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The MacBeans are an old, old Scottish clan, which may have existed in some form as early as the 6th century. They came into power in about 1291, when a royal marriage between clan Clan Chattan and Clan Mackintosh helped to elevate the status of clansman Bean Macdhomhil Mor. The clan's original seat was in the area around Kinchyle, Inverness, Scotland and Bean Macdhomhil Mor is considered its first Clan Chief. Its original Gaelic meaning was likely either "son of life" or "lively one". The original pronunciation was more like "bane" than "bean", and thus it is often found spelled as "Bain" or "Bayne" as well.
Long story short, the battle did not go well for the Scottish Royalists. Although at least 16,000 strong, they were outnumbered and outgunned by Cromwell's English forces. They are said to have fought fiercely and bravely against the odds, but in the end, roughly 3,000 were killed and another 8,000 taken captive. Most of the prisoners were sent to either Bermuda, the West Indies, or New England, to work as indentured servants for a typical period of 4-5 years. Three hundred of these defeated soldiers were randomly selected to board the "John and Sarah" on Nov 11, 1651. Two hundred seventy-two would arrive in Boston, MA, over 3 months later, on Feb 24, 1652; cold, unkempt, in ill-health, and defiant (Ref 1). From there, they were sold out everywhere, for the new colonies were in dire need of cheap labor.
Our direct ancestor, William Bean (b. 1635 in Inverness, Scotland), was only 16 years of age at the time, but he would never see his family again. His name was recorded on the list of passengers as Wm Bayne. Like many Scottish immigrants, he dropped the "Mac" portion of the name (meaning "son of"), upon arriving to America. Over time, the spelling of the remaining portion became altered as well. It is unknown where his servitude took place, but he shows up again in Cherry Point (near Heathsville), Northumberland, VA by 1675 (see Note 1). By then he had married a woman named Margaret and had a son named William Beane Jr. (b. 1655). In 1688, he was elected to be constable of the Cherry Point District (Ref 2).
The Cherry Point Neck area was part of the Chickacoan Parish, which later became St. Stephen's Parish in 1698. Much of the early documentation for the family line appears in these parish records. Not a lot more (that we know of) happened for a few generations after that. From wills, we know that the Beans were slave owners, and likely farmed the tobacco that this region was known for growing in abundance. William Bean Jr. married Elizabeth Symmons and begat John Bean (b. 1675). John married Lydea and begat another William (b. 1700). This William Sr. married Margaret Hatton and begat William Jr. (b. 1721) (See Note 2). And then things get interesting again.
St. Stephen's Episcopal Church, original site of the Chickacoan Parish in Northumberland County, VA
St. Stephens Parish in Heathsville, Northumberland, VA (Cherry Point Neck)
Location of Danville, VA
The area they set off for in early 1769 would later become northeastern Tennessee. It was known to William Jr. due to prior hunting trips with his brother John, and their family friend Daniel Boone (yup, doing a little name dropping here). Daniel Boone and the Bean family were experienced longhunters, and their early exploration of what would soon become the Watauga District, was invaluable to future settlement ventures. In 1762, William's brother John established a camping site for the group along Boones Creek, a branch of the Watauga River near current day Johnson City. Hunting/scouting trips such as these could last for up to 6 months at a time, so it was likely a site with which they became well familiar.
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Approximate location of hunting site and later cabin of William & Lydia Bean Typical gear of an 18th century longhunter in the American colonies |
It was on this camp site that William Jr. stepped into history, for by building a cabin home there in 1769 (and surviving the Native American raids to tell the tale), he and his family became the first permanent White settlers of the future state (Ref 0, Ref 3, p.110). Lydia furthered this celebrity by birthing the first white child of future TN, Russell Bean, in May 1769 (Ref.6, p.8). I'm sure she was relieved to have made it safely to her new home before the baby was born. They are said to have arrived just a few days prior to the birth. Given that the "roads" at this time were only Indian trails, they would have traveled by foot or horse only, and it must have been a difficult journey.
Artists conception of Bean Family Cabin on Boones Creek
Over the next few years, many relatives of the Bean and Russell families would join them in this area. Unfortunately, due to incomplete earlier surveying efforts, the settlers had gone further south and west than they realized, and it was later determined that their new homesteads lay outside the established borders of VA or NC (Ref 3, p.110). This placed them in violation of the 1770 Treaty of Lochaber, which the British Crown had made with the Cherokee Native Americans. Not only that, but it placed them outside the protection and laws of the American colonies as well. Things came to a head in 1772, when the British government ordered the new settlers to leave.
Land boundaries established with the Cherokees by the 1770 Treaty of Lochaber
On the eve of the American Revolution as this was though, the new settlers weren't much inclined to take orders from the British government, and with the looming war, Britain had bigger things to worry about. The settlers took advantage of the temporary disarray to basically form their own independent nation, which they called the Watauga Association. They copied the law structure of the Virginia Colony to form their Articles of governance, and then passed the Watauga Republic into existence by unanimous settler consent. Then they formed their own militia (of which William Jr. and his sons were members) and elected 5 magistrates to serve on the Wataugan court. Having settled this, they approached the Cherokee peoples for new treaty terms, in which they would lease the land from them directly as an independent nation, to which the Native Americans agreed!
Alas, peace with the Native tribe did not last long. Many Cherokee felt that their nation's interests aligned more closely with the British, who seemed more willing to uphold treaties, than with the Americans, who seemed intent on pushing further into their lands regardless of what prior treaties stated. And once the Revolutionary War began, with the Wataugans declaring themselves as firmly on the side of the American patriots, they found themselves at odds with Native tribes once again. To help defend themselves, in 1775 they built Fort Caswell (now called Fort Watauga) at the nearby town of Elizabethton. Eventually, upon their request, North Carolina agreed to annex them in 1777 (TN did not become a state until 1796), and they became a part of America once more.
Fort Caswell at Sycamore Shoals Historic State Park in Elizabethton, TN
The Siege of Fort Caswell, depicting Catherine Sherill being pulled to safety by her future husband John Sevier
The height of the Indian conflict for the Beans occurred in July 1776. In that month, a group of Cherokee, led by War Chief Abraham, were preparing to attack the Watagan settlement (Ref 13, p.64). One member of the Cherokee General Council disagreed with this plan, however. Her name was Nanye-hi, (called Nancy Ward by settlers), and she held the title of Ghigau (Beloved Woman) on the council, giving her the only female voting voice. She felt it was wrong to intentionally take civilian lives, and was an advocate for peaceful co-existence with the settlers. Indeed, she saw this as the only possible successful strategy in the face of the unrelenting influx of White settlers to their lands (Ref. 4). Because of this, she sent warning to many of the settlers before the attack, allowing them time to gather at the fort and prepare for what was coming.
In the early morning of July 21, 1776, Lydia (Russell) Bean and many other women were outside the fort milking cows when the Indians advanced with a surprise attack. Most of the women were able to make their way back to the safety of the fort. But Lydia, along with 2 of her milking cows, as well as 13 year old Samuel Moore, were captured by the Cherokee (See Note 4). The story told is that Indian warriors brought them back to their camp on the Nolichucky River and tried to extract information from them about the fort. Lydia misled them to believe that they were very well supplied with men, food, and arms. Regardless, the decision was made that they should be burned at the stake. A surely terrified Lydia was already bound, and the fires lit, when Nanye-hi saw what was being done. She scattered the ashes, cut her bounds, and admonished the warriors that no "squaw" would be tortured while she was on the council. (Sadly, Samuel Moore was not so lucky.)
Nanye-hi/Nancy Ward, Cherokee Beloved Woman
Nanye-hi then took Lydia back to her home, where she stayed until it was safe to let her return to her family again. Lydia had been wounded, and Nancy nursed her back to health. In return, Lydia shared some of her domestic skills. She taught Nancy how to use the milk from cows to make things like butter, cheese, and cream. She also taught her the art of loom weaving. They became friends, and Nancy began to teach her people these new skills as well. Long after the battle was over, these teachings would have significant effects on the Cherokee, both good and bad (Ref 4). On the one hand, with game and land becoming more scarce, it made them less reliant in the White settlers for provisions like food and textiles. On the other, the hard labor of cattle herding made them appreciate the White's desire for slave labor. Nancy Ward would later become the first Cherokee to own Black slaves.
In the years following this near tragedy, the Bean family played important roles in the Revolutionary war. The family was known for their superior gun making abilities (Ref 5) and served as riflemen in the Watauga militia. William Bean Jr.'s oldest son, William III (b. 1745), was a Capt. during the Battle of Kings Mountain (see Note 7), with his brothers George, John, and Edmund serving under his command. His other brothers, Robert and Jesse (our direct ancestor, b. 1756), were Captains in their own right. For their service, they were soon granted large tracts of future Tennessee land.
Battle of kings Mountain - The Wataugans
The new land William Bean Jr. chose to settle was about 50 miles west of his original tract, in what would later be Grainger Co., TN (then still part of Washington Co.). It was a well chosen site that was first discovered by William and Daniel Boone while they were on one of their exploratory hunting trips in 1775 (Ref. 11). They found it by following the north-south Cherokee Great Warrior's Path, which White settlers renamed to the Great Wilderness Road as it was expanded (now Hwy. 11W). But it also intersected with an east-west Indian trail known as Chickamauga Path, which was being converted into a stage coach route called the Broadway of America (now US 25E). William noted the area as being rich with timber, wildlife, and fertile soil. He also foresaw that it would be an important crossroads stop for travelers as they continued west into Kentucky, along the path that Daniel Boone was blazing. And thus was born Bean Station (Ref 12, p.60).
William Bean, Jr. and Daniel Boone, overlooking the future Bean Station in 1775.
Location of Bean Station, TN at the border of Grainger and Hawkins Counties
Original area of Bean family land grants prior to 1942 river flooding, about 5 miles west of current Bean Station, TN
William Bean Jr. and his son Robert are said to have settled the new land with adjoining plots on German Creek in 1776. Robert's brother Jesse Bean (our direct ancestor) followed soon after. Eventually the entire family relocated to the new area. Unfortunately, William Bean Jr. would not live past the Revolutionary War's end in 1783. He died of unknown cause in 1782, at the age of 60. But his vision for the future Bean Station was passed on to his children. By 1787, his sons began construction of a fort to protect the family from the continued Native American raids. Soon they opened Bean's Blacksmith Shop as well. As predicted, being so conveniently located at the western trail crossroads, it was not long before merchants and businessmen were attracted to the area. By the early 1800's, it hosted 3 reputable tavern/inns and was a welcome stop for many notable visitors.
Northwest Corner remains of Bean Station Fort prior to 1942
Old Bean Station Tavern (1935)
Restored gravestone of Jane Bean, daughter of William Bean Jr. and Lydia (Russell) Bean. She was killed by "Indian arrows" in 1799, while weaving under a willow tree. Her remains were moved to the German Creek homestead to Dalton Cemetery in 1942, just prior to the TVA Cherokee Dam opening.
Changes in water levels after Cherokee Dam construction
William Jr.'s son Jesse (our direct ancestor) would follow in his father's trailblazing footsteps. In 1778 he married Elizabeth Mitchell, and together they had 9 children. Although Jesse cannot claim to be the first White settler in all of the state of Tennessee, he was the first White settler in what would later become Franklin Co., TN (Ref 7, p.786). When they left Bean Station and set out for southern TN in early 1800, their 4th child, Elizabeth Ann Bean (b. 1787, our direct ancestor) was 13 years old. Already a well known and respected gunmaker, Jesse's reputation followed him into this new region. He set up a new blacksmith workshop in a cave that is located off Caney Hallow Branch, near Old Salem, TN (then called Beans Creek). Davy Crockett, who also fought at the Battle of King's Mountain, is said to have been a regular customer of his rifles. They are still highly sought after by historical gun collectors today (Ref. 5).
Jesse Bean's gun making shop cave on Caney Hallow Branch near Old Salem, TN
Old Bean Creek Cemetery, site of Jesse Bean homestead in Old Salem, TN
Jesse fought in the TN militia during the war of 1812. He was assigned to western TN, parts of which were about to become Arkansas and Missouri. Likely this is why he later chose the area for his homestead. By 1818, he was living in now Pleasant Hill (Little Mulberry), Lawrence Co., AR (now Crawford Co.)(Ref 8) where he helped to establish the first Baptist Sunday School (Ref 9). At this time, however, the Cherokee peoples had rights to the land, having already ceded their ancestral eastern homelands in Tennessee, Virginia, Georgia, and North/South Carolina in exchange (Ref 10). In return for this relocation, the Treaty of 1817 had promised them reservation land in Arkansas, on which they were to be free to fish, hunt, and live according to their native customs, with protection from White settler interference.
In 1819, when the government caught word of the White settlers living on this land, they initially honored the Native American treaty, and ordered the settlers to leave. An exception was made for Jesse Bean's family, as well as the family of Judge Sanders (Ref. 8, p.606). They were both blacksmiths by trade; skills which were highly desired by both Native and European peoples alike (see Note 6). It is said that a few others managed to remain as well, and thus the White settlement of Pleasant Hill lived alongside the Cherokee settlement of Chekelee (later Mulberry) for a decade (see Note 5). Because of it being the only allowed White settlement during this period of Cherokee occupation, it is now the oldest town within the county as well (Ref. 8, p.644).
Mulberry, Crawford, AR
Pleasant Hill and Mulberry, AR. Most early White settlers lived north of where I40 now runs, along both sides of the Mulberry River.
As this story unfortunately always goes, eventually the Native Americans were pushed off the land once again. This time by the Cherokee Treaty of 1828, which removed them to Oklahoma (supposedly in exchange for yet more land and other benefits), in order to make way for White settlers clamoring to move in. By 1829, these new settlers were coming in droves (Ref 8, p.607), and this is when Jesse's daughter Elizabeth Bean (b. 1787, our direct ancestor), and her husband William M. Quesenbury moved in as well. Their homestead was about a mile and a half NE of Maxey Mountain (another line of our family) on the Eastern side of the Mulberry River.
Note
1) There were a number of other Beans in America before 1652 as well (https://www.houseofnames.com/beane-family-crest). In the 1911 book by Jennings Cropper Wise "YE KINGDOME OF ACCAWMACKEOR THE EASTERN SHORE OF VIRGINIA IN THE SEVENTEENTH CENTURY", p.37, there is a William Beane listed as being present in 1623 (having arrived in 1618) in what is now Northampton County, VA. Northumberland county lies across the Chesapeake Bay from Northampton, much closer than Boston, MA where the "John and Sarah" docked.
Although most online genealogies currently list this ship as the origin of our Beans, I have found no records directly linking the Scottish Boston William Bayne to St. Stephen's Parish, Northumberland, VA. It seems at least possible then, given the proximity, that our William Beane is really an English settler of the early Jamestown colony.
There is, however, Y-DNA testing being carried out for clan MacBean, that is trying to sort out the answers to these questions. https://www.familytreedna.com/groups/the-clan-mac-bean/about. So far, they seem pretty certain that the results still point to the Boston Scottish origin. And all that said, the English Beanes do seem to still be related to Clan MacBean anyways, albeit more distantly.
2) There is a Beane Family Cemetery near Heathsville, Northumberland, VA that seems very likely to be linked with our family line, but I have not yet been able to find a way to verify this online. https://www.google.com/maps/place/Beane+Family+Cemetery/@37.9541079,-76.4924381,17z/data=!3m1!4b1!4m6!3m5!1s0x89b7559fa5aa06cf:0xebac0e3344c7a1d9!8m2!3d37.9541079!4d-76.4902441!16s%2Fg%2F11td9_w9dv. Perhaps this was their homestead?
3) There is a lot of speculation about who exactly this Lydia Russell is. The only thing that is supposed to be known about her for sure is that she had at least two brothers, named George and John, who later settled near her in TN. There is a Lydia Russell born in 1726, who was christened in the North Farnham Parish of neighboring Richmond, VA. Her parents were Joseph and Sarah Russell. Given its proximity to St. Stephen's Parish, this seems the most logical choice. But there are no records of this Lydia having a brother named George.
There is also a George Russell of North Farnham Parish, born in 1720, but his parents were George and Mary Russell. Sometimes people quote these parents as being her parents as well, but that is not the case. Possibly they were actually cousins instead? Or there is a completely different Lydia Russell that we just don't know about yet. Regardless, after the marriage of William and Lydia, the Bean and Russell families remained in close proximity for many generations to come.
4) There are other accounts of this story that say she was taken while fleeing from her property on horseback, and sometimes the date is stated as July 20th, 1776 instead of the 21st. So perhaps this actually happened the day before the Fort Caswell incident (though I'm not sure where the cows she taught them with came from then). This would make sense also because William Bean is said to have built his family a different fort (Bean Fort-Spring) around 1775, this one off Boone's Creek- much closer to where his family lived, than Fort Caswell in Elizabethton. You can see a video of the parts that are still standing here: https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=318470138497495. He also built the first gristmill in the area, the remains of which are in Flourville, TN. None of the historical accounts of the Lydia capture story mention this fort by name though.
5) Some sources list Jesse Bean as having also lived in Batesville, Independence Co., AR during this time period. Based on land and tax records, there was definitely a Revolutionary War veteran Jesse E. Bean awarded land in Batesville around 1820-1830. It is said that many people purchased land there during this period without actually settling, due to the low prices so this may have been our Jesse. But more likely it is the Jesse that actually lived in Batesville during the same time period that ours lived in Pleasant Hill, AR.
For one thing, our Jesse is supposed to have died by 1829, whereas Batesville Jesse died in 1844. For another, our Jesse was supposed to have been in Pleasant Hill from 1818-1828, during the Cherokee occupation (Ref 8). Additionally, the Batesville Jesse was supposed to have been a coroner rather than a blacksmith, and had part ownership in a steamboat operation. See Worley, Ted R. “Glimpses of an Old Southwestern Town.” The Arkansas Historical Quarterly, vol. 8, no. 2, 1949, pp. 133–59. JSTOR, https://doi.org/10.2307/40030606. Accessed 15 Mar. 2023. Most importantly, he was made Captain of a new Calvary company (Bean's Rangers) in 1832, at which point our Jesse would have been 76 years old! https://encyclopediaofarkansas.net/entries/independence-county-776/
Jesse's son Robert did settle in Batesville later, and also had a son named Jesse (b.1822), but this Jesse would have been too young. On the other hand, Jesse's brother Robert had a son named Jesse (b. 1784), who would be the right age, so perhaps this is really his son?
6) An interesting article in: Littlefield, Daniel F. “The Salt Industry in Arkansas Territory, 1819-1836.” The Arkansas Historical Quarterly, vol. 32, no. 4, 1973, pp. 312–36. JSTOR, https://doi.org/10.2307/40027640. (Accessed 15 Mar. 2023) states that it was more likely Jesse and the Beans were allowed to stay in the Cherokee territory due to salt interests the government had in a part of Lovely's 1816 purchase. Jesse's son Mark, and his son-in-law Reuben Saunder's family, were the ones with direct interests in this salt works, but no doubt its success or failure affected the interests of the entire Bean family in the area. Jesse's son Richard H. Bean joined in the venture in 1823 when Saunders sold his interests, and both are said to have moved there (near Gore, OK) in 1817-1819 because of it. The family's ties to this area seem strongly tied up in their interests to this developing mining operation and government actions regarding it. Mark Bean was sheriff of Crawford Co. as well as a member of the legislature.
7) Some people cite it as having been William Bean Jr. rather than William Bean III who fought at King's Mountain in 1780. As far as I can tell, there was only one William Bean in service for Watauga District at that time. Given William Jr. was already 58 and would die only 2 years after this event, it seems likely that it was his son, rather than him, who was fighting at this point.
References
0) National Register of Historic Places. https://files4.revize.com/johnsontn/document_center/Development%20Services/Planning/HISTORIC/nation_registry_of_historical_places.pdf : 2023.
1) MacBean, Bernie. "The life and family of John Bean of Exeter and his cousins". Seattle, WA : Seattle Genealogical Society, 1970 (1906). https://archive.org/search.php?query=creator%3A%22MacBean%2C+Bernie%2C+1906-%22 : 2023.
2) Northumberland County Court Order Book, 1688, p.430. https://www.colonial-settlers-md-va.us/getperson.php?personID=I25375&tree=Tree1 : 2023.
3) Goodpasture, A. V. "The Watauga Association". The American Historical Magazine, Vol. 3, No. 2 (APRIL, 1898), pp. 103-120
Published by: Tennessee Historical Society. https://www.jstor.org/stable/45340432 :2023.
4) Tucker, N. "Nancy Ward, Ghighau of the Cherokees" The Georgia Historical Quarterly, Vol. 53, No. 2 (June, 1969), pp. 192-200. https://www.jstor.org/stable/40579126 : 2023.
5) TN Dept. of Conservation. "A Preliminary Survey of Historic Period Gunmaking". Nashville, TN : TN Printing Div., 1991. https://www.tn.gov/content/dam/tn/environment/archaeology/documents/reportofinvestigations/arch_ROI_8_Gunmaking.pdf : 2023.
6) Armstrong, Z. "Notable Southern Families, Vol. 2". Chattanooga, TN : Clearfield Publishing, Inc., 1922, p.13. https://www.ancestry.com/imageviewer/collections/48262/images/NotableSoFamiliesII-000471-ii?pId=271699 : 2023.
7) Goodspeed. "History of Tennessee, from the earliest time to the present; together with an historical and a biographical sketch of Giles, Lincoln, Franklin and Moore counties", pp.785-796. Chicago: Goodspeed Publishing, 1886. https://archive.org/details/historyoftenness00good/page/n11/mode/2up : 2023.
8) Goodspeed. "History of Benton, Washington, Carroll, Madison, Crawford, Franklin and Sebastian Counties, Arkansas : from the earliest time to the present, including a department devoted to the preservation of sundry personal, business, professional and private records; besides a valuable fund of notes, original observations, etc., etc.". Chicago, IL.: Goodspeed Publishing, 1889. https://www.familysearch.org/library/books/records/item/581394-history-of-benton-washington-carroll-madison-crawford-franklin-and-sebastian-counties-arkansas-from-the-earliest-time-to-the-present-including-a-department-devoted-to-the-preservation-of-sundry-personal-business-professional-and-private-records-besides-a-valuable-fund-of-notes-original-observations-etc-etc?offset= : 2023.
10) Logan, C. R. "The Promised Land:
The Cherokees, Arkansas, and
Removal, 1794-1839". Little Rock, AR : Arkansas Historic Preservation Program, 1997. https://www.arkansasheritage.com/docs/default-source/ahpp-documents/state-wide-historic-contexts/cherokee_removal_newe6ee0577-cda1-47d9-8455-06ea8e681c37.pdf?sfvrsn=b1a929da_5 : 2023.
11) Coffey, K. "The First Family of Tennessee". Grainger Co. Historical Society. https://web.archive.org/web/20200811133037/http://graingertnhistory.com/story_2/ : 2023.
12) Goodspeed. "History of Tennessee containing historical and biographical sketches of thirty east Tennessee counties : Anderson, Blount, Bradley, Campbell, Carter, Claiborne, Cocke, Grainger, Greene, Hamblen, Hamilton, Hancock, Hawkins, James, Jefferson,...". Nashville, TN : Goodspeed Publishing, 1887. https://www.familysearch.org/library/books/records/item/87512-redirection : 2023.
13) Finger, J. R. "Tennessee Frontiers: Three Regions in Transition". Indianapolis, IN : Indiana University Press, 2001. https://www.google.com/books/edition/Tennessee_Frontiers/u-0OMQw4N_sC?hl=en&gbpv=0&kptab=getbook : 2023.
14) Grady, J. A. "William Bean Pioneer of Tennessee and His Descendants." Knoxville, TN: Grady, 1973. https://www.familysearch.org/library/books/records/item/48240-redirection : 2023.
Thank you for this information. I am a descendant of William Bean and this fills in a lot of the blanks.
ReplyDeleteThanks! I'm so glad to hear that.
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