Surgeon William Henry Beck, U. S. Navy, came to Virginia from England as a
lad of twelve in 1800. Some years later he entered the Navy as an
Assistant Surgeon, and made several voyages in the old sailing ships to
various ports of the world.
He married Miss England, of Stafford, and made his home in Fredericksburg.
He lived in what was then a northwestern suburb, near the present basin,
and this section was known as "Becksville." He was at one time a police
officer in our town, and as the result of an injury in arresting a
prisoner, lost an arm.
He died in the fifties, and was buried in St. George's Churchyard. A son
bought and lived for years on what is known by our old citizens as "Beck's
Island," now owned and occupied by Mr. J. A. Emery.