a line drawing of a tree
        with leaves

My Beasley & Cauthen Ancestry. Can You Help?

My 3rd great grandfather was Ambrose Beasley (mislabeled as Bireley on Ancestry.com transcription of US Census).

My great grandfather, William Ambrose Beasley, of Henderson County, Kentucky, was named after him (but he never knew him).

I am searching for the
Family lore says that Ambrose and the family, or his children, moved North to Kentucky from either Tennessee or Georgia, to avoid being drafted into the Confederate army. Another family story is that he and his family lived around Stone Mountain, Georgia and came north to the area around Nashville, Tennessee following the crops.

Given how much older he was than his wife, Missouri, it's possible he was married before, and was a widow when he married Missouri. But that is just speculation. 

Missouri (or Morouel or Miouri) Beasley (maiden name Cauthen according to other family members - perhaps that's a misspelling of her maiden name?)
My 3rd great-grandmother
I am searching for
  • the exact place Missouri was born,
  • the place where she is buried,
  • her siblings' names and
  • her parents names.

Missouri was about 15 years younger than Ambrose, and given that the oldest child, Sarah, is just 13 years younger than Missori, I suspect Ambrose may have been married before and Sarah may have a different mother. That may be the case for Madison too - and if that's so, then Missouri would not be my biological ancestor. Missouri outlived Ambrose and she came to Indiana, not far from Western Kentucky, where one of her children and his family settled.

Here is their tree - if you click on it, you should get a full size (you need to do this on a laptop, tablet or desktop). Below the graphics are the names of their children and the spouses of their children, in text form:
family tree of
            Ambrose and Missouri Beasley
The children of Ambrose and Missouri Beasley:
  • Sarah C Beasley (1838–1919)
  • Madison H Beasley (1842–1905)
  • Lurana or Luvana S Beasley (1847–1860)
  • Francis S Beasley (1849–1860)
  • Monroe Beasley (1849–1900)
  • Sampson Beasley (1854–1880)
  • Morris David Beasley (1857–1893)
  • B Beasley (1858–?)

Their grandchildren (that I know of):

Sarah C Beasley (1838–1919) with Daniel Jackson (1839–1933) had the following chldren (and according to Ancestry.com, some of the descendents of these folks are Beasley DNA matches):
  • Andrew Oden Jackson (1867–1937)
  • Amanda "Manda" Jackson (1871–?)
  • Cornealous R. Nelly Jackson (1873–1942)
  • Louis Jackson (1876–?)
  • Mary Jackson (1878– ?)

Madison H Beasley (1842–1905) with Martha O A Junier (1848–1899) had the following chldren (and according to Ancestry.com, some of the descendents of these folks are Beasley DNA matches):
  • Henry Beasley (1863–1887)
  • Julia A Beasley (1867–1893
  • William S. Beasley (1875– ?)
  • Hiram Gardner Beasley (1878–1948)
  • Thomas A Beasley (1885–1932)
and with Anna C "Nannie" Brown (1845–?) had
  • Sally Virginia Beasley (1891–1948)
  • Anna Beasley

Monroe Beasley (1849–1900) with Hariet Nelllie Victor (1846–1911) had the following chldren (and according to Ancestry.com, some of the descendents of these folks are Beasley DNA matches):
  • Kate Beasley (1873– ?)
  • Adelyn "Addie" Missouri Beasley (1874–1901)
  • Mary Mabel Beasley (1876–1901)
  • James M Beasley (1878–1904)
  • Edward Victor Beasley (1881–1904)
  • Carrie Legrand Beasley (1884–1946)

Morris David Beasley (1857–1893) with Emma Smith (1854–1918) had these children (WIlliam Ambrose Beasley was my great-grandfather):
  • India C Beasley (1880– )
  • Emmett Johnson Beasley (1883–1961)
  • John M Beasley (1885–1963)
  • William Ambrose Beasley (1887–1974)
  • Georgie M Beasley (1889–
  • Clarence Beasley (1891–
  • Walter Morris Beasley (1893–1974)

Again, please note that many of the descendants of these children and grandchildren of Ambrose and Missouri have taken DNA tests on Ancestry.com, and I am related to them (it's how I discovered Monroe Beasley). I have color-coded my ancestry.com DNA matches for years - I started with people that had common ancestors with me and were very close relatives, then looked to see what people shared DNA with that group specifically. It's been essential in confirming information.

Have info that could help me?

If you have information that could help me know more about Ambrose and Missouri, please contact me at
 jcravens42 "at" yahoo "dot" com

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The personal opinions expressed on this page are solely those of Ms. Cravens, unless otherwise noted.