Samuel Wilson Beard Samuel Wilson BeardS.W. Beard was a principal farmer in Augusta County Virginia in the late 1800's (Source: Chataigne's Augusta County VA Gazetteer and Classified Bussiness Dir. for 1888). The Decendents of Edward Beard (a book compiling family history by Pauline Beard and published in 1974) indicates that he was a farmer of fruit and bees on is portion of father's (John S. Beard) estate until 1896.
According to the 1860 census records for Augusta County, Virginia,
S.W. Beard parents were John and
Harriet Beard. The Decendents of Edward Beard book reveal that
his Mother's full name was Harriet Wilson Peaco and was born in 1811.
The census also reports the following siblings:
Samuel Wilson's first wife, Hettie Reid
Gibson gave birth to his first son, John
Gibson Beard (1877-1931) and daughter, Ada Harriet Beard (b. 1879)
(married T.L. Lange). One might guess that John was named after
his grandfather John S. Beard.
S.W. Beard served with Captain McClung under General Fitzhugh Lee
(According to The Decendents of Edward Beard).
His second wife Elizabeth Annabelle Shanks
(Feb 2, 1868-Jan 21, 1947) gave birth to his second son, Delemo Leetassa
Beard on September 25, 1898. The very unique name given to this
son is believed to have come from a previous ancestor that had the name
in reverse order. A likely person comes in E.A. "Lizzie" Shanks'
father, "Lee D. Shanks". Although Census records explored so far (1880)
indicate his name as "Lee D." it is suspected that his first name was
actually Leetassa and his middle name Delemo, although his spelling may
have been different and closer to the french spelling of the name which
stands for "a glass of the sea". It is unknown where he was
buried, but if located, the tombstone may hold more information on this.
It is interesting to note that although her son was called "D.L.",
her grandson, Delemo Leetassa Beard Jr., to whom she was very close, was
referred to as "D. Lee" when he was a child.
Samuel Wilson Beard passed away soon after DL Beard's birth. It is
believed that SW Beard's death was somehow related to some type of
poisoning related to watermelon (allergic reaction?). His burial
location is unknown but is suspected that he was buried with his first
wife somewhere in either Bath, Rockbridge or Augusta County VA. His
second wife was buried with her second husband by the last name of
Tisdall in Staunton, Virginia.
It is suspected that the "Wilson" in his name was the result of a
close connection with the Wilson family.