Beswicks of Union Township

BESWICK, GAYWOOD, BEACH, MARKHAM, THORNILEY, PLUMMER, WHITAKER, TEAL

Posted By: Jill Joseph (email)
Date: 11/4/2001 at 06:29:58

The Beswicks of Union Township
By Clem Topping (1890)

–from History of Stockport, compiled by the Van Buren County Historical Society, 1970

James Beswick, Sr., one of the early settlers of Van Buren County, is of English birth and a son of James and Elizabeth Gaylord [sic] Beswick, who were also natives of England. Accompanied by their family they moved to Washington County, Ohio, where he followed the occupation of farming. To them were born 6 children; 3 of whom are now (1890) living; George W. and Mrs. Elizabeth Beach, residents of Ohio, and James, Sr., subject of this sketch.

James Beswick, Sr. was born in Stockport, England, April 13, 1806, and at the age of 12 accompanied his parents to Ohio. On Dec. 10, 1826, he was married to Miss Augusta Markham Thorniley. Her parents had emigrated from London, England. For 24 years they farmed in Ohio but in 1850 they set out for Iowa where they located in Union Township, Van Buren County. After living on this farm for 19 years, Mr. and Mrs. Beswick moved to Winchester, where they expect to spend their last days. Twelve children had been born to them, 6 of whom are now (1890) living. Their names are as follows: George W., Memphis, Mo., James, Jr., Mrs. Fanny Plummer, Mrs. August Whitaker, Mrs. Minerva Thorniley and Thomas T., all of Van Buren County.

[Paragraph omitted – see the naming of Stockport, Iowa, in the U.S. History chapter.]

The following incident occurred in 1850, when Mr. Beswick was moving a wagon load of goods from Keokuk to his home. As he was moving along with his load, he caught up with a woman and small boy wearily trudging along the wagon trail. He asked them where they were going, but she had forgotten the name of the town, but that it was about 50 miles northwest of Keokuk. Being a stranger to those parts himself, he named some towns he had heard of, but this only confused them more. The only solution seemed to be, to give them a lift and after a few hours travel, they met a wagon that had come to meet them. The woman’s name was Teal and the little boy was George Teal who lived and died near Utica, Iowa.

There are 3 descendants of James Beswick, Sr., who own and operate farms in Union Township. They are: Miss Marguerite Beswick, who lives on the original farm, which has now been in the family for 199 years; also Harold and Gerald Beswick, twin brothers, who with their respective families live on Union Township farms.