Private & Family owned, located on Bond Street, Niles, Berrien County, Michigan. It is known as Cemetery #66 in 1991 Michigan Cemetery Atlas. Recorded by Daundra J. Baker.
This Mausoleum was built by Strother M. Beeson after the death of his mother, Judith Ann Lewis. Her name is inscribed over the entrance to the vault. Built at a great cost for the time, the inside is of marble, the outer walls are sand stone. The whole area is surrounded by an artfully cut field stone wall. A well maintained garden and park like setting with lovely large trees. There is a Perpetual Care agreement between the estate of Anne Beeson Purdy and Niles township, dated March 7, 1961 (recorded in Berrien County, Liber 186, pages 282-284). Owner and Trustees, Thomas L. Purdy Jr. and Thomas L. Purdy III, of Purdys, NY.
I was born and raised in Niles, a blue blood of the west side. We kids all knew the best places to tell (lie) about so as to scare the younger ones. Good o'l bonfire and Halloween stories. Mr. Ballard's orchard, where there were dead Indians roaming around to take your scalp. Island Park and the murder that never really took place. The French Paper Mill foot bridge that had a Troll under it (really, he was green and warty all over). The man that lived in the culvert under Bond street at Silverbrook. (he ate naughty children). And of course the alligator that was in the river, (a loose pet, I think it is in Barron Lake now). And of course the Allouez grave and the Fort site was haunted. To top the list was the Beeson place....Even though there were a couple other Beeson homes on the west side....they didn't compare to the lure of the BEESON HOUSE on Bond Street.
Anecdotes, folk lore and legends have surrounded Beeson Mausoleum and home. Over the years it has become hard to divide fact from fiction. I don't think there is a Niles native that hasn't heard the many stories that loom over the property. Even local papers will revisit the ghostly issues every so often.
Top of the list, is the intriguing tale of the little baby who died in the big Beeson home and haunts the area. The mother, it is told, crossed the street every night at dusk, to light candles and later a lantern, because the child was afraid of the dark. One tale, quoted by the local news paper, would have us believe that she bathed, clothed and diapered the infant, after which she would rock the little body, until "his eyes fell out", then, she lost her mind, and had to be placed in an institution, where she died shortly after (she died in 1875).
Another romantic myth was that the mother of that child was the Indian wife of Strother M. Beeson, and that Strother built the mausoleum, after his sons death, so the grieving mother could see the little body.
I can understand the mothers grief and the placing of a light near her sons resting place. But she did not loose her mind and was not hauled away to die in an institution. I really cant see how she could remove that heavy marble slab off the wall any way. I was almost an adult before, I knew that baby was, *Job Withrow Beeson, Strother's grand son (not his son) who died in 1870. It was around this little boy the ledged centered.
There has been yarns of the ghost of a little girl that walked the house, cemetery and grounds crying for her mother. Her sobbing could be heard in the home and crypt. I have never been able to verify the fact that any little girl died at the Beeson Mansion.
How about the gas pipe from the house to the mausoleum, that kept a light burning day and night? This story is true. A small gas producing plant was built that produced carbide gas to light the home. You can still see the pipe entering a vent opening on the south side of the vault. In the 1960s the gas company was digging a trench on Bond Street, and cut the half-inch pipe that crossed under the road to the vault from the mansion.
I have visited the Mausoleum so many times, both in my youth and as an adult. Remembering when you could peer through the gate, before the big heavy door was closed behind. I've had Ice tea on the side porch with the very aged sweet lady that lived in the Beeson home in the late 1950s. The last time I saw her I was very pregnant with my first child. Upon my return to show her my new daughter, she was gone and the home was closed up. I am sure, at least almost sure, it was Miss Lillian Beeson Brownfield. She later lived in the Barker home at 1420 Bond St. caring for Orville and Edith, her sister and brother-in-law, who were in poor health. I have sat in wide eyed silence, listening to her many narratives of early life in Niles. She was a retired school teacher and was educating to the very last.
Daytime or night time, young or old, never have I seen, nor heard, any of these apparations. I truly believe that these stories take on a life of their own. And time only adds to the chronicle. As there is no one alive now to separate the fact from fiction... I leave it to you, the reader, to do it. Besides it makes for real good reading and story-telling.
The Beeson Mansion, built by William
Hammond McCumber at a reputed cost $65,000.00. It is an eighteen
room, Greek Revival manor, with a light brick exterior and a columned
porch. The home extends deeper at the rear and had a lovley sitting
porch at the back side kitchen door. The front has changed very
little. It was purchased around 1850 by Strother M. Beeson, an
attorney and business man in South Bend, Indiana. He removed to
Niles from South Bend after buying the home. His brothers, Job
John, Jacob and William B. were in business in Niles. His mother,
Judith, also lived in Niles with a sister Phoebe.
Strother McNeal (Neil) Beeson, Esq.
(1816-1878) (right) born in Uniontown, Fayette Co, PA, the fourth
son of Jacob (1769-1820) and second wife, Judith Ann Broughton
(1784-1869). He married first to Mary Withrow (1819-1844), May
13, 1841, born to this union were two sons, William Withrow Beeson
and an infant son that was buried with his mother in South Bend
in 1844 (she was later moved to the vault).
His second wife was, Mary Margaret Miller (1817-1883), a relative of his first wife. To this union was born a son, Jacob Miller Beeson (1847-1925). The marriage ended in divorce. Mary and son Jacob M. returned to Uniontown, PA. Strother was a shrewd, honest business man. He entered into various ventures and amassed a great fortune. It was a well known fact that he did not like Michigan winters and often traveled during the cold months. It was said during the Civil War he was a Southern Sympathizer and had slaves at his Bond street home (I really cant find confirmation of this, it has been carried down in local history though) But I think this Christian soul, was a man that cared for his family and friends as is evidenced by his legacy.
Lewis, Judith Ann (Broughton) Beeson...Matriarch of
Beeson family in Niles, Michigan.
born September 8, 1784...died March 26, 1869, age 84 years. Born
in Hardy Co. VA.(now West VA.) and died in the home of her son
Strother, Niles, MI. She was the second wife and widow of Jacob
Beeson (1769-1820), widow of John F. Lewis (died 1824 two years
after their marriage). About 1830, she moved to Niles with her
daughter Phoebe. Her sons Jacob, Job J., & William B. were
in Niles, Strother M. was in South Bend. The family history states
she came shortly after her sons. William had a home build for
her near his residence, it was located on the west end of the
Main street bridge. For many years it was used by the VFW. The
stately home was torn down to make way for the YMCA.
Beeson, Job John...born, August 16, 1814...died December 28, 1837...third son of Jacob and Judith (Broughton) Beeson, born in Uniontown, Fayette Co, PA, died in Niles, MI. He was first interred in Lacey Cemetery, called the Old City Cemetery, Niles. His remains were removed to the vault later. A marker from the city cemetery burial lies outside the vault, his date of death is inscribed as 1838.
Beeson, Esq., Strother McNeal (McNeil)...born December 4, 1816...died December 30, 1878, age 63 years, born in Uniontown, Fayette Co, PA and died in Niles, MI. (see above note)
Beeson, Mary (Withrow)...born about 1819...died June
18, 1844, age 25 years. First wife of Strother M. Beeson, born
in Uniontown,Fayette Co, PA and died in South Bend, St. Joseph
Co, IN. When she was buried in South Bend she was buried with
her infant son (family history note). She was later removed from
her South Bend interment to the vault, wether the infant son is
in the vault is in question. Family history states that the baby
was "buried with her", as was the custom then if an
infant was still born or died with the mother they were placed
in the same coffin. Her marker is also located out side of the
crypt, from her first grave in South Bend.
Beeson, William Withrow..(right), was born December
14, 1842..died July 16, 1876... born in South Bend, St. Joseph
Co, IN, died in New York City, NY. Son of Strother M. and Mary
(Withrow) Beeson, he was husband of Harriet Sophia Bacon. 
Beeson, Harriet Sophia (Bacon) (left), born Feb. 14, 1847... daughter of Nathaniel Bacon (1802-1869) and Caroline Sophia Lord. She married William Withrow Beeson, in Niles, Berrien Co, MI. on October 8, 1867. Harriet died November 27, 1875 in Aiken, SC.
Beeson, *Job Withrow...born May 11, 1869...died April 25, 1870, age 11 months, in Niles, at the home of his grandfather Strother M. Beeson. Berrien Co. records show cause of death as "teething", and list the day as the 18th. Son of William Withrow and Harriet Sophia (Bacon) Beeson.
Brownfield, Esq., John Jr., 1849-1939, the son of John M. Brownfield Sr. (1808-?) and Lydia Ann Beeson (1811-1853). Lydia was the sister of Strother Beeson, daughter of Jacob Beeson (1769-1820).
Brownfield, Joanna (Kelly) born..Starke Co, Ohio in 1851, died in Niles, Berrien Co, MI. Nov.18,1942, daughter of James Kelly and Lucinda Dice of Starke Co. Ohio. Berrien Co.death record states her residence as: 1000 Locust St., Greencastle, IN...widow of John Brownfield Jr.. information provided by William B. Brownfield, RFD #4, Niles, MI.
Barker, Orville W., born...June 10, 1882 in Evanston, IL...died 1979. He was a Violinist with the Chicago Symphony over thirty years, married Edith Brownfield in South Bend, IN on April 16, 1907. His remains were cremated.
Barker, Edith (Brownfield), born...Jan. 14, 1877 in Indiana..died March 14, 1858, age 81 years, in Niles, Berrien Co, MI. Her address was 1420 Bond Street, Niles. She was the daughter of John Brownfield Jr. Esq. and Joanna Kelly, wife of Orville W. Barker. Her remains were cremated at Oak Woods Crematory in Chicago.
Brownfield, Lillian Beeson, 1873-1961, was the great-grand niece of Strother Beeson, daughter of John Brownfield Jr. Esq. and Joanna Kelly, sister to Edith wife of Orville Barker. Miss Lillian, as she was known to Niles children, was a teacher in Indiana and retired to the family home in Niles, MI. She lived for a time in the Beeson Mansion and then in the home of her sister, Edith. Well traveled and educated. I believe she died in an Indiana Nursing Home.
I wish to thank, Thomas L. Purdy Jr. and Thomas L. Purdy III, for the pictures of Strother M., William W. and Harriet (Bacon) Beeson, also for their kind permission to use them in this article, and the patience they have shown me with my many questions. I also want to thank Kevin Tonkin, Niles Township Trustee for his aid in this venture and his interest in saving history of Niles Township. Big thanks to Brenda Sears for giving me a platform to weave this old Niles tale.
Daundra J. Baker
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