Genealogy Forum UK

Suki and I have been working on Pargeter,Jones, Skidmore and Higgs families who owned collieries and other property throughout Black Country.
There is a further link to Beet family of Rowley Hall in that on 19th January 1818 John Beet married Sarah Higgs at St. Giles witnesses William Sprigg ,Mary Scott and Charles Higgs
An Elizabeth Beet was witness at wedding of John George Higgs and Elizabeth Jones on 1/1.1846 St. Giles as were Thomas Jones and Blanche Jones
Other relevant records are:-
baptism st. Giles 27/12/1819 Sarah dau of John & Sarah Beet Village Farmer
baptism 26/12/1821 Elizabeth dau of John & Sarah Beet Village Farmer
Burial 4/12/1821 Sarah age 28 Village
burial 17/3/1824 Sarah Beet Rowley Hall 4 Bowel Complaint
Burial 12/3/1844 John Beet Rowley Hall Dropsy 70
marriage William Abiah Newman of full age widower of Rowley son of James an esquire & Elizabeth Beet of Rowley Hall d.of John an esquire.( William was quite famous as a clergyman , landowner and author)

Problem is that this evidence is contradicted by Edward Chitham's book Rowley Regis which notes "John Beet a Birmingham manufacturer bought Hall before 1808 in a decrepit state & totally rebuilt it on an adjacent site". Further notes "John Beet turned the new Hall into a working farm to which he bought his new wife Elizabeth after their marriage in 1815; his second wife Mary Smith who he married in 1828 outlived him here and was still at this address at 1851 Census .
I cannot find any Census records to cover John Beet in 1841 and Mary Smith in 1851 as noted by Chitham and obviously this Mary does not tie up with records above ?

dont know if this helps

http://www.blackcountrybugle.co.uk/blac ... p?id=80072

Thanks for that peterd as it validates a lot of what I have up to now

Hi Mumbles not sure if you need any more info on this thread so will flag to archive

Unless otherwise advised this will be moved to arcvhied section within 24 hrs

Mumbles, I don't know whether I can add much to what you have already said other than Elizabeth was the name of mine owner John George Higgs's wife. John Higgs I believe was Squire John Beet's brother in law. He and Elizabeth lived in a big house called TheTotnalls which as you probably know was at the end of a long drive in Powke Lane opposite Yew Tree Lane and the two families were apparently very close.
I believe Squire Beet did substantially extend the 16th Century Rowley Hall early in the 19th Century but there is a thought that Sarah Higgs might actually not have been his first wife as he was middle aged when they married some years later.
Mary Smith who is usually accepted as his second wife is listed as living at the Hall in the 1851 Census a few years following his death and I believe continued to do so for a many more years.
I don't know whether that helps.
Squire Beet was well known as a magistrate and benefactor to the poor, but I sometimes wonder how he got on with Rev George Barrs, verbose curate at St Giles who predeceased him by a few years.
I have read some of George Barrs's writings but don't recall him ever mentioning his affluent neighbour.
Neville Bastable

Thanks for that Neville, The George Barr relationship ties up as in Chitham book on RR he notes that Barr and Beet disagreed about plan to build a new church but later Beet became a church warden and later became involved in the plan to build a new church.

Nl, I have collected a lot of info on the Beets, Jones and Pargiter families and when I have time I will collate and put a article in appropiate section

mumbles wrote:Thanks for that Neville, The George Barr relationship ties up as in Chitham book on RR he notes that Barr and Beet disagreed about plan to build a new church but later Beet became a church warden and later became involved in the plan to build a new church.

Nl, I have collected a lot of info on the Beets, Jones and Pargiter families and when I have time I will collate and put a article in appropiate section

Okedoke Mumbles the Social History section is a good one as a permanant record of a huge family name and info on them
so up to you on that one
and thank you