Freestone County, Texas
Biographies 



Biography of James Knox Polk Beene
  (Dec. 9, 1843-Aug. 14, 1900, buried at Salem cemetery in Freestone Co., TX.)
     
A Memorial and Biographical History of Navarro, Henderson, Anderson, 
  Limestone, Freestone and Leon Counties, Texas
Chicago, The Lewis Publishing Company, 1893; pages 780-781

    
      James K. Beene is one of a large family who are well and favorably known
in Freestone county, where their father, William Beene, settled in 1860.  Mr. 
Beene, Sr., was born in 1808, in Tennessee, where he grew to manhood, and then 
removed to Mississippi and successfully engaged in agriculture. While there he
was prominently identified in the politics of that State, representing Itawamba 
county in the Legislature, and later was elected to the Senate, serving fifteen
years in both houses. In the fall of 1859 he came to Texas and settled near
Centerville, Leon county, but remained there only a year, when he purchased the
present home of our subject, where he resided for a number of years. He now makes
his home with his son-in-law, I. R. Beets [sic, Betts], having attained the ripe 
old age of eighty-four years. He is a man of strict integrity and more than average 
intelligence, and now, in his declining years he has the comfort of knowing that
nothing but good can be said about him.  The Primitive Baptist Church has had an
active member in him for over fifty years. His parents were natives of Tennessee.
The mother of our subject, Isabella (Patton) Beene, was a native of Tennessee and
daughter of John Patton, natives of the same State.  Mrs. Beene died June 1888,
after a married life of sixty years, she having been married to Mr. Beene in 1828. 
Twelve children were added to their family as follows: the first two died in 
infancy; Russell O., a farmer of Freestone county; Samuel Shelton, a farmer and
stockman of Leon county; Reuben W., a farmer of Freestone county; William P., 
deceased; subject; Samuel Houston, a farmer of Freestone county; Obadiah J., 
deceased; Thomas J., deceased; Sarah E., wife of I. R. Betts of Freestone county; 
and Ida Emeline, deceased, was the wife of James Sawyer.
    Our subject was born in 1843 in Mississippi, and in 1859 came to Texas with 
his parents, with whom he continued to reside until 1869. In 1862 he enlisted in
Company G, commanded by Captain Turner, Madison's regiment, C. S. A.  He was 
wounded at Pleasant Hill and was taken to the hospital, where he remained only a
few hours.  Mr. Beene served until the close of the war, being on the Little 
Brazos at the time of surrender.
    In 1869 he located on a farm five miles north of Marquez, where he remained
eight years, and then settled where he now resides.  He began life for himself
when only nineteen, and without any assistance has acquired a nice competency,
now being the owner of 320 acres of land and 100 head of cattle and such other
stock as are necessary to carry on a large farm.
    Mr. Beene was married in 1869, to Miss Emily N. Baty, daughter of Andrew and 
Mary Baty.  Mr. and Mrs. Beene are the parents of four children, namely: William
A., at home; Mary Bell, also at home; Thomas F., deceased, and Dora Eugene.  Mr.
Beene is a staunch Democrat, having ardently supported that party since attaining
his majority. Few men in Freestone county enjoy a more enviable reputation for
those qualities considered necessary for the true development of a man than he 
whose name opens this brief sketch.