BEATON, PAUL [SSNE 1798]
Text source
Paul Beaton was the son of Paul Bethun [SSNE 1797] and brother of Herkules Bethun [SSNE 4342]. Their grandfather was Hercules Beaton [SSNE 4341]. Paul's date of birth has variously been listed as 11 March 1661, sometimes 1665, and 12 October 1666. He began service as a volunteer and 'hantlagare' with the artillery in 1676. The next year he was an apprentice constable, followed by sergeant in 1678 and a 'styckjunkare' in 1679. Beaton thereafter served as an ensign in 1684 and a lieutenant in 1685. That year he was also a commendant at Dalaroe. Two years' later, in 1687, he was made a lieutenant captain and by 1693 he was captain of Jonkoping artillery. Beaton was naturalised and ennobled that year with his brother Herkules. In 1694 Beaton received permission to travel to Stockholm. During this time he was granted a position in the Stockholm artillery where he certainly served after 1696. However, It appears that Baron Siöblad (his brother-in-law) had also granted him permission in December 1694 to chase up a pedigree form the Scottish Privy Council and an inheritance claim in Scotland. He was advised by John Robinson that he was unlikely to succeed in the claim, but that the pedigree could be sought through the intervention of friends in Scotland. Paul declared he would be willing to spend 100 crowns on this venture. Why this seemed important is not clear as his ennoblement had alrady been passed the previous year. In 1701 he held the rank of major with the Kurland artillery. He became lieutenant colonel in 1706, and he was still lieutenant colonel with the Malmo artillery six years' later. He finally achieved the rank of colonel in 1719 and died in 1729.
Sources: Stockholm Krigsarkiv, Muster Roll, 1678/1; 1679/1,11; 1680/2; 1695/4,5 CAPTAIN; 1697/2; 1698/2; 1700/20; Swedish Riksarkiv, Anglica 190, Christoffer Leijoncrona brev, 1689-1709, John Robinson to Christoffer leijoncrona, 19 December 1694; Swedish Riksarkiv, P. Sondén, Militärachefer i svenska arméen och deras skrivelser; Swedish Riksarkiv, Förteckning över Landshövdingens i Jönköpings Län Skrivelser till Kung. Maj:t. 1640-1840 - Paul Bethun, 06/09/1694, 23/02/1696, 27/02/1697; Svenska Adelns Ättartavlor, vol 1, p.352; Steve Murdoch, Network North: Scottish Kin, Commercial and Covert Associations in Northern Europe, 1603-1746 (Brill, Leiden, 2006), p.24.
Some of his correspondence can be found here: https://sok.riksarkivet.se/bildvisning/A0069471_00309#?c=&m=&s=&cv=308&xywh=403%2C1433%2C3944%2C2275
Service record
- SWEDEN, ARTILLERY
- Arrived 1675-01-01, as VOLUNTEER
- Departed 1719-12-31, as COLONEL
- Capacity OFFICER, purpose MILITARY
- SWEDEN, DALARO
- Arrived 1685-01-01, as COMMENDANT
- Departed 1686-12-31, as COMMENDANT
- Capacity COMMENDANT, purpose MILITARY
- SWEDEN, STOCKHOLM, KURLAND
- Arrived 1701-01-01, as MAJOR
- Departed 1705-12-31, as MAJOR
- Capacity OFFICER, purpose MILITARY