NAMES: Beckman

Ken,
First of all, THANK YOU for all your help.

John Beckman may be the one I'm looking for, but there is a discrepancy with William H. My William Henry Beckman died on 01/21/03 and is buried at Exeter Oak Lawn Cemetery. He married Marry Ellen Mains in 1878 at age 25 (according to his marriage lic.), which would make his DOB 1853 (even though his tombstone says 1859). His son (my gg-grandfather) was James. I did notice the somewhat odd name of Washington, son of S.P. Beckman, and that was the name of my g-grandfather. The connection is there somewhere. I'll look over the info some more and do a little number crunching. Please let me know if I'm missing the obvious.

Thanks again for your help.
Sincerely,
Brian Frerichs

Dear Brian,
Here's what I have available to me on the Beckmans:
1860 Census Brown County, Ill, Elkhorn Twp
1037,995 Jacob Beckman, 31,m,farmer,1900,600, Ill
,,Mrs C.,25,f,,,,Ill
,,Mary E.,9,f,,,,Ill
,,W. H.,7,f,,,,Ill
,,Jacob,4,m,,,,Ill
,,A. A., 3,f,,,,Ill
,,Alicia,1/2,f,,,,Ill

1038,999, John Beckman,61,m,farmer,,1000,Va
,, Mrs. M,56,f,,,,Ky
,,W. H., 18,m,farmer,,,Ill
,,S.M., 15,f,,,,Ill
,,J. C., 8,f,,,,Ill

1860 Census Brown County, Ill, Lee Twp
1267,1207,E. E. Beckman, 42,m, farmer,1600,900, Tenn
,,Mrs. M.,36,f,,,,Tenn
,,W. T., 16,m,,,,Ill
,,M. E., 13,f,,,,Ill
,,J. N.,9,m,,,,Ill

1348,1287, S. P. Beckman, 34,m,farmer,2000,1480,Ky
,,Mrs. R., 33,f,,,,Ohio
,,Washington,2,m,,,,Ill

1870 Census Brown County, Ill, Lee Twp
273,273, Jacob Backman[sic],42,m,farmer,2500,400,Ill
,,Catherine,37,f,,,,Ill
,,Jacob,14,m,,,,Ill
,,Allice,11,f,,,,Ill
,,Celestia,9,f,,,,Ill
,,Martha,7,f,,,,,Ill
,,Emma,6,f,,,,Ill
,,Pauline,4,f,,,,Ill
,,Susan,2,f,,,,Ill

262,262,Thomas Beckman,25,m,farmer,1500,200,Ill
,,Melissa,25,f,,,,Ill
,,Minnie,5,f,,,,Ill
,,Ada,3,f,,,,Ill
,,Alberta,1,f,,,,Ill
,, John Meets,21,m,Farm Laborer,,,Ill

278,278,William Beckman, 28,m,Farm laborer,,300,Ill
,,Mary,24,f,,,,Vermont
,,Levi,3,m,,,,Ill
,,Mary,7/12,f,,,,Ill

From Cemeteries of Brown County
p. 95 & 97 Cleaves Cemetery
William H. Beckman 1 Mar 1842 - 2 Feb 1917
Mary Ann Bean, Wife of William H. Beckman 4 Nov 1845- 27 Jul 1874
Levi R. Beckman 1868-1923

Pp. 105 & 108 Mt Pleasant (Fargo) Cemetery
Simon P. Beckman 10 Apr 1873 age 46 yrs, 10 mos. 29 days

P17 Linn Burial Ground, Buckhorn Twp
There is a note that John Beckman held the land at the NE1/4 of Section 4 of Buckhorn Twp which he sold to the Linn's.

From Early Marriages of Brown County (These are on the web site)
Elizabeth Beckman to Henry Briggs, 4 Apr 1850
Margaret A. Beckman to William A. Barker, 12 Mar 1846
Mary Ann Beckman to Andrew J. Hall, 15 Jul 1858
O. P. Beckman to Mary Brake, 30 Oct 1853
Sarah H. Beckman to Edwin Baker, 4 Jan 1855
Simon Peter Beckman to Rachael Davis, 6 Dec 1849
James Beckman to Mary M. Burton, 12 Mar 1846
Mary Beckman to George W. Ishmael, 20 Mar 1848

From History of Schuyler and Brown Counties:
p 75, 165 and 355
John Beckman is listed as a prominent settler of Lee Twp.
He is listed in 36th Regiment of Illinois Volunteers in the Mormon War, 24 Jun 1844. He moved to Lee Twp in 1832 and located in section 18.He is a native of Ky and came with quite a family. He move a few years ago to Minnisota and his son William is still a resident of the county. [This was published in 1882.By 1880 only Levi Beckman is in the county, based on the information in the 1880 Census. The history must have been written some time prior to that because John is gone before the 1870 census. I'm guessing that William went to Scott County]

p. 180
William H Beckman was transferred to Co. A, as consolidated, mustered out 31 Jul 1865.
From Muster Roll of Co. E. 119th Infantry

p 185
Simon P. Beckman, discharged 8 Jan 1864, disability.
From Muster Roll of Co. E. 119th Infantry

It appears from all this that we are looking at one family, the family of John Beckman.

The Thomas Beckman in 1870 Census appears to be the W. T Beckman listed with E. E. Beckman family in the 1860 Census.

The William Beckman in the 1870 census is probably your William and he appears to be the W. H Beckman in the family of John Beckman in the 1860 Census.You may be put off by the date discrepancy between the Census, Cemetery burial record and your Death Certificate. I think the Census and Histories are correct. The Death Certificate is off. The person reporting may not have known the birthdate. Thankfully, he knew the place. There are no other possibilities for your William in the county. Notice also that even though he died in Scott County, he's buried in Brown County and with his wife, who died in 1874. This may also be a clue to when he went to Scott County.

Jacob, E. E. and Simon Peter Beckman are most likely all sons of John Beckman.

You may want to check the 1850 and 1880 Censuses for Brown County. They too are on the web page.

There's a lot more that can be found on the descendants of these people. We haven't even looked at the daughters of these families except for the early marriages. Later marriages have to be ordered from the county at $5 per request. They charge you whether they find anything or not. There is also all the land records and other court records that may give little bits of information.

What I've given you here is just a taste of what's available and the easiest to gather.

Hope this helps.
Sincerely,
Ken Huffman

"Brian K. Frerichs" wrote:

> Hi Ken,
> I have researched my Frerichs family for the last 5 years, however, they > didn't arrive in the US until the 1880's. In researching my "other" side, I > have encounted new (beginner) problems. My ggg-grandfather, according to > his Scott County death certificate, was born in Brown County in the year > 1859. I called the Brown County Clerk's Office and they indicated that > birth records were only kept from 1860 on.

> > Question: Where should I look to find out his father's name, father's place > of birth etc.?

> > Thanks for your time.
> Brian Frerichs
> Searching: William Henry Beckman b. 1859