For Father’s Day, I found a curious bit of history about a man from Dakota, in Turner County. When he died on 18 March 1940, a time when larger families were much more common than they are today, John Joshua Beasley (19 March 1859-18 March 1940) was newsworthy. A United Press syndicated story from March 1940, datelined Ashburn, Ga., and published in newspapers around the country under the headline “Oddities in the News” noted: The living among his 40 children, 60 grandchildren and 44 great-grandchildren mourned the death of John Joshua Beasley, 84. He was the father of 24 children by his first wife and 16 by his second. Nineteen are living.
At the time, his progeny made him the record-holder among Georgia fathers, and to my knowledge, it’s a record which may still stand.
Beasley’s first wife, buried beside him, was Fannie Gresham Beasley (1 October 1861-19 January 1905). His second wife was Maggie Britt Beasley (18 September 1888-6 December 1967). She is buried at Oviedo Cemetery in Oviedo, Florida. Many of Mr. Beasley’s children lived well into the later part of the 20th century and at least one lived until 2010. I’m unsure if any are still alive but I imagine his legacy is not lost on his descendants.
