Henry Beaumont of Nottingham 1762-1784

I mentioned Henry in my recent piece on his elder brother Richard (1761-1828).

Henry was the fifth son and sixth child of George and Betty and was christened at Gedling in November 1762 (Note below).
He was the younger brother of (in order), Thomas, Frances (Mrs Elliott), George, William, and Richard.
He was the older brother of Charlotte (Mrs Swete), Walter, and Abel.

His father died in 1773 and then presumably Henry remained with his mother in Nottingham.

The Family Tree of c.1873 says of him merely "died young."

Much of what little is known comes from letters from Mary Smith (nee Bird), wife of the well-known banker Abel Smith, to her son George, at school, giving him news from Nottingham. George Smith (1765-1836) was about three years younger than Henry.  The Smith boys and Beaumont boys were second cousins as they were all great-grandchildren of George Beaumont of Chapelthorpe. Also, presumably, they lived "round the corner" from one another.

I have not yet been to look at these letters, but have taken information simply from the (very detailed) catalogue. I must find the time to go and look!

In early 1779 Mary Smith gave George news of H[enry] Beaumont, who is at Deptford “waiting the success of an application for the place of midshipman, in a vessel bound for the West Indies.” (Notts Archives DD/SMT/290).

In another letter dated November 1779 Mary Smith told George that “Dick Beaumont wishes to go to sea.” (DD/SMT/294). “Dick” is presumably Henry's brother, Richard.  It crosses my mind to wonder whether the “H” in the first letter might be a misreading of an “R.”

In February 1780 Mary wrote again to George in which she says that Henry Beaumont was sent the previous day by stagecoach to "Bob" - “who is to return him to his Master ...... He threatens to decamp again, terrible will be the consequences to himself” (DD/SMT/296).

I think that this last letter was written from Nottingham, and that Bob means Robert Smith - George's elder brother, the future Lord Carrington - who was based at that time at the bank's office in London.

It looks as though Henry is apprenticed to someone in London and is unhappy in that position, has taken himself home to Nottingham, and has now been sent back.....  presumably by his mother and the Smiths.

In late 1783 Henry had his twenty first birthday. He would have got his £500 under his great-uncle's will (Box 12/017). Quite a lot of money. Assuming it was paid to him, it seems to have disappeared.

Clearly, Henry had died before 4 December 1784. I have a copy of the Inventory taken that day which states merely that Henry Beaumont late of the Town of Nottingham deceased had "purse and apparel" - £20 and "household goods" - £30. This is signed by Francis Stephenson and and John Tennant, and does not give an address, so I don't know if Henry lived with his mother or had a place of his own.

The Bond for the Administration was signed by Betty, described explicitly as Henry's mother, and by Francis Stephenson (here given as gentleman, of Nottm) and by Stephen Todd (yeoman, of Nottm.), on the same day, 4 December, and the Administration was dated 5 February 1785 (Nottinghamshire Archives Ref. PR/NW; images and transcript:- see Box-12-026).

I found an early 1785 reference to one Robert Ferryman (of Shoreditch, brewer) (a bankrupt) as having partners called William Henshaw and Henry Beaumont (London Gazette 1 February 1785 12618/71)….. Several earlier entries show Ferryman as bankrupt but I have found no other mention of Beaumont or Henshaw in that context….

Robert Ferryman's bankruptcy is quite widely reported, even in the provincial papers such as Derby Mercury of 15 July 1784. But:-
(a) I found no other London Gazette references to this William Henshaw or Henry Beaumont, and
(b) there were people called Henshaw at Nottingham.

I wonder if Ferryman enlisted a pair of youngsters with money?

Henry Beaumont's life seems to have ended in confusion and tragedy.  Interesting that the family, until now, should really have forgotten about him, to the point of including his name only (and wrongly) as the (in fact non-existent) middle name of his older brother!

Henry is shown as “dsp” in the 1796 pedigree written by R.H.Beaumont of Whitley - typical of his accuracy. I found no notice of Henry's death (search in BNA 27 April 2018 and again today - but maybe they don't have the Nottm papers of that date)….

Also I have no information at present on exactly where he died or where he was buried.

(Note on his baptism at Gedling. I have noted this as 4 Nov. 1762 from a transcript at Notts Archives. I once found it apparently as 2 Nov. 1762 in the IGI but cannot find it there today at all. His father was curate at Gedling 1759-1764).

EMB 8 February 2019