HistoricSiteMarkers
Early Republic

Candace Midkiff Bean

Linwood, Cherokee County, Texas

Marker Inscription

Wife of Peter Ellis Bean born near Nashville, Tenn. in 1802. Died near Douglass, Texas in December 1848. One of those pioneer women who braved the Indian menace and rocked the cradle of Texas liberty.

Erected by Texas Historical Commission

The Story

Candace Midkiff Bean came of age on the Texas frontier as the wife of the adventurer Peter Ellis Bean, settling in the piney woods of East Texas during the turbulent years of Mexican rule and the young Republic. Born near Nashville in 1802, she lived out her days near Douglass and died there in 1848. The marker honors her among the pioneer women whose labor and endurance underpinned early Anglo-Texan settlement.

Why it matters

It preserves the memory of the frontier women whose daily work sustained households and communities during Texas's founding era, a story too often left out of the record.

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Related people

  • ยท Candace Midkiff Bean
  • ยท Peter Ellis Bean

Themes & tags

Women's HistoryWestward ExpansionFrontier HistoryMemorial

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