Temporary record

Joseph Henry Beatty (b. 1840), the son of John Beatty (1800-1894), a prosperous farmer in Doylestown, Pennsylvania, had considerable advantages from birth. After receiving a boarding school education at Tuscarora Academy, and while still in his teens, Joseph Henry agreed to supervise the operation of oil wells in Franklin, Pa., for his brother-in-law, George F. Curwen. In the Civil War, Beatty served with the Union Army Commissary Department for two years, and then attended Burnham's American Business College in Hudson, N.Y. for a short period. After another fling with oil drilling in 1865, Beatty purchased a farm in North Vineland, N.J., where he became a fruit farmer.

Francis H. "Fanny" Beatty, Joseph Henry's sister, was married to Robert Holmes who was a volunteer in the 104th regiment, Pennsylvania Volunteers, Co. A. He enlisted on September 6, 1861 and by 1862 he was a Captain.

The Beatty Papers consist of 159 items dated from May 20, 1831 to June 1, 1886. The bulk of these papers falls between February 2, 1855 and November 18, 1878. Of the 159 items, 152 are pieces of correspondence, 5 are diaries, and 2 are miscellaneous items. The correspondence is almost exclusively addressed to Joseph Henry Beatty (J. Henry or Henry). These include letters from George Curwen, and letters to and from various family members relating news, giving advice, and asking questions about his schooling, his work in oil well management, his service in the Civil War, and farming. The letters also give some substantial information about J. Henry's sister, Fanny, and her husband, Robert Holmes. The 16-page diary was written by Joseph Henry Beatty in 1855 while in boarding school. The other diaries were written by J. Henry and Fanny's mother, Mary A. Beatty, and are dated 1850-1854. Is is full of details about the family and daily life. The miscellaneous items include several pages from The Press regarding the oil industry in Pennsylvania and a name-card for Mr. and Mrs. Conrad Wiegand.

M-1898

Curwen, George F.
Fathers and sons
Farming--New Jersey
Farming--Pennsylvania
Oil industry--Pennsylvania
United States--History--Civil War, 1861-1865

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