Fearnaught Beasley was born in about 1725 and was a resident of Craven County, North Carolina by 1745. After her husband Simon died in about 1759, Fearnaught raised the couple's several small children independently. In 1771 her son Ezekiel was killed during the Battle of Alamance. Following his death, she petitioned the North Carolina Colonial Assembly for a widow's pension, claiming she was "too old and infirm" to support herself without him. She was awarded ten pounds per year. Beasley died some time between 1777 and 1785.