Fourth Generation up from Virgie Rosalind Rea (b. 9 Aug 1905 in Alturas, Modoc Co., California)

10.  Henry Bearman

 

Henry Bearman was the third son and fifth child of James Bearman and Ann Clayton.  He was born on the 6^th June 1809 at Landguard Fort, near Felixstowe in Suffolk.  Henry married Ann Mears about 1840, exactly when and where is not known, but their two eldest sons, Edward and Robert, were born in Gibraltar in 1840 and 1845 respectively.  Ann was born on the Island of St Helena of British parents.  Military records show that she was the daughter of a soldier serving in the Royal Engineers [vol658 page4].  Henry spent some 23 years in the army, 14 of them abroad, so it is possible that they met and married whilst Henry was based overseas.  They do not appear in the 1841 census as Henry was almost certainly serving in Gibraltar at the time.  Henry served in the Royal Sappers and Miners as a private; his military record shows:

 

“He enlisted in the Royal Sappers and Miners (note: this regiment was later reincorporated into the Royal Engineers) on July 19, 1825 at age 16 in Woolwich, and was discharged to pension on Oct. 10, 1848. Of his 23 year service, he served abroad for 14 years, at Corfu for seven years one month, and in Gibraltar for six years eleven months. His pension entitlement discounted the years he served underage, and it is stated "reckons service from 1st of quarter in which he attained 18 years of age". His service is therefore calculated as 21 years 93 days. 

 His "character and conduct report" states:

"He was tried by a Regimental Court Martial at Woolwich on the 21st Aug. 1833, for being absent from his duty without leave part of 2 days, of which he was convicted & sentenced to ten days' solitary confinement, 3 days of which were remitted - that he relinquished his right to additional pay and became entitled to 3d per diem good conduct pay & 3 distinguishing marks from 1st Jan. 1866 & to four pence per diem & distinguishing marks from the 8th July 1867 - of which he has since been uninterruptedly in possession - and that his general character is very good."

NB. (the last two words are in a different hand)

 

His discharge was the consequence of chronic rheumatism. His medical report states:

"Six years ago, when stationed at Gibraltar, and whilst employed in clearing the mud out of an inundation, he caught cold and became subject to rheumatic pains of the loins, which have since continued to trouble him, especially during damp and cold weather. Disability caused by his military service."

NB. This is also known as lumbago

 The opinion of the principal medical officer at Woolwich on 8^th September 1848 states

"After a careful examination I am of opinion that Henry Bearman is unfit for service and likely to be permanently disqualified for military duty, but able to contribute something towards his livelihood."

His discharge was approved on 22^nd September 1848.  His final description when discharged on 10^th October 1848 shows:

 Age 39 years & 3 months.

Height 5 feet 6 1/2 inches.

Hair dark brown.

Eyes blue.

Complexion dark.

Trade miner.

Marks, or scars, whether on the face, or other parts of the body: cut on right eye.”

After his discharge, Henry became a prison warder at Portland Prison in Dorset (1851 census).  For some unknown reason he has not been found in the 1861 census.  In 1871, he has worked his way up to principle warder, still based in Portland.  By 1881, he has retired and is living with his wife, Ann, and his youngest daughter, Annie Elinor, in Millbrook in Hampshire.  By 1891, Ann had died and Henry was living with his son, Robert, and his wife, Parnell Elsie.  Henry and Ann had six children. 

i.     The eldest was Edward Bearman born in Gibraltar in 1840.  Edward was an engine fitter and married Rebecca White Flann, born 1841/42, in Portland in 1860.  Edward and Rebecca had eight children.  Of interest here is the fact that two of the children were given the forename of Byatt.  At a later stage, Byatt (sometimes spelt Byett) was used in an hyphenated form of Byett-Bearman by some of their children.  Byatt (Byett) is the surname of an ancestor of Rebecca White Flann; as indeed is the forename White.  Although not all the children and the descendants of Edward and Rebecca are addressed here, their details are included in the full documentation.  One of Edward’s children, William Henry B[Byett] Bearman was born on 14^th December 1867 in Portland.  William Henry Byett Bearman married Millicent Amelia Hann, born 1872/73 in Peckham, on 11^th August 1894 in Hackney.  William died on 8^th September 1908 in Hammersmith.  William and Millicent had five children, the eldest of whom, William Edgar Bearman, was born on 21^st May 1895 in Leyton.  William married Frances Hodges on 9^th August 1919 at the Church of the Holy Innocents in Hammersmith.  William and Frances had four children, the eldest being one William Edgar Byett Bearman born 5^th July 1920 who married Amy Lilian Fairs on 29^th May 1943.  There were three children from the marriage including Anthony Ronald Arthur Bearman born on 31^st October 1945 in Hamilton, Scotland.  Tony now resides on Vancouver Island in Canada and has provided me with invaluable assistance on the Bearman family history.

The other interesting issue is that John Bearman, whom we met in England in 1994, is a descendant of Henry Bearman.  Henry’s grandson, John was born in 1881 and married Alice Belton in the second quarter of 1904 in Woking.  John’s son, Edward married someone called Nee and produced John Bearman, whom we met, in 1940 in Woking. 

 

ii.   Henry’s second child, Robert, was also born in Gibraltar whilst the remaining four, Matilda (26^th June 1849), John Bearman (1852 Qtr 2), Annie Elinor Bearman (27^th June 1858) and Frank (1861 Qtr 3) were all born in Portland. 

iii.  Matilda is of interest as there is quite a story surrounding her marriage and one of her offspring.  Matilda was born on 26^th June 1849 in Portland and  married William Rea, a Prison Warder aged 22, on 2^nd May 1867 Weymouth.  Matilda’s father is recorded as Henry Bearman, a prison Warder and William’s as William Rea a Fish Factor.  Witnesses were Henry Bearman and Marianne Legge.  Both William and Matilda were shown as residents of the Grove, Portland at the time of their marriage.   William Rea (son of William Rea and Mary Elizabeth (Eliza) Lloyd) was born on 6 Sep 1844 in Greenwich, Kent, England.  He was christened on 1 Jan 1845 in St Alphage, Greenwich, Kent, England.   William and Matilda had eight children and it is the first born who is of particular interest.  William Lloyd Rea was born on 28 May 1868 in Portland, Dorset, England.  Note the use of the maternal parent’s surname as a second forename.  Every child of William and Matilda was christened with this second name.  He married Lydia Burnley on 17^th January 1890 in St Michaels Church, Westgate Common, Wakefield,field.  William and Lydia had three children:

-       Ruby Rea born in 1891 in Barton River.  Ruby married Edward Herbert Wilson in the second quarter of 1918 in Leeds;

-       Harold Rea born in the second quarter of 1894 in Cardiff. Harold married Mary Clark in the first quarter of 1920 in Leeds; and

-       Leslie Rea born in the second quarter of 1896 in Wakefield.  Leslie married Annie E Farnon in the fourth quarter of 1922 in South Shields.

 

Some research carried out by Peter Saunders (a William Rea descendant in England) states:

 

“William was employed as a chemist by a large company, possibly Boots or Timothy Whites (not confirmed) and moved by the company to Cardiff and Bristol soon after marriage where two of his children were born. The family story is that he was caught stealing from a shop and to avoid a court case his father paid for him to emigrate to America or Canada. He had certainly left before Leslie was born (Leslie was born in Wakefield in 1897) [actually the second quarter of 1896]. William Rea arrived in Canada on March 27th 1895, aged 30 (he would actually have turned 30 at the end of May 1898), aboard the ship 'State of California'. The ship had travelled from Glasgow or Liverpool. A list of ships arrivals indicates that the 'State of California' did not go to Canada until 1897. In 1898 she was renamed 'Californian' and started her first Liverpool - Portland sailing to Montreal on 10th Mar.1898. A part of William Rea's California family story that might actually be true places him in Winnipeg, Canada sometime before coming to California. [I am inclined to think that he went to Canada in 1898 after his son Leslie was born. RWB]

10.  Ann Mears

Awaiting data

 

Fifth Generation

 

20.  James Bearman (1772), born in Writtle in about 1772 and baptised 12^th February 1776 in the church of All Saints.  Writtle is an old village in the County of Essex.  The Doomsday Book of 1086 records a population of 900, significant for the time.  We do not know when James left Writtle but he enlisted in the army in 1797.  James served in the army from 29^th April 1797 until his discharge on 12^th October 1818 in Harwich, a period of 21 years and 214 days.  James’s service record is as follows:

Date                      Details

29/4/1797              Enlisted Driver, aged 21, 5’6”, fair hair, grey eyes, brown complexion, unable to read or write

1/5/1797                Attested Horse Brigade, Artillery, Colchester

1/6/1797                Gunner No 76 (promoted) Horse Artillery “C” Troop commanded by Capt W H Horndon, Muster No 51

                              “C” Battery was commanded by Howarth from 1793 to 1798

**/06/1805            Capt Fraser’s Troop, R H A

                              NB Fraser commanded “G” Battery from 1803 to 1814

**/04/1805            Trumpeter, Capt Robert Bull’s Troop, R H A

**/06/1805            Transferred to Capt Gosling’s Company, Royal Invalid Artillery.  The Company base was Greenwich: James served at Landguard Fort

**/01/1807            Capt Keith’s Company, R I A (Keith appointed November 1806, Gosling probably retired and certainly died 30/10/1804.  James was not posted to a different Company)

**/06/1807            Capt F M Keith’s Company.  Service at Landguard Fort

31/10/1818            Discharged at 42, pension 1s per diem

At his discharge, James is described as:

42 years of age;

5 foot 6½ inches in height

Fair hair;

Grey eyes;

Fair complexion.

 

James probably married Ann Clayton whilst he was serving in the army but no details of the marriage have been found.  In 1841, after all the offspring had left home, James and Ann were still living at Landguard Fort.  James is shown as 65 years of age and born outside Suffolk.  Ann is 60 years old and shown as being born in Ireland.  Unfortunately, she died before the 1851 census so we cannot determine which part of Ireland.  James’s service record shows that he was part of “C” Troop of the Royal Horse Artillery from 1^st May 1797 to June 1805.  On 21^st June 1798, “C” Troop took part in the Battle of Vinegar Hill, Wexford, Ireland.  It is possible that James met and married Ann Clayton whilst “C” Troop was deployed in County Wexford.  The 1851 census for Woodbridge shows a James Bearman, aged 78 years, living alone, and born in Writtle, Essex (circa 1772).  His service record shows that he enlisted on 24^th April 1797 at the age of twenty-one years, ie born in 1776.  His army discharge papers show that he was 42 in October 1818 (born in 1776).  The reason for this discrepancy is not known, it is unlikely that he had to reduce his age from about 25 years to join the army. 

 

21.  Ann Clayton was born in Ireland in about 1781.  In addition to Henry Bearman (above) James Bearman and Ann Clayton had the following children:

i.    Elenor Bearman born on 7^th April 1802 at Landguard Fort;

ii.  James Bearman baptised on 27^th March 1803 at Tolleshunt Knights.  James probably died at a young age as another child was christened James in 1807;

iii.Sarah Bearman born on 20^th February 1804 and baptised on 11^th March 1804 in the Scot’s Chapel in Woolwich, Kent;

iv. James Bearman born on 5^th May 1807 at Harwich, Essex and baptised at the church of St Nicholas, Harwich on 21^st August 1807.  James (1807) married Susannah Bones (1797) on 21^st August 1828 at the Parish Church of St Mary Elms in Ipswich, Suffolk (St Mary Elms parish records and IGI).  The marriage took place in the presence of James Bearman (1772), the father.  According to the these records, Susannah was a widow at the time of the marriage.  The indications are that he married the widow of Richard Bones, a mariner from Harwich.  The parish records for Harwich show a Richard Bones was buried on 9^th July 1826 at St Nicholas, Harwich.

 

With regard to James (1807), the 1841 census for Sandown Castle, Deal, Kent showed those living at Sandown Castle at the time were:

-      James Bearman   Aged 30¹                                (birth date circa 1811)           

-      Susannah Bearman  Aged 40¹                        (birth date circa 1801)

-      James Bearman ²           Aged 12          (birth date 1828/29)

-      Emily Bones                  Aged 14          (birth date 1826/27)  

Note 1.            In the 1841 census, persons over 20 years had their ages rounded to the nearest 5 years.

Note 2.   James Bearman, we believe, is James Clayton Bearman (1829), born in 1829 not 1833 as recorded on his service record in the Royal Navy. 

The 1851 census records also show that Emily Bones was working as a servant for the Justice of the Cinque Ports, Gilbert J Kirney and confirms that she was born in Harwich in 1826/27.  The parish records for St Nicholas show a Maria Emely Bones being born on 31^st December 1827 to Richard Bones, a mariner, and Susannah and baptised on 16^th January 1828.  This being so, Richard cannot possibly be the father of Maria Emely (unless the birth date is incorrect).  The question arises as to who might have been the father.

 

James Bearman and Susannah Bones came to Kent, when James was transferred from the Coastguard station at Clacton Wash and took up a position as a boatman with the Coastguard at Broadstairs on 23^rd April 1831.  His full service record with the Coastguard in Kent was:

“From                To                          Location                Position

23/4/1831           24/7/1833              Broadstairs           Boatman - transferred from      Clacton Wash

26/7/1833           16/10/1833            Kingsgate              Boatman

16/10/1833         4/4/1838                St Margaret's        Commissioned Boatman - Bay

4/4/1838             30/1/1849                                            No.1 Battery,  Chief Boatman - Ramsgate

30/1/1849           13/2/1852              Epple Bay             Chief Boatman

13/2/1852           30/3/1852              Kingsdown, Deal  Chief Boatman - transferred at own request   

30/3/1852           20/2/1854              Kingsgate              Chief Boatman - discharged on an attestation of 41 pounds               

30/3/1854           30/11/1864            Kingsgate              Chief Boatman”

 

The 1851 census also reports the following as living in Birchington:

-       James Bearman  - Chief Boatman – Head - aged 43 - from Harwich, Essex

-       Susannah Bearman – wife - aged 53 from Trinity, Margate

 

James Clayton has not been found in the 1851 census, however, We know from a previous chapter that James Clayton Bearman might well have been and/or travelling to Canada or Australia at the time of the 1851 census and Emily Bones was in service with the Justice of the Cinque Ports. 

 

The 1861 census shows the following living at the Coastguard Station in Ramsgate:

-       James Beerman – Head - Chief Boatman – 53 - Essex, Harwich

-       Susannah Beerman – Wife – 64 - Suffolk, Trimley

Note that, in the 1851 census, Susannah Bearman (née Bones) was reported as being born in Trinity, Margate.  In the 1861 census she is shown as being born in Trimley in Suffolk.  It is possible that Richard Bones, who was a mariner, met and married Susannah (surname unknown) in Margate or that Susannah travelled to Harwich.  However, I believe that the 1861 census is correct and Susannah was born in Trimley St Martin or Trimley St Mary in Suffolk.  Susannah Bearman (1798) died on the 15^th January 1878 (again John’s birthday) in Broadstairs although she was interred in St Peters.  The church of Holy Trinity in Broadstairs was, at that time, in existence but did not/does not have a churchyard associated with it.  After Susannah’s death, James married Mary Elizabeth Crump, a widow and lodging housekeeper, on 24^th October 1878 at the Ebenezer Chapel in Ramsgate.  Mary Elizabeth’s maiden name was Stroud.  Her father’s profession was recorded as a Gentleman.  Witnesses to the marriage were Amy Termaine and J E Holman.  J E Holman is Mary Elizabeth Crump's niece, Jane Elizabeth Stroud born about 1846 in Ramsgate, who married Charles Holman of Canterbury.  James Bearman died 4^th September 1887, aged 82, and is interred at St Peters.

 

There are two Bearman family graves at St Peters.  They are both shown in the photo below in their current condition.  The photo to the left shows the headstone of James Clayton Bearman, although I imagine it was not erected until the death of James Clayton Bearman in 1899, as James is the first inscription on the headstone.

 

INSCRIPTIONS ON THE HEADSTONES OF THE BEARMAN GRAVES

AT ST PETERS CHURCHYARD

 

Susannah Bearman, wife of James Bearman, died 18 January 1878, aged 81

Three daughters of John Bearman

Minnie Balfour Bearman died 8 August 1851

Cecilia Balfour Bearman died 11 March 1857

Eleanor Murray Bearman, died 9 January 1869

Also John Bearman, died 5 December 1892, aged 80

James Bearman, died 4 September 1887, aged 82

___________________________________________

     James Clayton Bearman died 1 August 1899, aged 70

     Vernon Jarvis Bearman died at Meerut, India 19 November 1905, aged 25

Harriet ‘Dear’ Bearman died 19 February 1924, aged 77

Susannah Clayton Bearman died 27 June 1949

 

i.    Henry Bearman (see fourth generation);

ii.  John Bearman was born on 15^th March 1811 at Landguard Fort and baptised there on 31^st March in the same year.  He moved to Kent about the same time as his brother, James and was either transferred to or joined the Coastguard about six months after James.  He married Susannah Bones, daughter of his brother, James’s wife, on 31^st March 1832 at St Peters Church.  I do not know whether John and Susannah courted before they left Essex or whether Susannah accompanied her mother and James Bearman to Thanet and they became an item after their arrival.  By 1841, John and Susannah had produced four children and were living at the North Shore Coastguard Station in Minster.  In the 1851 census for Broadstairs, Kent, John's age (40) gives his year of birth at about 1811 and records his birthplace as Landguard Fort, Woodbridge, Suffolk.  Recent information from an "Ancestral File" on the Church of the Latter Day Saint's website indicates he could have been born in St Peters, Broadstairs, Kent.  This "Ancestral File" also shows that Susannah Bones was born in Deal, Kent.  There are parish records that show that Susannah was born at Harwich, Essex.  The 1851 census for Broadstairs also shows that Susannah was born in Harwich.  At this stage, I believe my version is correct.

 

John’s service record shows:

24^th December 1831 -  to 4^th April 1838 - No.1 Battery, Boatman, Ramsgate

4^th April 1838 - 16^th March1847- Northshore, Boatman

                 16^th March 1847 - until discharge – Broadstairs - Commissioned Boatman”

The date of John’s discharge from the coastguard is not known.  He was, however, still serving at the time of the 1861 census, which shows the following living at 2 Nuckell’s Place, Broadstairs, where he was recorded as a commissioned boatman with the Coastguard:

-     John Bearman, head, coastguard aged 50 and born at Landguard Fort;

-     Susannah Bearman, wife aged 48 and born in Harwich;

-     Susannah Bearman, daughter aged 20 and born in Minster;

-     Eleanor Murray Bearman, daughter aged 14 and born in Sandwich,

-     Caroline Bearman, daughter aged 12 and born in Broadstairs,

-     Minnie B Bearman, daughter aged 7 and born in Broadstairs.

 

John joined the Royal Navy on 10^th February 1854 until 7^th July 1856 and served on HMS Princess Royal during the Crimean War.  Whether he resigned from the Coastguard, was transferred or was pressed into service is not known.  His description in Admiralty files shows: 

“At age of 43: 5' 6", grey eyes, light brown hair, fresh complexion”

 

John and Susannah had twelve children, several of whom are of interest.  Their eldest child, Anna Clayton Bearman was born 1833/34 in Sholden, Thanet.  Anna never married and died on 10^th July 1858 at 15 Silver Street, Coventry, where she was working as a  haberdasher’s shop assistant.

 

Their second child was associated with the sea.  Edward James Bearman, commonly known as James, was born in 1835 in Deal.  Edward married Sarah Ann White (born in the second quarter of 1838 at Broadstairs) on 29^th December 1859 at the parish church of Christchurch in Ramsgate.  Sarah was the daughter of a Broadstairs shipbuilder George Hurst White.  White’s shipbuilding yard was located where the Broadstairs Pavilion and the Garden on the Sands is now located.  Edward was registered as a 2^nd Mate (License 3470) in March 1856.  He served as 2^nd Mate on The Britain’s Queen, the Dare from 20^th October 1858 to 18^th December 1858 and the Ellen Hodge.  He served as 1^st Mate on the Irene from 28^th July 1861 to 6 August 1864 which journeyed to Singapore and Rangoon before returning to UK (see article on Edward on page 82).  From 5^th May 1867, Edward was based in London as Officer Commanding Signals.  Edward died in 1884 at the age of 49.  Edward and Sarah had eleven children, all born in Bermondsey except the eldest, Edward George White Bearman, who was born in the fourth quarter of 1860 in Thanet and later became a wharfinger superintendent.  After Edward’s death, Sarah and the children moved to New Cross Road in Greenwich and later to James Street in Deptford.  At the time of the 1901 census, six of her children, aged from 23 to 30 were unmarried and living at home. 

 

Their next child, John Charles Bearman was born in the first quarter of 1838 at Sandover.  John was also associated with the sea and achieved the rank of Second Mate on 26^th March 1861 in London.  He served as Ship’s Mate on board the “Belgium” in 1861 and on board the “Enterprise” in 1862.  The 1861 census shows John as being single and a second engineer aboard the ship “Bruiser”.  He married a Sarah Walton, in the second quarter of 1861 in Newington, and had one child of which we are aware.  The birth certificate shows Sarah Susannah Bearman born on 2^nd January 1862 at 46 High Street, Bermondsey.  Sarah married in the third quarter of 1882 in Poplar.   The 1891 census shows John Bearman living as a boarder in Lambeth. 

 

After John Charles came Susannah Cowey Bearman baptised on 28^th May 1840 at Minster.  Susannah married James Chapman, born in 1830, on 16^th February 1869 at the Bethel Chapel in Ramsgate.  James and Susannah had five children.  Of these, only Emily Bertha Chapman is of any real interest.  Emily was born on 23^rd July 1871 in Broadstairs.  Emily married Thomas

Alfred Chell (born 15^th June 1876 in Fulham, London) at the Thanet Registry Office on 19^th July 1897.  Thomas and Emily had one child, Amy Bertha Chell, who married Norman Bearman Seymour Rose (see Minnie Balfour Bearman) on 21^st April 1925 in the Broadstairs Parish Church.  Amy died on 24^th July 1929 and is buried at St Peters.  Amy Bertha and Norman Bearman Seymour Rose had two children: Emily Bertha who died on 9^th July 1945 and Thomas who died on 27^th July 1970, aged 94.

 

Next came, Emily Wells Bearman who was born in the first quarter of 1843 in Minster.  Emily married Stephen Maroney in the fourth quarter of 1882 in Thanet.  Stephen and Emily did not have any children according to the 1891 and 1901 censuses.  As yet, I have not been able to determine the source of the forenames “Cowey” and “Wells”.

 

Emily was followed by Richard Bones Bearman born in the fourth quarter of 1845 in Sandover, (again we see the use of the mother’s maiden name as a forename).  Richard has not been found in either the 1861 or 1871 censuses so we have no idea where he went after he left home.  Richard was a tailor by trade.   He married Adeline Cheeseman (was born in 1845/46 in Camberwell) in the second quarter of 1871 in Lambeth and, by 1881, had moved to 11 Verney Road, Camberwell where.  Together they had six children, none of whom is of any great interest, although the eldest has Clayton as her maiden name and the youngest was Richard Bones Bearman.

 

Two years later, Eleanor Murray Bearman was born on 21^st January 1847 at Eastry.  Eleanor did not marry and died on 9^th January 1869 (aged 22) and is interred in the Bearman grave in St Peters Churchyard.  Again, the origin of the forename is unknown.. 

 

Caroline Maria Bearman was born on 4^th March 1849 in Ramsgate and appears in the censuses up to and including the 1881 census, when she is living at home with her parents.  No other record has been found except for a death of a Caroline M Bearman aged 56 in fourth quarter of 1912 in the City of London.  This would put her date of birth as 1856 and not be the daughter of John Bearman.

 

 

After another period of two years, Minnie Balfour Bearman and her twin sister, Cecilia Balfour Bearman were born on 25^th April 1851.  Minnie died on 10^th August 1851, as an infant, and Cecilia died on 11^th March; 1857, aged 5.  Both are interred in the Bearman grave in St Peters Churchyard.  Again, the origin of the middle name “Balfour” is inknown.

 

Another Minnie Balfour Bearman was born on 18^th February 1852 in Broadstairs.  She was married in 1875 at the Margate Baptist Church and again at the Wesleyan Chapel Margate on 19^th February 1878, both times to William Henry Rose, the son of Nathaniel and Jane Rose.  William and Minnie had seven children.  Their youngest child was Norman Bearman Seymour Rose, born on 25^th December 1895 at Croydon in Surrey.  Norman married Amy Bertha Chell (see above) on 21^st April 1825.  Norman and Amy had two children.  Norman Bearman Seymour died on 24^th July 1929 in Sydenham and is buried at St Peters.  Minnie died in 1924 and is buried at St Peters.  William died in 1931 and is also buried at St Peters.  William and Minnie possibly had an eighth child, Minnie Rose W Rose, born in the second quarter of 1890 in Croydon who died in the third quarter of that year.  John Bearman died on 5^th December 1892 aged 80 and is interred in one of the family graves in St Peters Churchyard.

 

vii.Edward Bearman, the seventh child of James and Ann, was born at Landguard Fort in about 1812 and, like many of his siblings, had a career associated with the sea.  He married Sarah Ann Cousins, born on 26^th September 1811, on 8^th July 1835 in Kirkburton.  Edward obviously moved around as he was married in Kirkburton; what he was doing there I do not know as he would not have been in the Coastguard.  A year later his first child, Sarah Ann Bearman was born in on 5^th December 1836 in Yarmouth in Norfolk.  Sarah presumable died as an infant as another child was later christened Sarah.  His next two children were Eleanor Ann Bearman (born 9^th October 1838 in Harwich) who married Alfred Middleton Lambert on 23^rd December 1865 in Nantwich, Cheshire.  Eleanor and Alfred had two children.  Alfred Middleton Lambert died on 27^th March 1891 in the Union Workhouse in Lockwood, Huddersfield.  One of Eleanor’s daughters, Bertha, married Henry Flevet Lloyd Rea, a grandson of Henry Bearman and Ann Mears.  Edward John Cousins Bearman (born 10^th September 1840 in Harwich).  Edward was a Wesleyan schoolmaster never married and died in the fourth quarter of 1898 in Sculcoates.  After Alfred Middleton’s death, Eleanor went to live with her brother, Edward, and became his housekeeper. 

 

By 1841, Edward was in the coastguard service and was stationed at Great Yarmouth, where his fourth child, William Henry Bearman, was born (29^th July 1842).  William Henry married Eliza Greenwood in the second quarter of 1876 in Rochdale.  William and Eliza had three sons and at least one daughter.  William was followed by Sarah Rebecca Bearman, born in 5^th November 1845 in Yarmouth.  Sarah married Joseph Ellis in the fourth quarter of 1873 in Huddersfield.  Joseph and Sarah had three children.

 

By 1851, Edward senior had moved to Barton on Humber, where he is shown as a chief boatman.  He remained at Barton on Humber until the 1861 census.  Whilst in Barton on Humber, Sarah gave birth to their youngest child, Ann Clayton Bearman baptised on 4^th May 1851 at Barton on Humber.  Ann Clayton (that name again) died on 31^st May 1854.

 

We have been unable to find Edward in the 1871 census, but by 1881 he had retired and both he and his wife were living with their eldest son, Edward John Cousins Bearman in Kirkburton in Yorkshire, where Edward John was working as a Wesleyan schoolteacher.  I am not sure what the Kirkburton connection is but it’s not where his wife was born as Sarah was born in Harwich. 

 

The GRO index shows a Sarah Ann Bearman (Cousins) died in the second quarter of 1883 in Huddersfield.   The district of Huddersfield in Yorkshire contains the village of Kirkburton where Sarah is buried.

 

viii.   Adam Bearman, the youngest son of James Bearman and Ann Clayton was born on 1^st January 1814 and baptised at Landguard Fort on 16^th January 1814.  Just like James, John, and Edward, he pursued a life associated with the sea.  He married Ann Marshall on 17^th September 1834 in Portsea, Hampshire.  Witnesses to the marriage were John Horne and Harriet Beal.   Ann Marshall was born in Alnmouth on 29^th January 1817.    Adam worked as a coastguard from 1836 until at least 1851, during which time he resided at the following locations:

From                         To                    Location

1835                 1836             Rye

1838                 1839             Rottingdean

1843                 1851             Fishergate

1856                 1856             Lancing

1856                 1856             Latimer St, Southampton

1861                                      No 7 coastguard Station, Shoreham

The 1841 census shows Adam living at Rottingdean in Hampshire with his family Ann aged 20, Roseretta aged 5 and Henry aged 2.  By 1843, Adam and Ann had moved to Fisgergate in Southwick where William Adam had been born and were still there at the time of the 1851 census.  By 1861, Rosetta and Henry had left home, and Adam and Ann had moved to Shoreham where Adam was still serving in the Coastguard.  With them were their two youngest children, George Benjamin and Eleanor Jane.  1871 saw Ann, a coxswain’s wife at home in South Stoneham with her youngest daughter, Eleanor.  At the time of the 1881 census Adam was a ship’s steward aboard the SS Josyann and was residing at 3 Caledonian Place, Broadwater in Sussex.  At some stage, Adam served upon the ships “Sylph’ and “Enchantress”.  Adam died at Ibrail, Rumania aboard the Granville on 15^th December 1885 and was buried at Ibrail on 16^th December 1885.    In 1891, Ann is living with her daughter, Rosetta, and family.  Adam and Ann had at least six children.  Ann Bearman died on 15th September 1898 in Main USA.

 

The eldest was Rosetta Bearman, born 1836 whilst Adam was serving in Rye in Sussex.  Rosetta married Thomas Nye Lillywhite (born 7^th May 1833 in West Hampnett) on 23^rd October 1862 at Portsea, Hampshire.  Thomas was descended from the Lillywhite cricketing family.  Thomas Nye Lillywhite enlisted in the Royal Navy in 1854 giving his date of birth as 25^th November 1835.   Rosetta and Thomas had seven children.  The 1881 census shows Rosetta Bearman, wife of Thomas Lillywhite, present at the dwelling of Adam and Ann Bearman at Broadwater in Sussex and also at her own home the Royal Naval College in Greenwich. 

 

Henry Bearman was born in 1838 whilst Adam was serving in the Coastguard at Rottingdean in Sussex.  Henry died in the second quarter of 1862 in the Isle of Wight after having accidentally fallen from the mast of a HMS Black Pine whilst in Spithead harbour. 

 

William Adam Bearman, a boatswain, was born 6^th October 1842 in Fishersgate, Southwick.  This is supported by a GRO record showing a William Adam Bearman being born in the third quarter of 1842 in Steyning, a district of Sussex that includes Southwick.   William Bearman, aged 25, married Elizabeth Spleen, aged 26, on 25^th August 1866 in the parish church of Portsea.  William’s father is recorded as Adam Bearman, mariner, and Elizabeth’s father as James Spleen, carpenter.  Witnesses to the marriage were Rosetta Lillywhite and Thomas Nye Lillywhite, so there is no doubt that this our William Adam Bearman.  William’s occupation is given as Master at Arms in the PO Company.  The 1871 census shows William and Elizabeth, together with their daughter Ann aged 2, living at 19 Ransome Terrace, St Mary, Southampton.  Elizabeth’s place of birth is given as Brighton, the same as William’s although this appears to be a mistake as all later censuses show her birthplace as Edinburgh.  The issue is somewhat confused by the 1881 census records.  William Bearman is shown at the home of his father, Adam, at 3 Caledonian Place Broadwater, where he is recorded as a boatswain and married.  He also appears in the census for Millbrook where he is noted as “Seafaring”.  His wife and family are residing at Denmark Terrace, Millbrook.  Millbrook is a small town almost at the head of Southampton Water.  William and Elizabeth had six children.  William died some time between the 1881 and 1891 censuses as in 1891 Elizabeth is shown as a widow working as a cook in Keymer, not to far Broadwater.  In the 1901 census, Elizabeth is shown as a widow working as a cook at The Mansion, Richmond Hill Central Hotel in Bournemouth.  Glenie Joel reports the possible death of William in Boston but does not have a date.  It is possible he joined the navy and travelled to the US where he died or he was visiting his younger brother.  No record of his death had been found in the GRO.

 

George Benjamin Bearman was born on the 2^nd October 1851 in Southwick whilst Adam was stationed at Fishergate, Southwick.  George Bearman joined the Royal Navy on 2^nd October 1869, on his 18^th birthday.  He served aboard the Endymion, from 1^st January 1873 to 11^th July 1873.  He jumped ship in Halifax, Nova Scotia and used the surname Russell until he moved to America.  There he  married Amy Sharman at settled in Robbinstown, Main where they had eight children.  Information obtained from the internet suggests that George Benjamin Bearman who ended up in America was the son of Adam Bearman.  The internet article states:

Name: George Benjamin Bearman

Sex: M

Birth: 1851 in Fishers-Gate (near Brighton), Sussex, England

Death: 3 MAR 1927 in Robbinston, Maine

Baptism: 16 NOV 1851 Southwick, Sussex, England

Burial: Brewer Cemetery, Robbinston, Maine

Note:

George Bearman was from South Hampton, England and served in the English Navy prior to coming to Robbinston, Me. (The story is that he jumped ship in St. John, N.B.). After his marriage, he and his wife lived on the Calvin Sharman homestead on Sharman Hill (later called Bearman Hill) in Robbinston, Maine, which was Amy's birthplace.

The following is George Bearman’s obituary provided by Minerva (Sharman) Gray and her son L. Austin Gray, Jr. of Wesley, Maine:

The community of Robbinston was shocked and saddened on Thursday of last week, March 3rd, by the sudden death of Mr. George Bearman, a beloved citizen of the west district.

Mr. Bearman for some time had not been in good health but was able to be about very much as usual. His death came at the close of a fine and happy day, in which several friends had called to see him and found him in excellent spirits. While preparing to retire for the night, he quietly slipped to the floor and died almost instantly. Death was due to heart failure.

 

Born seventy-five years ago in the village of Fishers-Gate, a suburb of Brighton, England, he came to the United States, a youth of twenty [i.e., about 1871 or 1872?]. Coming to Robbinston, he met and married Miss Amy Sharman and here they made their home and reared their family. There were born to them eight children, five of whom survived him.

Mr. Bearman was an upright and honest man, a thoughtful and kindly neighbour, a man of large hospitality who had travelled and read. He made a genial host.

 

He leaves to regret his passing, besides his wife, his four sons William, Harry, Harvey and Allen, and his daughter, Mrs. Raymond Dodge of Pembroke.

Funeral services were held Saturday afternoon at his late home, the Rev. E. C. Field officiating. An abundance of beautiful flowers showed the esteem in which this kindly man was held. Interment was in the Blair [sic; i.e., Brewer] Cemetery at Robbinston.

 

The sympathy of the community is extended to Mrs. Bearman and her family in their sorrow.

I cannot say and I will not say

That he is dead -- He is just away.

With a cheery smile, and a wave of the hand

He has wandered into an unknown land,

And left us thinking how very fair

It needs must be since he lingers there.

And you, oh you, who the wildest yearn

For the old-time step and the glad return

Think of him, since as the same, I say

He is not dead; He is just away!

 

The following biographical notes on George Bearman were written by L. Austin Gray, Jr. of Wesley, Maine, as told to him by George Bearman's children, "Annie" and "Allen" Bearman of Robbinston, Maine.

George Bearman joined the British Navy, then jumped ship at St. John (or St. Andrews?), N.B. [i.e., New Brunswick, Canada]. He came to Calais, Maine and worked or stayed in Milltown, Maine at Jane (Sharman) and Calvin Wadsworth's house, [which was] on the road to Baring, on the east side of the road, 1 or 3 houses from the corner, where the road goes to the International Bridge in Milltown. Knight's Corner or  ??

His first day's work in the United States was in Calais, Maine, at Maguerrewock Stream, in a big field south of the stream. (This is where the Moosehorn Wildlife Refuge Administration Building was until it was torn down.) He was given a hand-scythe [with which] to mow hay, and promptly drove the scythe blade into the ground, having never used one before. He and another sailor (who had jumped ship with him) went along to the westward, on the Airline Road (Route 9). He stopped at a lumber camp along the way, near the road, somewhere west of Wesley and east of Bangor. Later, he came back to Calais, and got a job on the farm of William Towers Sharman in Robbinston. (Mr. Sharman's sister was Mrs. Jane (Sharman) Wadsworth.)

 

While at the lumber camp, the cook was going away and left bread to rise, and asked George to cook it when it had risen. He hadn't seen a cookstove, as they used fireplaces in England. So he didn't know where to put the bread to cook, so he put it on the floor under the stove.

His grandfather Bearman drowned. The grandfather was on a British Navy mail packet boat in the northern Mediterranean [near Rumania? or Bulgaria?], and was buried there. In World War I, some battles were fought over his grave."

 

George Bearman's baptism: 16 November 1851 in Southwick, Sussex, England, can be found in the IGI index. From Tom Moffatt (09 November 2002) :

 

"Uncle George Bearman's father was Adam Bearman. He married Annie Marshall. The Marshalls loved on the Isle of Wight where Queen Victoria and parents lived summers in their cottage. Their back yards were separated by a picket fence by which Queen Victoria (when a young girl) and Annie Marshall played together; Queen Victoria bringing her pretty dolls and Annie M. taking candy. “Adam and Annie Bearman’s children were George, Harry, William, Rose and Nell”

[As told by Minerva Gray; recorded by Maxine Robbins, Spring 1988]

Their youngest child, Eleanor Bearman was born on 11^th November 1856 after Adam and Ann had moved to Lancing.  Eleanor married Earl Reynolds (date and place unknown) and is reported by Mark Fegan to have had two children, possibly a son and a daughter.  Earl is reputedly to have murdered both the children and his wife in America. 

The Coastguards

 

Four of the sons of James Bearman (1772), James, John, Edward and Adam, were at some time in their lives in the coastguard service.  It seems appropriate, therefore, include a little about that service. 

Two hundred years ago, the goods, which now travel by road, were carried by hundreds of small ships. Year in year out dozens of ships and hundreds of lives were lost within sight of the coast. Public shock and dismay at the tragedies drove forward the creation of national life saving organisations. Although its beginnings lie in those decades HM Coastguard originated not to meet the dangers of the seas but to combat a pernicious threat to the country’s economy and security - smuggling.

As soon as Medieval taxes were charged on imports and exports, people began smuggling, shipping goods unseen by Customs officers. In the eighteenth century, Custom duties were imposed on luxuries like silk and lace, tea, tobacco and brandy. At each port, staff from the Customs House searched cargoes and collected dues. At sea, Customs Revenue Cruisers watched for vessels illegally offloading cargo. From 1698, Riding officers patrolled the coast to catch smugglers as they beached cargoes and carried them inland.

The 1743 estimate that half the tea drunk in Britain was illegally imported shows that smuggling was highly profitable. This well organised ‘free trade’ employed and supplied many people, from paupers to peers. Smugglers have often been romanticised but the reality was brutal. Local people lived in fear, with violent reprisals on informers and the murder of conscientious Revenue officers, while corruption enabled captured smugglers to evade harsh penalties.

Created to end smuggling, as a disciplined coastal force the Preventive Water Guard quickly acquired extra duties.  In the 1820s officers were instructed to take responsibility at shipwrecks to safeguard cargoes and vessels from looters. In addition boatmen were to train with life saving equipment, supplied by the Board of Ordnance.

In 1816, the Preventive Water Guard had been withdrawn from part of Kent in favour of shore based naval crews. The Admiralty favoured this Coast Blockade as a reserve of trained seamen, and later extended it from the Isle of Sheppey to Seaford, Sussex.

In 1821, a Committee of Enquiry examined every aspect of the Customs service. It recognised the Preventive Water Guard as a major force against smuggling and recommended that it be again controlled by the Board of Customs along with the Riding officers and Revenue cruisers. On 15 January 1822, the Treasury accepted the proposal noting that the new force would be called the Coastguard. The words Coastguard were linked in the twentieth century.

When, in 1831, it was decided that the Board of Customs Coastguard should replace the Coast Blockade on the whole coast the Admiralty made its own proposal. It won the right to appoint Coastguard officers and to select boatmen from paid off naval crews, so setting the scene for the Coastguard as a naval reserve and recruiting agency.

Within a decade Coastguard vigilance was praised for greatly reducing smuggling, though lower taxes helped end illegal trade. The Admiralty was already re-styling the Coastguard with naval style uniform and drill, and training on large guns for coast defence. The Coastguard continued to take charge at wrecks and to save lives. The Board of Trade issued life saving apparatus to Coastguard stations, thus fulfilling its responsibility for safety at sea imposed by the 1854 Merchant Shipping Act.

The role of naval reserve and coast defence force was sealed when the Coastguard Act (1856) passed control from the Board of Customs to the Admiralty. Though still available for revenue protection, Coastguards trained to supplement naval crews. By 1900, advancing technology in ships and arms had outmoded this style of naval reserve and the Admiralty proposed reducing the Coastguard.

 

 

 

Sixth Generation

 

Richard Bearman (1745)

 

James’s parents were Richard Bearman (1745), baptised in Writtle on 27^th October 1745 and Sarah Ennew.  Richard married Sarah on 29^th June 1767 in Broomfield, Essex.  Sarah Bearman (Ennew ) was buried on 19^th May 1783 in Writtle.  James had three brothers and two sisters.  Little is known about any of these except the eldest, Richard.  I think Richard was christened on 20^th December 1767 in Great Waltham.  According to the 1841 census, Richard married Mary (surname, date and place unknown).  The IGI shows Richard and Mary had nine children all born in Great Waltham.  The descendants of Richard and Mary can be traced through to the 1901 census.  That Richard is the son of Edward Bearman and Sarah Ennew is, to some degree, speculation.  Another brother, Adam Bearman baptised on 12^th October 1777 was killed in the Peninsular War.  After Sarah’s death, Richard married Joanna Little on 14^th February 1791 in Writtle.  Richard and Joanna has a further two daughters.

 

Seventh Generation

 

Edward Bearman (1707)     

 

Richard Bearman (1745) was the eldest son of Edward Bearman (1707), baptised on 2^nd March 1707 in White Notley, Essex and Sarah (surname unknown).  Edward and Sarah had ten other children.  Very little is known about the other children except the third child, a daughter was named after Edward’s mother, Royal Martyr Armour True Bearman.  According to Mark Fegan, who is researching the Bearmans, Royal Martyr Armour True' is to be compared with 'Praise-God Barebones'.  Edward’s father was the earliest known Bearman ancestor, Edward Bearman who married Royal Martyr Armour True (surname unknown).