Daughter of William and Lydia Russell Bean
From "The Bean Station Tavern Restoration Project," prepared by Robert M. Howes, for the Tennessee Valley Authority, Department of Regional Studies, Knoxville, Tennessee, April 1944:
"In a corn field at Bean Station, just off the highway leading from Bean Station to Rutledge, was a grave, well defined and outlined with stones, and marked with a sturdy field stone whose simple epitaph, 'J. Bean, Nov. 24, 1799,' had weathered the summer suns and winter's rains and freezes of a hundred and forty-two years, and still remained legible.
Just who J. Bean might have been has been the source of much conjecture, and many were of the opinion that it was Jesse Bean, of the pioneer Beans who made the first settlement which still carries the family name, but records at Rutledge proved that Jesse Bean lived and made land transfers considerably later than 1799.
Thomas C. Godwin of Grainger County, who is a Bean descendant (his great-grandfather, John Bowen, married Sarah Bean) tells the story that was told to him by 'Granny Cole,' who lived in the gap beyond Mineral Hill springs, and who was an old woman at the turn of the century. 'Granny' Cole was a character to long be remembered. She had an intellect above the average, and possessed a keen memory, rich in historic lore. Her story as told to Mr. Godwin was that 'J. Bean' was 'Jane Bean,' that she was a young woman and had moved the loom out under the willows, and was weaving when she fell the victim of an Indian's arrow. The date, Nov. 24, on her headstone, invites a doubt as to the authenticity of the task she was performing, though warm days do come in November, and too, Jane was probably seeking better light than in the windowless cabin. Pioneer women were in no sense hot-house plants, and physical comforts were secondary, so if the sky was fair a little chill was of no consequence when weaving had to be done.
On Friday morning, August 29, in the presence of T. C. Godwin, who signed for the removal, and Mrs. James H. Richardson, who represented the Daughters of the American Revolution, the grave of J. Bean, which was the earliest marked grave in the entire area, was removed to the Dalton cemetery which will be in the proposed park area, and near the site where the Tennessee D. A. R. hopes to restore the Bean Station tavern, and in which project TVA has given such splendid cooperation. It has been the feeling of Tennessee D. A. R. that this old Bean grave and the historic marker placed at Bean Station several years ago by the Nancy Ward Chapter D. A. R. of Chattanooga, should be located near the restored tavern, and be a part of the restoration project.
To those who may have morbid curiosity, it may be said that even after a hundred and forty-two years, there was abundant evidence to determine that the person under the headstone 'J. Bean, Nov. 24, 1799,' was of small stature, and young, for the teeth were perfect, and unquestionably a woman's."
From "The Bean Station Tavern Restoration Project," prepared by Robert M. Howes, for the Tennessee Valley Authority, Department of Regional Studies, Knoxville, Tennessee, April 1944:
"In a corn field at Bean Station, just off the highway leading from Bean Station to Rutledge, was a grave, well defined and outlined with stones, and marked with a sturdy field stone whose simple epitaph, 'J. Bean, Nov. 24, 1799,' had weathered the summer suns and winter's rains and freezes of a hundred and forty-two years, and still remained legible.
Just who J. Bean might have been has been the source of much conjecture, and many were of the opinion that it was Jesse Bean, of the pioneer Beans who made the first settlement which still carries the family name, but records at Rutledge proved that Jesse Bean lived and made land transfers considerably later than 1799.
Thomas C. Godwin of Grainger County, who is a Bean descendant (his great-grandfather, John Bowen, married Sarah Bean) tells the story that was told to him by 'Granny Cole,' who lived in the gap beyond Mineral Hill springs, and who was an old woman at the turn of the century. 'Granny' Cole was a character to long be remembered. She had an intellect above the average, and possessed a keen memory, rich in historic lore. Her story as told to Mr. Godwin was that 'J. Bean' was 'Jane Bean,' that she was a young woman and had moved the loom out under the willows, and was weaving when she fell the victim of an Indian's arrow. The date, Nov. 24, on her headstone, invites a doubt as to the authenticity of the task she was performing, though warm days do come in November, and too, Jane was probably seeking better light than in the windowless cabin. Pioneer women were in no sense hot-house plants, and physical comforts were secondary, so if the sky was fair a little chill was of no consequence when weaving had to be done.
On Friday morning, August 29, in the presence of T. C. Godwin, who signed for the removal, and Mrs. James H. Richardson, who represented the Daughters of the American Revolution, the grave of J. Bean, which was the earliest marked grave in the entire area, was removed to the Dalton cemetery which will be in the proposed park area, and near the site where the Tennessee D. A. R. hopes to restore the Bean Station tavern, and in which project TVA has given such splendid cooperation. It has been the feeling of Tennessee D. A. R. that this old Bean grave and the historic marker placed at Bean Station several years ago by the Nancy Ward Chapter D. A. R. of Chattanooga, should be located near the restored tavern, and be a part of the restoration project.
To those who may have morbid curiosity, it may be said that even after a hundred and forty-two years, there was abundant evidence to determine that the person under the headstone 'J. Bean, Nov. 24, 1799,' was of small stature, and young, for the teeth were perfect, and unquestionably a woman's."
Daughter of William and Lydia Russell Bean
From "The Bean Station Tavern Restoration Project," prepared by Robert M. Howes, for the Tennessee Valley Authority, Department of Regional Studies, Knoxville, Tennessee, April 1944:
"In a corn field at Bean Station, just off the highway leading from Bean Station to Rutledge, was a grave, well defined and outlined with stones, and marked with a sturdy field stone whose simple epitaph, 'J. Bean, Nov. 24, 1799,' had weathered the summer suns and winter's rains and freezes of a hundred and forty-two years, and still remained legible.
Just who J. Bean might have been has been the source of much conjecture, and many were of the opinion that it was Jesse Bean, of the pioneer Beans who made the first settlement which still carries the family name, but records at Rutledge proved that Jesse Bean lived and made land transfers considerably later than 1799.
Thomas C. Godwin of Grainger County, who is a Bean descendant (his great-grandfather, John Bowen, married Sarah Bean) tells the story that was told to him by 'Granny Cole,' who lived in the gap beyond Mineral Hill springs, and who was an old woman at the turn of the century. 'Granny' Cole was a character to long be remembered. She had an intellect above the average, and possessed a keen memory, rich in historic lore. Her story as told to Mr. Godwin was that 'J. Bean' was 'Jane Bean,' that she was a young woman and had moved the loom out under the willows, and was weaving when she fell the victim of an Indian's arrow. The date, Nov. 24, on her headstone, invites a doubt as to the authenticity of the task she was performing, though warm days do come in November, and too, Jane was probably seeking better light than in the windowless cabin. Pioneer women were in no sense hot-house plants, and physical comforts were secondary, so if the sky was fair a little chill was of no consequence when weaving had to be done.
On Friday morning, August 29, in the presence of T. C. Godwin, who signed for the removal, and Mrs. James H. Richardson, who represented the Daughters of the American Revolution, the grave of J. Bean, which was the earliest marked grave in the entire area, was removed to the Dalton cemetery which will be in the proposed park area, and near the site where the Tennessee D. A. R. hopes to restore the Bean Station tavern, and in which project TVA has given such splendid cooperation. It has been the feeling of Tennessee D. A. R. that this old Bean grave and the historic marker placed at Bean Station several years ago by the Nancy Ward Chapter D. A. R. of Chattanooga, should be located near the restored tavern, and be a part of the restoration project.
To those who may have morbid curiosity, it may be said that even after a hundred and forty-two years, there was abundant evidence to determine that the person under the headstone 'J. Bean, Nov. 24, 1799,' was of small stature, and young, for the teeth were perfect, and unquestionably a woman's."
From "The Bean Station Tavern Restoration Project," prepared by Robert M. Howes, for the Tennessee Valley Authority, Department of Regional Studies, Knoxville, Tennessee, April 1944:
"In a corn field at Bean Station, just off the highway leading from Bean Station to Rutledge, was a grave, well defined and outlined with stones, and marked with a sturdy field stone whose simple epitaph, 'J. Bean, Nov. 24, 1799,' had weathered the summer suns and winter's rains and freezes of a hundred and forty-two years, and still remained legible.
Just who J. Bean might have been has been the source of much conjecture, and many were of the opinion that it was Jesse Bean, of the pioneer Beans who made the first settlement which still carries the family name, but records at Rutledge proved that Jesse Bean lived and made land transfers considerably later than 1799.
Thomas C. Godwin of Grainger County, who is a Bean descendant (his great-grandfather, John Bowen, married Sarah Bean) tells the story that was told to him by 'Granny Cole,' who lived in the gap beyond Mineral Hill springs, and who was an old woman at the turn of the century. 'Granny' Cole was a character to long be remembered. She had an intellect above the average, and possessed a keen memory, rich in historic lore. Her story as told to Mr. Godwin was that 'J. Bean' was 'Jane Bean,' that she was a young woman and had moved the loom out under the willows, and was weaving when she fell the victim of an Indian's arrow. The date, Nov. 24, on her headstone, invites a doubt as to the authenticity of the task she was performing, though warm days do come in November, and too, Jane was probably seeking better light than in the windowless cabin. Pioneer women were in no sense hot-house plants, and physical comforts were secondary, so if the sky was fair a little chill was of no consequence when weaving had to be done.
On Friday morning, August 29, in the presence of T. C. Godwin, who signed for the removal, and Mrs. James H. Richardson, who represented the Daughters of the American Revolution, the grave of J. Bean, which was the earliest marked grave in the entire area, was removed to the Dalton cemetery which will be in the proposed park area, and near the site where the Tennessee D. A. R. hopes to restore the Bean Station tavern, and in which project TVA has given such splendid cooperation. It has been the feeling of Tennessee D. A. R. that this old Bean grave and the historic marker placed at Bean Station several years ago by the Nancy Ward Chapter D. A. R. of Chattanooga, should be located near the restored tavern, and be a part of the restoration project.
To those who may have morbid curiosity, it may be said that even after a hundred and forty-two years, there was abundant evidence to determine that the person under the headstone 'J. Bean, Nov. 24, 1799,' was of small stature, and young, for the teeth were perfect, and unquestionably a woman's."
Inscription
"Daughter of William & Lydia Russell Bean Pioneer Settlers of Tennessee -- Jane was felled by an Indian's arrow while weaving under a willow tree on November 24, 1799. Reinterred in Dalton Cemetery August 29, 1942 before waters of Cherokee Lake covered her grave between Rutledge and Bean station. -- Marker placed by Southern Bean Association 1981."
Gravesite Details
The only grave found in Bean Cemetery, her remains were removed by TVA and reinterred here in 1941.
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