Richard Beach

  General Notes:

In 1639 there came from England three brothers, Richard,John and Thomas -who settled in New Haven, Ct. May have died in Morristown,,New Jersey.
NOTE: See the ADDENDUM <richard.htm> at the end of this account for adiscussion of evidence that Richard Beach1 died later than previouslybelieved!
RICHARD BEACH1 OF NEW HAVEN
A Biography By Eugene H. Beach, Jr.
Reprinted from the Beach Family Journal, Vol. II, No. 1 (Spring, 1994)
Richard Beach1, the "Immigrant" or "Pilgrim", first finds mention in therecords of the Colony and Plantation of New Haven on June 4, 1639.Nothing of his life prior to that time is known with certainty, althoughunsubstantiated claims abound. According to one source "It appears thatRichard was born about 1611..."; presumably based on the belief that "In1691 he died... age about 80 years", Beach Family Magazine, Vol. I, No.1, pp. 5, 7. His place of birth and the identity of his parents have beenthe subject of much speculation, See: E. Beach, "Beach of New Haven",Beach Family Journal, Vol. I, No. 2, pp. 31-37; Vol. I, No. 3, pp. 50-60,for a comprehensive discussion of various claims and theories concerningthe origins and ancestry of the New Haven Beach family. Otherwise, it isestablished by the ancient records that he was (1) brother to ThomasBeach1 of New Haven <thomas.htm>, (2) "cozn." [i.e. cousin] to Williamand Thomas Iles or Eyles, also of New Haven, and (3) was in some wayrelated to John Moss, one of the founders of Wallingford, Connecticut. Italso generally accepted that John Beach1 of New Haven <john.htm> was yetanother brother of both Richard and Thomas, although the evidence forthis is largely circumstantial.
Much confusion still persists because of earlier genealogists'mis-identification of Richard Beach of New Haven with one Richard Beachof Watertown, Massachusetts, e.g., Farmer, A Genealogical Register oftheFirst Settlers of New England, p. 30 ["Beach, Richard, Cambridge, 1635,Watertown, 1639; may have removed to New Haven..."]; Bond, Genealogies ofthe Families and Descendants of the Early Settlers of Watertown,Massachusetts, p. 679; Hinman, A Catalogue of the Names of the EarlyPuritan Settlers of the Colony of Connecticut, pp. 163-164. While it isnow clear the two men were separate and distinct, one still encountersclaims that Richard Beach of New Haven came from England in 1638/39 onthe ship "Elizabeth and Ann", when in fact that vesselwas the one whichtransported Richard Beach of Watertown to Boston in 1635. Other sources,following the lead of Elmer T. Beach's Beach In America, publishedin1923, recognize the distinction between the two Richard Beaches whilestillsuggesting the existence of some relationship between them, such asuncle and nephew, but such theories have yet to be proven.
Even the first record to Richard Beach at New Haven has generated a fairamount of confusion. The entry forJune 4, 1639, reads:
"... John Clarke being absent when the couent w[as] made, doth nowmanefest his consent to itt, allso Richard Beach, Andrew Low, GoodmnBanister, Ar[thur] Halbidge, John Potter, Robt Hill, John Brockett andJohn Johnson, these persons being nott [ad]mitted planters when thecouent was made doth now express their consent to itt."
Hoadly, Records of the Colony and Plantation of New Haven, 1638-1649, pp.12-13.
In order that this reference may be properly understood, something mustbe said of the history of the New Haven colony generally.
On April 25, 1637, some 500 Puritans, headed by the ReverendJohnDavenport and Theophilus Eaton, embarked on the ship "Hector" and one ormore other vessels, sailing from England to arrive at Boston on June 26,1637. Here they wintered until March 18, 1638, when the company sailedaround to the south of Connecticut, to the old Indian grounds ofQuinnipiac, which had been chosen as the site of the new settlement.After providing for their immediate physical needs, the "planters" or"proprietors", i.

Richard married Katherine Hull Cook in 1641 in Watertown, Middlesex, Massachusetts.

Richard next married Katherine Hull Cook in 1640 in New Haven, New Haven, CT.