San Luis Obispo County Biographies

EDWIN P. BEAN

Submitted by Peggy Hooper

This file is part of the California Genealogy & History Archives
http://www.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~cagha/index.htm

EDWIN P. BEAN was born in Corinth, Maine, May 1, 1844. lie is the son of Reuben and 
Mary (Smith) Bean, both natives of New Hampshire and descended from early New 
England settlers and soldiers of the Revolution. Both are now deceased. They reared 
a family of twelve children, all of whom continue to make their home in the East with 
the exception of the two brothers, Edwin P. and Reuben, who, together, came to 
California in 1862. These brothers have traveled and lived together ever since, in 
California and elsewhere, and their interests, business, social and otherwise, have always 
been identical. Before settling down in this State the brothers went to Virginia City, 
Nevada, and opened a lumbering business, owning saw-mills and operating them for a 
period of nine years. In 1871 they came to Hill's Ferry, California, and for three years 
were engaged in farming, and later on turned their attention to raising sheep extensively. 
It was in 1878 where the brothers purchased a ranch in the Santa Margarita Valley, eight 
miles from the city of San Luis Obispo. From that time until 1889, they were extensively 
engaged in cattle-raising. In the latter year, the Southern Pacific Railway Company, 
having established a station at Santa Margarita, the brothers leased their ranch and opened 
a hotel at the railroad station, which they continue to operate. The hotel is a commodious 
building, and as the town promises to be a thriving one in the future, this property of 
the Bean Brothers, which consists of seven acres, is a valuable one. 

Edwin was married in 1878 to Miss Rebecca Maud Sumner, a native of California. 
They are the parents of three children. This interesting family is so situated as to enjoy 
life, and their many friends always receive a hearty welcome in their pleasant home. 

History of Santa Barbara, San Luis Obispo and Ventura Counties, California  - by 
C.M. Gidney, Benjamin Brooks, Edwin M. Sheridan, Vol I, II.  -Lewis Publ. Co., 
Chicago, 1917.