Bewley The following material is taken mainly from Jane W. T. Brey, A Quaker Saga: The Watsons of Straw-berryhowe, the Wildmans, and other Allied Families from England's North Counties and Lower Bucks County in Pennsylvania (Phila.: Dorrance & Company, 1967). For the earlier history in England she cites Sir Edmund Thomas Bewley, The Bewleys of Cumberland (Dublin, 1902). Information obtained from other sources has footnotes; click on the number to see the citation. The numbering system is not that of Jane Brey, but is consistent with the other collateral line families in this website.
English Roots
The Bewley family in Cumberland traces back to the time of Edward III (1327-1377). There is a bewildering variety of spellings of the name. A Cumberland subsidy roll of 1336 lists ThomasM de Beaulieu in Thistlewaite. This was situated on the eastern boundary of Castle Sowerby not far from Highhead Castle; it is now called Thistlewood, within what is now the parish of Hesket-in-the-Forest. The parish is in the union of Penrith, Eastern Division of Cumberland, near Inglewood Forest. Courts used to be held in the open air under a tree called Court Thorn. The church building was constructed about 1530, rebuilt in 1678 and 1760, and a gallery added in 1827.[1] So it no longer looks like it would have in the days of the early Bewleys.
Thomas's eldest son was RichardL de Beaulieu.
Richard had an eldest son also named RichardK Beaulieu, who obtained additional land from William Briswood and fifteen acres in Raughton in the parish of Dalston. Roughton is a township five and a half miles south by west from Carlisle. The Raugh is a tributary of the river Caldew and is also the name of the "beautiful vale" through which it flows. Dalston is in the union of Carlisle, Eastern Division of the County of Cumberland. An interesting sight in the parish is the remains of a "Druidical circle" about thirty yards in circumference.[2]
Richard's eldest son and heir was WilliamJ Beauley of Hesket Hall (as listed in the Commission for Peace of Cumberland, Westmorland, Northumberland, at various times between 1473 and 1520). He was a member of the Commission of Array and Muster; he was on the Sheriff Roll for Cumberland from 1520 through 1522; he was recommended by Thomas, Lord Dacre, to Cardinal Wolsey in 1521 for appointment as Custos Rolulorum for Cumberland. He was buried in Greystoke Church in 1543. He had six children.
Of William's three sons, the eldest, WilliamI Beauley, was named son and heir of Hesket Hall and Brayton. Brayton was a town in the parish of Aspatria, in the union of Wigton, nine miles north, northeast from Cockermouth.[3]
William's only son and heir, ThomasH Bewley, sold Brayton in 1572.
Thomas's son WilliamG Bewley had at least three children. The only daughter, Judith, married a LAWSON, and her son Sir Wilfrid Lawson purchased Hesket. The two younger sons, RichardF and RalphF were each given 1/4 of the demesne lands at Woodhall in the Manor of Caldbeck. Ralph had two sons, JohnE and ChristopherE.
The parish of Caldbeck was large, about 18,000 acres of mountainous land with deposits of lead, copper, limestone, and coal. It was used extensively for raising sheep. The church was built in 1112 in the township of Low Caldbeck. It was "greatly embellished" in 1818 so no longer looks like it would have back in the sixteenth century.[4]
But we are descended from the other brother, RichardF Bewley of Carlisle and Hesket. He gave his 1/4 portion of Woodhall to his second son MatthewE ; they both appeared at the Muster Roll in Caldbeck ca. 1530 (during the reign of Henry VIII).
The principal dwelling house of Woodhall seems to have been in MatthewE Bewley's quarter, and the eldest son and heir in each succeeding generation seems to have lived there. In the large parish of Caldbeck, nearly all the timber of value seems to have been in this part of the Woodhall lands.
In 1588, the year the Spanish armada came to grief, Matthew was succeeded at Woodhall by his son ThomasD Bewley.
Children of Thomas Bewley (order uncertain):
i. GeorgeC, d. 1643.
ii. Margaret married a cousin, George Bewley called "of Woodhall, son of Thomas" in a 1595 court roll to differentiate him from his cousin George, only son and heir of William (great grandson of Ralph) who owned another 1/4 of Woodhall. So there were three George Bewleys living in parts of Woodhall.
GeorgeC Bewley, the elder, during his life managed to get possession of more lands within the manor. For this he paid an additional yearly tax of 3sh 4d above his original 20 shillings tax. He died in 1643 and in his will mentions his sister Margaret and her son John, as well as his own (unnamed) wife, three surviving sons, and some grandchildren.
Children of George Bewley (the elder) and his wife, (order uncertain):
i. ThomasB, b. ca. 1595; m. ca. 1630 Dorothy NICHOLSON.
ii. William, died as a young man in 1584; left a will mentioning his wife Sybil and son George, uncle "Rauf Bewli" and his son Rauf; Thomas and Hope Bewli were witnesses. [Something screwy here: if the brother Thomas was born in 1595, could William have been married and a father, then dead by 1584, 11 years earlier?] Much later, William's son GeorgeC apparently became convinced by George Fox; he was imprisoned in Carlisle in 1653 for asking the priest a question, and again in 1657 for reproving a priest several times. GeorgeC died at Woodhall in 1663, aged ca. 82 years. [So he would have been born ca. 1581.] His will mentions wife Margaret, daughters Jane and Margaret, and several grandchildren.
iii. George, m. 9 Oct. 1645 Margaret RAP or Rafe, and they resided in Penrith. Two daughters. There is no record that they became Friends.[So saith Jane Brey. However, it seems on the face of it that this George was the one mentioned above as the son of William, born ca. 1581. Something needs more checking here.]
iv. Mungo, yeoman, m. Jane, daughter of Thomas Bewley of Hasket. Mungo is an old knickname for St. Kentigern, a Scottish Christian monk who revived Christianity in Cumberland after the Romans left in the fifth century. Mungo acquired property at Ivegill in Hesket parish. They had a son George and daughters Mabel who m. David HODGSON, and Bridget. Mungo became a Friend and suffered for it. He died at Ivegill in 1676. His will, written 9 Aug. 1676, mentions his wife, children, and grandchildren William and Mary Bewley and David Hodgson. He also left 40 sh to "friends att ye monthly meeting".
v. Jane, m. ____ ASBRIGG, had a son John to whom his grandfather bequeathed "2 of my best Ewes & lambes".
ThomasB Bewley was born about 1595. He married ca. 1630 Dorothy NICHOLSON (?), whose family held another 1/4 of the demensne lands of Woodhall. In 1643 he paid £300 for a free-hold manor house and lands at Haltcliffe, about a mile from Woodhall, in Caldbeck parish. He rebuilt the manor house, and on a stone that still exists is the carved inscription, "TBD BVILT THIS HALL 1653". After the death of his father and brother William, Thomas received John's Close in the territories of Newlands and parish of Sebergham. As eldest son and heir he also succeeded to Woodhall, which in November 1661 he turned over to his second son, Thomas.
Thomas and his brother Mungo and cousin George Bewley of Woodhall were among George Fox's first converts in 1652 when he travelled north after his vision on Pendle Hill of a "great people to be gathered". In his Journal Fox says, "Travelling northward from Cockermouth toward Carlisle, I came up to Thomas Bewley's house near Caldbeck, but when night came I walked out [of the house] and lay out all night . . . having some service there with the Lord . . ." Shortly after, Fox wrote, "I passed to a market town named Wigton . . . on to Carlisle where I was thrown into prison, after a long examination, as a blasphemer, a heretic, a seducer . . . kept there for seven weeks . . .[until August 1653 when] I went to Thomas Bewley's." The next year Joseph Besse recorded in his book of Sufferings, "Thomas Bewley and Hugh STAMPER, for standing at the Session in Carlisle with their Hats on, were by the Justices committed to Prison without legal cause assigned. After a month's confinement, they were discharged without paying fees."
In 1663 when Fox visited the north counties again, he wrote, "And so after I visited Friends in Northumberland and settled them upon Christ their foundation, their rock and their teacher . . . I came into Cumberland to the house [Haltcliffe Hall] of old Thomas Bewley's . . . and Friends came about me and said, would I come there to go to prison . . . for there was great persecution in that country at the time. I had a General Meeting at Thomas Bewley's, large and precious, and the Lord's power was over all." There were many meetings held in the barn, which was still standing in 1967.
The authorities cracked down shortly after this visit from Fox, for Besse records, "Thomas Bewley, after frequent seizure of his Goods for Tithes, was in this year [1663], on a Exchequer Process, committed to Prison at Carlisle where he lay near Three Year . . . and on Thomas Bewley the younger, in the Year also, seizure was made to the value of 11 pounds for a Claim of 2 pounds 18 shillings for Tithes."
In 1673 Besse recorded that "Thomas Bewley of Haltcliffe Hall, aged about seventy-eight, was persecuted by Arthur Savage, Priest, for 3 pounds Prescription Money and taken from him his feather-bed, Bedclothes and a Cupboard value 5 pounds. The hardship on the poor old man's case so affected the Neighborhood with Compassion, that when the Bayliff exposed the Goods for sale, no Body would Buy them at any Rate; whereupon the Priest sued the Bayliff and made hime pay both his Costs."
The following year Priest Savage "again persecuted the said Thomas Bewley for Tithe of Wool, Lambs, etc., and not withstanding his very great age, sent him to Prison." When he was released is not known. Friends' records state he was buried 11 December 1680 at the age of about eighty-five. Someone listed his burial ("14 December 1680 at Whelpo") in the Caldbeck parish register; his wife Dorothy is listed as being buried in Caldbeck on 21 May 1682. Besse records, "In 1682, on the 20th of the month called April, this year, the following Persons were continuing Prisons for Tithes at the suit of Arthur Savage, Priest of Caldbeck, viz: Thomas Bewley [of Woodhall] . . . who had then been a Prisoner for five years and three months . . . and George Bewley [of Haltcliffe Hall] who had lain in Prison more than five years at the suit of Arthur Savage. . ."
Children of Thomas and Dorothy (Nicholson) Bewley (order uncertain):
i. GeorgeA, yeoman; b. in Woodhall; d. Haltcliffe Hall, bur. 21 July 1691 at the Whelpo meeting house; m. Elizabeth STORDY, sister of Friends minister Thomas Stordy of Moorhouse. She signed the 1659 anti-tithe "Handmaidens of the Lord" petition. They enlarged Haltcliffe Hall and their initials are carved on a stone window lintel: "GBE - 1687". George was a staunch Friend and withstood persecution. His will, dated 10 July 1691, describes in detail his goods. They had five children: a) George who m. 18 Sept. 1695 Sarah RAWLINSON;
b) Samuel who m. 16 Oct. 1701 Sarah GREEHOW;
c) Ruth who m. 1681 Samuel BROWN;
d) Elizabeth who m. Bryan LANCASTER;
e) Abigail who m. 1688 George PEACOCK of Mosedaile.ii. Thomas, b. before 1643; d. 26 May 1693; m. 1657 Margaret MARK. They rebuilt Woodhall in 1669, inscribing their initials over the doorway. They had 10 children, of whom only 5 grew to maturity. Thomas joined Friends and suffered persecution. Besse records "in 1676, on the twentieth day of the Month called January, Thomas Bewley, son of old Thomas Bewley aforesaid . . . was committed to Prison on an Exchequer Process at the suit of Arthur Savage, Priest of Caldbeck; at which time also George Bewley, an elder son of the same ancient man, was detained in Prison by the same Priest, where he had then lain about two years . . ." Their suviving children were:
a) John, ca. 1658, bur. 4 June 1703 in the Caldbeck parish church, m. Ann __, and had 3 daughters, all listed in the parish register;
b) George d. 20 Jan. 1748/9 in Edenberry, Ireland, m. (1) Lucy ___, m. (2) Blessing FERNWELL (?), and removed to Ireland to spread the word about Quakerism;
c) Marye, b. 1659, d. in Ireland, m. 1694 Thomas WILSON. He was a Friends minister with a powerful voice and travelled to Pennsylvania at the height of the Keithian controversy, helping steer American Friends on a true course;
d) Thomas, a tallow chandler in Dublin, m. Mary ___, had 4 daughters;
e) Mungo, b. 1677; d. 1747, Friends minister, removed to Ireland, travelled in the ministry in America and was present at the wedding of his first cousin Rebecca (Mark) Watson's granddaughter Mary Paxson to Joseph Richardson.iii. Mary, b. before 1643; d. after 1696; m. 8 Apr. 1658 Thomas Marke, Jr.
MaryA Bewley, only daughter and third child of Thomas and Dorothy (Nicholson) Bewley, was born before 1643 and died after 1696. On 8 April 1658 at Carlisle Meeting she married Thomas MARKE, Jr. son of Thomas and Elizabeth (SLEE) Mark. Thomas Jr. was born in Mosedale and died 20 June 1696 and was buried the next day in Carlisle. His sister Margaret married Mary's brother Thomas.
Mary and Thomas Marke lived at Mosedale until about 1680 when they moved to Bleckell Hall in St. Cuthbert's Parish, nearer Carlisle. They were staunch members of the Society of Friends, but are not recorded as being persecuted over non-payment of tithes. Persecution was largely dependent on the vindictiveness of a local "priest", justice, or landowner.
Children of Thomas Jr. and Mary (Bewley) Marke:
i. Benjamin1, b. 14 Apr. 1659; m. 13 Aug. 1690 Sarah LANGHORNE; 4 sons.
ii. Isaac, b. 20 July 1662; bur. 18 Sept. 1673.
iii. Rebecca, b. 24 Feb. 1663; bur. 11 Nov. 1742 in Bucks County, Penna.; m. 4 Jan. 168_ Thomas WATSON; 7 children. For more on their descendants, see the Paxson Lines.
iv. Mary, b. 19 Mar. 1666; d. after 1696 when she was mentioned in her father's will.
v. Thomas, b. 24 Mar. 1670; m. Elizabeth HUDSON; 6 children.
Immigrant Generation
Rebecca Marke1, daughter of Thomas Jr. and Mary (Bewley) Marke, married 4 January 168_ Thomas Watson. They emigrated to Bucks County, Pennsylvania. Their daughter Mary WATSON, born ca. 1687, married William Paxson in May 1711. They had eight children.
Eventually this story will be continued on a Watson page, but it has not yet been posted. In the meantime, you can follow the link (above) to William Paxson.
"Dandelion", block print by Anne EG Nydam
copyright 1996, used with kind permission
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Citations of Sources
other than Jane Brey, A Quaker Saga
1. Samuel Lewis, A Topographical Dictionary of England, 5th ed., 4 vols. (London: 1842), 2:459.
2. Samuel Lewis, A Topographical Dictionary of England, 5th ed. (London: 1842), 3:572, 2:3.
3. Samuel Lewis, A Topographical Dictionary of England, 5th ed. (London: 1842), 1:352.
4. Samuel Lewis, A Topographical Dictionary of England, 1:466.
last updated on 7m/7/2007.