IRELAND TO AMERICA

INTRODUCTION: At the beginning of our story, we are faced with questions about the identity of William Bean, our earliest known ancestor. Where was he born and grew up? Who were his parents and those of his wife?

We know that he sailed from Londonderry, Ireland in 1767, to come to South Carolina, but, as Brian Leese, an English/Irish researcher, working on the Bean-Scott lines, stated in 1970: "The fact that William Bean sailed from Londonderry does not, of course, mean necessarily that he was a native of that place or even a resident but it does indicate that he was from Ulster." Ulster is the northern most province of Ireland, known today as Northern Ireland. (Fig. 2) Included here are extracts from Mr. Leese' report to show some of the difficulties we have experienced in trying to extend the line back beyond this first William Bean.

"The Probate Calendars of the Diocese of Derry (which cover Londonderry) were searched 1612-1800. No wills in the name of Bean or McBean; the Probate Calendars of the Perogative Court for Ireland (the superior jurisdiction) were searched 1600-1800. There were no wills in McBean and only two for Bean as follows: John Bean of Dublin, clothier - will probated 1729;

Martin Bean of Meath St. Dublin, merchant - will probated 1767.

"Abstracts of both these wills were read in the Public Records Office at Dublin, but neither mention a William Bean, nor give any clue to your ancestry.

"The Calendar of Probates of the Diocese of Raphoe (the diocese adjoining Derry and covering the county of Donegal) were searched 1684-1800. There were no probates of McBean and only one Bean, spelt Beane, viz:

William Beane of Carrickbreck - will probated 1719.

"Carrickbreck must be meant for Carrickbrack. There are two townlands of this name in County Donegal, one in the parish of Raphoe and one in the parish of Convoy. The Parochial registers of the Parish of Raphoe commence in 1831 only, and those of Convoy began in 1821, and were in any case destroyed by fire in 1922. We cannot hope therefore to find anything from these records re-William Beane.

"The original wills of the Diocese of Raphoe were destroyed in 1922 and as yet we have not discovered an extant abstract of the will, although there could be one.

"The Probate Calendars of the Diocese of Dromore (which covers part of County Down) were searched 1678-1900, with only an entry for John Bean (no residence listed) will probated 1709.

"Marriage License Bonds of the Diocese of Raphoe which exist for the years 1710-1755 were searched but no records of Bean entries or any variants of the name." ⁽¹⁾

Robert W. Bean, descendant of William (4), now living in Arizona, reports the following after his visit to Ireland a few years ago:

"William Bean, born 1727, is supposed to have been born in Inverness-shire, Scotland, and there is an entry of the birth of a William MacBean on 3 May 1727 in the register of the parishes of Croy and Dalcross (northeast of Inverness), (Fig. 3) son of yet another William MacBean. In all the parish registers of Inverness-shire there is no other William Bean listed as born in 1727, but that's not conclusive.

"From Parish records at Register House in Edinburgh for the Parishes of Croy and Dalcross (a few miles northeast of Inverness-shire) were found:

Donald McBean, 10 Dec 1722, son of John McBean of Drumlanvel

William McBean, 3 May 1727, son of William McBean of Drumlanvel

Isabel McBean, 19 Oct 1729, dau of " " "

Ann McBean, 30 June 1732, dau of " " "

Donald McBean, 9 Apr 1735, son of " " "

"William Bean (1727) is alleged to have moved at about age 10 with his parents to Ulster. I found a William Bean listed in a 1766 church-affiliation census, located in the southernmost bit of County Londonderry, virtually on the border of County Tyrone, in Derryloran Parish, Killybearn Townland, on the western side of Lough Neagh, about 2 miles east of Cookstown. No other William Bean was listed in Ulster in the 1766 census. Our William Bean sailed for South Carolina from Londonderry in 1767, and I believe the one I found may be the right one." ⁽²⁾

This is the closest we have come to finding a person who might be our William Bean.

Heavy rents made life in northern Ireland area at that time extremely difficult. Most people worked either as farmers or as laborers in the linen industry, neither of which were very profitable. The times were so hard that many people left Ireland in the 1760-70's simply because they couldn't afford to remain there. For example, one minister, Reverend William Martin of Ballymoney, County Antrim, proposed a plan to his congregation that would alleviate their condition. He suggested they pool their resources, charter ships and emigrate to South Carolina where they were promised free land and the opportunity to live as free men. They did just what he said and the whole congregation came in the late 1700s.

We know that in 1767, agents, for the ship "Admiral Hawk" that departed that same year from the Port of Londonderry, Ireland, were soliciting immigrants to go to South Carolina. They contacted people in the towns of Letterkenny, Raphoe, Convoy, Straband, Ballygawley and Ballymoney in County Donegal and Rathmetrin; Omagh, Eskragh, Carntril, Caledon, Maghera, Coleraine and Rich Hill in Counties, Londonderry, Antrim and Tyrone. ⁽³⁾ (Fig. 1)

Is it not entirely possible that William Bean, who came to America in 1767, was one of the individuals so solicitated?

1. 1979 correspondence from Irish researcher, Brian Lesee to Arlene Meservy

2. 7 Dec 1989 correspondence from Robert Bean, 4430 E. Camelback Rd. 41, Pheonix, Az. 85018 to Arlene Meservy

3. BYU Lib 941.6 Ul7#1 Ulster Emigration to Col. Am. 1718-1775:105- 6 - Dickson - 1969