From Captured Scottish Loyalist to Indentured Servant to Landowner
At 6’7″ with red hair, Ninian Beall was an imposing figure. He started out as a Scottish loyalist who was captured, became an indentured servant, and ended up as a major landowner and merchant.
Ninian Beall was born on September 16, 1625 in Largo, Fifeshire, Scotland to Dr. James Beall and Anne Marie Calvert Beall.
In 1650 Oliver Cromwell invaded Scotland and defeated the Royalist Scots (those loyal to King Charles II of England) at Dunbar. More than 3000 Scotsmen were killed in battle and 10,000 were taken prisoner. The Tower of London and the jails in England were insufficient to contain such a horde of prisoners so the wounded were released, 5000 who were captured were sent into slavery in Northumbria in Northern England, and the rest were shipped off to America and the West Indies.
Ninian was one of 149 Scotsmen who were captured and packed into the hold of a prison ship and sent to Barbados in 1650. Around 1652 while still a prisoner, he was transferred to the Province of Maryland where he became an indentured servant of Richard Hall. A victim of the fortunes of war, he was sentenced to five years in bondage and he performed its requirements “honestly and faithfully” as evidenced by the Provincial records of January 16, 1667, reading: “Then came Ninian Beall of Calvert County, Planter, and proved right to 50 acres of land for his time service performed with Richard Hall of same county.”
Once he was released from being an indentured servant, Ninian became a member of the House of Burgesses and Colonel, Commander in Chief of Provincial Forces of Maryland. He was one of the most influential men in the settling of the District of Columbia and the surrounding area.
Ninian was also a landowner. In addition to the 50 acres he received as a military prisoner after completing his service as an indentured servant, he received 795 acres called the Rock of Dumbarton which he got as a grant from Lord Baltimore. “Through his many acts of faithfulness and bravery, and because of the large number of immigrants to his credit, Ninian Beall was given warrants for thousands of acres of land.”
https://www.anamericanfamilyhistory.com/Maryland%20Families/Beall%20Family.html
https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/25527218/ninian-beall
“Ninian’s story is an inspiring tale of how a man can lose everything, but then turn around to regain even more, build a life to admire, and contribute greatly to history and society.” https://www.krystalrose.com/kim/BEALL/ninian.html
(The Watkins family connection: Ninian Beall married Ruth Moore. They were the parents of Sarah Beall who married Francis Watts. Sarah and Francis were the parents of Sarah Watts who married Stephen Warman. Sarah and Stephen were the parents of Mary Warman who married John Watkins IV. Their son Stephen Watkins was the father of Joseph Hanslap Watkins who was the father of Samuel Watkins who was the father of John C. Watkins who was the father of Donald Watkins who was the father of Billy Dean Watkins, my father.)
