Zephaniah Beall

Zephaniah Beall
Born	1720 Prince Georges Co. Maryland
Died	1801 Beallsville, Washington Co. Pennsylvania
Spouse(s)	Keziah Offutt

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Biographical Sketches

Raised in Maryland and being the grandson of the legendary Ninian Beall, Zephaniah was obviously well versed in his family history. Though there are few records detailing much about Zephaniah personally, certainly a clear impression of the man can be garnered from historical records. There appear to be two discernible periods in Zephaniah’s life, his life in Maryland and his later life in Pennsylvania. Little is known about Zephaniah’s life in Maryland. His first appearance in the “history books” was during the Revolutionary War. At this time he was residing in the Frederick, Maryland, region and was appointed an “ensign” in the Maryland militia during the earliest stages of the war. The ensign rank was eliminated in the U.S. Army in 1814, but was loosely the equivalent today of a second lieutenant’s rank. Maryland’s militia records are spotty, but we minimally know that Zephaniah’s unit served at the Battle of Long Island in which the Maryland militia distinguished itself under General Washington’s leadership.

At this time, we can presume Zephaniah to have been an upper middle class farmer. We can surmise this from both his later life in Pennsylvania as well as the reality that military rank at this time often was correlated with social status. Poor men simply did not become officers in the 1770's. In fact, officers in the Revolution often financially supported the men under them, paying their salaries and purchasing their equipment.

During the Revolution, we also know that Zephaniah was already a husband to Keziah Pritchett Beall and a father. Reasin Beall had been born March 9, 1769 in Montgomery County, Maryland, and was seven years old when hostilities broke out with the British. Zephaniah, in fact, was adept at fatherhood, as by life’s end he had been married twice and fathered 24 children — 12 to each of his wives! It was his first wife, Keziah, to Whom Reasin Beall was born.

Upon the war’s end, Zephaniah made a radical and (at least for Wayne County) a history altering decision. He moved his family from the relatively safe confines of eastern Maryland to the uncharted and often perilous land of southwestern Pennsylvania. The most common reason for these sorts of moves was simply economic opportunity. However much wealth and social status Zephaniah left behind in Maryland, his fortunes in both realms were far more abundant in Pennsylvania. In fact, the town of Beallsville in southwest Pennsylvania was founded by Zephaniah. The small town was originally owned by Zephaniah, and still exists to this day.

An enigmatic fact of Zephaniah’s life was the recent discovery that he was a slaveholder. This point is shocking for a few reasons: first, by the fact that his grandfather Ninian arrived in America himself a slave. Second, by the fact the family appeared to have been very religious, and third, by the little known fact that at this time Pennsylvania legally permitted the institution of slavery. As is the case with all historical figures, though, Zephaniah was a product of his time. Let us not forget he was born and raised in Maryland - a state viewed then as essentially southern. We know Zephaniah owned at least three slaves while living in Pennsylvania, who were probably not simply manual laborers but more likely house servants. From public records of the time, we also know that a very young Reasin Beall, at least on one occasion, took time to register one of his father's slaves with the county prothonotary. A “prothonotary” is a combined equivalent of our own County Recorder and Clerk of Courts, and a position which still exists in Pennsylvania. In fact, Reasin would eventually go on to become Washington County’s prothonotary. We do know, however, that no records exist to indicate that Reasin or any other child of Zephaniah continued the practice of slaveholding in the family. Their attitudes toward the subject, however, are simply unknown.

With great opportunity in southwestern Pennsylvania also came great risk. Not only could life be hard on the frontier, it could be deadly. With every westward push by settlers came an equally forceful push back by Ohio’s American Indian population. Not least among those pushing back were Wayne County’s own Delaware tribes led by a disgruntled war chief named Captain Pipe (who resided most of his life in Jeromesville). Following the “Great Trail” (which has loosely evolved into modern day US. 250), braves would travel to Pennsylvania to raid settlements and then return through Wayne County home.

Interestingly, Zephaniah was a participant in one of Ohio’s most famous conflicts — Crawford’s campaign. Briefly put, the citizens of southwestern Pennsylvania demanded a military excursion into Ohio to punish their antagonists. Though very reluctant, in 1782 the retired Revolutionary War officer and much beloved Colonel William Crawford was talked into coming out of retirement and commanding a contingency of Pennsylvania militia into Ohio. Volumes have been written on Crawford’s campaign. The invasion was first discovered by Captain Pipe’s men when Crawford passed by O’Dell’s Lake. He then proceeded to move through southwestern Wayne County in hopes of hiding his men’s movements toward Captain Pipe in Upper Sandusky. The ploy failed miserably, and Colonel Crawford’s ragtag group ran into a proverbial “hornet’s nest” when they engaged Captain Pipe’s warriors. They were massively outnumbered by the enraged warriors, who were still seething over the recent Gnadenhutten massacre, whereby approximately one hundred Christian Delaware Indians had been savagely murdered at the hands of the Pennsylvania militia. What began as a battle quickly turned into a rout, with the Pennsylvanians literally running for their lives through the dense Ohio forests. Crawford’s own sons were killed in the conflict and he himself was captured while searching for them. Crawford’s grisly torture and death at the hands of Captain Pipe and Simon Girty has been well documented in Ohio art and folklore.

As stated, Crawford’s campaign did not go without impacting the Bealls, either. Zephaniah’s second wife was herself a Crawford. Further, though probably only residing in the county a matter of months, with Zephaniah’s prior military experience he had quickly found himself appointed Major under Crawford. Doubtless, the job of guiding the survivors of Crawford’s campaign through the harrowing journey back to Pennsylvania fell on officers like Major Beall.

Upon learning of Crawford’s ordeal, outraged Pennsylvanians insisted upon more punitive expeditions into Ohio to gain revenge. Future Indian campaigns into Ohio, however, would not involve the aging Zephaniah Beall. This was his last fight. That family duty would eventually fall upon his son — Reasin. One can imagine the impact this debacle had on young Reasin, then only 13 years old. Though there’s virtually nothing written on the subject, one can surmise his attitude toward Ohio’s American Indian population during these formative years. Undoubtedly many neighbors and friends had been terrorized by the Ohio tribes (ironically, many of these Indians were residents of our own area) or even killed during Crawford’s campaign. Hence, military service was less a choice for Reasin than a requisite of living on the frontier.

Upon his return to Washington County, Zephaniah spent the remaining 19 years of his life involved in farming, various commercial activities, and most actively in land development with Reasin’s younger brother, Zephaniah (named after his father). He died in Washington County in 1801.

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References

• Musselman, Jeff. "The Beall Family Saga Continues...Zephaniah Beall" Wayne County Historical Society of Ohio Fall Quarterly Newsletter Oct.-Dec. 2004: 1-3.