Jim Ward's Genealogy pages

My Beach Ancestors


How many people can claim they are their own cousin? Due to my dual Beach ancestry, two of John and Thomas Beach's 7th generation descendants who married, I am a 10th cousin to myself. My children are 11th cousins to themselves and they are 10th cousins once-removed to me. The Reverend Thomas Beach and Joan Hill are parents of "The Beach Boys," John, Thomas and Richard.

John Beach, 1619-1677, m. Mary Staples Thomas Beach, 16??-1662, m. Sarah Platt
their son: their son:
Thomas Beach, 1659-1741, m. Phoebe Wilcoxon (b. 1669) in 1688 John Beach, 1655-1709, m. Mary Royce
their son: their son:
Nathan Beach, 1692-aft. 1737, m. Jemima Curtis 1694/95-1738/39 Deacon John Beach, 1690 - 1773, m. 2nd, Mary Lane Royce
their son: their son:
William Beach, 1716 - 1799, m. Martha Clark Linus Beach, 1721 - aft. 1791, m. Dinah Royce
their son: their son:
Isaac Beach, 1746 - 1775(?), m. Mary Elizabeth Berry Michael Beach, 3 Feb 1756 - aft. 1830, m.1st Eunice Hester, m.2nd Eliza Castle.
their son: Daughter of Michael & Eunice:
Clark Beach, 1775 - 1848, m. Elizabeth Church Eunice Beach, 1786 - aft. 1855, m. Alpheus Madden
their son: their son:
Thomas C. Beach, 1804 - 1885, m. Lodema Z. Ford Nelson Madden, 1804 - 1855, m. Olive Parks
their son: their daughter:
Clark Beach, 1846 - 1923, married 6 March 1867 to Mary A. Madden, 1848 - 1939
Clark & Mary's daughter:
Lodema Olive Beach, 1872 - 1920, m. Walter A. Spencer
their daughter:
Evolyn (Evelyn) Spencer, 1901 - 1987, m. Frank R. O'Brien
their daughter:
Marjorie J. O'Brien, b. 1923, m. Robert H. Ward
their son:
Me

New stuff: I 'think' I have my Beach/Royce mess figured out. I have 5 Royce women ancestors, 3 maternal line and 2 paternal. My parents were 10th cousins because Robert Royce & Mary Sims were 9th great grandparents to each of them. Robert & Mary are some of my 10th great grandparents and the rest of it is a big mess!

More new info: A work-in-progress is my complicated Royce ancestry, some of what you see in the table above under Thomas Beach. John Beach2 is a son of Thomas Beach and had John Beach1 for an uncle. Both Thomas Beach and John Beach1 are 9th great grandfathers. Michael Beach** was a Revolutionary War veteran. Mary Ann Madden is a descendant of Thomas Beach and Clark S. Beach is a descendant of Thomas’ brother, John Beach1. All 5 Royce women are descendants of Robert Royce and Mary Sims. Note: The other 2 Royce women are paternal ancestors. In other words, my parents were distant cousins. I doubt that they knew that, since my mother's genealogy work in the 1980s and 1990s focused mostly on her ancestry.

Other Info:

Michael Beach in Oakland County Michigan, 1819 - "Michael Beach purchased land in section 8 (between Square lake Rd.and Long Lake Rd; and Crooks and Coolidge Roads."

My Beach-Churchill page detailing the connection to Sir Winston Churchill, the famous World War II British Prime Minister - Beach-Churchill.htm

Some claim that Mary Staples was not married to John "The Pilgrim" Beach." This is one of those sites where the claim is made: Osborn Keith Wheeler's genealogy site.

John is one of the immigrant "Beach Boys" who arrived from England along with brothers Thomas and Richard in the early 1600s. Thomas is also an ancestor, since 7th generation descendants of those 2 brothers, Clark Beach and Mary Anne Madden, married on 6 March 1867 in Oakland County, Michigan. I haven't found anything in their genealogy that my mother saved that would indicate that Clark and Mary knew they were distant relatives.

Obit of Elsie Lodema Spencer Kolonich from the Lansing State Journal, 12 September 2001. Elsie was the oldest grandchild of Walter A. and Lodema Olive Beach Spencer (see photo below).

Photos - Clark Beach, Mary Ann Madden Beach, Thomas C. Beach, and Almon Ford, father of Lodema Z. Ford Beach.

The ancestors of Jemima Curtis - Click here


Wedding photo of Walter Alonzo Spencer and Lodema Olive Beach.

An 1890 photo of the children of Clark and Mary Madden Beach. Back row - Orator Beach, b. 1869; Edna Beach (Mace), b. 1876; and Lodema Olive Beach (Spencer), b. 1872. Front row - Eva Lena Beach (Carpenter)(Cass), b. 1879, holding Luke E. Beach, b. 1889; Elsie Beach (Green), b. 1880; and Rueben T. Beach, b. 1884.


Sources: Research by my mother, the late Marjorie J. Ward; Eugene H. Beach Jr, The Beach Family Journal; and the Oakland County (Mi.) Genealogical Society.

Updated 2/26/2023.

Homepage, O'Brien page and my Spencer page.