David J. Beard
David J. Beard was born on 4 October 1799 in Green County, Kentucky. (Some records list Adair County, but that county was not formed until 1801.) His middle name was surely not "James" as some family trees online have posted, as he had a brother named James. Some family stories have said that David was born in Overton County, Tennessee. As this would be on the route up to Kentucky, we have always considered this to be a possibility, that David may have been born en route. However, historical accounts place the Beard family arrival in Green County, Kentucky as 1798. More telling, David lists Kentucky as his birthplace on every census.
David grew up in Adair County, Kentucky, which was formed from Green County, and when he was a teenager he went down into middle Tennessee with his father and brothers and others of the family, while many more stayed in Kentucky. In 1820, Samuel "Baird", his father, was listed on the Bedford County, Tennessee census and David seems to be in the home, along with several other males. About 1824, David married Mary Fuller in Tennessee. We do not know much about Mary. Burned courthouse records have hindered a search for marriage records there, and we do not know the names of her parents. The name of Fuller was provided by her son John's death certificate. Some internet family information has mistakenly stated that her maiden name was Littleton, no doubt because she had a son with that name, but this is wrong. The Littleton/Lyttleton name is used throughout the Beard family, in many other branches as well as David's. We have often thought that perhaps David's mother, Rebecca, could have possibly been a Littleton, but we have absolutely no proof of that. As to Mary, there were Fuller families in Bedford County and also in Henderson County, Tennessee, where David's parents moved before 1830. He could have met Mary Fuller in either place. It is interesting to note that there is a Tilmon Fuller family listed on the same page as Samuel Beard on the 1820 census in Bedford County. and David was living in that Beard household.
Mary was born about 1804. Here is yet another mystery---the censuses list her birthplace variously as Kentucky, North Carolina, Tennessee, or Virginia. Many of her children in later censuses reported her born in North Carolina, and that is probably correct.
In 1830, David was listed as head of household in his own right in Bedford County, Tennessee. He was one home away from William and Elizabeth Beard Hurst (his cousin Elizabeth) and also lived next to the Hudlow family. His elder brother Hugh Beard was also on this census in Bedford County. They had a younger brother, William, who was probably included in David's household count. David "Baird" was credited with a male 15-20 (probably William), a female five to ten, and a female under five. He and his wife were both 20-30.
His father Samuel Beard had moved a couple of counties west after 1820, to Henderson County, Tennessee, and he was listed there on the 1830 census. He died there in 1834-1836. David Beard moved back to Kentucky at this time---between 1834 and July, 1837. The 1840 census shows David living in Adair County, Kentucky, his old home place, one page away from his brothers Samuel and William. So the younger boys went back to Kentucky while the older one, Hugh, went down into northern Mississippi in the same time range, scattering after the death of their father.
In 1850, David and Mary lived at Taylor County, Kentucky with four children. In 1860, the family was back in Adair County, with two sons at home. David and the boys worked as blacksmiths in addition to farming.
War came. David was 62 years old, but he joined the 3rd Kentucky Infantry with his sons, mustering in on 8 October 1861. He was discharged ten days later, and the reason given was his age and rheumatism. He went in a private and was discharged as a corporal. His spirit was willing, but the body was not.
In 1870, David and Mary had five hundred acres and were listed at Columbia in Adair County. Mary Fuller Beard died on 12 October 1873 in Adair County.
David died on 30 December 1876 in Adair County. His occupation at this time was listed as a miller. Mary and David were both buried at the Mount Carmel Cemetery in Cane Valley, Adair County, Kentucky.
http://thebeardfamilyhistory.wikia.com/wiki/David_J._Beard
