Benning Moulton Bean (January 9, 1782 – February 6, 1866) was an American farmer and politician. He served as a

United States Representative The United States House of Representatives is a chamber of the Bicameralism, bicameral United States Congress; it is the lower house, with the U.S. Senate being the upper house. Together, the House and Senate have the authority under Artic ...

from

New Hampshire New Hampshire ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders Massachusetts to the south, Vermont to the west, Maine and the Gulf of Maine to the east, and the Canadian province of Quebec t ...

, as a member of the

New Hampshire Senate The New Hampshire State Senate is the upper house of the New Hampshire General Court, alongside the lower New Hampshire House of Representatives. The Senate has been meeting since 1784. The Senate consists of 24 members representing Senate distri ...

, and as a member of the

New Hampshire House of Representatives The New Hampshire House of Representatives is the lower house in the New Hampshire General Court, the bicameral State legislature (United States), legislature of the state of New Hampshire. The House of Representatives consists of 400 members com ...

Early life and career

Born in

Moultonborough, New Hampshire Moultonborough is a town in Carroll County, New Hampshire, United States. The population was 4,918 at the 2020 census, up from 4,044 at the 2010 census. Moultonborough is bounded in large part by Lake Winnipesaukee in the southwest and to a less ...

, Bean was the son of Moody Bean. He attended public schools, received private tutoring and became involved in teaching and

agricultural Agriculture encompasses crop and livestock production, aquaculture, and forestry for food and non-food products. Agriculture was a key factor in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created f ...

pursuits.

Political career

He served as

Selectman The select board or board of selectmen is commonly the executive arm of the government of New England towns in the United States. The board typically consists of three or five members, with or without staggered terms. Three is the most common numb ...

for Moultonborough from 1811 to 1829 and from 1832 to 1838. He was Justice of the Peace in 1816, and trustee of Sandwich Academy in 1824. A member of the New Hampshire House of Representatives from 1815 to 1823, Bean also served in the New Hampshire Senate from 1824 to 1826. He served as a member of the New Hampshire House of Representatives again in 1827. In 1829, he was member of the

Governor's council The governments of the Thirteen Colonies of British America developed in the 17th and 18th centuries under the influence of the British constitution. The British monarch issued colonial charters that established either royal colonies, propriet ...

. Bean served in the New Hampshire Senate again in 1831 and 1832, and was president of the State Senate in 1832. He was elected as a Jacksonian candidate to the Twenty-third and Twenty-fourth Congresses, serving in Congress March 4, 1833 – March 3, 1837. During his time in Congress, Bean was an advocate for temperance and helped form the Congressional Temperance Society with George N. Briggs in 1833. He served as president of the society. He declined to be a candidate for renomination in 1836, and resumed teaching and agricultural pursuits in Moultonborough,

Death

Bean died in Moultonborough, Carroll County, New Hampshire on February 6, 1866 (age 84 years, 28 days). He is

interred Burial, also known as interment or inhumation, is a method of final disposition whereby a dead body is placed into the ground, sometimes with objects. This is usually accomplished by excavating a pit or trench, placing the deceased and object ...

at Bean Cemetery in Moultonborough.

Personal life

On May 31, 1812, Bean married Eliza Ramsey. They had one daughter who died in childhood. After Eliza's death, he married Lydia Adams on October 30, 1817. They had six sons and four daughters together, including John Q. A. Bean, Benjamin F. Bean, A. A. Bean, George L. Bean, William E. Bean and Hannah J. Bean.

References

External links

Biographical Directory of the United States Congress
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Bean, Benning Moulton 1782 births 1866 deaths People from Moultonborough, New Hampshire Members of the New Hampshire House of Representatives New Hampshire state senators Members of the Executive Council of New Hampshire Presidents of the New Hampshire Senate Jacksonian members of the United States House of Representatives from New Hampshire 19th-century members of the United States House of Representatives 19th-century members of the New Hampshire General Court