"VAN WERT" BEAMERS  

     Like most families in America at the time, the Beamer family living in Tully Township,
Van Wert, Ohio were farmers. The Beamers had lived in Tully since John Beamer had
come out nearly half a decade prior to the outbreak of war. The Beamers were a family
of seven, and probably very typical of the day: hard working, religious, and very loyal
to the land that allowed for their success. But how did the Beamerís of Ohio end up in a
place where they would be broken up by a civil conflict? Who were the Beamer
children of Van Wert County, and why did they fight for the side they chose? Most
importantly, where did these Beamers come from, and why did they leave their cousins
and ancestors to move to West Ohio?

FAMILY HISTORY

     When John Beamer Sr. and his wife Mary Pittenger immigrated from Bavaria, Germany
(ancestry.com), the states were still British Colonies. They chose the commonwealth of
Maryland to make their home, in the territory of Frederick County. His First Wife Mary
Pittenger bore him 5 children. Adam Beamer came as the fifth of those children, born
in March of 1772.
     Sometime in his twenties, Adam Beamer made the trip to Ohio where he found residence
with his spouse Elizabeth Albaugh. Settling in a township called Tully, the couple had six
children: five boys and one girl. Washington Beamer was the first, a son born in 1833. In
consecutive years to follow (1833-34) came the births John and Adam. The following three
births would start in 1837 with Philip, then the only girl in 1839  Margaret, and finally Henry, the
youngest, born on January 12, 1841.

CIVIL WAR PERSUASIONS

     The Beamer Children lived together for a time ranging from 1833 until 1852. That year,
tragically, the Van Wert Beamer's had their first taste of sorrow, as Washington died of illness
at the young age of 19. Unfortunately, this this would be the first of several afflictions for
Beamers in the years to come.
     By the late 1850's divisions were becoming more visible in the country, and as the fireballs
rang louder for succession, the war looked inevitable to those in the North. The nation began
to resemble a canyon, with territories on both sides and yet several in the middle. Those in the
middle were known as border states, and were quite pivotal in the sustaining of territories. An
example of a border state was Maryland, where the dilemma was reflected in a nearly evenly
split state with regards to is affiliation. A was stated, the Beamer's of Van Wert County were
very loyal to their land, and they associated with a pro Union North.
      Seeing that their grandfather had come from the state of Maryland, both John and Adam
Beamer opted to move Eastward meet up with the Beamer contingency there. John and
Adam Beamer left Ohio feeling that the roots of the family were in Maryland, and that they s
imply belonged there in this crucial point in time. The two were likely well aware of the fact t
hat Maryland was a border state, and as such, certain counties in Maryland chose to support
the CSA both politically and militarily. Among those were Frederick County, Maryland, where
Virginian influence was so great that it was enough to inspire several to flock to the
Confederate cause.
    Back in Ohio, both Philip and Henry had come of age on the farm in Tully, Ohio. It is quite
possible that their younger ages had something to do with the fact that they stayed at home.
However, another approach is simply that these boys demonstrated loyalty  first and foremost
to their state of birth, and secondly to their family. Their enlistment on September 7th, 1861
marked an early eagerness for them to answer the call of needed Union representation. They
took this step to preserve the Union in Mansfield, Ohio.
      In Maryland, John and Adam Beamer faced the adversity of a politically Northern
representation. This posed a difficulty to them and also the Beamers in Maryland. For all that
is known, the Beamers may have owned an elaborate plantation in Maryland. On the other hand,
they may have had strong sympathies to the South for political reasons. For whatever the
reason, the Beamers in Maryland were very pro south at the time of the conflict, and thus it was
they who represented the Confederates at the succession, and the organization of the Southern
armies.
    It should be given adequate consideration however, that the Maryland Beamers may have been
split in their sentiments. Therefore, one or more Frederick, Maryland Beamer's may have had Northern
persuasions, and opted in that direction. As seen in Ohio with the Van Wert Beamers, this common
family splitting phenomenon would make the US civil war tragically unique: a truly Brother VS Brother
war.