Arts & Entertainment, FLAMBOROUGH REVIEW

When he was boy of 10, David Beasley dreamed of writing a book about the interesting historical experiences of his great-great-great grandfather, Richard Beasley. Several decades later and with 20books under his belt, the former Hamilton resident has fulfilled his dream. Beasley, now living in Simcoe, recently released From Bloody Beginnings: Richard Beasley’s Upper Canada, which he describes as creative non-fiction. “The characters are true and the events are what happened except they’re presented in a novelistic style,” he said, as he talked about his latest book launched earlier this month at Joseph Brant Museum in Burlington.

The book relates in narrative style the varied experiences of Richard Beasley (1761-1842), a fur trader, soldier, political figure, farmer and businessman in Upper Canada. A United Empire Loyalist, Beasley left New York in 1777 to settle in the Hamilton area, where he remained until his death. Beasley lived during volatile times and the book covers many of the events that impacted his life, including the tenant rebellions in New York State, the American Revolution, and the War of 1812. It also tells of Beasley’s many accomplishments, such as his stints as a magistrate, organizer of the militia in West York, and leader of the Legislative Assembly.

There are Flamborough references in the book as well. Beasley owned several parcels of land in the area, some in both west and east Flamborough. Before the War of 1812, he provided goods to Tecumseh, the famous leader of the Shawnee who joined British Major-General Sir Isaac Brock to force the surrender of Detroit in August 1812, a major victory for the British.

While doing research for his book, Beasley learned that Tecumseh also lived in Flamborough for a short time after his brother was defeated in the United States at the Battle of Tippecanoe in 1811. The native leader lived in the Greensville area, Beasley said. Also, there were accounts that Beasley’s two sons went on a hunt for gold in the area north of Beverly Swamp in Flamborough but there were no reports that they ever found any. Beasley feels that local residents, especially those in Burlington and Hamilton, will enjoy reading his book because it presents “a side of history that they don’t know much about.” Also, for those who carry theBeasley name, it offers a personal and dramatic look at their ancestral history.

Dismissing claims often heard that Canadian history is much less exciting than American, he said, “We haven’t exaggerated our history the way that they (the Americans) have.” Even so, he insists that there are plenty of interesting events that have shaped Canadian history and many are recounted in his book. Beasley said he has been researching his new book “on and off” since 1960, concentrating more deeply on it for the last two to three years. He is currently working on a historical novel about Burma, set at the beginning of the Second World War when it was invaded by the Japanese.

Beasley was born and schooled in Hamilton, graduating from McMaster University with a bachelor of arts degree in literature and history. He lived in many European countries for close to 40 years, working, studying and writing for several years and also earned a master’s degree in library science and a PHD in social economics from the New School for Social Research in Manhattan. His first published novel, a biography entitled The Canadian Don Quixote: the Life and Works of Major John Richardson, Canada’s First Novelist, appeared in the 1970s to much acclaim. In 2004, his historical novel, Sarah’s Journey, about a slave who escaped from Virginia to Upper Canada in 1820, won the best novel award presented by the Hamilton and Region Arts Council.

January 10, 2009

RECORD STAFF

From Bloody Beginnings: Richard Beasley's Upper Canada by David Richard Beasley (Davus, 388 pages, $15.95 softcover)

Would you want a great-great- great grandson to take on the job of writing your memoir? Maybe so. Richard Beasley, one of the founders of Hamilton and a key player locally as the 19th century began, fares well in this book of creative non-fiction by his descendent, David Richard Beasley of Simcoe. "Supposing Richard Beasley's aim was to make sense of the historical forces in his lifetime . . . (and to) show that the motives of individuals were as decisive as battles in war in creating a new country and a new culture," the author writes, suggesting the book be thought of as a manuscript Beasley might have penned before his death in 1842 and that it might recently have been found in an old house in Blenheim, Ont., where one of his daughters once lived.

Born in Albany, N.Y. in 1761, Beasley grew up amidst bloodshed as loyalties were sorted out during and after the American Revolution. He became a fur trader and wound up staying in Upper Canada, became a militia organizer during the War of 1812-14, then a politician, magistrate and business person. He was wealthier than most, had some slaves and built a grand home in Hamilton that he later had to give up. Dundurn Castle was built on the foundations of his residence. In this area, he is best known as a land speculator who was vilified by Mennonite settlers in Waterloo Township (also known as Beasley Township then) when they learned they didn'thave clear title to land he sold them -- and never would unless the debt-ridden Beasley could pay off the mortgage he had with Six Nations leader Joseph Brant.

In her 1945 book Grand River, Kitchener librarian Mable Dunham has Mennonite settler Sam Bricker going to Hamilton "to confront Beasley with his dishonesty" and Beasley confessing his guilt. Mennonite leaders in Waterloo subsequently returned to Pennsylvania and gathered funds that let them form the German Company and acquire title to their lands. The Beasley "memoir" includes no confessions of dishonesty, but does describe a visit by Mennonites disturbed by rumours they had been defrauded. Beasley, in turn, tells Brant, who takes out a newspaper ad to dismiss the rumours and vouch for his integrity. Beasley then describes working with the Mennonites to right the situation. "I made trips into Pennsylvania . . . with Mennonite friends to talk to groups of the brethren and explain our predicament."

There's another interesting spin on Mennonite lore when the memoir has Beasley leading the initial Mennonite settlers through the infamous Beverly Swamp to reach the Waterloo Township lands. "This suited the Mennonites, because they looked upon the swamp as a barrier preventing others from trespassing on their Eden," it says.

David Richard Beasley is the author of more than 20 books and pamphlets published by his own Davus Publishing. They range from a novel about the nature of love to travel books, biographies and non-fiction works about modern art. In From Bloody Beginnings, he has done an admirable job of producing his ancestor's memoir. It's a format with obvious pitfalls, but it also allows him to tell many colourful stories and to reflect on the life and times of an interesting Upper Canada figure.

Jon Fear is a Record copy editor.

From Bloody Beginnings: Richard Beasleyʼs Upper Canada. David Richard

Beasley. Davus Publishing. 388 pages. Illustrations $15.95 softbound

The central character of this story, Richard Beasley, was indeed a man of some prominence in the years just before and the decades after the creation of this province. A descendant has cast his ancestorʼs biography as a personal narrative—a drama with famous players indeed: Richard Cartwright, Major John Butler, Chief Joseph Brant and Isaac Brock as well as Family Compact members John Strachan and John Beverley Robinson along with radicals Robert Gourlay and William Lyon Mackenzie. Readers who enjoy fictionalized scenes with imaginatively created dialogue, all based on extensive research, will welcome this volume and its fresh approach to an important historical period. OHS BULLETIN, December 2008

Keith Simpson says: I love Canadian History; and have read from “Bloody Beginnings”. I found it to be meticulously researched, fast paced, well written. It ties together the stories of some of our most compelling and influential Ontario historical forefathers. It reminded me of how brutual and cheap life and liberty is in a time of war (and particularly civil wars and wars of independence). It re-enforced my conviction that the sins of our past are still being re-enacted around our world of today. Congratulations to David Beasley, on a job ‘well done’.

Frank Woodcock says: “Bloody Beginnings” did for me what an education couldn’t. I could never quite grasp the Family Compact and its hold on democracy in a young Canada. In this book I travel on familiar roads to familiar places, albeit on foot or horseback, and listen to familiar people tell their own stories and their frustrations with the British Administration. Alongside this drama is the undercurrent of those fleeing the “freedom” of a young America. Choosing sides in the War of 1812 was a complicated affair and one clearly told by Mr. Beasley. With the anniversary of the War of 1812 nearly upon us, I recommend “From bloody Beginnings” as an excellent primer.