Joshua Bean (1741 - 1814)

Born 2 May 1741 in Brentwood, Rockingham, New Hampshire

Ancestors

Husband of Mary Bean — married 27 Nov 1763 in Brentwood, New Hampshire

Descendants

Died 25 Apr 1814 at age 72 in Readfield, Kennebec, Massachusetts, United States

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Biography

Joshua Bean performed Patriotic Service in Massachusetts in the American Revolution.

Joshua Bean is a member of Clan MacBean.

Joshua Bean, son of Joshua Bean and Hanna Robinson and a true pioneer of early Maine.

Joshua followed his sister, Hannah (Bean) Mudgett and her husband to Gilmanton, the day after Christmas, 1761. (Read more about this story in Hannah's profile)

He prepared a log cabin on his land and returned to Brentwood by way of Boscawen to marry his cousin, Mary Bean (1742-1822), the daughter of Sinkler and Shuah (Fifield) Bean. After their marriage, on November 27, 1762, they settled at Gilmanton to become one of the first seven families there.

In 1784, he and Mary, with their eleven children, took up stakes again and pioneered at Winthrop, Maine (later incorporated as Readfield). Two more children were born in Readfield.

On December 2, 1780, he bought 3,200 acres of land, for which he paid a dollar an acre. He paid for this in Spanish milled dollars. His land was on the west side of the Kennebec River, with one mile frontage on the water and five miles back. The present city of Hallowell is located within this area.

Joshua became one of the leading men of Readfield, representing that town in the General Court at Boston, in 1787. He was delegate to the convention in Boston February 2, 1788, when Massachusetts adopted the Constitution of the United States.

The first Town Meeting in Readfield was held in his house and he was elected one of the Town Officers. He insisted that the first order of business for the town was the matter of a community supported school. A school district was set up immediately and a tax assessed for it. He was Selectman in 1784-86 and 90. In 1786, he was delegate to the convention at Falmouth to consider the separation of Massachusetts and Main.

He and Mary had 13 children, (plus one that died in infancy). All were born in Gilmanton, except the two youngest, born in Readfield:

Elisha Bean, born September 19, 1764; Mehitable Bean, born June 10, 1767; Joel Bean, born June 20, 1768; Ruth Bean, born June 5, 1772; Reuben Bean, born June 13, 1774; Betsey Bean, born February 23, 1776; Asa Bean, born April 13, 1778; James Bean, born March 17, 1780; Jeremiah Bean, born June 8, 1782; Sheperd Bean, born July 16, 1784; Hannah Bean, born July 13, 1787; Manley Bean, born July 13, 1790

Three of the boys of this family married sisters, the daughters of Samuel Taylor. Reuben, James and Jeremiah, plus a grandson, Greelief, son of Elisha, formed the main Bean families who moved from Readfield to Jay, Maine. They all settled at what later became as Beans Corners, Maine.

Joshua Bean died (age 73) on 5 April 1814 in Readfield, Maine, United States.^[1] Joshua Bean Jr was mentioned on a memorial in Readfield Corner Cemetery, Readfield, Kennebec County, Maine, United States with a death date of 5 April 1814.^[2]

Sources

1. ↑ Death: "Maine, U.S., Veterans Cemetery Records, 1676-1918"
   State Archives; Augusta, Maine; Maine, Veterans Cemetery Records, 1676-1918
   Ancestry Sharing Link - Ancestry Record 61895 #43654 (accessed 3 August 2023)
   Joshua Bean death 5 Apr 1814 in Readfield, Maine, United States.
2. ↑ Memorial: Find a Grave (has image)
   Find A Grave: Memorial #52921811 (accessed 3 August 2023)
   Memorial page for Joshua Bean Jr. (2 May 1741-5 Apr 1814), citing Readfield Corner Cemetery, Readfield, Kennebec County, Maine, USA; Maintained by MillieBelle (contributor 46628380).

Acknowledgements

• WikiTree profile Bean-1124 created through the import of perry and plumb tree.ged on Aug 18, 2012 by Merry Kennedy. See the Changes page for the details of edits by Merry and others.

• Clan MacBean of North America, Volume I, Sixth Edition, Revised 1992, by Joseph S Bean, page 319