Beaman Oak
Quercus borealis maxima -
Northern Lancaster Massachusetts
I have searched for years to find a good logo for a genealogy tree. My concept was that I could get a picture of a tree that would be ideal to represent the branching found in genealogy. Maybe the “Beaman Oak” could be such a tree. Gamaliel Beaman was a distant ancestor that emigrated to Massachusetts in 1635. The Beaman Oak was a monumental and record size tree determined by The Arnold Arboretum (of Harvard University). A set of pictures of record size trees in Mass. was taken by Ernest Henry Wilson (1876-1930). He photographed the Beaman Oak on 10 January 1925. One of these pictures could serve as my long sought after perfect photo, not because of the perfect photo but because of the historical significance to our family. It seems that Gamaliel and Sarah Beaman built their cabin near this tree.
Wikipedia reports the following:
The Beaman Oak was the largest white oak tree in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, standing in the front yard of a colonial era three-story house in the town of Lancaster. It was so named because Gamaliel Beaman had originally settled the spot in 1659. The oak became known as a prominent landmark in Central Massachusetts and is featured prominently on the seal of the Town of West Boylston.
As of 1970, the Beaman Oak had a circumference at its base of 31 feet, a circumference five feet above the base of 19 feet, a height of 75 feet, and a spread of 75 feet.
The oak's trunk was partially hollow towards the end of its life, and as such it was cut down after severe storm damage in 1989.
The standard measure is DBH (Diameter at Breast Height =19 feet/3.14 = 6 foot) Note the diameter of the base would be about 10 feet.
How are we related to Gamaliel Beaman?
Kenneth Glade Wilson, son of
Boyd Carson Wilson, son of
Clarence Leroy Wilson, son of
David Carlton Wilson, son of
Guy Carlton Wilson, son of
Bradley (Barlow) Wilson, son of
Deliverance Wilson, son of
Joseph Wilson, son of
Jeremiah Wilson - Spouse Hannah Beaman, daughter of
Gamaliel Beaman and Sarah Clark
Benjamin Wilson father of Jeremiah and the first Wilson to come to America
Gamaliel Beaman (LZBP=928 familysearch.org number)
“In 1635 Gamaliel Beomant, age 12, embarkt, May 8, in the Elizabeth and Ann. .. He then settled in Dorchester, Mass., which was the first town on the Atlantic coast south of Boston. and, m, Sarah—dau. of William clark. In 1659 they removed to Lancaster, which is about thirty-three miles northwest of Boston, and was first called the Nashua or Nashaway Plantation, deriving its name from the Nashua river that flowed thru it. …The acute angle between the two parts of the main river (Nashua) was called The Neck, and it was here that Gamaliel Beaman made his home. The Beaman Oak stood near where his log cabin was built and under it his children must have played.” (Wooden, 1909)
Literature Cited
Janeen Christensen, 2013 Notes on Gamaliel Beaman, Husband of Sarah Clark, Available on line via Http://familysearch.org
Emily Beaman Wooden, 1909. The Beaman and Clark genealogy: a history of the descendants of Gamaliel Beaman and Sarah Clark of Dorchester and Lancaster, Mass. 1635- 1909. (avalable as a Free Download & Streaming internet archive.