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{{Short description|Tennessee's first permanent European-American settler (1721-1782)}}
{{other people}}
{{About|the American pioneer}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=January 2021}}
{{Infobox person
{{Infobox person
| name = William Bean
| name = William Bean
| image =
| image = William Bean Cabin Placque.jpg
| alt =
| alt =
| caption = [[Tennessee Historical Commission]] marker placed near the William Bean Cabin site in present-day [[Johnson City, Tennessee|Johnson City]]
| caption =
| birth_name =
| birth_name = William Bean
| birth_date = {{Birth date|1721|12|9}}
| birth_date = {{Birth date|1721|12|9}}
| birth_place = St. Stephens Parish, [[Northumberland County, Virginia]]
| birth_place = [[Heathsville, Virginia|St. Stephens Parish]], Virginia
| death_date = May 1782
| death_date = May 1782 (aged 60)
| death_place = [[Bean Station, Tennessee]]
| death_place = [[Bean Station, Tennessee|Bean's Station]], Tennessee
| nationality = [[United States|American]]
| nationality = [[United States|American]]
| education =
| education =
Line 16: Line 18:
| employer =
| employer =
| organization =
| organization =
| occupation = [[Longhunter]]
| occupation = [[Longhunter]], soldier, pioneer, politician
| known_for = being the reported first permanent European-American settler, and founding the first permanent European-American settlement of Tennessee<ref name="clouse">{{cite news |last1=Clouse |first1=Allie |title=From Davy to Dolly: 225 years (and more) of Tennessee's storied history |url=https://www.knoxnews.com/story/life/2021/05/27/timeline-tennessee-225-years-statehood-history-and-more/5129863001/ |access-date=June 1, 2021 |work=[[Knoxville News Sentinel]] |date=May 27, 2021}}</ref>
| known_for = being one of the first permanent European settlers of Tennessee
| title = Commissioner, [[Watauga Association]]<ref name="tuller">{{cite web |last1=Tuller |first1=Roberta |title=William Bean |url=https://www.anamericanfamilyhistory.com/TennesseeFamilies&Places/Bean%20Family/Bean%20William%201721.html |website=An American Family History |access-date=June 1, 2021 |date=2020}}</ref>
| notable_works =
| style =
| term = 1772-April 1775
| influences =
| predecessor = Office established
| influenced =
| successor = Office dissolved
| title = Commissioner, [[Washington District, North Carolina]]
| spouse = {{marriage|Lydia Russell|1744|1788|end=died}}
| term =
| children = 6
| predecessor =
| father = William Bean
| successor =
| mother = Margaret Hatton Bean
| religion = <!-- Religion should be supported with a citation from a reliable source -->
| spouse = Lydia Russell (1726–1788)
| footnotes =
| footnotes =
}}
}}'''William Bean''' (December 9, 1721-May 1782) was a [[Trans-Appalacian]] pioneer; [[longhunter]]; and Commissioner of [[North Carolina]]'s [[Washington District, North Carolina|Washington District]]. He was one of the first permanent [[European settlement of North America|European settlers]] of what is now [[Tennessee]].<ref>{{Cite web|last=Lambert|first=A.J.|date=|title=WILLIAM BEAN, REV'L WAR|url=http://www.ajlambert.com/revolt/rev_wb.pdf|url-status=live|archive-url=|archive-date=|access-date=June 30, 2020|website=}}</ref>
'''William Bean''' (December 9, 1721-May 1782) was an [[American pioneer]], [[longhunter]], and Commissioner of the [[Watauga Association]]. He is accepted by historians as the first permanent [[European American]] settler of [[Tennessee]].<ref>{{Cite web|last=Lambert|first=A.J.|date=|title=WILLIAM BEAN, REV'L WAR|url=http://www.ajlambert.com/revolt/rev_wb.pdf|archive-url=|archive-date=|access-date=June 30, 2020|website=}}</ref>


==Biography==
==Biography==
William Bean was born December 9, 1721 in St. Stephens Parish, [[Northumberland County, Virginia|Northumberland County]], [[Province of Virginia|Virginia]]. In 1741 he married Lydia Russell (b. September 29, 1726). They were to become the future [[Tennessee|Tennessee area's]] first permanent European-American settlers;<ref name="wbean I">{{cite web|url=http://www.larkcom.us/ancestry/history/2427.cfm#1258 |title=Children of William Bean (c 1700 – 1780) &#124; William Bean I Genealogy |author=Larry Kraus|publisher=larkcom.us|accessdate=2015-05-14}}</ref> William was of English descent and Lydia was of Scottish descent.<ref name="google">{{cite book|title=William Bean, Pioneer of Tennessee, and His Descendants|author=Grady, J.A.|date=1973|publisher=Grady|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=PpkxAAAAMAAJ|accessdate=2015-05-14}}</ref>
William Bean was born December 9, 1721. In 1744, Bean married Lydia Russell of Northumberland County.<ref name="wbean I">{{cite web|url=http://www.larkcom.us/ancestry/history/2427.cfm#1258 |title=Children of William Bean (c 1700 – 1780) &#124; William Bean I Genealogy |author=Larry Kraus|publisher=larkcom.us|accessdate=2015-05-14}}</ref> William was of [[Scottish Americans|Scottish descent]], and Lydia was of [[English Americans|English descent]].<ref name="grady">{{cite book|title=William Bean, Pioneer of Tennessee, and His Descendants|author=Grady, J.A.|date=1973|publisher=Grady|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=PpkxAAAAMAAJ|accessdate=2015-05-14}}</ref>


===Settlement in the Watauga Association===
===Frontier settler===
In 1762, Bean set camp close to the junction of Boone's Creek and the [[Watauga River]], near present-day [[Johnson City, Tennessee|Johnson City]] during a longhunting excursion with fellow pioneers and friends [[Daniel Boone]] and [[Richard Callaway]], on behalf of [[Richard Henderson (American pioneer)|Richard Henderson]], a land surveyor who played an important role in the early settlement of Tennessee.<ref>Ramsey, ''The Annals of Tennessee'', 66-69.</ref><ref>Hamer, ''Tennessee: A History'', 64.</ref> In 1769, he constructed a cabin at this site and relocate his family. Shortly after the cabin's completion, Lydia Bean gave birth to a son, Russell Bean, who would be historically accepted as the first European American born in present-day Tennessee.<ref name="historical marker">{{cite web|url=http://www.waymarking.com/gallery/image.aspx?f=1&guid=a9fb555c-87bf-4bc6-ac2f-d181c74552f0 |title=William Bean's Cabin - 1A5 &#124; Tennessee Historical sign |publisher=waymarking.com|accessdate=2015-05-14}}</ref> The Bean family encountered aggressive confrontations with the inhabiting [[Cherokee Nation|Cherokee tribes]], and found distaste in the growing popularity of the [[Watauga Association]]. Nevertheless, William Bean pursued a career in politics and be elected as a commissioner of the Watauga Association in 1772, serving a crucial role in the absorption of the settlement into the state of [[North Carolina]] by 1775.<ref name="tuller">{{cite web |last1=Tuller |first1=Roberta |title=William Bean |url=https://www.anamericanfamilyhistory.com/TennesseeFamilies&Places/Bean%20Family/Bean%20William%201721.html |website=An American Family History |access-date=June 1, 2021 |date=2020}}</ref>
[[File:William Bean Cabin Placque.jpg|thumb|right|Historical Marker placed near the William Bean Cabin site]]
Bean was an associate of [[Daniel Boone]]'s and a fellow longhunter. In 1769, he built a cabin close to the junction of Boone's Creek and the [[Watauga River]], near what is today [[Johnson City, Tennessee]]. Bean may have visited the site with Boone, or Boone and a friend, [[Richard Callaway]], when exploring as agents for [[Richard Henderson (American pioneer)|Richard Henderson]], a land speculator who later played an important role in the early settlement of Tennessee.<ref>Ramsey, ''The Annals of Tennessee'', 66-69.</ref><ref>Hamer, ''Tennessee: A History'', 64.</ref>


===American Revolution and establishment of Bean Station===
Later that year, the first child of permanent European-American settlers born in Tennessee, Russell Bean, was born there.<ref name="historical marker">{{cite web|url=http://www.waymarking.com/gallery/image.aspx?f=1&guid=a9fb555c-87bf-4bc6-ac2f-d181c74552f0 |title=William Bean's Cabin - 1A5 &#124; Tennessee Historical sign |publisher=waymarking.com|accessdate=2015-05-14}}</ref>
[[File:East Tennessee Crossing - The Lakes of the Crossing from Clinch Mountain - NARA - 7718101.jpg|thumb|The view of the German Creek valley as seen from Clinch Mountain]]
In 1775, William Bean collaborated with Daniel Boone on a new longhunting excursion, as Bean wanted to move west with the Watauga Association gaining popularity, and Boone was wanting to expand his [[Wilderness Road]] southward towards the [[Great Indian Warpath]]. The duo crossed the gap on top of [[Clinch Mountain]] after traversing the [[Powell River (Tennessee River tributary)|Powell]] and [[Clinch River|Clinch]] rivers in present-day [[Claiborne County, Tennessee|Claiborne]] and [[Grainger County, Tennessee|Grainger]] counties in Tennessee. After surveying the valley below, Bean and Boone descended the southward slope of Clinch Mountain and set camp along the German Creek tributary of the [[Holston River]] and the Great Indian Warpath. Finding appreciation for the vast wildlife, timber, fertile soil, and access to navigable waters, Bean chose this site as the permanent site of his new home and to establish a community with Boone planning to extend the Wilderness Road to the campsite location.<ref name="family"/>


During the [[American Revolutionary War|Revolutionary War]], Bean served as a captain for the [[Virginia militia]], and was awarded over 3,000 acres in the German Creek valley where he surveyed and camped at previously with Boone in 1776. In the same year, Bean constructed a four-room cabin with the assistance of his sons. The cabin served as his family's home, and as an inn for prospective settlers, [[fur trade]]rs, and longhunters, named [[Bean Station, Tennessee|Bean Station]], establishing the first reportedly permanent settled community in present-day Tennessee.<ref name="clouse"/>
===Later life===
Bean's cabin soon attracted other pioneer families, who participated in the formation of the [[Watauga Association]], a semi-autonomous colony.{{Citation needed|date=November 2012}}


After its formation in 1776, Bean was named a Commissioner of North Carolina's Washington District.<ref name="wbean I"/>
In 1780, Bean served in his position of captain in the [[Battle of Kings Mountain]].<ref name="tuller"/>


===Death===
==Death and legacy==
In May 1782, Bean died of unknown causes at the age of 60 in his cabin at Bean Station.<ref name="tuller"/>
Bean died in May 1782 in [[Washington County, Tennessee|Washington County, North Carolina]] (now [[Grainger County, Tennessee]]).<ref>name="wbean died may 1782 washington district north carolina</ref>


Bean's settlement of Bean Station grew substantially following his death in 1782. By 1787, Bean's sons constructed a fort, blacksmiths shop, and a trading outpost at the community's crossroads of the [[Wilderness Road]] and the [[Great Indian Warpath]].<ref name="family">{{cite web |last1=Coffey |first1=Ken |title=The First Family of Tennessee |url=http://graingertnhistory.com/story_2/#more-5 |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20180320163029/http://graingertnhistory.com/story_2/ |archivedate=March 20, 2018 |website=Grainger County Historic Society |publisher=Thomas Daugherty |access-date=August 20, 2020 |date=October 19, 2012 }}</ref><ref name="barksdale">{{cite book |last1=Barksdale |first1=Kevin |title=The Lost State of Franklin: America's First Secession |date=July 11, 2014 |publisher=University Press of Kentucky |isbn=9780813150093 |page=19 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=SJUfBgAAQBAJ&dq=Bean+Station&pg=PA19 |access-date=December 3, 2020 |language=en |format=E-book}}</ref>
==Namesake==

Later descendents of Bean established what became the city of [[Bean Station, Tennessee|Bean Station]], in present-day [[Grainger County, Tennessee|Grainger County]], [[Tennessee]].<ref>{{citation|url=http://www.beanstationtn.com/pages/history.html|title=Bean Station history}}</ref>
Bean Station emerged as an important stopover, due to its strategic location on the crossroads of present-day [[U.S. Route 25E]] and [[U.S. Route 11W]], between [[Washington, D.C.]], and [[New Orleans]] for early travelers through Tennessee into the 18th century.<ref name="brown">{{cite book |last1=Brown |first1=Fred |title=Marking Time |date=2005 |publisher=[[University of Tennessee]] Press |isbn=9781572333307 |pages=99–101 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Sem9B2acPfkC |access-date=October 17, 2020 |language=en |format=Paperback}}</ref><ref name="crossvillage">{{cite news |last=Lane |first=Ida M. |title=Once The Teeming Crossroads Of The Wilderness, Bean Station Now Lapsed Into Village Peace |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/63354143/once-the-teeming-crossroads-of-the/ |page=23 |access-date=November 7, 2020 |work=[[Knoxville News Sentinel]] |date=December 1, 1929|via=Newspapers.com}}</ref>

The town and cabin established by Bean were lost following the flooding of the Holston River valley for the construction of the [[Cherokee Dam]] by the [[Tennessee Valley Authority]] in 1942. Bean Station unofficially relocated to the new crossroads of US 25E and US 11W, and incorporated into a town in 1996.<ref name="coffey">{{cite web |last1=Coffey |first1=Ken |title=History of Bean Station |url=http://www.beanstationtn.com/index.php/history-home/our-history |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150724031354/http://www.beanstationtn.com/index.php/history-home/our-history |archive-date=July 24, 2015 |website=Town of Bean Station |access-date=July 23, 2015}}</ref>


==References==
==References==
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[[Category:1782 deaths]]
[[Category:1782 deaths]]
[[Category:People from Northumberland County, Virginia]]
[[Category:People from Northumberland County, Virginia]]
[[Category:People of pre-statehood Tennessee]]
[[Category:People from pre-statehood Tennessee]]
[[Category:American people of English descent]]
[[Category:American people of Scottish descent]]
[[Category:People from Bean Station, Tennessee]]
[[Category:American hunters]]
[[Category:American pioneers]]

Latest revision as of 06:29, 30 October 2024

This article is about the American pioneer. For other uses, see William Bean (disambiguation).

William Bean
Tennessee Historical Commission marker placed near the William Bean Cabin site in present-day Johnson City
Born
William Bean

(1721-12-09)December 9, 1721
St. Stephens Parish, Virginia
DiedMay 1782 (aged 60)
Bean's Station, Tennessee
NationalityAmerican
Occupation(s)Longhunter, soldier, pioneer, politician
Known forbeing the reported first permanent European-American settler, and founding the first permanent European-American settlement of Tennessee[1]
TitleCommissioner, Watauga Association[2]
Term1772-April 1775
PredecessorOffice established
SuccessorOffice dissolved
Spouse
Lydia Russell
​
​
(m. 1744; died 1788)​
Children6
Parents
  • William Bean (father)
  • Margaret Hatton Bean (mother)

William Bean (December 9, 1721-May 1782) was an American pioneer, longhunter, and Commissioner of the Watauga Association. He is accepted by historians as the first permanent European American settler of Tennessee.[3]

Biography

[edit]

William Bean was born December 9, 1721. In 1744, Bean married Lydia Russell of Northumberland County.[4] William was of Scottish descent, and Lydia was of English descent.[5]

Settlement in the Watauga Association

[edit]

In 1762, Bean set camp close to the junction of Boone's Creek and the Watauga River, near present-day Johnson City during a longhunting excursion with fellow pioneers and friends Daniel Boone and Richard Callaway, on behalf of Richard Henderson, a land surveyor who played an important role in the early settlement of Tennessee.[6][7] In 1769, he constructed a cabin at this site and relocate his family. Shortly after the cabin's completion, Lydia Bean gave birth to a son, Russell Bean, who would be historically accepted as the first European American born in present-day Tennessee.[8] The Bean family encountered aggressive confrontations with the inhabiting Cherokee tribes, and found distaste in the growing popularity of the Watauga Association. Nevertheless, William Bean pursued a career in politics and be elected as a commissioner of the Watauga Association in 1772, serving a crucial role in the absorption of the settlement into the state of North Carolina by 1775.[2]

American Revolution and establishment of Bean Station

[edit]
The view of the German Creek valley as seen from Clinch Mountain

In 1775, William Bean collaborated with Daniel Boone on a new longhunting excursion, as Bean wanted to move west with the Watauga Association gaining popularity, and Boone was wanting to expand his Wilderness Road southward towards the Great Indian Warpath. The duo crossed the gap on top of Clinch Mountain after traversing the Powell and Clinch rivers in present-day Claiborne and Grainger counties in Tennessee. After surveying the valley below, Bean and Boone descended the southward slope of Clinch Mountain and set camp along the German Creek tributary of the Holston River and the Great Indian Warpath. Finding appreciation for the vast wildlife, timber, fertile soil, and access to navigable waters, Bean chose this site as the permanent site of his new home and to establish a community with Boone planning to extend the Wilderness Road to the campsite location.[9]

During the Revolutionary War, Bean served as a captain for the Virginia militia, and was awarded over 3,000 acres in the German Creek valley where he surveyed and camped at previously with Boone in 1776. In the same year, Bean constructed a four-room cabin with the assistance of his sons. The cabin served as his family's home, and as an inn for prospective settlers, fur traders, and longhunters, named Bean Station, establishing the first reportedly permanent settled community in present-day Tennessee.[1]

In 1780, Bean served in his position of captain in the Battle of Kings Mountain.[2]

Death and legacy

[edit]

In May 1782, Bean died of unknown causes at the age of 60 in his cabin at Bean Station.[2]

Bean's settlement of Bean Station grew substantially following his death in 1782. By 1787, Bean's sons constructed a fort, blacksmiths shop, and a trading outpost at the community's crossroads of the Wilderness Road and the Great Indian Warpath.[9][10]

Bean Station emerged as an important stopover, due to its strategic location on the crossroads of present-day U.S. Route 25E and U.S. Route 11W, between Washington, D.C., and New Orleans for early travelers through Tennessee into the 18th century.[11][12]

The town and cabin established by Bean were lost following the flooding of the Holston River valley for the construction of the Cherokee Dam by the Tennessee Valley Authority in 1942. Bean Station unofficially relocated to the new crossroads of US 25E and US 11W, and incorporated into a town in 1996.[13]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ a b Clouse, Allie (May 27, 2021). "From Davy to Dolly: 225 years (and more) of Tennessee's storied history". Knoxville News Sentinel. Retrieved June 1, 2021.
  2. ^ a b c d Tuller, Roberta (2020). "William Bean". An American Family History. Retrieved June 1, 2021.
  3. ^ Lambert, A.J. "WILLIAM BEAN, REV'L WAR" (PDF). Retrieved June 30, 2020.
  4. ^ Larry Kraus. "Children of William Bean (c 1700 – 1780) | William Bean I Genealogy". larkcom.us. Retrieved May 14, 2015.
  5. ^ Grady, J.A. (1973). William Bean, Pioneer of Tennessee, and His Descendants. Grady. Retrieved May 14, 2015.
  6. ^ Ramsey, The Annals of Tennessee, 66-69.
  7. ^ Hamer, Tennessee: A History, 64.
  8. ^ "William Bean's Cabin - 1A5 | Tennessee Historical sign". waymarking.com. Retrieved May 14, 2015.
  9. ^ a b Coffey, Ken (October 19, 2012). "The First Family of Tennessee". Grainger County Historic Society. Thomas Daugherty. Archived from the original on March 20, 2018. Retrieved August 20, 2020.
  10. ^ Barksdale, Kevin (July 11, 2014). The Lost State of Franklin: America's First Secession (E-book). University Press of Kentucky. p. 19. ISBN 9780813150093. Retrieved December 3, 2020.
  11. ^ Brown, Fred (2005). Marking Time (Paperback). University of Tennessee Press. pp. 99–101. ISBN 9781572333307. Retrieved October 17, 2020.
  12. ^ Lane, Ida M. (December 1, 1929). "Once The Teeming Crossroads Of The Wilderness, Bean Station Now Lapsed Into Village Peace". Knoxville News Sentinel. p. 23. Retrieved November 7, 2020 – via Newspapers.com.
  13. ^ Coffey, Ken. "History of Bean Station". Town of Bean Station. Archived from the original on July 24, 2015. Retrieved July 23, 2015.

Further reading

[edit]
  • Carolyn Sakowski; Touring the East Tennessee Backroads; J.F. Blair, pub.; Winston-Salem, N.C.; 1993; pp. 86–87.
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