His father, who was a man of education and intelligence, died at a comparatively early age, and the son, although ofi"ered a collegiate education, resolved to enter at once into active business. At the age of fourteen he became assistant in the office of the Newark Gas- Light Company, and afterwards removed to Elizabeth, where he was assistant to the engineer who built the gas-works. In 1855 he went to Yonkers, Westchester County, and took charge of the works of the Yonkers Gas Company, where he remained for eleven years, and left the company in a very flour-

HISTORY OF WESTCHESTER COUNTY.

ishing condition. While in Yonkers he was also extensively engaged in business as a general contractor, and employed large numbers of men and horses in local contracts. Mr. Beal took the initiative in organizing St. Paul's Episcopal Church, and assisted largely in building its church edifice, and was also a vestryman of the parish.

In 1866 he removed to Morrisania and became connected with the Westchester County Gas-Light Company, now known as the Central Gas-Light Company of New York City. From that time to the present, when Mr. Beal is the largest stockholder of the company, he has made the advancement and extension of this enterprise the principal business of his life. During the past fifteen years he has been its president, and under his able management its business and prosperity have been very largely increased. He was also the builder of the works of the Northern Gas-Light Company in the Twenty-fourth Ward of New York City, and is the consulting engineer and one of the directors of that company. His thorough knowledge of the details of the business of illumination by gas has enabled Mr. Beal to produce many inventions, whose value and usefulness are widely recognized.