I had noticed a number of questions that were being asked about our ancestors and no one could provide satisfactory answers. There were individuals with the surname Beal, Beale, Beals, Beall and Bell that had never traced their ancestors beyond a few generations. They had no idea which lines were theirs. Others had traced their ancestors for many generations, but still were looking for the place of origin and the first ancestor that had started their line.A legend exists that the Beale, Beall and Beal families were "Border" Scot Clans that raided into England during and after the 1100s. We even see Beal villages remaining today in Northumberland and North Yorkshire, England. Who established these villages? There were over 117 Patriots with these names in the Revolutionary War, including my ancestor Jonathan Beale, Sr.

BEALE

My first ancestor, William Beale, was born 1664, in York, ME. He had Zaccheus, Richard, Obadiah, William, Jr., Samuel, Simeon and Benjamin to carry on the family name. Later 4 generations down, Jonathan, Jr., dropped the "e" off and then the surname Beal carried down another 8 generations to my great grandsons, Christopher and Stephen Beal. I have cousins, spun off from various generations, who still carry the surname Beal. They all ask, "Who was the father of William Beale and from where in England did he come?"Another line, alleged not to be related, Arthur Beal, Edward, Mainwarring, Manwarren Beal, also of York, ME and England has many descendants living in the Jonesport and Beals Island area. I am very interested in proving or disproving a relationship with my line and finding their origin. This line has the fabled strongman, Tall Barney of Beals Island.In Hingham, ME & England, John Beal, started his American line and other lines of Beal existed at Portsmouth, ME; Boston, Marblehead, MA; York, VA; PA, NH and the other colonies. They most often went by these surnames: Beal, Beale, Bale, Beel, Biehl, Beals, or other variations of the surname.

BEALL

There were Beall families established in MD & VA, among the most famous was Ninian BEALL/BELL, an indentured Scot, sent to America, who became a Colonel and was known for his size and strength. Also well known are the lines of Alexander, Robert & Thomas Beall which are contained in books sold by The Beall Family Association. While most of these Beall immigrants settled in Maryland, their descendants moved on through Georgia, Ohio, and Texas. You can read the "BEALL GENEALOGICAL NEWS" by the Beall Family Association, P.O. Box 33918, Portland Oregon 97292-3918 and their related publications, packed with lineage & sources, to learn about the many individuals with the BEALL surname. The Maryland Bealls still pronounce their surname as "Bell".

BELL

The BELL lineage rightfully claims a clan name in Scotland. They have spread throughout the United States and other countries. "BELL~A~PEAL" is the publication of CLAN BELL INTERNATIONAL, 12147 Holly Knoll Circle, Great Falls, VA 22066 and they also have many books. Like the Beall Genealogical News mentioned above, BELL-A-PEAL contains pedigrees and articles on BELL, BEALL, BEALE, etc. The Bells have the best established ancestry connecting their US lineage to Scotland, Ireland & England. I have seen articles questioning the connections between the Alabama, Georgia, Texas Bells and their northern relatives. We will gradually solve many of these questions. Other questions concern the earliest origin of the Bell surname in Scotland. There were over 174 Patriots with the Bell surname in the Revolutionary War. There were over 16,000 Bells in the 1870 Federal Census. It is impossible to do justice to the many thousands of descendants descended from the above surnames, spread throughout the United States & other countries, in this short article. We have many participants with unique haplotypes in our surname project. These are waiting to be matched and turned into Ancestral Haplotypes (genetic signatures). If we can establish "Y" chromosome markers in the form of one or more Ancestral Haplotypes (genetic signatures) for each of the surnames that I am including in the BEAL, BEALE, BEALS, BEALL and BELL DNA studies that are part of BEAL SURNAME DNA PROJECT, we may have a better idea how our lineage's connect or where they come from in Scotland, England or elsewhere. Genealogists, who have dead ends, in their research, may be able to link their individual haplotype to a main stream surname haplotype established in this study, by making a genetic match to existing haplotypes (genetic signature). Regardless of any name changes, it is the genes that are carried by the Y chromosome from one male ancestor down though the male direct descent that will prove the lineage. There may be exceptions arising out of adoptions, rape and affairs, but they should be small in number. I think it is well worth the small amount of money required to be a participant in this study. We might be amazed at what is revealed. Up until now, few projects have had so many participants with the common goal of identifying surname lineages. I hope that an "Angel" -- in the true tradition of Broadway Shows -- will volunteer to furnish funds (no strings attached) for some of our genealogists who might not otherwise be able to afford to be a participant. HOPE SPRINGS ETERNAL! Read the initial published review of the Beal Surname DNA Project, by Dick Eastman. It has also been mentioned in the FAMILY HISTORY MAGAZINE, BEALL GENEALOGICAL NEWS, and BELL~A~PEAL, and is indexed for search under Google.

If you are interested in being on the cutting edge of this new genealogy tool, proceed to our Sign-Up page or contact me -- Chuck.

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