Beards of Beards Ford

== Beards Near Beards Ford on North Fork of the Shenandoah River at the current border between Augusta and Rockingham Counties. ==
=== DNA Evidence ===
   There were three unrelated Beard families who settled in the Shenandoah Valley in the 1700’s (the Beards (James Beard line) of the Cowpasture River area in southwestern Augusta County, the Beards (Thomas Beard line) who settled in the area west and northwest of Staunton and Harrisonburg, and the Beards (Edward Beard line) who settled near the North River fork of the Shenandoah near the town of Grottoes, VA.
   The male-only “Y” chromosome is unlike the other chromosomes in that it is passed down only from fathers to their sons, and it is passed down relatively unchanged, allowing us to genetically prove surname connections, or lack thereof.  There are occasional mutations that may happen at a frequency of about once every half dozen generations or so, and over thousands of years, the mutations have created significant differences, and those differences have been categorized by geneticists into haplogroups — a group of similar haplotypes that share a common ancestor that are closely linked and that tend to be inherited together.  For example, R1a and R1b, the most relevant to Beard family research, are very common haplogroups in people of western European ancestry, especially the people of the British Isles, but these two branches diverged from one another about 10,000 years ago.
*    A descendant of Edward’s first son, William, and a descendant of Edward’s last son, John, had their Y-DNA tested and both not only came out as R1a, but on the 37-marker test, which takes a look at 37 different points on the male Y chromosome, they were an exact match.  The YDNA 111-marker test indicates the Edward Beard line has an SNP matching the CTS4179 subclade (the “Scottish” subclade).  CTS4179 branch of R1a is associated with the ancient Norse vikings and their settlements in what we now call Scotland.  Given the DNA evidence, it is safe to conclude that Edward Beard and his line of Beards are related to the Scottish clan Baird.  
*    A descendant of James Beard, the Beard family of the “Cowpasture” area of Augusta County, tested as R1b haplogroup, indicating that the Edward Beard of Beards Ford on the North River of the Shenandoah and the James Beard of the Cowpasture area are not related in spite of having the same last name.  R1b split with R1a about 10,000 years ago, and are not in the same direct line of ancestry as the Beards/Bairds of Scotland even though they may have the same or similar names.  
The R1b Beards are likely related to the English Beard families of Sussex County, mentioned in the book, County Genealogies: Pedigrees of the Families in the County of Sussex. 
*    Alan Lindley Beard, of West Virginia who also traces his family history to the Shenandoah Valley, is a descendant of Thomas Beard who is mentioned numerous times in the Augusta County records in the 1700’s) and his Y-DNA is R1a, but his Y-DNA test has a 6-step genetic distance difference from that of Edward Beard’s descendants on the 111-marker test.  Given the large genetic distance, it appears that, while slightly related, Thomas Beard and Edward Beard’s common ancestor likely dates back hundreds of years before the immigration to America.  
   So, although various “Beard” families can trace Beard ancestors to the Shenandoah Valley in the 1700’s, the DNA evidence tells us that the three Beard families appear to be essentially unrelated.  That said, there are some Beards of the 1700’s Shenandoah Valley region who do not have a descendant’s Y-DNA tested.  
=== Evidence for Edward, James and William Beard to Be Brothers ===
   It is common to see the same family names owning property directly adjoining or very near each other. For example, we find William Thompson Jr. and Alexander Thompson (Alexander Thompson’s land eventually was bought by Edward Beard) owning land near each other.  Other nearby neighbors in 1739 included Samuel Scott, Robert Scott, George Scott, David Craig, and John Craig.  Seeing the neighbors sharing last names does indicate the area around the North River was being settled by family groups. Scots-Irish family groups who knew each other beforehand would often migrate together and settle near each other, as it offered a sense of security.  
   It may be able to determine some Beard relationships based on location.  For example, Edward Beard purchased land directly adjacent to James Beard by the “Beards Ford” crossing over the North River.  It would be highly unlikely that this is just a coincidence as it was very common for families to live near and support each other at this time.  Note that William Bell (of the Augusta Stone Church Bells), Edward Beard’s eventual father-in-law, purchased acreage in July of 1739, the same year that James Beard bought his land. It seems conceivable that Edward moved to this area at the age of 23 with James along with others like the Bell family at the same time.  Edward probably lived with James and helped him establish his homestead while Edward saved up money working as a stone mason to later be able to purchase his first acreage in 1753. 
   Interestingly, there is another Beard who bought land around the same time and very close to them as well, William Beard (near Grottoes and Penn Laird).  Because William was buying land about the same time as James and Edward, and during a time when the father of James would have likely been too old to be buying new land to settle, it is likely that William was also a brother of Edward and James living nearby.  I think what we have here are three brothers settling into the valley and supporting each other as they established themselves in America.      In 1739, James was the first one in the family to obtain the property in the Shenandoah Valley that came to be known as Beard’s Ford on the North River, clearly making him the eldest.  Seven years after James’ land purchase, William obtained his first property in 1746, which was near James Beard’s property. James Beard is even listed as one of the Witnesses in the court documents for the land purchase, and years later, when William sells the land, James Beard and Edward Beard are both Witnesses.  
   Seven years after that, Edward buys his first land in 1753.  For Edward to be related to James and William Beard not only seems very likely, but it would be highly unusual if they were not, as they interacted with each other and lived near one another. 
   If we are able to assume that the dates of land purchase indicates a difference in maturity among these men, this would seem to imply that James was the eldest and Edward the youngest with about 7 years between each of them.  Knowing from the Beard family Bible (now in residence in the Union Theological Seminary Library in Richmond, VA) that Edward was born in 1716, we can make a good estimate that James Beard was likely born about 1702, making his first land purchase at the age of 37, and being about 20 years older than his wife, Jane (Edward was 15 years older than his wife, Mary Bell).  This would also date William Beard as being born around 1709.   This would have meant that their father would have most likely been born around 1670 to 1680, since a man was typically in his 30’s when he become a father in that time period.
   There is no evidence of an elder Beard living in the Beards Ford area.  It is possible their father immigrated with his sons and he is one of the Beards/Bairds who obtained land in eastern Pennsylvania, with his sons moving on to the Shenandoah Valley to obtain their own land while he stayed behind.  Another possibility is that their father never traveled to the New World, which is why we have no record of him.
   There are some family records regarding Edward’s family, but they do sometimes contradict one another.  Family lore, as recorded in the Descendants of Edward Beard book, says, “William Beard from England with two brothers, married Mary ____, and had two sons, James and Edward.”  
Could this be our William, James, and Edward as brothers, and then William had two sons as well which he named after his brothers?  Or has the lore become confused over the years and was referring to the brother’s father as being William.  Perhaps William was a brother as well as their father.
There is reason to doubt this story given that the Beard line does not appear to be from England, although England is not far from the Scottish Lowlands where they likely lived before moving to Ulster.  
We have another report in The Descendants of Edward Beard book that states, “William, father of Edward, came from Ayrshire, Scotland to North Ireland, then to America.”  
   I’d like to add that although it is not always the case, there is a tradition that was common at the time, of naming a son after a father or grandfather.   Edward named his eldest son William (1754-1834).  This could be a clue as to Edward’s father’s name, or William could have been selected for other reasons, such as, his wife’s father’s name was William Bell, whom Edward was close enough to to be a co-executor of his will.  Edward’s other sons were named David, Charles, Samuel, and John.  Edward never named a son “James”, although his eldest son William named his only son “James Patterson Beard” with the middle name coming from his mother’s maiden name.  Edward’s last son, John (b. 1766), named his first son William (b. 1803) and his last son John.  We have no known record of William Beard and his wife Mary having children, much less know their names, as William and Mary appear to have moved out of the area after they sold their land near Grottoes (Cave Bottom) in July of 1770, as there are no more records for them in the Augusta County region after that. We do know from James Beard’s will, he had three sons, William, James Jr., and David.
   Based on the evidence, the following family of Edward Beard and the Beards of Beards Ford on the North River border between what is now Augusta and Rockingham counties is reasonably likely.
William Beard(1670-1739?) and wife Mary, had the following children:
# James Beard (abt. 1702 - 1791), m. Jane/Jean (abt. 1725 - 1819)
# William Beard (1709 - after 1770) m. Mary
# Edward Beard (1716 - 1806), m. Mary Bell