Welcome to the Beene/Bean Family Page! Although this site places emphasis on Phillip and his descendants beginning about 1839 on the plantation of Lemuel Beene near the town of Mantachie in Itawamba County Mississippi, our ancestors were brought as bondsmen to the English Colony of Virginia prior to 1740 from either Ghana or Angola. Here you'll find the patriarchal story of our history as descendants of Phillip Beene who was born in Virginia about 1790 and died in the Bethel Community near Haynesville, Claiborne Parish Louisiana in 1880, some twelve hundred miles from the place of his birth.
The Story Behind Our Reuniting
Between the years of 1810 and 1860, a forced migration of our ancestors occurred after having been enslaved in the state of Virginia for over a century. Phillip, as well as nearly 500,000 bondsmen, was removed from the state of Virginia, by way of slave coffels to the Lower South, causing permanent separation from his immediate family, i.e. mother, father, possibly his first wife and some of his children, not to mention his grandparents. During the years of 1839 through November 1849, Phillip and his wife, Lucy Morgan Beene and their children, were held as bondsmen on the plantation of Lemuel Beene located about six miles northeast of Mantachie, Mississippi. Phillip and his family were once again separated upon the death of Lemuel Beene. In November 1849, the family was equally divided among the children of the enslaver, at which time both Phillip and Lucy, along with at least twelve of their children and grandchildren, were removed to Claiborne Parish, Louisiana, near the town of Haynesville, whereas, at least four of their children and grandchildren, remained as bondsmen in the Mantachie area with two children of the deceased. This past summer, ten generations of Phillip's descendants, who over centuries of separation and cultures reunited to connect in their 4th combined Beene family annual reunion.
There are many related families that have strong ties to our family, such as Agnew, Billingsley, Cooper, Crayton, Crittendon/Critton, Cummings, Evans, Foster, Robinson, Thomas, Turner, Warren, White, and Wise. But if you are a visitor who shares either the Beene or Bean surname whose ancestors may have been enslaved in Claiborne Parish Louisiana, Itawamba County Mississippi, Marion County Tennessee, or Anderson and Freestone Counties Texas, read on about our family history to find out if you too could be a 'lost' but 'found' family member.
Truly, all roads connected to Ann Arbor last July. Nearly 300 family members were in attendance from twenty-two (22) states, including Washington, D.C. It was truly a Jubilee Reunion for our family. But we're doing it again in Georgia for our HOTLANTA 2009 Beene Reunion celebration.
Won't you join us? Please visit the site in the coming months for more details of the event.
Musical selection RESOLUTION provided by musician/songwriter George Fontenette from the February 1st BET-aired film Blackout (2008)
