was resident at the small township of Wardleworth, near Rochdale in Lancashire. This location is north of Manchester and a long way from Exeter. This is the census where ages were rounded down to the nearest 5. Jessica for instance would have been 12, but was recorded as 10.

1841 census for the BEAL family in Rochdate, Lancashire.

What was John BEAL doing in Rochdale? This 1843 newspaper article explains his role. Noteworthy is the other prosecution in the paper for deficient weights and measures - a role John BEAL had previously held.

Preston Chronicle 14 January 1843, page 2

Back to Exeter

We do not know how long John lived in Rochdale, but by the time of the 1851 census he and daughter Jessica were back in Exeter, living on his half pay.

Death of Susan BEAL (née KEITH)

We know nothing more about Susan after the 1841 census. She is not to be found in the 1851 census, although her husband John and daughter Jessica were living in Exeter.

The last we know of Susan is her death on 21 November 1852 at 40 Vere St, St Clement Danes, London. Susan died of liver disease and jaundice. There are many causes of this, including poor diet, haemochromatosis and alcoholism. Susan's burial was recorded in the parish register at All Souls, Kensal Green, Kensington & Chelsea, London. Susan was buried at Kensal Green Cemetery, London. The grave, CONS/10477 has 12 other burials dated 1852 and 1853, suggesting it was a communal or pauper's grave. There is no record of a headstone.

Why did Susan die in London, with only the illiterate Margaret Dawson present?

Bishop's Transcript for the burial service for Susan BEAL at All Souls, Kensal Green, London.

Burial register at Kensal Green Cemetery for Susan BEAL.

Although long demolished, 40 Vere St was close to the site of the Bulls Head Inn, just to the south-west of Lincoln Inn Fields. In the 1851 census the inn housed the publican and 2 guests. Vere street was part of a run down area of London that included the old Drury Lane and was referred to as Clare Market. Much of the area and its landmarks, such as the Old Curiosity Shop, were immortalized by the famous author Charles Dickens. The area was redeveloped by the London County Council in around 1900 to create the Aldwych and Kingsway, but this was not before 41 and 42 Vere St collapsed in 1874, leaving 40 Vere St uninhabitable. Vere St was replaced by the London School of Economics. This area is close to Clerkenwall where Susan's sister-in-law was living in 1851.

1870 map of Clerkenwell. Lincoln Inn Fields at the top, with The Strand running across the bottom, with Somerset House bottom centre.	Contemporary image of approximately the same area.
1870 map showing Vere St running into Clare Market.	The same area today.

Charles Booth's Poverty Map of London

Charles Booth, the founder of the Salvation Army, produced a detailed map of the areas of poverty and wealth in London, dated from the 1880s. Although this is a few years after Susan died, Vere St was described in Booth's notebook as "..With one of two exceptions occupied by the poor and very poor Classes and some of the Rough Class. Bad as regards sanitary matters."

Charles Booth's poverty map of London. Vere St runs just SW of Lincoln Inn Fields. (Click on map for larger version). Map and Notebooks from London School of Economics

Areas in dark blue are "Very Poor, casual. Chronic Want."
Light blue are "Poor"
Red is "Middle Class. Well to Do"
Orange is "Upper Class. Wealthy".

What became of John BEAL?

John BEAL went back to sea on 7 August 1847, joining the HMS Cambrian as purser for a term of over 3 years. The ship was a fifth rate wooden sailing warship of 36 guns, built in 1841. It was under the command of Captain James PLUMRIDGE and sailed for the West Indies. He was back in Exeter by late 1851.

HMS Cambrian.

In the 1851 census, John and his daughter Jessica were living at 9 Bystock Terrace, St David, Exeter. He was 56 years old and had reverted back to being the purser in the Navy on half pay. Jessica was shown as age 20 but was in fact only 19.

1851 census for John BEAL and daughter Jessica at 9 Bystock Tce, Exeter.

Bystock Terrace today.

Back to sea

But John was not ready to settle into retirement (or could not afford to do so), so on 20 July 1852 he signed on again, this time on the HMS Queen as paymaster, aged about 56. This ship was large, a first rate ship of the line, with 110 guns. She was the last pure sail warship to be built, and in 1858 had an auxillary steam engine fitted. She headed to the Crimea Peninsula as the flagship oft he fleet and was engaged in the bombardment of Sevastopol on 17 October 1854, where she was set on fire three times, before being forced to withdraw. The ship's mascot at this time was Timothy the Tortoise, born about 1844 and died at Powderham Castle, Devon on 3 April 2004, thus being the UK's oldest resident and the last survivor oft he Crimean War.

HMS Queen.

During his time at the Crimea War, John's daughter Jessica Sophia married Frederick HELMORE at All Saints Church, West Ham in London. It is likely Jessica was living with her sister-in-law Ann KEITH at the time.

Life in Exeter

John was paid off from HMS Queen on 21 September 1855 and his association with the Navy ended on 25 July 1856. He was now living at St Sidwell, Exeter, where he appears to have lived for the rest of his life. In 1856 he was awarded the French Legion of Honour for his services as Paymaster in the Royal Navy (resumably for his services in the Crimean War). This was widely reported in the newspapers on 2 August 1856 .

John Beal's Navy service record. He joined 5 May 1814 and retired as Paymaster in Chief on 25 July 1856.

1856 newspaper report for John BEAL. Western Times, Exeter 2 August 1856.

Marriage to Mary Ann HILL

As his wife Susan had died in 1852, John was now a widower, but not for long. On 20 March 1856, shortly after his return from Crimea, John married Mary Ann HILL a widow. She had been married to William Burrow HILL a wine and spitit dealer from Exeter.

1856 marriage for John BEAL to Mary Ann HILL, née SHAPCOTT.

Exeter and Plymouth Gazette 22 March 1856.

Also Manchester Courier 29 March 1856; noting John had once lived at Rochdale and was late from the Crimea.

Who was Mary Ann HILL?

Mary Ann was born to John SHIPCOTT and his wife in Exeter around 1810. She married William Burrow HILL at Rewe by Exeter on 9 April 1830. William HILL had been born on 1 March 1800 at Ottery St Mary, Devon to Thomas HILL and Sarah (BURROW). They did not have any children, although William had a daughter with Maria SKINNER - Elizabeth Offrida Hill SKINNER, baptised 21 December 1828 at Exeter St Paul. William HILL died in Exeter in Jun 1851 and was buried in the family plot at Ottery St Mary, Devon on 9 June 1851. In his will he left his estate to his "dear wife Mary Ann" for use during her lifetime, with a legacy of £20, 40 or 60 (depending on circumstances) to his daughter Elizabeth. After Mary Ann married John BEAL in 1856, Elizabeth Offrida Hill (now PHILLIPS) contested the payments.

1830 Marriage Allegation for Willam HILL and Mary Ann SHIPCOTT

Western Times 20 March 1858

In the 1861 census John and Mary Ann and two servants were living at Mt Pleasant Cottage, Blackboy Rd, St Sitwell.

1861 census for John BEAL

In the 1871 census John and Mary Ann were still at Mt Pleasant Cottage. With them were John's sister Elizabeth and two servants.

1871 census for John BEAL

John BEAL died in Exeter on 19 October 1875. He is buried at St James Church, Mount Pleasant Road, Exeter.

Trewman's Exeter Flying Post 27 OCtober 1875.

1875 burial for John BEAL at St James Church, Exeter.

St James Church, Mount Pleasant Rd, Exeter.

John BEAL left a Will, with his wife Mary Ann the executrix, the guardian of his grandchildren. The Grant remained in effect until one of the grandchidren had attained 21 years. This happened in 1877 when Mary Ann HELMORE reached 21, but it was not until the oldest male, Frederick John reached 21 that he applied for administration of the Will.