Rufus Leroy BEEN

Rufus Leroy BEEN and Margaret Catherine GANN *
* Courtesy of Edna Jane Been

Rufus Leroy BEEN and Margaret Catherine GANN gravestone *
* Photography by Ross Lober

Rufus LeRoy BEEN was born 26 November 1840 in Yalobusha County, Mississippi. His parents were Hazzard BEAN/BEEN and Martha OSBORN. By the time he was four years old, he moved with his parents and at least one brother to Charleston, Tallahatchie County, Mississippi.

It is assumed that they lived in this county until 14 December 1852, at which time Rufus's parents sold their land there. By 01 March 1853, Rufus and his family-of-origin had made their way to Sebastian County, Arkansas, where his father homesteaded 200 acres of land over the next several years.

Rufus married Margaret Catherine GANN on 6 September 1861 in Sebastian County. She was born in Tennessee on 28 March 1841 to Alfred and Susanna GANN. By the time Rufus and Margaret had given birth to their first child--Susan Jane BEEN-- tensions had begun between the North and South. The two regions were divided on the issue of slavery. Citizens who owned slaves favored the South, or the Confederacy. Residents who did not possess slaves were biased toward the North, or the Union. Family stories handed down have suggested that the Beens, as well as the Ganns, supported the Union; and, for them, this would spell trouble.

Numerous battles were taking place in the region of the Ozarks (including Northwestern Arkansas) and a growing number of Rebel partisans, or "bushwhackers" were forming. These guerrillas terrorized and attempted to destroy all Union loyalists they could find. Family stories have continued to suggest that the bushwhackers ambushed both Rufus LeRoy and the uncle of his wife, Robert GANN. Rufus ran and hid behind a stone fence, but Robert was unable to escape and was stabbed to death.

With this, the horror did not stop. Bushwhackers went on to hang Margaret's father (Alfred GANN) and brother (Henry GANN)--Rufus's father-in-law and brother-in-law. Although family members were able to reach the older Gann in time to save his life temporarily, he died a few years later from the neck injuries he sustained during the incident. Unfortunately, the family did not succeed in rescuing the younger man. Margaret's brother had already died "on the rope."

As the uneasiness escalated, the Confederacy drafted Rufus. In turn, his father, Hazzard, advised him to resist. His father was steadfast in his belief that no one had the right to draft anybody into anything but the United States Army. For their resistance, both Rufus and Hazzard, were imprisoned in the town jail, where Rufus's father continued to proclaim proudly his views. Fortunately, for these two gentlemen, the prison guard knew them both, and respected them. Since the guard, himself, was sympathetic to their cause and did not wish for them to be shot, he staged an escape for them. They were to hit him over the head, run, and hide in a particular thicket in some woods. When the guard would be sent to search for them, he would be certain to NOT look in those bushes. The plan succeeded, and Rufus and his father won back their freedom, so to speak. When the ordeal ended, not only did Rufus enlist in the Union Army, but the prison guard did as well.

According to the Department of the Interior, Bureau of Pensions, Rufus LeRoy Been enrolled in the Union Army at Fort Smith, Arkansas, on 1 October 1863. He served as a Private of Company "F," Second Regiment Arkansas Infantry Volunteers. Although he served in this capacity until he was mustered out with his company on 8 August 1865 at Clarksville, Arkansas, he had taken more than one leave of absence. He took at least one of them to move his family "north" from Sebastian County--probably to Missouri--where they would supposedly have been on safer ground.

Rather than coming directly back to Arkansas after the war, the family lived in Marshfield, Missouri for a period of time. One can only imagine that, in the wake of the bushwhackers, renegade soldiers, stragglers, and lawless marauders having terrorized the civilians of the Ozarks,* Rufus wanted to be absolutely sure his family would be safe once it arrived back home.

In the spring of 1867, however, they did return to Sebastian County, Arkansas. It is not certain exactly where they lived right away, but in February 1885, Rufus began to homestead 48 acres of land. On his homestead, he made such improvements as clearing, fencing, and cultivating the land; and, he built a 14 x 14' log house--probably considered large in those days--for his wife, Margaret, and family (which had been growing in size by then).

By the time Rufus proved his homestead in February 1891, he and Margaret had given birth to nine more children, eight of whom we know--Martha Malisa BEEN, James Hazzard BEEN, (Laura?) Rains BEEN, William LeRoy BEEN, Hugh Nathaniel BEEN, John Armenious BEEN, Margarette Esther BEEN, and Alford Houston BEEN.

Rufus and Margaret lived together on their land until 19 July 1902 when Margaret died. She was 61 years of age. Rufus died twenty-five years later on 27 October 1927. He was 86. They are buried beside one another in Liberty Cemetery, Greenwood, Arkansas.

* Phillip W. Steele and Steve Cottrell, CIVIL WAR IN THE OZARKS,

(Pelican Publishing Company: Gretna, 1996), p. 102.