3rd English Civil War POW Col Ninian Edmonston Beall Scottish-English Army

Ninian Edmonston Beall, reported as born 16 September 1625 in Largo, Fifeshire, Scotland, was a Maryland planter, militia officer, public official, and landholder. Family-tree notes state that he was captured after the Battle of Dunbar in 1650, transported into servitude, and later established himself in Maryland. He died in 1717; his will was dated 15 January 1717 and proved on 28 February 1717.

Ninian Edmonston Beall is identified in the supplied family line as the father of Hester Beall and an eighth great-grandfather in David’s family. He was reportedly born on 16 September 1625 at Largo, Fifeshire, Scotland.

According to the family-tree notes, Beall held a commission as a cornet in a Scottish-English force raised against Cromwell. He reportedly fought against Cromwell at the Battle of Dunbar on 3 September 1650, was taken prisoner, and was sentenced to five years of servitude. The same account says that he was sent with about 150 other Scots to Barbados and that they appeared in Maryland about 1652. He is said to have completed his term of service with Richard Hall, a planter of Calvert County.

Maryland land records cited in the notes place Ninian Beall in Calvert County by 1658, when he made a land transfer. On 16 January 1667, he appeared in the Maryland Land Office as “Ninian Beall of Calvert County, Planter” and proved a right to 50 acres for service performed with Richard Hall.

The notes describe a lengthy public and military career in Maryland. They identify him as Lieutenant Ninian Beall in records dated 31 October 1668; lieutenant of Lord Baltimore’s yacht of war, Loyal Charles of Maryland, in 1676; deputy surveyor of Charles County in 1684; chief military officer of Calvert County in 1688; high sheriff of Calvert County in 1692; and colonel of militia by appointment of the Assembly on 30 July 1694. He reportedly served as a member of the General Assembly from 1679 to 1701 and was appointed in 1697 to a commission to treat with Native people. In 1699, the Assembly passed an Act of Gratitude recognizing his Indian services. The supplied account also credits him with the defeat and destruction of the Susquehannah Tribe; this is a historical claim from the cited family-history account and should be read in the context of colonial conflict.

Beall married about 1670, according to the notes, Ruth Moore, identified there as the daughter of Richard and Jane Moore of St. Mary’s County. The supplied family links name Ruth Polly Moore Beall, with dates 1647–1712, as his spouse. Those links also name Sarah Watts Beall Magruder and George Beall among the children, although the supplied material does not provide a complete documented list of children.

The notes state that Beall had three brothers, Thomas, John, and George, who also settled in Maryland. They further state that he became associated with the Presbyterian Church in Maryland before 1690. In that year, he was said to have supervised the arrival of 200 Presbyterian immigrants from Scotland, settled them along the Potomac River in a place called New Scotland, and assisted Reverend Nathaniel Taylor with land for a church at Upper Marlboro. In 1707, he reportedly presented that church with a silver communion set made in London.

Beall appears in numerous land transactions. The notes estimate that he held about 4,000 acres, though this total is presented as an estimate rather than a documented acreage. They also report that his surname appeared in Maryland records in several forms, including Bale, Bell, Beale, and Beall, and that after 1667 he signed as Ninian Beall.

He died in 1717, with 15 January 1717 reported as his death date. His will was dated that same day and was proved on 28 February 1717. The family-tree notes say that he was buried at his Rock of Dumbarton plantation, at a location later associated with Gay Street in Georgetown, District of Columbia. A separate supplied burial entry identifies Oak Hill Cemetery in Washington, District of Columbia. The account of later removal of his remains and descriptions of his body are preserved in the source material but cannot be independently confirmed from the information provided.

Historical context

Beall’s reported life spans the mid-seventeenth-century conflicts of the British Isles and the growth of colonial Maryland. The supplied account connects his arrival in Maryland to the transportation and indentured service of prisoners captured in war. It also places him in colonial offices concerned with local militia, land administration, the General Assembly, and relations with Native peoples. Claims concerning military actions and the treatment of Native communities reflect the colonial viewpoint of the cited historical account and require careful reading.

Sources & research

George Norbury Mackenzie, Colonial Families of the United States, vol. 2, 1907, pp. 66–68.
Maryland Land Office Records, Liber 5, folio 416, 1658.
Maryland Land Office Records, Liber 11, folio 195, 16 January 1667.
Records at Annapolis, dated 31 October 1668.
Archives of Maryland, Liber LL No. 11, folio 228, cited for the 1699 Act of Gratitude.
Upper Marlboro deed record, cited in the supplied notes as a deed of gift from Colonel Ninian Beall to Reverend Nathaniel Taylor.
Supplied Family Tree Maker notes and family links, including the Oak Hill Cemetery burial entry.