Margaret (Hebb) Bean (abt. 1726 - 1791)

Born about 1726 in St. Mary's, Maryland

Ancestors

Descendants

Died 1791 at about age 65 in Hardy County, West Virginia

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Biography

Around 1747, Margaret married Robert Bean, son of John and Mary Bean. It has been assumed that the surname of Robert’s wife, Margaret, was Hebb, but no documentation has been produced for that claim. Margaret does not appear in any of the records of the Hebb family in St. Mary's County.

Margaret was named executor of her husband's estate, however the clerk who recorded the action of the County Clerk inaccurately recorded Elizabeth Bean as executor. ^[1]

The children of Margaret and Robert as found in the records of St. Mary's and Hardy Counties are as follows:

1. William Bean was born in St. Mary’s County, Maryland, in 1749 ^[2]

2. John Bean of Robert was born 1751-52 and no later than 1755 in St. Mary’s County, Maryland. ^[3]

3. Robert Bean of Robert born 1754-55, no later than 1756 in St. Mary’s County, Maryland.^[4]

4. George Bean was born around 1756-1757 in St. Mary’s County, Maryland .^[5]

5. Thomas Bean was born in the 1760s in St. Mary’s County, Maryland. ^[6]

6. James Bean was born in St. Mary’s County, Maryland, in the 1760s ^[7]

7. Bennett Bean was born in St. Mary’s County, Maryland, on 5 August 1771 and was baptized at St. Andrew’s Episcopal Church. ^[8]

Research Notes

Margaret executed Robert's Will

Hardy County, West Virginia, Order and minute book, 1788-1795, p. 224 (7 Feb. 1791) Probate of will of Robert Bean:

“the last Will and Testament of Robert Bean Decd was proved by the oath of Benjamin Marshall and Thomas Davis two of the witnesses thereto and ordered to be Recorded and on the motion of the Executor therein named who made oath thereto according" to Law certificate is granted for obtaining a probate'' thereof in due form giving Security Whereupon herewith Securely entered into and acknowledged Bond Conditions as the Law directs.”

https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3Q9M-C34Z-M9WB-T?i=120&cat=613224

Estimating the birth year and marriage year of Margaret Bean.

Margaret’s first son, William, was born in 1749 and her last son, Bennett, in 1771, a 22-year span. Margaret likely was in her forties by the last birth. *Assuming* that she was 45 at Bennett’s birth, she was 23 at the birth of William. If William was born within the usual year or two of his parents’ marriage, their marriage was in 1747 or 1748. Twenty-three at William’s birth, Margaret was 21 or 22 at her marriage: her birth year was 1726.

Assuming that Margaret was older than 45 when Bennett was born will produce an earlier year of birth. Assuming she was younger than 45 will produce a later year of birth.

Sources

1. ↑ Will book, v. 01 1786-1811, page 64-65, ”West Virginia Will Books, 1756-1971", database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:QJD5-N3CS : accessed 13 December 2015), Robert Bean, 1790. GS Film Number 000816672, Digital Folder Number 004715556, Image Number 00038 and Hardy County, West Virginia, Order and minute book, 1788-1795, p. 224 (7 Feb. 1791) Probate of will of Robert Bean: “West Virginia Order and Minute Books, 1788-1880” Family History Library Film 818678 DGS 8614100 [image 121] (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3Q9M-C34Z-M9WB-T?i=120&cat=613224). SEE research note.
2. ↑ Josephine Bean Wilson, The Bean Family, Hardy County, Virginia, Line (Athens, Ohio: August 1917), p. 3: date traditional, not documented. William’s age was 80-89 in 1830 (U. S. Census, 1830, Athens Co., Ohio, Canaan Township, p. 206), calculating to a birth year between 1741 and 1750. There is no Bean in his nineties in the 1840 census for Athens Co., but the male in his nineties in the household of William Burch, who married William’s daughter, Mahala, probably was William.
3. ↑ Likely born 2 to 3 years after William. Age 45 or older, U. S. Census, 1800, St. Mary’s Co., Md. p 19 [stamp], p. 424 [handwritten].
4. ↑ Likely born 2 to 3 years after John. Robert was age 26-44 in 1820 (b. by 1756) and was married in the mid- to-late 1780s.
5. ↑ Likely born 2 to 3 years after John. The year of George’s birth is an unresolved question. In 1810 his age was 45 or above, calculating to a birth before 1765. The 1830 census records him as being in his sixties, so born 1761 to 1770 [U. S. Census, 1830, Hagerstown, Washington Co., Md., p. 122 (stamped), line 13.] Possibly George misstated his age in 1830 or the census-taker marked the wrong column, because this age is not consistent with a marriage to Anne Dillon in 1778. If George had been born in 1761, he would have been 17 at his first marriage. If he was 21 at his first marriage, he was born in 1757; if he was the more usual age at first marriage, 23 to 25, he was born 1753-55.
6. ↑ In the 1830 census Thomas’ age was 60-69 and in 1840 age 70-79 (U. S. Censuses, Hardy Co, Va.: 1830 p. 75; 1840 p. 113 [stamped].
7. ↑ In the 1830 census James’ age was 60-69 and in 1840 his age was 70-79 (U. S. Censuses, Hardy Co, Va.: 1830 p. 75; 1840 p. 114 [stamped].
8. ↑ Identified as son of Robert Bean and Margaret: St. Andrew’s Church [Leonardtown, Md.] Records, p. 17, transcribed by Martha S. Poole, FHL microfilm 985192.

• Clan MacBean in North America, Volume II, Fifth Edition, Revised 1993, by Joseph S. Bean, page 486, in an unreliable source. The places of birth are all incorrect and the birth years have no basis in the records for this family.