Hazzard Nathaniel BEEN and Mary Joanna CARTER
Hazzard Nathaniel BEEN and Mary Joanna CARTER
Hazzard Nathaniel BEEN was born 12 January 1851 to Hazzard BEAN/BEEN and Martha OSBORN in Tallahatchie County, Mississippi. It is assumed that Hazzard Nathaniel and his family-of-origin lived in Tallahatchie County until 14 December 1852, at which time his parents sold their land there.
By 01 March 1853, Hazzard Nathaniel and his family had made their way to Sebastian County, Arkansas, where his father homesteaded 200 acres of land over the next several years. The U.S. Census reports establish that, in 1860 and 1870, Hazzard Nathaniel, his parents, and siblings were living in Center Township, Sebastian County, Arkansas.
A family story copied from a "little green book," which was entitled THE BEEN FAMILY FREE, has suggested that Hazzard Nathaniel acquired the nickname, "Doc." According to this source, "There was an old saying that the 7th son of a 7th son would be a magician or something, so the folks said that the 5th son of a 5th son ought to be something special, maybe a doctor, so they nicknamed him 'Doc' Been."
Family stories have also suggested, after becoming a young man, Hazzard went to live in the State of Texas for a while. (This would probably have been between 1874 and 1876.) According to Lora Mae Riley McNiel, grand-daughter of Hazzard, "Grandpa [Hazzard Nathaniel] Been [went] to Meridian, Bosque County, Texas, and stayed about ten or twelve months. During these months, he hauled freight 'way out to West Texas to Eastland County and Brownwood' where there was only one little old house. It was wild country there. He hauled freight from Waco to anywhere he could get a load of freight. He hauled with wagon and six-mule teams. He was in Waco the night Galveston washed away in September 1875. . .Then Grandpa went back to Greenwood, Arkansas, and farmed on his father's place until he married. . . ."
As verified by the original copy the State of Arkansas marriage record, Hazzard Nathaniel BEEN married Mary Joanna CARTER on 28 September 1876 in Sebastian County, Arkansas. Mary Joanna was born in Pike County, Alabama on 18 February 1852 to Elias George CARTER and Mary Jane TOLAR.
Sometime between the date of their marriage and January 1880, Hazzard and Mary acquired land in Sebastian County, Arkansas ("Lots 5 & 6 of Section No. 18 in Township No. 6 North of Range No. 30 West" ). This was the land on which their home was built. (Official documents substantiate that they lived there at least until 1886. However, it is highly probable that they continued to live there until October 1891.)
Also, between the date of their marriage and January 1880, Hazzard and Mary had begun to have a family. They gave birth to one daughter, Minnie Mae BEEN, and one infant son, Edgar Lee BEEN.
As the family grew, so did Hazzard's desire for more land. On 14 January 1880, he began to homestead the land adjoining the land upon which their home was built-- i.e., "Lot 10 + S.W. 1/4 of N.E. 1/4 of Section 18 in Township 6 North of Range 30 West, containing 79 49/100 acres." To initiate the homestead process, Hazzard paid the Receiver's Office in Dardanelle, Arkansas the grand sum of seven dollars!
During the time that Hazzard and Mary were proving this homestead, they gave birth to yet another child-a girl named Bessie Bell BEEN.
At last, on 27 September 1886, Hazzard succeeded in proving his homestead and received a certificate for it. To finalize the deal, he was required to pay a remaining balance of two dollars, which was required by law. By this time, he had put a portion of the land into crops.
Just two weeks after this rather momentous occasion, Hazzard and Mary experienced another big event. They gave birth to yet another daughter, Lela Pearl BEEN, who was to become their last-born child.
Between 1886 and 1891, Mary had the great misfortune of coming down with "typhoid fever followed by a hemorrhage bordering on tuberculosis." The family physician advised Hazzard that, in order to recover, Mary could not remain in Arkansas; she would need to be in a drier climate. As a result, they decided to move to Texas. On 21 October 1891, the young family departed the land in Arkansas that they had worked to hard to get and headed Southwest.
The trip with wagons and mules was long. Although Mary had steadily recovered from her illness during the excursion, Minnie and Bessie (two of their three daughters) themselves came down with typhoid fever. This development required that the entourage remain in a town along the way for four to six weeks, until the girls were once again able to travel.
It was not until 1 January 1892-more than two months after they had departed from Arkansas-that they arrived at their destination in Texas--the Culpepper-Roberts Ranch. Soon, Hazzard began working for the Culpeppers on the ranch. However, the children needed to be in an area where they could attend school. Because of this, the ranch would prove to be but an intermediate destination for the family. Hazzard, Mary, and the children departed the ranch just eight months after they had come and moved to a location near Lytle, Texas. There, the children were able to attend school and , in April 1893, the family became charter members of the Lytle Baptist Church.
It appears that Hazzard and Mary lived in this area for the remainder of their lives. During Mary's final years, she had rheumatism and was confined to a wheelchair. While some family records have suggested that she died on 10 October 1929, other family records suggest that Mary died on 12 February 1923 and that it was Hazzard who died on 10 October 1929. This discrepancy has yet to be resolved. The two are supposedly buried beside one another in Lytle Cemetery at Lytle, Atascosa County, Texas.