bigscoop
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- Jun 4, 2010
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“Thomas J. Beale”.....so for entertainment purposes let's speculate on some possibilities regarding this name.
In Jackson Ward, Richmond Virginia, we have a man of color named Thomas J. Beale, born in 1827 by best record of this man. In these same records we learn that his parents are unknown.
From research we learn that it was quite common for free men of color to adopt names and for a variety of reasons, these selections being entirely up to the individual. So let us assume that this Thomas J. Beale had done just that.
From the Hart papers we learn that for some unknown reason they have determined Thomas J. Beale to be Thomas Jefferson Beale. Thomas Jefferson, as we all know, was the father of DOI and a highly respected man in the region and also around the world. Not a bad selection for a namesake if one had his choice. Beale, on the other hand, could have arrived from many different possible sources. So in this is it not impossible that this Thomas J. Beale, this man of color, may have chosen his recognized name, or that perhaps, his unknown parents had chosen if for him?
We know in the Beale papers that Thomas Beale is described as being dark and swarthy, as if much exposure to the sun. If Thomas J. Beale had been a black man of lighter color then it is also possible that he wore his hair longer then what was the style at the time, which once again begs the question, who were this Thomas J. Beale's parents? As is often consistent with slaves and many free men of color his parents are listed as unknown. And we do know that many slave owners fathered children through their slaves. So is this Thomas J. Beale possibly a product of any of these circumstances, perhaps all of them?
Born in 1872/28 he might also fit quite nicely in the author's described reasons for Morriss having selected him as he would have only been about 35 at the time, still young enough in his years to be charged with the task. Or perhaps, it was this Beale who had actually sought out Morriss as the setting up of interviews might suggest? Odd that these interviews, according to the author, are then interrupted due to important business affairs in Richmond, the very city where we find Thomas J. Beale just one year prior to the publication. Again and again the questions are begged, who were this Thomas J. Beale's parents and is it possible that he held a certain amount of insight into the events detailed in the Beale papers? Did he know Ward? Did he know Morriss? Did he, or his parents, have some unknown association with the names Jefferson or Beale, Richmond only being 90-100 miles to the east? How did the Harts arrive at the name, Thomas Jefferson Beale? All good questions that are worth exploring.
In Jackson Ward, Richmond Virginia, we have a man of color named Thomas J. Beale, born in 1827 by best record of this man. In these same records we learn that his parents are unknown.
From research we learn that it was quite common for free men of color to adopt names and for a variety of reasons, these selections being entirely up to the individual. So let us assume that this Thomas J. Beale had done just that.
From the Hart papers we learn that for some unknown reason they have determined Thomas J. Beale to be Thomas Jefferson Beale. Thomas Jefferson, as we all know, was the father of DOI and a highly respected man in the region and also around the world. Not a bad selection for a namesake if one had his choice. Beale, on the other hand, could have arrived from many different possible sources. So in this is it not impossible that this Thomas J. Beale, this man of color, may have chosen his recognized name, or that perhaps, his unknown parents had chosen if for him?
We know in the Beale papers that Thomas Beale is described as being dark and swarthy, as if much exposure to the sun. If Thomas J. Beale had been a black man of lighter color then it is also possible that he wore his hair longer then what was the style at the time, which once again begs the question, who were this Thomas J. Beale's parents? As is often consistent with slaves and many free men of color his parents are listed as unknown. And we do know that many slave owners fathered children through their slaves. So is this Thomas J. Beale possibly a product of any of these circumstances, perhaps all of them?
Born in 1872/28 he might also fit quite nicely in the author's described reasons for Morriss having selected him as he would have only been about 35 at the time, still young enough in his years to be charged with the task. Or perhaps, it was this Beale who had actually sought out Morriss as the setting up of interviews might suggest? Odd that these interviews, according to the author, are then interrupted due to important business affairs in Richmond, the very city where we find Thomas J. Beale just one year prior to the publication. Again and again the questions are begged, who were this Thomas J. Beale's parents and is it possible that he held a certain amount of insight into the events detailed in the Beale papers? Did he know Ward? Did he know Morriss? Did he, or his parents, have some unknown association with the names Jefferson or Beale, Richmond only being 90-100 miles to the east? How did the Harts arrive at the name, Thomas Jefferson Beale? All good questions that are worth exploring.
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BEVERLY; DOB: 4/1/1798, YOD: 1910 in Kansas. 
!!! WHEW!
