James & Deborah Beake

JAMES BEAKE was b: Feb 1820 in Weston Zoyland, Somerset, to mother Elizabeth Salter - he was bapt: 10 Feb 1820 at St Mary's Church (his birth registered as "base child".)

James was William and Elizabeth Beake's eldest son and like his parents, he worked as an agricultural labourer.

In 1861 there were 37,276 agricultural labourers in Somerset. By 1931 this dropped to 13,722 and by 1991 just 2% of the population were employed as farmers or agricultural labourers. (Src)
James Beake's Time line
1841; Residence: Age: 22, a servant working for farmer Stephen and wife Ann Tazwell at Weston Zoyland, Somerset, England

1845; James Mar: Sept Q to Deborah Pitman age: 26 yrs at Bridgwater, Som.

1851; Residence Bussex: James Age: 31; occ; Ag Lab; wife Deborah Beake age: 30 with their infants Charles age: 4 and Anna 1Y at Westonzoyland, Somerset

1861; Residence Bussex: James Beake, Ag Lab, age: 41; Deborah Beake 40; Charles Beake 14; Anna Beake 11; Francis Beake 8; Elizabeth Ann Beake 6; William G Beake 3

About 1866 the family immigrated to Illinois, USA (undertook their Naturalisation on Nov 1, 1886 and lived at Avon, at Lake county, Illinois)

1870: Residence, Town of Avon, Lake, Illinois: JAMES BEAK, age 49, occ: farmer, no value of real estate, value of personal estate $1200, b: England, parents foreign born;DORBARAH BEAK, age 48, keeps house, b: England, ANNA BEAK, age 20, at home, b: England, FRANK BEAK, age 18, at home, b: England, attended school within the year;ELIZABETH BEAK, age 15, b: England, attended school within the year; WILLIAM G. BEAK, age 13, b: England, attended school within the year;WALTER BEAK, age 9, b: England, attended school within the year; JANE BEAK, age 6, b: England, ELLEN BEAK, age 3, b: England, WILLIAM PALMER, age 24, works on farm, b: England, FRANK CHINA, age 36, works on farm, b: England.

1880: Avon: Household - James Beak Head 60 Farm Labourer; Deborah Beak Wife 58 - keeping house; George Beak Son 21 Harness maker; Walter H. Beak Son 19 Farm Laborer; Mary I. Beak Daughter 16 At home; Helen S. Beak Daughter 12 At home.

Wife and mother Deborah Beak died 1883 in Avon, Lake County, Illinois, US - her husband James later is buried with her at Grays Lake Cemetery, Illinois, USA - photo above, their plaques at the Grayslake Cemetery.

(Cem: Lot 97): Wyndham Tucker, Anna Beake Tucker, Susie Maude Tucker, Bessie F. Tucker,  Nellie Mae Tucker Goen
(Cem: Lot 98): James Beake, Deborah Pitman Beake, Helen S. Beake, Nancy J. Beake, Charles O. Peterson

1900: Residence Warren Township, Lake County, Illinois; Father James Beake, Age: 80Y   Widower, farm leased; Head: his son Walter 39Y b: England, Farmer and wife Mattie 27Y (b New York, Wisconson); their son Vincent E Beak aged 2Y b Montana Illinois, plus Wm Tucker 20Y servant

1910: Avon, Lake County, Illinois; Head - Walter 49Y Farmer, mar 10Y; Mattie R Beak 37Y; Their children b: Illinois - Evelyn D 8Y; George Alfred Beak 7Y; Walter James Beak 6Y; William Taft 4Y; Frances L Beak 4Y; Boarder - Jensin Martin 33Y laborer on farm ;   James A??? Beak; Father; Age: 90Y - widowed

Children of JAMES BEAKE and DEBORAH PITMAN:

i. CHARLES BEAKE, b. 1846, Bridgwater, Somerset; d. 13 Apr 1933, Backwell, Somerset, England. Charles remained in England. He mar: 8 Jul 1866 (1) LEAH COWARD in Bristol, Gloucestershire daughter of Henry COWARD and Mary FELTHAM, on 8 July 1866 at St Simon's, Bristol, Gloucestershire- She was b; 1845, and d: 1900.

1871 Charles Occ: Pipe Fitter at Chemical Works
1881 Occ: Insurance Agent living at 9 St George Terrace, Bristol with Leah Beake 36Y; Mary D. Beake 14; Martha E. Beake 10; William H. Beake 8; Hannah E. Beake 6; James S. Beake 4; Walter J. Beake 2; Arthur F. Beake;

Children of CHARLES BEAKE and LEAH COWARD are:

i. MARY DEBORAH BEAKE, b. 1866;Street 1881 with parents at 9 St George Terrace, Occ: Stay Maker mar. ROBERT HALES at Barton Regis, Glou.

ii. MARTHA ELLEN BEAKE, b. 1870; mar. abt Mar 1893 to OLIVER WILLIAM PEACOCK LOVEL (b. 1867) at Kingswood (Holy Trinity), Keynsham Glou.

iii. WILLIAM HENRY BEAKE (b. 1872, St George, Gloucestershire, England; Occ: Boot Maker Clicker (The person who cut the uppers for shoes or boots from a sheet of leather - the job was named after the sound that the operator's machine made. It was a skilled trade because it was the clicker's responsibility to maximise the number of uppers which could be cut from a piece of leather, avoiding any thin areas)  He d. 1936, Bristol, Gloucestershire.

iv. HANNAH ELIZABETH BEAKE (b. 1874) mar. GEORGE JENKINS in 1895, Barton, Gloucestershire.

v. JAMES STANLEY BEAKE (b. 1876, St George, Gloucestershire, England; d. 1927, Bristol, Gloucestershire)He mar: NORA ALICE MAUD GOLDING 15 Sep 1900 in Hanham (Abbot's church), Somerset, England. She was b: 1882 in Bristol, Gloucestershire, and d: 1957 in Bristol, Gloucestershire. James was a shoe maker

Children of JAMES BEAKE and NORA GOLDING are: HILDA MAY BEAKE, b. 1903 and EDITH FLORENCE BEAKE, b. 1905; d. 1978.

vi. WALTER JOHN BEAKE (b. 1879, St George, Gloucestershire, England; Occ: BooT Maker; d. 1964, Weston, Somerset, England) mar. MATILDA M GIBSON, 1920, Bristol, Gloucestershire; (b. 1899; d. 1981, Weston, Somerset, England)

vii. ARTHUR FRANK BEAKE (b. 1881, St George, Gloucestershire, England; d. 1886, Barton Regis, Gloucestershire, England)

viii. CHARLES JOSEPH BEAKE (b. 1883, St George, Gloucestershire, England; d. 1955 at Goodmayes, Essex, England) mar. MARGARET ALICE B. LEAR in 1907, Bristol, Gloucestershire; she was (b. 1881, St George, Gloucestershire, England; d. 1918, Bristol, Gloucestershire, England) At 18 working in a boot factory

Their family; Harold Lear Beake (1909-1989); Roma Leah Beake (1910); Frank Alexander Beake (1913-1950) Donald Jack Beake (1918-2000)

Charles Beake's 2nd mar: was in 1901 to (2) SARAH ANN CROSS in Bristol, Gloucestershire. She was born 1853, and died 1933 in Long Ashton, Somerset, England.

2 ANNA BEAKE (b: 1850 in Bridgwater, Somerset; mar: 13 Jul 1877 Lake County, Illinois to Wyndham Tucker b: 18 Feb 1848 Stour Provost, Dorset, UK to parents Nicholas Tucker and Christian nee Pike who immigrated to America 1869; Occ: US farmer; d: 10 Oct 1943 in Grays Lake, Lake County, Illinois)
Their Illinois born family: Susie Maude Tucker ?; Arthur W Tucker (b: 14 Nov 1882); Bessie F Tucker (b: Oct 1884); Eva B Tucker (b: Aug 1886) ;Olive H Tucker (b: Oct 1888); Nellie Mae Tucker (b: May 1892)

Census 1900 - residing Warren township, Lake county, Illinois

2. FRANK PITMAN BEAKE (d: Mar Q 1851 Bridgwater, Somerset)

3. FRANCIS (FRANK) BEAKE was b: May 1850 Bridgwater, Somerset. Occ: farmer; Mar: (1) Ann F ? (b: 1852 Illinois; d: ??)

Mar: (2) Lake County, Illinois on 6 Apr 1878 to Phoebe Ann Hendee (b: 10 June 1851 - ?)

1910 US Census; Fayette, Tennessee;Frank Beak, head, owns home free of mortgage,age 67, married, immigrated to US in 1870, naturalized citizen in 1901, he and parents born in England, farmer on general farm; Wife Phoebe A Beak, wife, age 68, she and parents born in Illinois; 6 children now living, born in Illinois

Their children are:

i. JESSE H. BEAK (b. 14 Aug 1880) mar. 25 Mar 1907 at Fayette, Tennesee to CARRIE A. WILLIAMS (b: 8 Sep 1882) WW1 residing at Stanton, Tennessee, occ: farmer. Theyy had 5 children - 2 sons are: Benjamin J Beak (1908-1988) and Martin S Beak (1910-1992) 　

ii. BLANCHE BEAK (b. 22 Sep 1882) mar. 10 Jan 1911 in Fayette, Tennessee, U.S.A. to Isaac W. CARRAWAY (b: 11 Sep 1882) one in family

iii. BENJAMIN FRANKLIN BEAK ( b. 23 Dec 1884, Illinois; WW1 occ: clerk at S. A. Brown in Stanton; d. Jan 1978, Stanton, Tennessee) mar. 22 Dec 1908, Illinois to MINNIE LOU BROWN (b: 18 Jan 1888 in Tennessee) 2 children - Dau: was Carey Idell Beak (1909 -1978) 　

4. ELIZABETH ANN BEAKE (b:1855 Bridgwater, Somerset; d: 1946 in Denver, Arapahoe, Colorado. She mar; JOHN PETER PETERSON (b: 1852 in Sweden; d 1893 Denver, Arapahoe, Colorado). Their children:

i. CHARLES PETERSON (b. 1876, Waukegan, Lake, Illinois, USA).

ii. MAE SOPHIE PETERSON (b. 1878, Waukegan, Lake, Illinois, USA; d. 1955, Denver, Arapahoe, Colorado). She mar: Charles F White.

iii GEORGE PETERSON (b. 1880, Waukegan, Lake, Illinois, USA).

iv. LILLIAN H PETERSON (b. Apr 1884, Denver, Arapahoe, Colorado; d. 1964, Denver, Arapahoe, Colorado); mar: EDWIN WALTER ASHTON; b. 1879, Iowa.)　

5. GEORGE WILLIAM BEAKE (b: 1857 Bridgwater, Somerset, and died 23 Nov 1948 in South Haven, Michigan, U.S.A). He mar: 1888 CATHERINE A. CAMERON - (b: 1862 in New York, U.S.A.; d: 1935 in South Haven, Michigan, U.S.A) Their family are:

KENNETH CAMERON BEAKE (b. 1893) and HAROLD C BEAKE (b. 1895)

6 WALTER HENRY BEAKE was born 12 Apr 1861 Bridgwater, Somerset, Occ: Baker and shopkeeper; he died 1 Jul 1955 in Lake, Illinois. Walter mar: 20 Feb 1900 to MARTHA (Mattie) R DRUCE in Lake County, Illinois. (She was born 5 Jun 1873 in Illinois to parents George Druce and mother Nancy nee Ray; Mattie d: 24 Aug 1942 in Libertyville, Lake, Illinois.)

Census 1920: Walter living at Avon Township age 58Y; immigrated 1870; Naturalised 1880, Occ: Farmer; Mar: wife May 45Y; children: Evelyn 18Y; George 17Y, Walter jnr 16Y, Frances 14, Charles 8, Nancy 6

Children:

i Evelyn D Beak (b: 1902);

ii George Alfred Beak (b:16 Aug 1902; d: 18 Jan 1966, Bur:St Mary Catholic Cemetery; Fremont Center, Lake County, Illinois, USA )

iii Walter James Beake (B 17 Dec 1904; d: 01 Jul 1966 in Gages Lake, Lake County, Illinois) mar: Helen Drexel Shea (b: 09 Oct 1907 in St Johns, Newfoundland, Canada; occ; nurse; d: 66Y 1 Aug 1981 in Libertyville, Illinois) They are bur: Highland Memorial Park; Libertyville Lake County Illinois,

iv Frances L Beak (b: 1906)

v Robert R (d; 14 Dec 1907)

vi William Taft Beak (b: 1910; d: 11 Oct, 1911)

vii Charles Henry Blake (b: 12 Jul 1912 Died: 04 Aug 1977) mar: Helen Madeline Toll (b: 4 Aug 1977 Father: Clinton Locke Toll Their 12 children:

1 Richard Charles Beake (b: 22 Aug 1931; d: 21 Sep 1978) Mar: 11 Aug 1956 to Lorraine H. Dost (b: 15 Mar 1922 in Chicago, Cook County, Illinois Father: Arthur H. Dost; d: 11 Aug 1997 in Libertyville, Lake County, Illinois)

2 James Edward Beak (b: 1933; d: 13 Jul 1991 in Lake county, Illlinois) Mar: 03 Sep 1932 Suzanne A. Groves (Father: Vernon Owen Groves) *2nd Wife of James Edward Beak: Darla Wilson Mar: Abt. 1970

3 Frances Beake mar: Miller

4 Norma Beake mar: Swanson

5 Helen S Beake mar: Caldwell

6 Judith Beake mar: Sanzone

7 Robert Owen Beake

8 Margaret E Beake mar: LaForge

9 Alvin Locke Beake

10 Dennis Beake

11 Maurice Day Beake

12 David Beake

7. MARY JANE BEAKE (b: abt: Mar 1864)

8. HELEN SOPHIA BEAKE (b: 4 Jul 1867 Bridgwater, Somersetshire; d; 11 Feb 1933 Evanston, Cook, Illinois, 65Y; Bur: 14 Feb 1933 Grays Lake, Lake County, Illinois)
My gt-grandmother and pioneer ancestor Elizabeth Beake (mar: to Richard Pelvin, with her 5 children came to New Zealand in 1863) She told family her two brothers immigrated to America. Are you a descendant of James or George Beake, please This distant cousin would love to hear from you.