James Beaman and the 100th Regiment of Foot

The War of 1812 and the Settling of Carleton County

Note:

In the original version of this article, posted April 2012, I asserted that James Beaman, my third great grandfather, was part of the original 100^th Regiment of Foot corps raised in 1804-05, and thus a participant in the regiment’s colourful history in the War of 1812. Most of my original sources for the article implied all regiment members offered land grants were veterans of the war, and recruitment dates were not specified. One source, the website “Bytown or Bust”, specifically said James was a private in the 1812-14 war. I now know this to be false. I am embarrassed and sorry for my mistake.

The truth is a little less exciting. James was recruited shortly after the war’s end to reinforce the regiment whose numbers had been significantly depleted in battle. He joined the ranks too late to see action, but not to late to participate in the land offer in Canada.

Here is the true story of James’ journey to Canada as a British army recruit, gleaned from an intensive scouring of army muster books and pay records. The details have also led me to new possible insights into his wife and marriage.

James Beaman was born in County Down in 1799. On June 16, 1815, at the age of 16, he enlisted in the 100th H.R.H. the Prince Regent’s County of Dublin Regiment of Foot. According to the British Army muster books and pay records, James was 5 feet 5 inches in height. As a new recruit, he was paid at a rate of one shilling per day. Private Beaman began his service stationed at Newtonards, a town in the north of County Down, about fifteen kilometres east of Belfast. One month later, he “marched” to the British Army’s Dublin Depot, arriving July 21 at the Royal Barracks (now known as the “Collins Barracks” and home to the National Museum of Ireland – Decorative Arts and History). From the Depot, he then joined other recruits for his regiment at barracks in Chapelizod, a village within the City of Dublin, about four kilometres west of the Royal Barracks, along the River Liffey.

Collins Barracks (Royal Barracks). Photo: National Museum of Ireland

According to the muster books, James remained in Dublin until October 29, when he began another five-day “march” back to Newtonards. He was stationed there until March 25, 1816, when he departed, or “marched to join the regiment”. James and dozens of other recruits for the 100th Regiment headed south to Cork, under the command of Captain C. Hanley and Ensign M. Harris. Another officer, Lieutenant John Armstrong, headed for the Albany Barracks on the Isle of Wight – often used as a mustering point for transiting troops because of its location just across from the entry to Portsmouth Harbour. On April 23rd, at port town of Cowes, Armstrong and some additional recruits boarded the ship “Diana”, which had departed a few days earlier from London with civilian passengers. The Diana then headed for Cork, where Capt. Hanley, Ensign Harris, and the Irish recruits embarked April 29th and set sail for Quebec.

The Diana arrived at Quebec in mid-July. According to the arrival notice in the August 1st, 1816 issue of the Quebec Gazette, the journey from London took 87 days, about double the duration typical of crossings in those days. Another notice, published by the Gazette in September, detailed a breakfast held by some passengers for the Diana’s Captain to recognize his attentions during the passage. Here the long voyage was described as “tedious”.

In reviewing centuries-old records, hand-written in an era of wide-spread illiteracy, spellings of names are, as a matter of course, pretty fluid. Parish priests, military officers, census-takers, etc. generally recorded their own version of whatever they thought they were hearing. Further variations and errors arise in modern digitized and indexed records, where transcribers often made errors interpreting the original handwritten documents. In James’ case, his last name appears in various instances as Beaman, Beamon, Bamand, Bayman, Beamand, Beammand, Beemond, and Beamond – not settling as “Beaman” until sometime after 1818.

James’s first son, John, was baptized in the Anglican chapel in the Montreal garrison on July 22, with the register entry stating the boy was born July 9. Since the Diana had not yet arrived at Quebec by July 9th, this suggests either that James’s wife Elizabeth travelled to Lower Canada ahead of him, or that the child was born at sea. In either case, it appears Elizabeth made the crossing in an advanced stage of pregnancy! The timing of the birth suggests James and Elizabeth were married by October 1815, when he was in Dublin, and no earlier than July, since he arrived at the Dublin Depot a single man.

Elizabeth’s maiden name has so far been cloaked in uncertainty. In various family histories she has been labelled Goodacre, Godacre, and Godmair. Each of these is of highly questionable accuracy, given that none has ever been linked to an original source document (to my knowledge). With that said, I now believe Elizabeth, my third great grandmother, was originally named Elizabeth Gannon – not too much of a stretch, given the issues around deciphering ancient handwritten records described earlier.

St. Paul’s Church, Dublin City, Arran Quay.
Photo: SPADE Enterprise Centre – Smithfield and Stoneybatter Business Association.

Less than 300 metres from the Royal Barracks in Dublin, on North King Street, Arran Quay, stands the former St. Paul’s church (now the “Spade Enterprise Centre”). One might guess from the proximity that the church’s congregation drew heavily from the nearby army barracks, and descriptions of the church’s monuments and courtyard inscriptions in Dublin travel guides make it clear that was indeed the case. Although original parish records are not available, the National Library of Ireland maintains microfilm copies of the original indices of marriages, baptisms and burials performed at the church. An entry for October 7, 1815 records the marriage of James "Bayman" and Eliza. Gannon. The location, timing, and name similarities suggest strongly that this is our James and Elizabeth.

As we’ve seen, James and Elizabeth’s son John, was born nine months later, on July 9, 1816 and is believed to have died young (spending the final months of pregnancy at sea wouldn’t have helped). Their second child, Joseph, was born July 25, 1818 and baptized four days later in the Anglican chapel in the Quebec City garrison. Joseph was my second great grandfather, the father of George A. Beaman, patriarch of this Facebook group. Shortly after Joseph’s birth, the 100th Regiment was disbanded and the men offered land in the newly-surveyed township of Goulbourn. 

Demobilization

With the end of the war, Britain was faced with large numbers of soldiers who would cause incredible unemployment problems if they all returned to England and Ireland.  Additionally, there was a desire to continue to colonize Upper Canada with “loyal” settlers to add protection against another American invasion. The United Empire Loyalists were being regarded by some with suspicion due to rumours that the former American population had aided in some of the American raids in the Johnstown district during the war. The solution was to offer the demobilized soldiers land grants on military settlements.  Each private who agreed to accept the grant rather than passage home would receive 100 acres, tools, 12 months rations and their army pension.  Higher ranks were offered larger grants (up to 1000 acres for a colonel). To protect key points between Kingston and the Ottawa River three settlements were to be established near the route of the planned Rideau Canal.  These military settlements were Lanark (1816), Perth (1816) and Richmond (1818).  Additionally, officials in Ireland encouraged further emigration of civilians to counter unemployment and overpopulation there.

In July 1818 the 100^th Regiment was disbanded and the men offered land in the newly-surveyed township of Goulbourn.  About 200 of the 400 or so remaining men accepted the deal and made preparations to provision the settlement. An advance party of about 30 including a surveyor was dispatched up the Ottawa River, carving a road from Richmond Landing (now Lebreton Flats) just below the Chaudière Falls to a site on the Jock River about 20 miles inland.  Here the village of Richmond was laid out and Major Burke of the 100^th (now 99^th) Regiment began supervising the placement of his soldiers.  By the end of 1818 about 400 families were on site, those of the 200 soldiers as well as a large number of civilian Irish settlers who joined them.  James and Elizabeth may have been in this group, but may not have travelled to Richmond until as late as 1820, possibly due to the presence of infant Joseph. Major Burke placed most of his soldiers in Goulbourn, while Irish and Scottish civilians were settled in adjoining townships. In 1821 James was awarded his land grant, 100 acres in Goulbourn Township, the east half of Lot 12, Concession 2.  Here he and Elizabeth had seven more children, first three girls, then four more boys.

The Beaman children and grandchildren mostly stayed in the area, many in Goulbourn Township, some in neighboring Marlborough and Beckwith Townships, and a few in the villages of North Gower and Kemptville.  James and Elizabeth’s eldest son Joseph married Anne Susan Pettapiece (b. 1826), daughter of Irish immigrants who arrived in the area shortly after the establishment of the settlement.  They bought Lot 3, Concession 4 in Marlborough, a property that continued to be farmed by Beamans for more than the next hundred years, passing it first to their son George Andrew (b. 1865) and from him to his son John Mackey Beaman (b. 1896).

Over 26,000 Irish settlers arrived in Upper Canada between 1815 and 1820 to provide the buffer against the Americans. About another 100,000 came in the decade that followed, many to provide the labour to build the canal and staying to settle the land along its corridor once the construction was complete. This number more than doubled again in the decade after that. Early census data indicates close to 60% of the population of this corridor was Irish.  In four townships, Goulbourn, Marlborough, March and Huntley, 80% were Irish. Richmond, as the centre for administration of land in the area was the first major settlement in what is now Carleton County.  The town was intended to be a major urban centre, but with the founding of Bytown (now Ottawa) in 1826 and its rise once the Rideau Canal was complete, Richmond’s growth stalled.  Today it is mainly a bedroom community for the nearby City of Ottawa.

Steve Rogers is Grandson of John Mackey Beaman, and Third Great Grandson of Priv. James Beaman, 100^th H.R.H. Prince Regent’s County of Dublin Regiment of Foot. Born in Ottawa, Steve moved with his family to Goulbourn Township when he was 4.

Sources

Births, Deaths and Marriages

Public Member Trees, Ancestry.com

Canadian Censuses of 1851, 1861, 1871, 1881, 1891, 1901, Library and Archives Canada

(Indexed on-line at Ancestry.ca and AutomatedGenealogy.com)

100^th Regiment

The Prince Regent’s County of Dublin Regiment, Prince of Wales’ Leinster Regiment Association, http://www.leinster-regiment-association.org.uk/

The Regiments of the Richmond Military Settlement, Ron Dale and Wes Cross, April 2003, ancestry.com

The 100^th Regiment, Goulbourn Historical Society and Museum, http://www.goulbournmuseum.ca/

Settlement of Richmond and Goulbourn

Goulbourn: How it all Began, Goulbourn Historical Society and Museum, http://www.goulbournmuseum.ca/

From Ireland They Came, Neil Patterson

Wikipidia Article:

- Richmond, Ontario

 

Images

Regiment Recruitment Area Map

For King and Canada, A. Barry Roberts, p 11

Military Settlements of Upper Canada

Perth: Tradition and Style in Eastern Ontario, by A. Larry Turner, p.12, Original is in National Map Collection, Library and Archives Canada, #15,712