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Below is a family biography included in the Biographical Annals of Montgomery County, Pennsylvania published in 1904 by T. S. Benham & Company and The Lewis Publishing Company; Elwood Roberts, Editor.  These biographies are valuable for genealogy research in discovering missing ancestors or filling in the details of a family tree. Family biographies often include far more information than can be found in a census record or obituary.  Details will vary with each biography but will often include the date and place of birth, parent names including mothers' maiden name, name of wife including maiden name, her parents' names, name of children (including spouses if married), former places of residence, occupation details, military service, church and social organization affiliations, and more.  There are often ancestry details included that cannot be found in any other type of genealogical record.

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JOHN BEANS CARRELL, M. D., a leading physician of Hatboro, Montgomery county, Pennsylvania, was born in Warminster township, Bucks county, Pennsylvania, July 11, 1851. He is the son of Ezra Patterson and Margaret Long (Beans) Carrell.

Ezra P. Carrell, father of Dr. Carrell, was the second son and third child of Joseph Carrell by his first wife, Mary Gill. Ezra P. Carrell was born January 16, 1826, in the house in which all his children were born.

Joseph Carrell, grandfather, was born on the homestead, June 1, 1792. He was the son of Jacob and Elizabeth (Jamison) Carrell. The wife of Jacob Carrell was the daughter of Daniel Jamison, of Durham township, Bucks county, Pennsylvania, who served in Captain Shupe’s company during the Revolutionary war. Jacob Carrell, great-grandfather, was the son of James and Dianah Garrell. He was born on the family homestead, December 12, 1732.

Mary Gill (grandmother of Dr. Carrell) was the daughter of John and Sidney (Hunter) Gill. She was born October 21, 1792, her marriage to Joseph Carrell taking place March 25, 1821. She had three children-Hugh Jamison, Emily and Ezra Patterson. John Gill, father of Mary (Gill) Carrell, was born at York, England, January 21, 1750. He learned the shoemaking trade with his father and went from York to London to engage in that occupation. From London he came to Philadelphia, where he married, August 12, 1785, Sidney Hunter, who was born November 29, 1763, and came from Ireland to America in 1775, when she was twelve years of age. The couple prospered financially and in their family. They lived for several years in a fine house at Dublin, Bucks county, Pennsylvania. From that place they removed to Northampton township, in the same county, where he died April 14, 1835, and she March 5, 1847. Both were buried in the Churchville Reformed church. From this couple sprang the numerous Gills of Bucks county, now distributed in many sections of the country. They had nine children-Frances, Rebecca, John, Mary, Anna, Sidney, Henry, Claressa, and Lydia.

The Carrell homestead, a large farm in Northampton township, was purchased by James and Dianah Carrell in 1711. Nothing definite is known of James Carrell prior to 1709. Gen. W. W. H. Davis, in his “History of Bucks County,” page 198, in his description of Southampton township, says: “As the location and soil were inviting, settlers flocked in rapidly, and in 1709 we find the additional name of James Carrell.” By this it appears that he was in Southampton township in 1709, and there is reason to believe that he emigrated to this country between 1690 and 1700 from Rathmullan, a small town on Lough Swilly, near Londonderry, in the north of Ireland. Tradition has it that the ancestors of Dr. Carrell were confined in the city of Londonderry during the famous siege, for one hundred and five days, and with others suffered great privations and that Elizabeth Jamison, a Carrell ancestor, was drowned in the dock of Londonderry because she would not renounce the Protestant faith. Being Scotch-Irish they were one of the numerous families who settled in Warminster, Warwick, Warrington, and Northampton townships, along or near the Montgomery county line, and their interests were closely interwoven with those of their neighbors. Presbyterianism has strong root in the Carrell family, and, while a few of its members have joined other denominations, the family continue very largely devout Presbyterians. James Carrell was without doubt one of the organizers of the Neshaminy church, located in Warwick township, on the bank of the historic Neshaminy, where the Bristol road crosses it, and the old homestead is on the same road about three miles from the old church. For almost two centuries the Carrells have been important factors in this and the sister Presbyterian church, Neshaminy, of Warminster. The family has contributed a number of prominent clergymen to the Presbyterian denomination, and many physicians bear the name of Carrell. In fact the Carrells may be found in all the learned professions, in mercantile life, and in manufacturing industries, but they are still more largely represented in agricultural pursuits than in any other occupation.

In 1711 James Carrell bought the homestead farm in Northampton township, two miles northeast of the Montgomery-Bucks line, and to this day it has continued in the possession of the family. From James Carrell it descended to Jacob, from Jacob to Jesse, from Jesse to Isaac, who is now the owner. Besides this farm, James at his death owned fine farms in Warminster and Southampton, and his descendants today own thousands of acres of land in this and other states. James and Dianah Carrell had eleven children, as follows: Rebecca, born 5th mo. 25, 1725, married Robert Weir, of Virginia; Sarah, born 9th mo. 25, 1726, married Robert Patterson, of Tinicum, Bucks county; Bernard, born 9th mo. 3, 1728, married Lucretia ___, of Warminster; James, born 3d mo. 26, 1730, married Sarah___, of Tinicum; Jacob (great-grandfather), born 12th mo. 12, 1732, married Elizabeth Jamison, of Northampton; Rachel, (twin) born 12th mo. 12, 1732, married Robert Stewart, of Warwick, Bucks county; Benjamin, born 4th mo. 27, 1735; Phoebe, born 8th mo., 20, 1737, married Andrew Scott, Moreland; Solomon, born 5th mo. 25, 1740, married Mary ___, of Tinicum; Elizabeth, born 5th mo. 16, 1742; Diana, born 5th mo. 9, 1744.

James Carrell’s son Jacob, the great-grandfather of Dr. Carrell, after his father’s death occupied the homestead. He married Elizabeth Jamison, of Durham, Pennsylvania. They had ten children: Joseph, born March 21, 1771, died in childhood; Benjamin, born December 20, 1772; John, born February 20, 1776; Mary, born June 17, 1778; Sarah, born April 24, 1780; James, born November 9, 1781; Jesse, born December 14, 1784; Isaac, born October 29, 1785; Elizabeth, born March 7, 1790; Joseph, born June 1, 1792. Jacob’s children scattered to various sections of the country, and from them a numerous progeny has sprung. Jacob spent all his life on the homestead. During the Revolutionary war he served with the Northampton Associators. He was much respected because of his honesty and uprightness. In his religious life he was associated with the Neshaminy church, which he and his family attended. He and his wife lie side by side in the Neshaminy cemetery. Jacob Carrell died July 2, 1817, and his widow, July 10, 1829.

Joseph, the youngest child of Jacob and Elizabeth (Jamison) Carrell, and grandfather of Dr. Carrell, was born on the homestead. He learned the carpenter trade, but continued in that occupation only a short time. Although an excellent mechanic he preferred farming. About the time he became of age he purchased a lot at Springville, adjoining his father’s farm, and erected buildings thereon. On March 25, 1821, he married Mary Gill, and his first child, Hugh Jamison, was born January 13, 1822. That year the father, Joseph Carrell, bought and removed to a farm in Warminster, and the remainder of his life was spent on it. He died there April 20, 1883. He inherited intense patriotism, and in the war of 1812 entered the ranks in defense of his country. The love of military tactics remained with him through life, and in his old days he enjoyed instructing his grandchildren in military drill. A kinder, sweeter, or more upright man never lived in the county. The recollection of his exemplary life is most dear to his family. He was first a member of the Neshaminy, of Warwick, Presbyterian church, until the division occurred, February 10, 1839. He was that year elected elder of the Warwick church. After a few years he withdrew from that church, and connected himself with the Neshaminy (of Warminster) church, serving it in the capacity of elder until his death. In addition to his large farm in Warminster, on which he resided until his death, he owned a large farm in Warwick, which he bought in 1849, and which was occupied by his son, Hugh J., until his father’s death, when he became the owner by purchase. He was a member and corporal of Captain William Purdy’s Bucks County Riflemen, who left Foster’s Corner, now Southampton, for the seat of war, September 5, 1814, in company with Captain Christopher Vanartsdalen’s command from Newtown. Rev. Thomas B. Montanye, the noted pastor of Southampton Baptist church, preached an appropriate sermon to these new recruits, and a large assemblage gathered to see them off. Captain Purdy’s was the Ninth Company of the First Regiment, Pennsylvania Riflemen, commanded by Colonel Thomas Humphreys, which was made up of men from Bucks, Montgomery and adjoining counties. This regiment formed part of the Light Brigade under command of Gen. Thomas Cadwaller, and numbered 3504 men. The company was mustered out of the United States service December 12, 1814. It was stationed most of the time at Camp Dupont, near Wilmington, Delaware. While they did not meet the enemy they constantly anticipated an encounter, and had it occurred, there is no doubt that they would have acquitted themselves well. They were a fine body of men, full of courage and patriotism. Dr. Carrell had three other relatives in the company- Lemen Banes, John Gill and Andrew Yerkes. After their discharge from the United States service a company called the Alert Rifles, Captain John Davis, father of General W. W. H. Davis, of Boylestown, was formed, and Joseph Carrell was a member of it. Local military organization has never since been as perfect in Bucks county as it was for a decade or two following the war of 1812. John Davis and Joseph Carrell were lifelong friends, and much enjoyed each other’s society, although of opposite political faith, Davis being an earnest Democrat, and Carrell an equally earnest Whig, and, after the dissolution of the Whig party, a thorough Republican.

By his first wife, Mary Gill, Joseph Carrell had three children: Hugh J., born January 13, 1822, died January 29, 1903; Emily, born January 21, 1824, died September 16, 1848; Ezra Patterson, (father) born January 16, 1826, died December 17, 1898. By his second wife, Anna Gill, sister of his first wife, whom he married in April, 1829, he had two children, Sidney Ann, born August 30, 1831, still living, and Elizabeth, born October 31, 1833, died February 15, 1902. Sidney Ann married Thomas B. Montanye, grandson of Rev. Thomas B. Montanye, and has children. Elizabeth married Robert T. Engart and had children. The life of this good old man ended April 20, 1883, and he was buried in the cemetery connected with Neshaminy church of Warminster.

Ezra Patterson Carrell (father) obtained his early education in Hart’s School, Warminster, and in a private school maintained by John C. Beans, also in that township. He closed his school days with several years of study at Loller Academy, in Hatboro, of which Hugh Morrow was principal. He was not only proficient in his school studies, but was thoroughly versed in vocal music, being much favored in having a fine bass voice. He was a leader of his church choir for many years, and under his instruction it became the best musical organization in church circles in all that section of country. After his marriage to Margaret Long Beans, which took place March 15, 1849, he engaged in farming, and continued that occupation until April, 1876, when he retired to a house he built on a part of his father’s farm which he had tilled, and died there. He had five children: Joseph, born March 25, 1850; John Beans, subject of this sketch, born July 11, 1851; Emily, born March 29, 1853, died November 9, 1856; Ezra Patterson, born November 25, 1857; Stacy Beans, born April 23, 1856. Throughout his life, on account of his uprightness, he merited and enjoyed the respect and esteem of the whole community. Strong devotion to his church, family and country were his strong characteristics. In the church he served acceptably as trustee, elder and Sunday school superintendent. Most of his life was spent in the Neshaminy of Warminster church, of which he was trustee and elder many years. His last few years were passed as a member and elder of the Neshaminy of Warwick church. He was the youngest-member of the widely known Hatboro Library, and always felt a deep interest in its success, being its secretary and one of its managers at different times. He was active in all that tended to the development of the community, and when he died all felt that a true Christian and a useful citizen had passed to his glorious reward.

The mother of Dr. J. B. Carrell, Margaret Long Beans, is the daughter of John Craven and Elizabeth (Yerkes) Beans, who were married by Rev. Thomas B. Montanye, at her father’s residence on the Street Road, in Warminster, the Yerkes homestead, January 5, 1826. Elizabeth (Yerkes) Beans, her mother, was the second daughter and fifth child of Harman and Margaret (Long) Yerkes, and she was born at the homestead, May 26, 1800, dying in Hartsville, May 24, 1875. Harman Yerkes was the fourth son and fifth child of Herman and Elizabeth (Watts) Yerkes. (Elizabeth Watts was the daughter of Rev. John Watts, who came to Pennsylvania in 1686 and was baptized in the Baptist faith the next year, And connected himself with the Lower Dublin Baptist church, popularly known as the Pennypack Baptist church. In 1688 he entered the ministry, and two years later became the pastor of this church, so continuing until his death, which occurred August 27, 1702.) Herman Yerkes was born in the manor of Moreland, Montgomery county, formerly Philadelphia county, January 1, 1720, and died there November 29, 1804. About 1762 he removed to Warminster township, Bucks county, and in 1772 purchased of Joseph Noble a farm containing 181 acres on the Street Road, near Johnsville, in Warminster township, and there established the homestead of the Yerkes family, which is still in their possession and is occupied by his grandson, Stephen Yerkes. This Herman Yerkes was the son of Anthony and Margaret Yerkes, and he was born in 1689 in the manor of Moreland, in a house on the Pennypack belonging to his father, which afterward became his property and residence. He was the great-great-great-great-grandfather of Dr. J. B. Carrell. He died in 1750-1.

Anthony Yerkes was the founder of the Yerkes family of Pennsylvania, and is supposed to have come from Germany. For fuller information of the Yerkes family, the reader is referred to J. Granville Leach’s “Chronicle of the Yerkes Family.”

John Craven Beans, grandfather of Dr. Carrell, was the son of Thomas and Christianna (Craven) Beans. He was born in Warminster, August 9, 1802, and died at his residence in Hartsville, April 25, 1874. His business life was spent on his farm in Warminster. He was an active and progressive farmer and, died possessed of much property, considered from the stand-point of a farmer. His father’s second wife was Ann Johnson, a descendant of Claus Jansen (since corrupted into Johnson) and was the last owner of a part of her noted ancestor’s grant of the ground, obtained many years before William Penn secured his charter, located on the Delaware river between Bristol and Philadelphia. The last of this large tract consisted of a farm of about eighty acres at the junction of the Pennypack creek and Delaware river. At Ann Johnson’s death it passed into the possession of John C. Beans, who sold it later to Richard J. Dobbins, who in the course of a few days sold it to the city of Philadelphia at about double the price at which it was held by Mr. Beans. On this farm now stands Philadelphia’s House of Correction. John C. Beans was a member of the Bucks County Troop. He was a member and elder of the Neshaminy of Warwick church. He was treasurer of several corporations, and a worker for the promotion of the education of the young. His children were: Thomas J., Margaret L., (mother); John Johnson, Harman Yerkes, Catherine J., B. Franklin, Anna C., Stacy Brown, and Albert W., all of whom are living except Harman, who died at Baltimore from the effects of a wound received in a battle near the close of the rebellion, and Albert, who died in the middle west.

Thomas Beans, the great-grandfather of Dr. J. B. Carrell, was the son of Isaac and Christiana Beans. He was born January 14, 1773, and married Christianna Craven, daughter of Thomas and Lenah Craven, born August 11, 1772. Thomas Beans and Christianna Craven were married by Rev. Nathaniel Irvin, pastor of the Neshaminy of Warwick church from November 3, 1774, to March 3, 1812. The marriage took place December 7, 1797. Thomas Beans, by the will of his father, Isaac Beans, of Moreland, dated September 7, 1814, inherited the “tavern and plantation in Warminster,” located at the intersection of the York and Street roads. He was the proprietor of this famous hostelry which was established about 1730. He was the owner of some of the fastest horses in the country. In his day races attended by thousands of spectators were common on the Street road. He also had a half mile track on his farm. Twenty of his fine horses, worth thousands of dollars, were attacked with glanders and died of the disease. This loss affected him injuriously, and later his property was sold at sheriff’s sale. He did not realize enough to pay his creditors in full, but his son John C. Beans, and his son-in-law, Stacy Brown, although under no legal obligation to do so, paid the balance, so that he died free from debt.

Isaac Beans, son of Thomas and Jane (Sands) Beans, and father of Thomas Beans last mentioned, resided in Hatboro, then a part of Moreland township. He died possessed of much property. By his will, in 1814, he bequeathed, besides the property already described which he gave to his son Thomas, to his son John “the plantation on which I now reside.” later inherited by his granddaughter, Mrs. William K. Goentner. To his daughter Margaret he gave a plantation in Warminster, and to his son Isaac a mill and plantation in Moreland.

Thomas Beans, son of William and Elizabeth Beans, or Baines, by his will dated March 4, 1792, probated at Norristown, June 17, 1795, devised to his eldest son, Nathan, half of his plantation in Warminster, purchased of Thomas Dungan, and the other half to his son Isaac. He also left to these two sons the time of his negroes, Anoram and Ishmael. He gave his son Thomas the farm on which he lived in Southampton, containing 112 ½ acres. He gave his son Stephen a farm of 140 acres in Abington, and also negro wench Sue, to wash for his mother, and negro Jim for his own use. The line of Dr. Carrell’s Beans’s ancestry is as follows: Margaret (mother), John C. Beans (grandfather), Thomas Beans (great-grandfather), Isaac Beans (great- great-grandfather), Thomas Beans (great-great- great-grandfather), William Baines (great-great-great-great-grandfather) and Matthew Baines, who sailed from England, and died at sea.

The mother of Dr. Carrell was educated carefully, first in the private school of her father, then at the Janvier Institute, a fashionable school for young ladies at Wilmington, Delaware. Always a faithful wife and mother, her children owe her much, and entertain for her the most sincere affection. They are indebted to her as much as to their father for their success in life. Of Dr. Carrell’s brothers, Joseph is one of the most successful farmers in Warrington township, Bucks county, Pennsylvania. He is the owner of a beautifully situated and productive farm. He is a trustee of Neshaminy of Warwick church, and on account of his superior business qualifications has many important trusts placed in his care. He married, March 22, 1876, Lizzie W. Hampton, who died in 1885, leaving three children-Frank Beans, Helen Maria, and Joseph John, who have been carefully reared by their father and their mother’s sister. Ezra Patterson Carrell lives upon his fine farm in Warwick township, Bucks county, and besides being an excellent farmer, has become quite noted as a genealogist. He has done much work in clearing up the history of the Carrell family. He is an elder of the Neshaminy of Warwick church, and an efficient Sunday school and Christian Endeavor worker. He married, December 22, 1881, Mary McCarter, a charming woman, and they have two daughters, Margaret Long and Edith. Stacy Beans Carrell lives in Germantown and is a member of the extensive grocery firm of Worthington & Carrell, of that place. All his life thus far has been devoted to this work, and his thorough knowledge of the business and the energy he has exerted have secured success. He is an elder of the Carmel Presbyterian church at Edge Hill, where he resided until within a few years. He married, January 20, 1897, Leah Reeves. They have one daughter, Ruth.

John Beans Carrell, M. D., subject of this sketch, received his early education in the Oak Grove public school in Warminster township, Bucks county, and afterwards spent several years at the Morrow Excelsior Institute at Hatboro, Pennsylvania. Rev. G. H. Nimms was his tutor for two years, and he then taught the public school which he attended when a child, for two years. He graduated from Jefferson Medical College in Philadelphia, in 1876, and, after his graduation spent some time in the New York city medical colleges and hospitals. After practicing at Johnsville, in the vicinity of his home, for a few months, he entered into partnership with his preceptor, Hon. I. Newton Evans, M. D. This partnership continued about seven years. Since then Dr. Carrell has continued the practice of his profession at the same place very successfully. He married, March 31, 1880, Lizzie S. Danenhower, daughter of Abram and Sarah Danenhower, of Warminster, who is a member of an old family of Bucks and Montgomery counties, of German descent. Dr. and Mrs. Carrell are among the best known and most respected residents of Hatboro, enjoying the confidence of the entire community.

It is almost impossible to locate definitely the beginnings of the Carrell family, as it has been traced practically to the beginning of the Christian era. The name is said to have been given to the family by Christobal in the third century, but it extends back several generations further. In the beginning, so far as the history of the north of Ireland is concerned, the Carrells were among the lords of the land and princes of the country. They have to the present time owned and occupied land in the vicinity of Rathmullan. It seems scarcely probable that all who bear the name of Carrell spring from a common ancestry, whether they spell their names with an “o” or an “e” for the vowel in the final syllable. The two divisions of the family, Ulsters and Mnnsters, are according to the portion of Ireland which they inhabited. The Ulster, or north of Ireland, Carrells are nearly all of the Protestant faith, while the Munster, or south of Ireland, Carrolls are of the Catholic faith. Burke’s Peerage says that “Kean, third son of Oholl or Olum, king of Munster, was the ancestor of the great house of Carroll. His descendant, Carbdol, gave the name of Carroll to his posterity. The Carroll princes and lords were very powerful from the twelfth and sixteenth centuries.” Then follows the line of descent through many generations to the time of Daniel Carroll, who brought into the family, through his mother, the blood of the Argyles, from the earl of Argyle. This Daniel Carroll was remarkable in more than one respect. At one time he sent in one troop to war to battle for his king. The name was changed from “oll” (the original method) to “ell,” as a distinguishing mark between the Catholics and Protestants who bore it, although at the present a considerable number of the Protestant members of the family spell the name Carroll, but no Catholic spells his name Carrell. The bitterness which formerly existed between Protestants and Catholics is now greatly lessened, and in fact some who bear the name Carrell have returned to the Catholic faith. The Carrells belong as a family to Bucks county, but in recent years have become more or less identified with Montgomery county. The Carrell Association has been formed within a few years, consisting of the descendants of James and Dianah Carrell. They have had three successful reunions at Willow Grove. The officers are: President, B. F. Banes, of Germantown; vice-president, Dr. J. B. Carrell, Hatboro; secretary, E. P. Carrell, Bridge Valley, Pennsylvania; treasurer, I. Newton Finney, Hatboro.

The Banes-Beans family of Bucks and Montgomery and adjoining counties are descendants of the old Yorkshire family of Baine. The principal branch of the family have resided in the old Hall at Knowsthorpe more than seven hundred years. One of them came from the north (Scotland) and founded the family about 1182. They, as well as the Bayne-Bane-Bean family of Scotland, representatives of which have found their way to America at different periods since 1650, claim to be descended from Donald Bain, the son of Duncan, who after the death of his brother Malcolm claimed the throne, and is immortalized in Shakespeare’s Macbeth.

The old Baines Hall at Knowsthorpe contains, perhaps, the only dais or raised step for the high table which is to be found in England. A few years since the hall was hung round with portraits of the family. Captain Adam Baynes, after the restoration, from a leniency never exercised by his own party, was permitted to retire to his paternal estates, on which he died in December, 1670, having been compelled to refund the manor of Holdenby, in Northamptonshire, which he had purchased of the Parliament for 29,000 pounds.

This Adam Baynes was the son of Robert Baynes, of Knowstharpe, near Leeds, and was born there December 22, 1620. He was the first parliament man under the commonwealth from Leeds in 1644. He was captain in the parliamentary army under Lambert. He married Martha Dawson, who had thirteen children, and died in July, 1713. The eldest son, Robert Baynes, who died in 1697, married Dorothy, daughter of Sir William Lowther, who appeared before the corporation when the Leeds Charter was forfeited, and endeavored to have Robert Baynes excused from serving as a councillor under the King James Charter.

When George Fox, the founder of the Society of Friends, or Quakers, appeared in Yorkshire, among his earliest converts were two brothers, William and Joseph Banes, of Stangerthwaite, near Killington, Westmoreland, close to the Yorkshire line. Joseph was born in 1633, and was the son of James, died in 1671, and Agnes, died in 1664. By his first marriage he had a daughter Hannah who married Daniel Jackson. This Joseph Banes purchased of William Penn, May 20, 1683, 500 acres to be laid out in Pennsylvania. His deed was recorded in the recorder’s office in Bucks county. This tract he conveyed to Daniel Jackson and Hannah his wife, and their sons John and Joseph, and any other children born of their bodies. This tract was laid out to Daniel Jackson, in Buckingham township.

The first Banes of whom there is any record in Bucks county other than those just mentioned, are Gabriel and. Thomas and their mother, Ann Baynes, who were members of Falls Monthly Meeting. Gabriel married Elinor Botting, of Shipley, near Worminghurst, in Sussex, England. She had a son Bryan, who was living at the time of his father’s death in 1727-8, but as his mother does not mention him in her will in 1748 he did not survive her. Thomas Baynes had a daughter Ann who married Daniel Doan, Jr.

Joseph Baines, of Stangerthwaite, England, married (second wife) in 1691, Barbara Askew, and their son James, born in 1700, died in 1772, married, 2d mo. 7, 1736, Mary, daughter of Thomas Lambert, of Bleam, Wenleysdale, overlooking Somerwater. She was born, in 1711 and died in 1791. Both were buried at Bainbridge, in Wenleydale. They had ten children, most of whom emigrated to America and settled in Montgomery, Chester and Delaware counties, Pennsylvania.

The common ancestor of the Beans and Banes families of Bucks county, was William Banes or Beans, who died in Southampton township in 1729. He and his wife, Elizabeth, had nine children, seven sons and two daughters, Joseph, the eldest, being born about 1708. It is not known whether he owned any real estate. Elizabeth, his widow, died in Southampton between 1768, when her will was executed, and 1771, when it was probated. She names her sons Joseph, Matthew, Timothy, Thomas, William and Jacob, and her daughters, Elinor Banes and Elizabeth Sands, and her grandson, Jesse Banes, son of James, deceased. She makes her son Joseph and her daughter Elinor executors, but letters testamentary were granted only to Elinor, Joseph being probably sick or deceased, as his will was probated on December 9, of the same year.

William Baines, son of Matthew Maines, of Lancashire, England, sailed for Pennsylvania in 1686, but he died at sea. His two children, William and Elinor, landed at Chester, and were taken charge of by Friends. This William is the same whose wife was Elizabeth, and who settled in Southampton township, Bucks county, and died in 1729, as already mentioned.

It is difficult.to account for the change of the name Banes to Beans, which took place in Bucks county as well as in Montgomery. All the families named Bean or Beans in America appear to trace back to the Bucks county Banes family.

Thomas Beans, fourth son of William, lived and died in Southampton. He married Jane, daughter of Richard Sands, and he and his wife were baptized as members of Southampton Baptist church, April 15, 1749. The baptisms of their children are recorded these as follows: William, January 17, 1741-2; Thomas, October 3, 1744; Stephen, July 8, 1753; Jane, December 8, 1758. They had also a son Jesse, born, in 1746, and daughters, Phebe and Elizabeth, who, with some of the above named children, are mentioned in the will of their grandfather, Richard Sands.

Nathan Beans, married Susanna __, who was born in 1739 and died in 1820. Nathan was born June 3, 1740, and died April 5, 1828. His children: Evan, born 1769, died 1814, married Elizabeth Hogeland, and his widow married ___ Campbell; William, born August 29, 1773, died February 19, 1853, married Deidama ___, and was buried at Southampton Baptist church, his will being dated in 1840, and proved in 1853, his children being Elijah, a lawyer of Norristown, Pennsylvania, and Susanna, married John McDowell; Stephen born March 8, 1776, died August 20, 1866, married Nancy ___, who was born March 22, 1778, died January 9, 1853, both being buried at Southampton, and their children being Robert, who married Ann Carver, William R., who married Cynthia Cornell, Susan, who married John Cornell; Mary married first Cornell, and second Sprogell; John married first ___Shelmire and had two children, John and Nathan Shelmire, and married second Derrick Hogeland; Sarah, married John Robinson, their children being Louisa, Nathan and Samuel P. Robinson.

Isaac Beans, second son of Thomas and Jane Beans, removed to Montgomery county, Pennsylvania, and settled, in Moreland township, marrying a Johnson. Their children were: Thomas, born 1773, died in 1844, married in 1797, Christiana Craven, and second Ann Johnson.

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This family biography is one of more than 1,000 biographies included in the Biographical Annals of Montgomery County, Pennsylvania published in 1904 by T. S. Benham & Company and The Lewis Publishing Company.  For the complete description, click here: Biographical Annals of Montgomery County, Pennsylvania

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