The Beals were a quite well-to-do family from the area around Elton on the River Nene. Clearly well educated, they went from being Yeoman farmers to bookbinders, stationers and then on to grocers and other retail. As the industrial revolution progressed, one son, William Henry Beal, became a sewing machine importer and retailer and moved to Halifax for reasons I've not discovered. He did well and built an impressive shop, "Whitehall", on the corner of Cornmarket and Russel Street in Halifax town centre.