Early Life
Michael Beckwith was born in 1643 and baptised
1 on the 1st of October that year at
Masham in Yorkshire North Riding. He was the son of
Christopher Beckwith of
Roomer2 and, possibly
3 Maria Beckwith.
Career
Michael is noted as a tailor in Fisher's
Mashamshire4. The same source refers to him as "of Nutwith Cote" but it looks to me like he was actually of
Roomer/Rowmer/Rowmore. At least, that's where he was born, where his children were born and where he died.
Family Life
There is a marriage record for a Mychaell Beckwith and
Elizabeth Milner for the 1st of June 1679. Michael is noted as living at Roomer. Given the birth of
Margaret (see below) in February, just under 9 months later, I'm prepared to believe this is the correct couple.
Michael and Elizabeth had at least two children,
Margaret (b. 1680) and
Thomas (b. 1685). At the baptism of
Thomas, the following sureties (witnesses) were recorded:
- Thomas Beckwith of Lamb Hill
- William Lofthouse of Wath Coate par Easby
- Katharine Bartlett of Nutwith Cote
This is germane because Thomas Beckwith of Lamb Hill could be related to
this person6. The latter's grand-daughter
Mary Beckwith married this Michael Beckwith's grandson
John Lonsdale.
It appears that Michael's wife Elizabeth died 6 months after the birth of Thomas. It is worth noting that Fisher
4 indicates that Michael had "an only daughter" which is slightly ambiguous as it could mean he only had one child, a daughter, or that he only had one daughter.
Death
There is a burial record for a Michael Beckwith of "Rowmoore"
5, buried 2
nd October 1694.
Footnotes
[1] A Michael Beckwith was
baptised 1st Oct 1643 at Masham, son of Christopher. His residence is given as Rowmer (i.e Roomer, just near Nutwith Cote). The
Heraldic Visitation of Durham includes a pedigree of Beckwith of Nutwithcoat, and notes a Christopher who was born c. 1611. That date of birth implies he would have been 32 when
Michael Beckwith of this page was born, an entirely reasonable age. This is the only
Michael Beckwith I've found who was baptised within a suitable time-period prior to his marriage in 1679.
[2] Roomer or Rowmer (or Rowmoore) Common was a pasture area a few hundred yards west of
Nutwith Cote, which itself lies a few miles south of Masham, just west of the river Ure and across the Ure from Aldborough Hall
[3] The
History of Masham (see next footnote), on page 551, notes that a court held at
Kirkby Malzeard church on the 6th of November 1626 found that
"Christopher Beckwith, Junr., of Massam, and Maria Beckwith of Massam [were married together as is thought by an unlawful minister, and yet living together as man and wife". In 1626, Christopher would have been around 14 years old, so a bit young for this to be the same person, but it looks like Masham was a hotbed of incestuousness and illegitimate births so not entirely impossible.
[4]
The History and Antiquities of Masham and Mashamshire, John Fisher, London (1865); Lonsdale of Masham, p306-307
[5] For some reason, the FreeReg transcription has turned this into Rookwith. Rookwith is a real place, and appears elsewhere in the register, so either the transcriber was trying to make sense of the non-existing Rowmoore, or accidentally read from the wrong place.
[6] Unfortunately this Thomas Beckwith of Lamb Hill is shown to have died in 1672, so couldn't have been at the baptism in 1685, so either the date of death is wrong, or in fact it's either the father or son of that Thomas of Lamb Hill. Father is more likely as any son would have still been a child in 1685. But my feeling veers more strongly towards the possibility that the DoB is wrong and that Thomas of Lamb Hill didn't die in 1672.
Abt 1643 - Abt 1694 (~ 51 years)
[1] 
