The Bean Tree
Descendants of John Bean of Hawkins County, Tennessee
๐ About This Book
John D. Calvin Bean, son of Richard Bean, was born in the late 1700s or early 1800s in North Carolina. He married Alice Setser in 1825 in Burke County, North Carolina. They had fourteen children. They moved to Hawkins County, Tennessee in the mid 1830s. Descendants and relatives lived mainly in Tennessee and Kentucky.
๐ Summary
The Bean Tree, published in 2009 and spanning 588 pages, serves as an extensive and meticulous genealogical exploration centred around the ancestral lineage of the Bean family. Authored anonymously, the work traces the life and legacy of John D. Calvin Bean, the son of Richard Bean, who entered the world during the late 1700s or early 1800s in North Carolina. The narrative of the book unfolds across centuries and geographic boundaries, meticulously documenting how family roots were established, expanded, and intertwined throughout the American South. A central milestone in the family history occurs in 1825 within Burke County, North Carolina, where John D. Calvin Bean marries Alice Setser. From this union, an expansive household emerged, documented thoroughly across the pages of the text through the lives of their fourteen children. The book provides a detailed window into the domestic realities and familial structures of early nineteenth-century American life. As the decades progressed, the family dynamic shifted, leading to a significant migration in the mid-1830s when John, Alice, and their large family relocated to Hawkins County, Tennessee. The text follows this geographical transition, tracking how the household adapted to a new environment and laid down deep roots in the region. Beyond the immediate nuclear family, the 588-page volume extends its scope to chronicle the subsequent generations of descendants and relatives who carried the Bean surname and heritage forward. Through exhaustive record-keeping and genealogical tracing, the author maps out how these branches of the family tree spread primarily throughout the states of Tennessee and Kentucky. Readers are presented with a sweeping generational overview that connects past ancestors with their living descendants, offering a comprehensive look at migration patterns, marriage alliances, and the sheer scale of a nineteenth-century frontier family. While the book reads primarily as a non-fiction genealogical study rather than a traditional narrative novel, it captures the human story of perseverance, movement, and kinship. It emphasizes the enduring legacy of ordinary individuals whose descendants populated the American landscape. By preserving the names, dates, and geographic movements of John D. Calvin Bean, Alice Setser, and their fourteen children alongside their kin, the work acts as an invaluable archival anchor for anyone connected to the Bean family lineage or interested in the broader historical patterns of family expansion in Tennessee and Kentucky during the 1800s.
๐ฏ Key Lessons
โ๏ธ Pros & Cons
โ Pros
Provides an exhaustive genealogical record of the Bean family lineage.
Offers detailed tracking of nineteenth-century family migrations.
Spans a significant page count of 588 pages filled with historical data.
Serves as an essential reference for researchers of Tennessee and Kentucky ancestry.
โ ๏ธ Cons
Lacks a traditional narrative plot due to its focus on genealogy.
The author remains anonymous, limiting historical context about the writer.
โ FAQ
Who wrote The Bean Tree? +
The author of the book is currently unknown.
When was the book published? +
The Bean Tree was published in 2009.
How many pages are in the book? +
The book spans 588 pages.
Who is the primary subject of the book? +
The book focuses on John D. Calvin Bean and his descendants.
Where did the family eventually settle? +
Descendants and relatives primarily lived in Tennessee and Kentucky.
