Richey Family Tree » Captain William Bean (1721-1782)

Personal data Captain William Bean 


Household of Captain William Bean

He is married to Naomi Bates.

They got married UNK.


Notes about Captain William Bean

Captain William 'Billy' Bean (1721-1782) son of William Bean and Elizabeth Hatton was the first recorded permanent white settler in what later became the state of Tennessee. While settled in Pittsylvania (Danville) County, Virginia he traveled to Holston country on hunting expeditions with Daniel Boone. In 1768 he cleared some land and built a cabin on Boone's Creek of the Watauga River in an area where he understood the hunting was good. The next year he brought his family to the lower Watauga. He was soon joined by his brothers-in-law, George and John Russell, and by other relatives and friends from southern Virginia. His son Russell was the first recorded white born in Tennessee. William is said to have been "a man of parts", having been a substantial landowner in Pittsylvania County and a Captain in the Virginia militia. Members of the Bean family were prominent in civil and military affairs in the Watauga Valley for many years. The colony was outside of any governmental control so they founded the Watuaga Association. In the fall of 1775 the Wautuga residents held a conference and decided to side with the American cause. A committee was formed that included William and they declared themselves the "Washington District." In 1776 an ordinance was appended to the North Carolina Constitution appointed William and 20 other individuals as Justices of the Peach for the Washington District. He served in the Revolutionary War from 1776 to1780 as a Captain in the Watauga Riflemen. At the Battle of Kings Mountain, Captain Bean and his man scattered a band of Tories and hanged 9 of them. His last will and testament was signed in 6 January 1782, four months prior to his death.

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Timeline Captain William Bean

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Ancestors (and descendant) of William Bean

William Bean
1721-1782


Naomi Bates
1729-1795


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Historical events

Birthday December 9, 1721

  • The temperature on December 9, 1721 was about 7.0 °C. Source: KNMI
  •  This page is only available in Dutch.
    Van 1702 tot 1747 kende Nederland (ookwel Republiek der Zeven Verenigde Nederlanden) zijn Tweede Stadhouderloze Tijdperk.
  • In the year 1721: Source: Wikipedia
    • January 6 » The Committee of Inquiry on the South Sea Bubble publishes its findings, revealing details of fraud among company directors and corrupt politicians.
    • March 24 » Johann Sebastian Bach dedicated six concertos to Margrave Christian Ludwig of Brandenburg-Schwedt, now commonly called the Brandenburg Concertos, BWV 1046-1051.
    • April 4 » Sir Robert Walpole becomes the first British prime minister.
    • April 26 » A massive earthquake devastates the Iranian city of Tabriz.
    • August 18 » The city of Shamakhi in Safavid Shirvan is sacked.
    • October 22 » Russian Empire is proclaimed by Tsar Peter I after the Swedish defeat in the Great Northern War.


Same birth/death day

Source: Wikipedia


About the surname Bean

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The Richey Family Tree publication was prepared by .contact the author
When copying data from this family tree, please include a reference to the origin:
Donald Richey, "Richey Family Tree", database, Genealogy Online (https://www.genealogieonline.nl/richey-family-tree/I741.php : accessed August 5, 2025), "Captain William Bean (1721-1782)".