Welcome

My name is Alan Beard, 8th Generation Descendent of Thomas Beard and Jean McNutt, who settled in the area of West Virginia in the early 1700's. I am dedicating this site to several family members who have prepared most of the information for this site:

Paul Franklin Beard - Who pulled together the Beard family genealogy in the 1980's (before the Internet!), and left his information to my brother...

Brian Warren Beard - My brother who collected the information from Paul, and whose wife Linda Beard left this information to me, and

Angeline Place Hunter - My aunt who has spent countless hours collecting information for the Place family (my mother, Shirley Elaine Place Beard Fairchild)

I am collecting this information as a celebration of the lives who are part of us all, we are surely the sum of those who came before us, who left all of their family lands, the civilized European world, and braved the wilderness and dangers of the New World.

I invite submissions to any and all for this site. Submissions are moderated. Especially of interest are some burning questions:

1. Where exactly did Thomas Beard come from? What brought him to the new world? Did he arrive with others or was he alone? What is the relationship of the different Beard families that settled at about the same time in West Virginia?

2. How did Thomas meet Jean McNutt? The records show that he was the exector of Jean McNutt's father's estate.

3. Are there old photographs or drawings of some of the original Beard families?

Please feel free to contact me at alanbeard_2000@yahoo.com