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James and Mary (Smith) Beaty
James Beaty, Revolutionary War soldier, was born in Chester Co., PA on February 15,
1752 or 1753. Each date was given in two different family Bibles, according to his
Revolutionary War pension application, S2990. James is the son of John
Beaty, Sr. and Margaret (Montgomery). John, Sr. was born in Ireland but was in PA by
1750. Margaret was the daughter of Thomas Montgomery, who was living in Washington Co.,
VA, later Sullivan Co., TN, at the time of his death. John, Sr. and Margaret had eight
children. After Margaret's death, about 1770, John, Sr. remarried; he and his second wife
had three boys. James's brothers and sisters were: Thomas, b. about 1750; twin sister
Phoebe, b. 1752 or 1753; Andrew, b. 1758; Capt. William, b. May 1, 1760; Alexander, h.
1768; Pleasant; and Martin. James's half brothers were: John, Jr., b. 1780; David, Sr., b. 1783; and George, b. 1785.
James resided in Rowan Co., NC from 1775-1783, in Sullivan Co., TN from 1783 to about
1785, next in Greene Co., TN, then removing to Cumberland Co., KY and later to Rutherford
Co., TN.
James was married to Mary Catherine (Smith). They had a son named Isaac
and very probably were the parents of six other children, as the 1810 census for
Cumberland Co., KY shows a James Beaty with three dependent males and four dependent
females living in the household.
During the time James lived in Rowan Co., NC he served as a volunteer in the SC forces
during the Revolutionary War. He was a Private and served in four campaigns under Generals
Williamson and Rutherford. His company commander in all four campaigns was Captain
Nichols. In three campaigns they went out against the British and in one campaign against
the Cherokee Indians.
The first campaign was performed in extremely cold, unpleasant weather. The snow was the
deepest that had almost ever been known in that part to campaign was long afterwards known
as "The Snowy Campaign".
In his Revolutionary War pension application, James describes the men with whom he marched
in the second campaign as being "nearly all his neighbors, and principally Irish, who
he knows were warm-hearted, patriotic fellows, and generally stuck close together."
James wrote his will March 15, 1835, at which time he would have been 82 or 83 years old.
In it he recommends his soul "unto the hands of the Almighty God that gave it"
and requests that he receive "a decent Christian burial". He left all his
worldly goods to his wife Mary. They are buried in the Beaty Cemetery at Murfreesboro, TN.
by Gerald DeHaven
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