Elnathan BEERS

  General Notes:

Little is known of this man dispite the fact that his name appears
frequently in the land records of Fairfield Co. from 1760 to 1794. From
these and the probate of his father's estate, proof is found that he was
the son of Anthony [b.c. 1700 - d.c. 1784], brother of Anthony [b.c.
1750] and husband of Mary, dau. of Andrew Mills.

He was certainly the Elnathan Beers of Norwalk in the 1790 census with
1-1-1, but was he also the Elnathan of Delaware Co., N.Y. in 1800 with a
male and female over 45 and one male aged 16-26? If he was the one who
lived there in 1800, then it follows that he was the one who died in
Middletown, Delaware Co. before 11 May 1803 when administration of his
estate was granted to Mary Beers, Gilead Gray and Joseph Smith. That his
name has not been found in Fairfield Co. after 1794 makes this appear
quite probable.

Earlier researchers have placed him as probably the father of Joel Beers
of Ridgefield, Ct. and Otsego Co., N.Y., and nothing has been found that
would deny this. Joel would probably have been the son of the second
wife; Sarah and son Joel may have returned to Ridgefield after his death,
as she died there in 1810 and Joel was listed in the census there that
year.

If it was this Elnathan who died in Delaware Co., then it seems that
Gilead Gray must be the one of that name who married a Sarah Beers,
probably dau. to Elnathan. Was Joseph Smith also a son-in-law and Mary a
daughter? There could be a Smith family connection to Erastus Smith,
son-in-law of Anthony Beers [b.c. 1750], who owned lands adjacent to
those of Joel Beers in Otsego Co. in 1831.

He consistently called himself of Norwalk through 25 Mar. 1771, but on 17
Oct. of that year he was a resident of Ridgefield and continued to refer
to himself as such as late as 11 Jan. 1777 when he sold two pieces of
land there to Joel Hawley of Milford. He was listed in Norwalk in 1790
and referred to as of there 19 Apr. 1794 on land records pertaining to
the division of his father's estate. Both Elnathan and his wife Mary
signed deeds with a mark from 1760 through 1774, indicating that neither
of them was able to write.

There are several deeds relating to Mary's family, but the most
informative of these is a conveyance by Elnaathan and Mary to Michael
Morehouse of Norwalk 25 Mar. 1771 of all of their right in a one-seventh
part of a 10 a. piece of land which "lately belonged to our father Andrew
Mills deceased." It noted further that the part lay undivided with their
mother Mills dowry and with the said Michael Morehouse. The latter was
probably the man of that name married in 1750 to an Elizabeth Mills.
(Norwalk Ld. Recs.,Vol.14,p.200).

He was administrator of his father's estate as early as 5 Aug. 1793 and
as late as 20 Apr. 1794, the last time his name was found in Conn.

Elnathan married Mary MILLS. (Mary MILLS was born on an unknown date and died on an unknown date.)