Samuel G Bean
American
The Other Bean in the Wild West
Samuel G Bean was born in Mason County, Kentucky and became deeply involved in the westward expansion of the United States. As a young man he traveled from Kentucky to Independence, Missouri, joining wagon-train commerce along the Santa Fe Trail. In 1848 he drove an ox-team freight wagon to Santa Fe, surviving a severe winter ordeal on the return trip. He later served in the US Army during the Mexican?American War. Bean returned west with his brother Roy Bean, traveling again to Santa Fe and then to Chihuahua, where he married Petra Garcia Kirker in 1849. By the early 1850s he had settled in Mesilla, New Mexico, operating a store, saloon, boarding house, gambling hall, and freighting business. His enterprises made him a prominent figure in the growing community. - AsNotedIn