Samuel Beaty

by

Samuel Beaty (Batty or Betty) probably was born about 1740. Perhaps he was the 18 year-old whose name and description appeared on a muster roll of provincial troops raised in Albany County in 1761. The next year, he was identified as a native of Ireland on a subsequent roster of New York troops. We seek defining information on this subject's origins and path to Albany.

We expect to find militia/military information for this individual during the 1760s-80s. At this point, a number of similarly named contemporaries are at-risk in the region. Several "Samuel Beatys" served in the Patriot military. His name was not on the basic list of Albany soldiers.

He was in the city by the late 1770s although his name has not been encountered in the records of Albany's wartime governing bodies.

His wife was Catharina Clensy/Clancy. In August 1778, their son (John Beety) was christened at the Albany Dutch church.

In March 1779, Samuel's house and lot were considered on the assessment roll for the second ward. A decade later, his property was valued modestly near the end of the roster of the first ward.

In May 1786, his petition for a small lot behind the fort where he would build a house for himself and family was granted. He was to pay 16 shillings a year for his lot.

In October 1789, the corporation denied his account because he had taken away a "large quantity of stone and brick from the fort." In April 1791, his petition for land was referred to committee.

In October 1788, the city records reported that his vote was not allowed because he had not obtained the "freedom of the city." His request for a cartman's license also was denied.

In 1790, the southern first ward household of "Samuel Batty" included nine members. In 1800, an adolescent boy, a man and a woman over 45 years of age were living in the same location.

Beginning in July 1799, his name appeared on lists of the city's permanent poor and was scheduled to receive 12 pounds annually. However, his name has not been encountered subsequent to a payment authorized on August 4, 1801.

With basic unresolved questions on the life of Albany resident Samuel Beaty we move on for now.


biography in-progress


notes

the people of colonial Albany Sources: The life of Samuel Beaty is CAP biography number 7293. This sketch is derived chiefly from family and community-based resources.

Perhaps this Albany resident was connected to the Betty family of Dutchess County or of what became Washington County. Other American colonies counted Beatys among their residents during the second half of the eighteenth century. They probably were of Irish origin.

The muster roll of Captain Richard Rea's company also described him as "swarty" and with gray eyes.





first posted 7/10/14