Ninian Beall

Ninian Beall was born 16 September 1625 in Fife, Scotland; the family-tree notes more specifically place his birth in Largo, Fifeshire. According to those notes, he held a commission as a cornet in a Scottish-English army raised in opposition to Cromwell and fought against Cromwell at the Battle of Dunbar on 3 September 1650.

The notes state that Beall was taken prisoner at Dunbar, sentenced to five years of servitude, and sent with 150 other Scots to Barbados. They further state that he and others appeared in Maryland about 1652 and that he served his five-year term with Richard Hall, a planter of Calvert County. Maryland Land Office records cited in the notes include a Calvert County land transfer by Ninian Beall in 1658. A 16 January 1667 entry records that “Ninian Beall of Calvert County, Planter” proved a right to 50 acres for service performed with Richard Hall.

Beall later held a number of colonial appointments. Records dated 31 October 1668 call him Lieutenant Ninian Beall. He was commissioned lieutenant of Lord Baltimore’s “Yacht of War, Loyal Charles of Maryland,” commanded by John Goade, in 1676. He served as deputy surveyor of Charles County in 1684, was appointed chief military officer of Calvert County in 1688, and became high sheriff of Calvert County in 1692. The notes state that the Assembly appointed him colonel of militia on 30 July 1694, that he was a member of the General Assembly from 1679 to 1701, and that he served on a 1697 Assembly commission to treat with Indigenous people. In 1699, the General Assembly passed an Act of Gratitude recognizing the “distinguished Indian services of Colonel Ninian Beall.”

The supplied account credits Beall with the defeat and destruction of the Susquehannah Tribe and characterizes him as an able Indian fighter. This description reflects the language and perspective of the historical family-tree notes and should be read in that context. The notes also estimate that he owned about 4,000 acres and report that his name appeared in Maryland records in several forms, including Bale, Bell, Beale, and Beall; they state that after 1667 he signed as Ninian Beall.

According to the notes, Beall was associated with the Presbyterian Church in Maryland before 1690. In that year, he reportedly supervised the arrival of 200 Presbyterian immigrants from Scotland, settled them along the Potomac River in a community called New Scotland, and assisted Reverend Nathaniel Taylor. A recorded deed of gift at Upper Marlboro is said to convey land from Beall to Taylor for a church. In 1707, Beall reportedly presented that church with a silver communion set made in London; the notes state that part of the set was then held by the Presbyterian Church at Hyattsville, Maryland.

Beall reportedly married Ruth Moore about 1670. She is identified in the notes as the daughter of Richard and Jane Moore of St. Mary’s County, Maryland. The supplied family links identify Ruth Polly Moore Beall, 1647–1712, as his spouse, and list Sarah Watts Beall Magruder and George Beall as children.

Ninian Beall died in Prince George’s County, Maryland, in January 1717. His will was dated 15 January 1717 and was probated 28 February 1717. The notes state that he was buried on his Rock of Dumbarton plantation, at a location later described as Gay Street in Georgetown, Washington, D.C. A separate family-tree burial entry gives Oak Hill Cemetery, Washington, District of Columbia, as his burial place. The supplied account also includes later, unverified claims concerning the removal of his remains, his height, and the color of his hair.