James Harvey Beazley
James Harvey Beazley Family History
Fifth child of Charles and Thursa Hyde Beazley (born in Alabama February 15, 1846), James (Jim) Harvey Beazley was the grandson of William A. Beazley of Bowling Green, Caroline County, Virginia. In 1848, the Beazley family came to Texas and settled eleven miles west of Grapeland. Jim Beazley was a farmer and was very inventive. He developed a cotton chopper which he patented. (The cotton chopper is pictured in this book.) Jim and his brother Tom Turner Beazley also owned and operated a cotton gin in Reynard (around 1900). He was a very good farmer and believed in paying cash for everything he bought. When he decided to buy his cotton gin, he went to Galveston to see the Moody Brothers, who were the largest cotton brokers in Texas. Their secretary asked his business and he told her, “I have come to buy a cotton gin.” When the Moodys were told why he had come, they asked him what he had to mortgage to finance the gin. Jim reached in his pocket and brought out his money. “Con-stim-it, I don’t want any credit. I have come to buy and pay for a cotton gin.” Because of his unusual by-word he was sometimes known as “Con-stim” Beazley. Jim Beazley and his brother Tom Turner Beazley are credited with building the first store in Grapeland. Houston County records show that the Beazleys bought the first town lot (lot 1, block 3) from the Texas Land Company on November 27, 1872. Jim Beazley was also instrumental in helping start the first bank in Grapeland – the Farmers and Merchants State Bank (now the First State Bank). James (Jim) Beazley’s first marriage was to Martha Virginia Hickey. Their children were Jack, Oscar, Douglass (Doug), Homer (Hickey) and Hadley. The second marriage of James (Jim) Beazley was to Isabella White, daughter of John White. Children of this marriage were Herman, Glen and Kleber. Jim Beazley died on March 11, 1917 and is buried in the Beazley family plot on his farm.
Herman Beazley The oldest son of Jim Beazley was Herman (born June 29, 1889 and died March 29, 1956). Herman married Gussie Roquemore and had two children Charles Herman Beazley and Aline Beazley. Charles Herman died at an early age. Aline married Thomas Julian Hayman. They live in Dallas and have one son, Charles Herman Hayman.
Glen Beazley The second son of Jim Beazley was Glen (born March 18, 1891 – died November 30 1960). Glen married Etta Lewis Pridgen and they had two sons, Tom Turner and Donald Ray Beazley.
Kleber Beazley The only daughter of Jim and Isabelle (Belle) White Beazley was Kleber (born September 4, 1893 – died August 10, 1985). She married Christopher Columbus Smith (born November 21, 1892 – died September 3, 1967) and they had ten children: Frank Holland, James Arthur, Grace Christine, Nina Ruth, Belle Doris, Joseph Edward, Roma Louise, Mary Elizabeth, Christopher Columbus, Jr., and Alva Dean. (See Christopher Columbus and Kleber Beazley Smith Family).