Mystery Monday

Who Was Andrew Gastin?

Who was Andrew Gastin?

If we look closely at this document, we will see on line 39, the entry for the death record of a single man, named Andrew Gastin.

Let's bring this a little closer so that you can see:

and closer still:

Now, we can see a bit better. On Line 39 we see Andrew Gastin. And if we read across, we see he is listed as S for slave, with his owner being one William Bean.  He was listed as a Male. No death date is given, but just directly above him is listed the death of Nancy Bean for October 11th of 1856. Since the last death registered prior to Nancy's date is June 26th, one might automatically assume that the individual died sometime between June and October. But wait, because, above Nancy is listed her mother, Rachel Bean, and Rachel didn't die until November 7th of the same year. And so, we may assume only one thing: all three deaths were reported by William Bean (which is listed on the second half of the page - each entry takes up two pages, with the line extending from one page to the next), and it is obvious since Rachel's death, which is listed before Nancy's did not occur until after, that William simply reported all three at one time. Probably on his first visit to the county seat, in Union, after their occurrences. We can assume that Andrew Gastin died probably in the late fall, after William's last trip to Union until spring.

The cause of death listed for Andrew is "Hooping Cough". Now look directly to the right, and after the cause of death, you will note a number "3" listed. If you were to go back to the top photograph, and follow that column to the top of the page, you will see that this column, and the one preceding it are for the individual's age. Since nothing is listed in the first column, we know that Andrew Gastin was but a mere 3 months old.

Place of burial is not listed in these death records. However, all of the Bean family is buried in the Bean Cemetery, which sits across the road, and just past a large field, atop a knoll, that was cleared during that time, but which has now been over run with tall mature trees. It is said that slaves were buried outside of the fence that once surrounded the cemetery. (the remains of old wooden fence posts, and cattle fencing can still be seen around the cemetery perimeter). I walked this perimeter a few years ago, but could not find any stones that may have marked slave burials. However, there were more stones within the cemetery than of names of those we know who are buried there. While it is told that slaves are buried outside of the cemetery, it is my personal belief that they were buried within the cemetery fence confines.

It is believed little Andrew Gastin is buried here. If you continue across the page, under the column marked "Parents" only one name is listed "William Bean". It is unknown if that literally meant that William Bean was his father, or his owner, as previously written in the column following the fact that he was a slave. If so, who was his mother? Possibly a woman with the "last name" of Gastin? We know that many slaves took on the last name of their owners, not by choice, but simply to mark them as belonging to a particular slave holder.

However, I have been unable to locate a woman named Gastin in the area, either before or after the Civil War.

It is known that some of the former Bean slaves moved to Oklahoma territory following the Civil War. A few years ago, I was in touch with a woman who claimed to be a descendant of William Bean of Monroe County, West Virginia. She said that they used to laugh about their Bean ancestry, and called themselves "black beans". When I returned her wonderfully written email, and asked for more information, I never received an answer. So I am hoping she will find her way to this blog post and write to me once more! I would love to share information!

Little Andrew Gastin's mother may never be known for sure. But, for all intent's and purposes, it looks as if his father was William Bean. And I would wager to bet, that little Andrew is buried somewhere in the same cemetery as that William Bean lies.

It's a sad, sad story of a tiny little 3 month old baby dying of whooping cough. Sadder still, that time has erased his parent's names. At least his mother's name.

I hope, one day, that we will find her. And be able to put a name to little Andrew's Mommy.

Amanuensis Monday

Indenture Contract for William Bean

Dated 18 Sept. 1804

(His 12th Birthday)

With much being said today (and every day) about those who have ancestors who were slaves, I would like to propose that the often overlooked indentured servant was nothing more than a person who was placed for a precise amount of time into slavery.

An indentured servant was someone who legally had no rights during their time of indenture. In the case of my gr-gr-grandfather, he was placed in indenture at the age of 12, actually on his 12th birthday, until he reached legal age of 21.

The following is the transcript of this document:

"This indenture made this 18th of Sept 1804 one thousand eight hundred and four between Jas. Christy owen Neal Robt Johnston and henry McDaniel of the one part overseers of the poor for monroe County and henry Smith of the other part witnesseth that the so overssers doth bind an orphan boy named William Bean aged twelfth years to the said henry Smith of the county aforesaid and State of virginia to Serve the said henry Smith until he arrives at the age of twenty one years, during all which time the Said William Bean Shall faithfully Serve his Master and all his lawful Commands obay he Sall not suffer any Damage to be done to his Said Masters goods without giving him notice thereof he Shall not frequent Still houses or taverns he shall not play at Cards dice or any unlawful game or at any time abscond himself from his masters business without his Masters leave he Shall not commit fornication nor Contract matrimony during said term but as a true and faithful servant shall truely and diligently Serve his Said Master until he arrives at the age aforesaid and the henry Smith in Consideration thereof doth Covenant and agree to have the so William Bean taught the art trade or Mastery of a Black Smith and provide for him a sufficiency of everyt thing thats requiset for an aprentice during the term of his aprenticeship likewise he is to have him taught to read the holy Scriptures planely to write a plane hand and arithmatic through te rule of three which Education he is to be thoroughly acquainted with at the Expiration of his time and also to give him Such freedom dues as the law direct taking Care to have Said aprentice instructed in the Principals and duties of the Christian religion as far as Said Master is Capable In writing whereof the partys have interchangeably set their hands inscribed this day and year above writen Signed Sealed ad delivered in the presents of  - John Hinchman - Owen Neal - Henry Smith - Jas. Christy"

The above document's transcription is verbatim, spelling and grammatical errors intact.

Mystery Monday

Mystery Monday

Just a few short generations ago, there is a mystery that has yet to be solved. That of my great-great-grandfather, William Bean. (Not to be confused with his son also William.)

The elder William first appears in documents in 1804 at the age of 12 when he is placed in servitude as an indentured servant to one Mr. Ballard. A careful review of this document tells us nothing of why William was placed in indenturement. The event occurred on none other than his 12th birthday to be precise, September 18, 1804.

In February of the same year, a brother, John, was also placed as an indentured servant.

What happened to these young boys (John was 14 at the time of his placement) to put them in such a predicament?

DNA tests can tell us that he probably came from England or Ireland. But the trail literally is cold from that point.

There was a William McBean in the area just 10 years prior. This may have been senior William's father. And a Sarah Bean in the 1805 tax rolls that "owed nothing atoll, owning only her clothing and a spinning wheel". These are presumed to be the parents. But there is no definitive proof.

DNA has not been matched to any other Bean lines. Including Beane, Bane, McBean, MacBean, Bein, Been, and well, you get the general idea. It is as if our family literally dropped out of the sky!

We hope to one day find the missing puzzle piece. At least that is my goal.

Here's to hoping it won't be too much longer! Those of us with a real interest, well, we're not getting any younger!

Mystery Monday

William Bean's ancestry, is for the most part, a mystery.

Somewhere a Bible was seen with the inscription of his parents marriage, and their names, along with his birth. No one knows where the Bible is now, so we have only someone's say-so that this was true.

In Morton's History of Monroe County, Morton reflects that William's son stated his father was from Ireland, and had stolen on board a ship to come to America (which would totally through out the Bible theory). And he was then put into servitude as an indentured servant at the age of 12 (actually on his 12th birthday) until the age of 21 to repay his passage and education.

The possible scenario of William's parents went around like crazy, and while not proven, many claim it as cold hard fact. But the recounting of William stowing away on board ship to get to America makes more sense. It explains the DNA testing we have had done so far.

The latest DNA study indicates that William was most likely from England or Ireland, which would explain the story as recounted in Morton's.

Monroe County, West Virginia court records shows that a John Bean was placed in indenture in February 1804. While William was placed on September 18, 1804. William also told his family he had a younger brother named Roy who ran away from indenture and was never heard from again. Court records have not revealed a Roy, however.

Family insist that William told that his father, also named William, fought in the American Revolution on the British side, along with Cornwallis. No record has been found of this however.

There is a record of a William McBean taking the American Oath and receiving local land grants. These would place the younger William right where we expect he should have been.

I did see his exact birthdate listed in a parish record in Baltimore, with William McBean and his wife, Sarah as his parents, which would then throw out the English/Irish theory. But would, in fact, cement the Bible record.

Our DNA tests have matched no one, except for expected cousins from William's line. Which causes one to pause, and wonder if McBean/Bean was his actual name. Unless we are of the last of that line. Even so, we should at least partially match someone else. But nothing to date to tie us to another Bean line, or even another family.

This is my brick wall.

William was born September 18, 1792, in Baltimore, Maryland to the best of our knowledge. He was placed under indenture on September 18. 1804 until the age of 21, where he was to be taught to be a blacksmith (that is fact, we have copies of this indenture).

The rest we know.

It's the past that keeps me awake at night. That mystery of simply not knowing for certain! It's what keeps the research going. It's what keeps it incomplete.

Perhaps I may never know the answers in my lifetime, but by golly, I've made my stamp trying to figure it all out! And that's going to keep me going for a long, long, time.

Back In The Saddle Again

Back In The Saddle Again

Hello to all of my family and friends, who have supported me while I took the last two years off to just let go, and Let God! Sometimes we simply have to separate ourselves from all things in order to get to that sweet spot that God preserves for us. And I thank you all for allowing me time to do that.

So, with that being said, Mountain Genealogists, and therefore, the Monroe Bean Newsletter are back up and running. Our first newsletter should be ready in the next couple of days. Those who have been with us for so long will recall that I previously kept two blogs. This one for business, and another for the family newsletter. From now on, they will all be combined into this single blog page. And the newsletter will be transformed from The Monroe Bean's to Mountain Genealogists. 

Mountain Genealogists takes me back to that thrilling time when I met with the elders of our family and the first bug for family genealogy bit me. Many of you will remember Fannie Bell Beane and her husband, Jim, who did so much for our family genealogy! We have built upon their foundation, and I will always be indebted to Fannie's tireless research! I miss her very much, and I know one day, when I pass from this life, I will sit down with her and we will not only talk about the Beane family, but get to see those we are talking about as well!

Sometime after the New Year we will be doing another DNA test. This time to discover the haplogroup that tells us where the majority of our ancestry comes from. Yes. We will finally be able to say with a relative certainty whether our line of Bean's comes from Scotland or Ireland. 

Clan MacBean Tartan

 

In our newsletter, we will also be featuring a new section which will feature "famous" relatives, as found through  new research. These will all be verified, which means you can count on these being correct.

Last, we have begun work on a trilogy of fiction based on fact of the Bean's of Monroe County. This is a project I outlined several years ago, and will be working on it daily. This will take some time to complete, but it is something you can look forward to in future print.

 

Once we have completed these three novels, we will begin work on a complete, referenced, genealogical study of William Bean (1792-1864) and his descendants. When that work begins, we will be reaching out to everyone to assist us with updates. (The last one was written by Fannie Beane, and was written before many of our young adults were even born!) This will be in a bound book form for passing onto your children and grandchildren.

As before, I would love to have guest writer's each month. This does not have to be professionally written, and the subject is up to the writer. Have a poem you've written? A short story? Song lyrics? Or would you like to relate something about an ancestor? You can email it to cynthiahenry@consultant.com Because of digital newsletters, there is no limit to the size of article you submit. Just remember that you want to hold your audience captive during their entire time reading. So, send us your stories! We'd love to have them. We would also love to have birth and death announcements. Achievements. And photographs.

I look forward to sending you the newsletter in a few days! So be watching your email in box. Be sure to have our email address listed in your contacts so that the newsletter will arrive safely to you and not be put in your junk, or spam, folder. That email address is texicanwife@hotmail.com

 

And last, beginning in January we will be keeping copies of our newsletter. At the end of each year, we will be printing these newsletters into a bound book. These will be inexpensive and within a price range most everyone can afford. This will make a lovely gift to pass down to future generations. 

Be watching for your newsletter!

Cyndi Beane Henry

Mountain Genealogists

 

Busy as a Bee

I have been stealing two hours every evening to simply write.

 

 

 

What, you might ask, is causing me to spend two hours every evening typing away on my computer?

 

The Great American Novel!

 

Okay, okay, I figured you wouldn't fall for that! However, I am writing a novel that is the Great American Novel to me. It is a novel on my great-great-grandfather's life.

 

We haven't a lot to go on. His father as know it, is another of those whimsical McBean's named William. Family lore says he was a loyalist in the Revolution.  After the war, he received land grants at a place called Stoney Creek, which even today is a natural divider between Virginia and West Virginia.

 

We know that his property was sold off for back taxes because his widow could not afford the taxes in 1805.

 

We know that his eldest son, John, was placed as an indenture servant in February 1804. So we are "assuming" that he died before then. And in September his son William, my gr-gr-grandfather, was also placed for indenture. On his 12th birthday.

 

Family lore states that he had a younger brother, Roy, who was indentured with him at the same time. Roy either disappeared or ran away shortly thereafter. He was never heard from again. It is believed there may have been foul play and Roy was killed accidentally.

 

The novel is being written as fiction. The gaps being filled in by imagination.

 

I am in hope of finishing it about the first of the year. And so I am making good progress with it, and that my dear friends and family, is where I am hidden each evening. No phone calls will be answered during my writing time!

 

Do you have your Great American Novel yet inside of you! Explore with it. Perhaps you can write yours completely non-fiction! How great would that be? Unfortunately the family lore has been passed down and I am including that as part of the fiction, since I am unable to prove, or disprove it.

 

Give it try. I've spent years researching my family. And this is just one of many more books to come.

Amanuensis Monday... William Bean

This is a copy of the marriage bond for William Bean to marry Rachel Wiseman.

It reads as follows:

Know all men by these presents that

we William Bean & Joseph Wiseman

are held and firmly bound unto James

Burton, governor of Virginia and his successors

in the penalty of $150  this 20th November 1813 - with condition

that there is no legal cause to obstruct

a marriage intended to be solemnized

between the William Bean & Rachel

Wiseman then the above obligation

to be void Else to remain in full

force -

Seal                                William Bean {Seal}

J Hutchison                         Joseph Wiseman {Seal}

William M. Bean was born 18 Sep 1792. Rachel Wiseman 23 Apr 1790. The couple were wed in Monroe County, [West] Virginia on the above date. They went on to have 13 children.

This couple were my great-great-grandparents.

Amanuensis Monday



The above document is a pay voucher for William Bean, of Monroe County, West Virginia during the Civil War.

It reads as follows:

No. 22
The COnfederate States
To: Wm M Beane Pri Co F 22 Brig
1863
To Extra duty as Ferryman at Greenbrier Bridge
as per order from Brigade HQTP from 14th day of
February 1860 to 25th day of May 1863 Making one
hundred days (100) at 25 c per day.             $25.00

William was a double agent during the Civil War. He was enlisted in the Union Army, which caused a great rift between him and his family. He then, by all appearances, enlisted in the Confederacy. However, when taken prisoner in Maryland, was taken to Elmira Prison in New York, where he was soon after transferred to Ohio in the Union Army. And remained there until the close of the war. His records are interspersed throughout both forces [Union and Confederate].

Treasure Chest Thursday

1858 Grant to Potts Creek Property

for

William Bean

On 28 July 1858 William Bean received the above Land Grant for thirteen acres on Potts Creek in Monroe County, [West] Virginia. By the time of his death on 01 Jan 1864, William had amassed over 1,000 acres of land in Monroe County.

William was my great-great-grandfather.

Convolutions

The following is in regard to the Bean family of Monroe County, West Virginia. The family was rather large. Old William and Rachel Bean having 13 children, and their various lines of descendants. Today they are spread abroad, but the family remains tightly woven with the many families that remain in the county today.

Who’s Related To Who?


So, I was emailing my cousin, Mandy, and we were discussing the Crosier links to the Bean family. Especially the Thomas Crosier family. Thomas Crosier was the father of Martha Jane Crosier, who married Samuel Waite Bean [son of William and Margaret Perkins Bean].

Mandy mention that on the 1870 Census, Martha [known affectionately as “Mattie”], is found with the last name Hedrick.

Well, that’s easily enough explained. Mattie’s mother, Mary E. Chennault was married to Moses Hedrick on 22 May 1858. Following the birth of two children –James Joseph and Moses, Jr., Moses Sr. died on 12 Jul 1862, in Greenbrier County, WV. Mary, left alone with two children, married Thomas Crosier on 14 Feb. 1866. The couple had two children, Mattie and Amie. [Thomas had previously been married to Malinda J. Kinzley – b.1831-d. abt 1865] and had four children by her: Hannah Sarah [known as Sarah], Jacob, Agnes and Mary. On the 1870 census, the census taker was listing the children from oldest to youngest, and the first two were Crosiers [from Thomas’ first marriage], the next were two Hedricks [from Mary’s first marriage] and the last Martha Jane. However, the census taker simply carried down the last name given him, and poor Mattie looks to have the surname Hedrick on this record, which can be extremely confusing to this scenario.

Now, Thomas was the son of William Crosier [eldest son of Andrew Crosier and Elizabeth Maxwell – one of the four Maxwell sister’s whose family were among the very first settlers in Gap Valley, Monroe County.] and Sarah Bowyer.

Keep up here! Then we have Mary Chennault’s first husband, Moses. Moses was the son of Frederick Hedrick and Hannah Tuckwiller. [You’re probably saying you recognize that name.] Hannah Tuckwiller was the daughter of John Tuckwiller and Catherine Riffe. John and Catherine were the parents of Elizabeth Tuckwiller, yes the wife of Rev. Samuel Perkins/Parkins, and the couple were the parents of Margaret Smith Perkins/Parkins, who married William McHarvey Bean, and became the parents of Samuel Waite Bean, who married none other than Martha Jane “Mattie Crosier”.

[You will probably need a scorecard here!]

To really confuse you… Viranda Elizabeth Bean, [the daughter of William and Margaret Perkins Bean – affectionately known as “Betty”] married none other than James Joseph Hedrick, who was the son of Mary Chennault and Moses Hedrick. And yes, we now have convoluting circles within circles, within circles!

WARNING: Don’t try to draw this family tree out! You’re bound to get dizzy if you do!!!

So… I lovingly like to say… “Who are the Bean’s related to? I think it would be much easier to list who they are NOT related to!!!”

At least in Monroe County.

An Indentured Servant

William Bean was born 18 September 1792, we believe in Baltimore, Maryland. [Family lore leaves us to believe that, and a search through Baltimore Church records indicate a male child was baptized who was born on 18 September 1792, whose name was William Bean.]

At some point, William McBean [William's father], brought his wife, Sarah, and his oldest son, John, into the the Potts Valley area of Monroe County, Virginia [now West Virginia].

What happens next is unknown. William McBean disappears from history sometime before February 1804. It was then that Sarah places John Bean, her eldest son, into an indenture contract. [through the overseers for the county poor] where he was to be taught to be a weaver. [We'll discource on John another time.]

Just a few months later, on his 12th birthday, young William was also placed through the county poor for indenture. A copy of the contract is above.

A transcription of the document reads:

Dated 18 Sept. 1804

"This indenture made this 18th of Sept 1804 one thousand eight hundred and four between Jas. Christy owen Neal Robt Johnston and henry McDaniel of the one part overseers of the poor for monroe County and henry Smith of the other part witnesseth that the so overssers doth bind an orphan boy named William Bean aged twelfth years to the said henry Smith of the county aforesaid and State of virginia to Serve the said henry Smith until he arrives at the age of twenty one years, during all which time the Said William Bean Shall faithfully Serve his Master and all his lawful Commands obay he Sall not suffer any Damage to be done to his Said Masters goods without giving him notice thereof he Shall not frequent Still houses or taverns he shall not play at Cards dice or any unlawful game or at any time abscond himself from his masters business without his Masters leave he Shall not commit fornication nor Contract matrimony during said term but as a true and faithful servant shall truely and diligently Serve his Said Master until he arrives at the age aforesaid and the henry Smith in Consideration thereof doth Covenant and agree to have the so William Bean taught the art trade or Mastery of a Black Smith and provide for him a sufficiency of everyt thing thats requiset for an aprentice during the term of his aprenticeship likewise he is to have him taught to read the holy Scriptures planely to write a plane hand and arithmatic through te rule of three which Education he is to be thoroughly acquainted with at the Expiration of his time and also to give him Such freedom dues as the law direct taking Care to have Said aprentice instructed in the Principals and duties of the Christian religion as far as Said Master is Capable In writing whereof the partys have interchangeably set their hands inscribed this day and year above writen Signed Sealed ad delivered in the presents of - John Hinchman - Owen Neal - Henry Smith - Jas. Christy" [sic]

I have left the grammar exactly as the original was written. There are no paragraphical or line delineations. You will also note that punctuation is sporadic at best.

Young William was taught to be a blacksmith. It was a trade he did not use.

Instead,  9 years later on 20 Nov. 1813, he married the daughter of one of the county's most influential residents, Joseph Wiseman.He married Rachel, who was born in 1790.

By 1820 William had begun to have a collective amount of land that would net him a fortune [worth a couple of million dollars today]. He brought a suit against a Mr. Ballard in Monroe County [to whom he had been indentured], and won a large sum of money which enabled him to begin his climb to fortune. While the suit is named in Monroe County, records, no one, to date, has located the details of this suit. I have searched through the County Clerk's records for the time, and if the suit actually went to court, the records are not there to support it, although the date for hearing was set and is noted on the court calendar.

William led a full life. He and Rachel were married just 13 days shy of their 43rd wedding anniversary, when she succombed to a fever. [Their daughter Nancy had fallen from the same fever just 27 days earlier.] Rachel was buried in the family cemetery on Potts Creek, near present day Waiteville, WV.

William was 72 years old when he lead a posse of "home guard" to arrest some renegade's from the Civil War who had stolen items from various homes in the area [the latest being clothing from a washline]. As he was approaching a cabin in Wiseman's Hollow, one of the renegade's shot from the loft of the cabin. The bullet hitting William in the top of his head.

He was carried back to the Bean home on Potts Creek, and "layed out" in the parlor. He was buried the next day in the family cemetery beside his love, Rachel.

From the county poor, to one of the most wealthiest men in the county at the time, William Bean overcame and prospered.

When I hear individuals say that they are victims of their circumstance, I am compelled to them that we are all victims. But we must rise above that victim mentality to become victors.

What an example I have had to come before me.

William is but one of the examples from which I have shaped my life. The poor little boy, who was placed up for indenture on his 12th birthday. He was my great-great-grandfather.

Treasure Chest Thursday - December 10, 2009

The photo above is the scan of a 1799 land grant that was sold to my great-great-grandfather, William Bean, sometime around 1820. It is for 620 acres on the north fork of Potts Creek, in what is now Monroe County, West Virginia. It is only one of many grants he received and/ or bought.

The above grant is now owned by my cousin, Richard, in Oregon.

William became one of the wealthiest men of the county for his time. At his death he owned more than 1450 acres of land in the Potts Valley [where present day Waiteville, WV is located]. He had cash assets in excess of over $50,000.

William was killed on January 1, 1864 when as a member of the Home Guard, during the Civil War, he went in pursuit of a group of renegade soldiers who was terrorizing the women and children of the county. He followed them, after a theft, into Wiseman's Hollow, and into a cabin there, where one of the renegades shot him from the loft. The ball hit him in the head. He died instantly.

William is buried in the Bean Cemetery, which is a small, hidden cemetery, located on a knoll in the woods on the old Bean homestead.

Black Sheep Sunday - November 29, 2009

William McHarvey Bean

1832 - 1890

William Bean, also known as "Irish" and as "Uncle Willie", was born to William Bean and Rachel Wiseman Bean on Dropping Lick in Monroe County, in what is now West Virginia. William met and married Miss Margaret Smith Perkins from Fort Spring in Greenbrier County on April 26, 1852. And, as nature would take its course, a family ensued.

Life was soon interrupted with the threat of a Civil War. And families were being torn apart with the dissension. Literally torn down the middle, the Bean family was no different than many other families of the Civil War. With one exception. William, taking a stand for the Union Army, silently decided to be an undercover agent. William, already enlisted in the Union Army, undercover, enlisted in the Confederate Army.

His status remained undercover, and undetected, except by his purely Confederate father, who threatened to disown him. Two of William's brothers, Joseph Floyd Bean, and James Franklin Bean, were also enlisted in the Union Army, and were attached to an Ohio unit. This did not help their father's frustration at what appeared to be treason to the South.

To the world at large, William was true to the Bonny Blue! Then on July 13, 1864, William was taken as a Prisoner of War near Hagerstown, Maryland and sent to Elmira Prison in Elmira, New York. This was the Union's answer to the worst Confederate prisons! Prisoners who were sent to Elmira were expected to live no more than 6-months. Most wasted away to nothing more than skin stretched taut over bone. But William did not lose weight, and only spent a 6-week time in the present before being transferred, as a Union soldier, to Johnson Island in Ohio, a prison camp restricted to holding Confederate Officer's. This facility seemed more like a camp than a prison, and the inmates were treated with honor and dignity.

Shortly after William arrived in Ohio, his wife and children joined him, having moved by covered wagon pulled by oxen across enemy lines to be reunited.

Johnson Island became known for an infamous Confederate attempt to free the many officers held there with a stunning steamboat escape! However, an unknown soldier, fresh from Elmira Prison, only 2 weeks after the arrival of William at Johnson Island, thwarted the attempt by passing on vital information he had learned at the hands of the Confederate soldiers at Elmira. It is unknown if this information came from William, however, in reading Johnson Island's records, William was the most recent arrival from Elmira at that time, deductions lead one to believe it may have been he who thwarted the Confederate breakout!

Although William had 2 brothers who had also enlisted in the Union Army, he alone was singled out by family and friends in his mostly Confederate community as a "traitor to the Cause". William however, took it in stride.

In December of 1866, following the War and the birth of his son, John on the 15th of that month, and amidst the blowing, cold snows of winter, William and his family moved back to Monroe County, West Virginia. William, now recognized by the Federal Army and government as a Unionist, soon became active in local politics, and was made a U.S. Marshall. He remained so for the remainder of his life.

In 1890, a local constable named Henry Egleston, was sent to retrieve William's horse and buggy as a lien had not been paid on them. Meeting William at Keenan, he agreed to allow William to drive the horse and buggy back to his home first before taking them back to Union, the county seat. However, rounding the bend in Gap Mills, just below the first mill on the creek, Egleston, who was following closely behind William, pulled his pistol and fired through the buggy window in the rear of the buggy, hitting William in the back of the head.

William was carried to Dr. Pharr's home, just across the creek, where he died a short two hours later without ever regaining consciousness.

William was known as a "traitor to the Cause", and could be quite harsh to known Confederate sympathizer's following the War. But it is said that to his family he was loving and caring, and would have given his life in an instant for any one of them.

William McHarvey Bean was my great-grandfather, and I am proud to proclaim him my "Black Sheep" ancestor.

Not So Wordless Wednesday

This beaver-skin hat has quite the tale to tell.

This hat was owned by my great-great-grandfather, William Bean.

William Bean was born in 1792 in Baltimore, Maryland. At the tender of age 12 [actually exactly on his twelfth birthday], he was placed for indenture. He was to be trained to become a blacksmith, as well as learn the studies needed of every young man in
1804.

In 1813, at the age of 21 he was released from his indenture, and

married the lovely Rachel Wiseman.

The couple produced 13 offspring. And William went on to become a prominent gentleman in the farming community of Monroe County.

In 1864, with the young men away at War, William, at the age of 72, was part of a home guard that was left to protect the women and children, and preserve what they could of the farm community.

A group of renegade deserters had been looting farms and homes locally, and in this county [where both Union and Confederate armies were welcomed, due to the status of the new state of West Virginia] these men were wanted by both Northern and Southern armies.

On this occasion, the renegades stole laundry from a woman's wash line. William went to round them up. Enough was enough!

William tracked the thieves into Wiseman's Hollow and to a cabin there. When it became obvious the men would not come out, William entered the cabin to bring them out. When he opened the door, one of the men shot from the loft of the cabin. The shot struck William in the top of the head.

The deserters escaped.

William's body was brought to his home on Pott's Creek, where he was layed out and prepared for burial. The hat he had been wearing when he was shot was brought home with him.

The date was January 1st, 1864.

William was buried in the little family cemetery just across the field from his house. It was here he had buried his wife, Rachel, and his daughter, Nancy. His daughter-in-law, Amanda, was also buried here. As were at least two of slaves, Andrew and William.

The day following his death, a posse caught up with the deserters who had shot William. The posse was incited over the death of their friend. Justice was swift. They lined the men up against a shale bank, pronounced them guilty, and opened fire with their pistols.

Sometime before the turn of the century [1900] a legend had been born regarding old William's beaver skin hat. It was said that if anyone ever put it on they would die very shortly afterward.

"Remember cousin so-and-so? He put it on and he died two days later!"

Everyone knew "Someone" who had tried it on, and had died within a few days.

Uncle Bill [who is 92 years young] just told me that when he was a young boy, the hat had been in the home and he had picked it up, determined to try it on. It was quickly snatched from his hands and he was sternly warned to never put it on his head, or allow anyone else to!

The hat today is as you see it above. The beaver skin worn smooth and faded from black to a worn brown. The blood stains on the front of the hat are quite noticeable. The bullet hole at the crown of the hat is also easily identifiable.

The hat is owned by a direct descendant of William's. Her intention is that it will become housed in the local museum on her demise.

She keeps it securely locked away in a closet, where no one can place it upon their heads.

Tombstone Tuesday

This is the story about the cemetery and tombstones nearly forgotten in the woods. It is the story of my great-great-grandparents, William and Rachel Wiseman Bean.

The Bean Cemetery is located near the tiny hamlet of Waiteville, WV. In order to reach this little burial place, one must park their car on the edge of the one lane road and hike across a wide open field to a dense stand of trees and woods. It is here that you will find William and Rachel's final resting place.





















For over 100-years the little cemetery sat. It's tombstones slowly deteriorating and breaking away with decay and disrepair. Until 10-years ago when the family placed this new memorial tombstone for our ancestors.

We know there are several more buried here, as evidenced by the broken stones that remain.












On Sunday, August 9th, I visited this tiny little cemetery for the first time.

I photographed 10 stone markers. And I counted 11 mounds and depressions that were indicative of grave sites.

I located pieces of the old wire fence that once surrounded the cemetery, as well as the rotting fence posts that have long ago fallen over and are swiftly becoming a part of the forest floor.

The cemetery was covered in small trees that have grown there since my Dad was a boy. He recalled the open area then, with a few large trees surrounding the graves. Now trees grow right through the grave sites.

I saw deer scat, and counted 4 squirels scampering through the trees while we were there.

Standing on the hill, as I looked to the south, I could clearly see the old homestead. I could see why my great-grandparents would want to be buried here. Overlooking their beautiful log home.

No one alive today knows who is buried in which grave. And, as I have stated, the 10-grave stones that remain are worn with time and if there was ever any engraving on them, it is lost to time. Still, we do know that William and Rachel are buried here. Rachel died in November of 1856, less than a month after her daughter Nancy, both with a fever of unknown origin. Son Archibald's first wife, Amanda died in this area, and was buried here, about 1852. Daughter Emily, and her husband, Thomas, [d. 1889 and d. 1888 respectively] are also believed to be buried here. And William is buried here [d. 1864]. I can also account for 3-slaves who were buried here as well.

This is a beautiful spot.

The property has long ago left family hands, and is now owned by a hunters co-op. They will not allow us to do any more improvements on the cemetery. That includes a protective fence.

My heart breaks that one day, no one will know where this little slice of history is at. The forest will either encroach completely. Or the property sold yet again.

It is the protectiveness within me that despairs. These loved ones are my past. They are my core. And I am helpless to protect their final resting place. I despair that the family let this land slip from them.

As I stand here, breathing in the warm summer air, from this mountain side, I feel at home. So at home.

I speak to William and Rachel now. "Rest in peace. Know that your future continues with the family. We are growing. And we are stronger than ever. Rest. Rest in peace."

They Survived The Biggest Change In America

The 77th edition of the Carnival of Genealogy asks that we write about an ancestor who survived a disaster or other major occurrence in their life.

I have chosen to write about my great-grandparents, William and Margaret Bean, who lived in Monroe County, West Virginia.

At the time of the incidents I will be describing, West Virginia was just emerging as a new state, born from the beginnings of a civil war. The Bean family were Confederate to the core, especially the old patriarch, William Sr.

Born in 1792, his father is said to have fought under Lord Cornwallis in the American Revolution, and then he took the oath and became a full patriot. He received land grants in Virginia [now West Virginia] in what was then virgin territory. In 1804, William Sr. and his brother, John, being without a father [it is believed he must have died] were placed under indenture. William was to apprentice to become a blacksmith. The indenture is dated on his twelfth birthday.

But William, who came from indenture, married a good woman, and became a gentleman farmer. He purchased lands that totaled to more than 1600 acres in the county. He was tough, but he was fair. And the locals thought very highly of him.

When this part of the state split for lack of being able to choose "North" or "South", old William wasn't phased. He was Confederate through and through.

And so he thought, too, his sons. Especially William Jr.

But William, the younger, had other plans in mind.

William became a spy for the Union Army. And as such, he was actually enlisted into the Confederate Army with locals, a kind of 007 agent! He fought in several battles nearby. And then his unit began to march to distant areas to engage the enemy. And so it was on May 11, 1864 William was taken prisoner in Hagerstown, Maryland. He was shipped to the infamous prison at Elmira, New York.

William's family labeled him a traitor when they discovered he was working as a spy, and his own father threatened to disown him, saying he'd switched sides! But William's wife, Margaret, knew this was all a ruse on William's part. She packed up what household items she'd need with three small children, ranging in ages from seven years old to only 2 years of age, into a covered wagon. She hitched a team of oxen to the wagon, and took off, across enemy lines, completely across the state of West Virginia into Ohio. She stopped near present day Johnston's Island. She didn't have long to wait.

On September 2nd William was sent to Johnston's Island. Here was the Union Prison for Confederate Officers. William spent the remainder of the war at this post. It is believed that he helped to halt a breakout planned by the Confederacy, who had sent a ship up the river to liberate the prisoners held there.

William's official records were sealed under orders of President Abraham Lincoln on April 10, 1865. This is just ONE DAY after Lee's surrender at Appomattox, and only 4 days before Lincoln was assassinated.

William and Margaret moved down to Cincinnati, where on December 15, 1866 their next child was born. John Monroe Bean. John was my grandfather.

Later that very same winter [1866-1867] they moved back to West Virginia. It is said that they very nearly froze to death in freak blizzards coming back. In a family of fairly tall and robust men, John was only 5'7" tall, and weighed a mere 150 pounds. He always stated that the winter he was born the family near froze to death on their move back to West Virginia, and it "stunted my growth".

I never knew William and Margaret. William later became a US Marshall and was shot to death not far from his home in 1890 at the age of 58. A scant year later Margaret succumbed to grief and died at the age of 65.

And John? Sadly, I never got to know my Grandpa either. John was an old man before he even started his family. My Dad was the thirteenth of fifteen children John fathered. John was 71 when Dad came along. Dad got the best of John, though, I believe! As an older man, he had time to sit and talk about the past and his family. Dad would listen with open mind, and open heart. To this day, I can sit for hours and listen to Dad tell me the stories of his own father, and the family history that was passed down to him.

John passed away in 1954 at 87 and one-half years of age. That was a few [very few] years before I came along. However, I like to think that I am keeping the memory of William, and Margaret, and John, and the many, many more that I study and learn about, alive. They live in my mind as brightly and as lively as they once did in person.

When I visit the cemetery, I am often found talking to them. Oh, I get some funny looks from people sometimes. And once, I even had a lady ask me outright if I was alright or should she call someone! [I quickly said I was fine, and "no, there's no need to call anyone", then skedaddled away before she DID call someone. Someone with a little white coat and padded cell maybe! Ha ha]

I believe they know I am keeping their memories alive. And I like to think that from their home in heaven they look down and smile.

At least, I truly hope so!

Saturday Night Challenge

Randy Seaver is at it again! Giving us yet, again, a wonderful challenge for blogging! This time, Randy has challenged us with the idea: "Decide what year and what place you would love to visit as a time traveller. Who would you like to see in their environment? If you could ask them one question, what would it be?"

I don't have to think very hard for this one!

If I could go back in time to any time, I would go back to 1800 in Monroe County, Virginia [now West Virginia]. And I would have a little visit with William and Sarah McBean, and their sons, John and William [and maybe Roy?].

William and Sarah McBean are my gr-gr-gr-grandparents [my Dad's side]. I'd ask William who his parents were, and where he came from! This is my biggest brick wall.

Sometime between 1803 and 1804 William dies and his widowed wife puts their sons up for indenture. Son, William, is my gr-gr-grandfather. He is indentured to be a blacksmith apprentice on his 12th birthday. As an adult he became a gentleman farmer, and quite the wealthy gentleman for the times. He went on to marry Rachel Wiseman, and one of their many children was also named William. That William is my gr-grandfather.

William marries Margaret Perkins. And among their many children is born John Monroe Bean, my grandfather, in 1866.

John is in his 30's before he marries the first time. He goes on to marry 3 times, his first two wives dying tragically [one from tuberculosis and one from complications of child birth]. He fathered a total of 15 children, the last 3 being born after he was in his late 70's. It is from this last marriage that my Dad was born.

Needless to say I never knew my grand father. He passed away in 1954, just a few years before I was born.

But it is my gr-gr-gr-grandfather that stumps me, and has stumped the past 3 generations as well!

Madness Monday

Madness Monday - Keeping in the Spirit of fellow Geneabloggers, I have decided to begin posting a "Madness Monday", "Tombstone Tuesday", and "Wordless Wednesday".

In posting a Madness Monday, one is to write about either a "Mad" relative [or other such that you are researching], or someone you are researching that is driving you mad!

I have chosen my subject as William McHarvey Bean, my paternal great-grandfather.

This is "young" William, [named after his "Pa".]

William was born in 1832 in Zenith, Monroe County, Virginia, in what is now West Virginia. He was born along Back Valley. This is a narrow little valley that runs between Peter's Mountain, and a smaller ridge. William was the 12th born of 13 children to William and Rachel [Wiseman] Bean.

In 1852 William married Margaret Smith Perkins/Parkins. William and Margaret went on to parent 8 children, 7 of whom reached adulthood. They lived, also, in Monroe County.

Back in 2001, before I was accurately recording everything I found on my ancestors, I sent an email to a researcher to attempt to locate records on William in the Civil War. At the same time I received his records from NARA regarding his enlistment in the Confederate Army. However, we also knew that William "switched sides", much to his family's dismay, and he was threatened with being disowned. His father even purposely removed him from his will for this action. The researcher I had engaged sent me an email regarding William's Union records. Yes, they had found his records. But there was a problem. They had been sealed, and the seal could not be opened, by Presidential Order of Abraham Lincoln, dated 10 April 1865. The researcher stated that he could make copies of the available info, or I could mail NARA for the info, which would be cheaper than him making a return trip. [This individual did not make copies while he was there, which today confounds me...but we had not, in his defense, make prior arrangements about costs for copies, etc.] So, I chose to send for copies of what was available from NARA.

In the meantime, the copies of William's Confederate record arrived. We found out that William was temporarily listed as AWOL. But within 2 weeks was found to be on a POW list for Elmira Prison in Elmira, NY. This was astonishing! Because the information received from the researcher was that William had enlisted in the Union Army in Elmira, NY, and was immediately sent as a Sgt. to Johnson Island in Ohio to guard Confederate soldiers.

We were so perplexed! How could someone, who had just "switched sides" be trusted to guard Confederate prisoners? Especially the prisoners of Johnson's Island, who were officers???

We began to suspect subterfuge.

Then we began to make a little sense of some of the things we were reading.

It seems that just 10 short days after William arrived in Ohio, a Confederate move to engage the enemy and free the prisoners of Johnson's Island was thwarted by a soldier who had just arrived, 10 short days before, from Elmira Prison. Could it be that William did not "switch sides", but was actually a double agent?

The possibility seemed almost unreal! But we theorized that would be why his records were sealed by President Lincoln. To protect his identity.

But then came the small, business-sized envelope from NARA. No records or copies of anything were inside. Just a form-letter telling me that no records had been found, and that I could search for other family members should I wish to.

Instead of relying on another paper response, I picked up the phone and began making phone calls. I spoke with a NARA representative and explained that I had sent a representative to their facility and this person had seen a file. I explained that he had found that actual records were not available, That within the file was a form that stated William's records had been sealed under Presidential order. This person assured me they would look into it.

I really never expected to hear from them again, and began to mentally form my letter of complaint. Two days later I received a call back from the same individual. While he was most polite, he assured me that he had spent hours attempting to locate the file, and even searched through cross-referencing for it. He was empty-handed.

Could my researcher have either looked at the wrong file, or even, heaven forbid, have lied to me? But not. He couldn't have lied, because the facts all fit. Just like the pieces to a puzzle.

It became curiouser and curiouser.

Well, surely I should be able to locate more information. Somewhere!

In 1890, while serving as a US Marshall, William was shot and killed by a constable who was attempting to repossess a horse and buggy driven by William. The newspaper article clearly stated William was a US Marshall. This is information that had also been handed down to me from family lore.

The interesting thing about William's murder, for it was murder, was that the constable, who claimed to have shot William in self-defense, shot him through the back window of William's buggy. Into the back of the head.

Interestingly enough, local newspaper articles of the trial of the man accused literally state that he was "spirited away to an undisclosed location". Family lore states that the Justice Department approached great-grandmother and asked if she wanted them to pursue the matter on a Federal level. Her reply was "No! You folks have to realize that me and my kids still have to live in this county!"

Well, I would just contact the Justice Department and see about getting William's records for his career as a US Marshall. While I was waiting, I decided to play devil's advocate. Let's say that the search for William's Union records was a farce. He had never served in the Union Army. Then he would have had to have taken a citizen's oath in order to have become a US Marshall. Otherwise, he would not have been able to hold office. I would search for his oath.

I contacted the courthouse. Yes, they did in fact hold copies of all the Monroe Countians who pledged the oath. And so I made my trip to the county seat and the courthouse. I spent hours poring over every single pledge signed.

But no William.

A few days later I received a letter back from the Justice Department. There was no record of William Bean having served as a US Marshall.

Could the newspaper have been wrong?

Then I received a copy of William's granddaughter's memoir's. She clearly stated he was a Marshall. Again I was feeling curiouser and curiouser! [Lewis Carroll is coming out in me, remember "Alice in Wonderland"?]

And so, I thought I would make a trip back to the courthouse and look for William's death record. By 1890, the time of his death, death records for West Virginia included the individuals occupation if known. I was shown to the record room, and the appropriate book for the year in question was pointed out. I began thumbing through the pages until I came to the place where the entries for 1890 should have been. I say "should have been", because at the point, someone had carefully torn the pages for 1890 and 1891 from the book. I immediately went and retrieved the clerk who came into the record room with me to see what my excitement was about.

"Well, I'll be! I've never noticed this before!", she exclaimed. On careful inspection, one could clearly see the discolored edges of the tear, and determine that these pages had been removed many, many years ago. The oxidation was plain to the naked eye.

On questioning if these records would have been sent to the Department of Health I was told no. That was not required until 1895.

However, I began to feel as though someone, or some agency, was carefully covering up William's existence. Even now. Over 100 years since his death.

The Union file that was, and then wasn't. The Justice Department record that should have been, but wasn't. The death record that should have been, but wasn't.

And then we attempted to get the Daughters of the Confederacy to recognize William. After all, here we were looking at his records, showing him to have been AWOL, and then a short few days later a confirmation of his being taken as a prisoner and place in Elmira Prison. Surely, if we couldn't prove he had served in the Union Army, then we had proof positive of the Confederate service!

The Daughters of the Confederacy stated that they could not accept out application, as William had been labeled as a traitor to the Confederacy. When we responded with, please show us your proof that he was a traitor, we were met with no reply at all. Even after repeated attempts for such.

William was a known traitor to the Confederacy? Yet here we sat with his Confederate records. There seemed to have been some kind of service in the Union Army. But there was no proof. Johnson Island records did not reveal William Bean having served there. Courthouse records did not show his oath of allegiance, nor his death record. And yet, newspaper and family stated he was a US Marshall.

A few weeks ago I picked up the phone and called the State Department of Health, in an off-chance hope that maybe there would be a death certificate filed in Charleston. Sure enough. We finally had a small breakthrough.

The kind woman I spoke with not only sent me a copy of William's death certificate, but a copy of great-grandmother's as well, who died in 1891.

The first thing I examined was his occupation. Sure enough, William's occupation at the time of death is listed as US Marshall.

There is another twist to this story.

When William was still in Elmira, his wife and his four children loaded themselves into an oxen-pulled wagon and crossed enemy lines and went to Ohio. They joined William "somewhere" in Ohio. But after the War they moved to Cincinnati, where on December 15, 1866 my grandfather, John was born.

My "madness" is in trying to fit all of these puzzle pieces together in such a way that they "make sense".

Where have all of William's records gone? Could there have been a government cover up of his true purpose during the War? Did the Justice Department hide his records? Was he, in fact, a double-agent during the War? Does that explain why he never had to take an oath of allegiance? Why were his death records torn from the county courthouse?

The search goes on.... and on... and on...