Joshua H. Bean (c. 1818 – November 7, 1852) was an

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

political figure A politician is a person active in party politics, or a person holding or seeking an elected office in government. Politicians propose, support, reject and create laws that govern the land and by an extension of its people. Broadly speaking, a ...

. Joshua Bean was born c. 1818 in

Mason County, Kentucky Mason County is a county located in the U.S. state of Kentucky. Its county seat is Maysville. The county was created from Bourbon County, Virginia in 1788 and named for George Mason, a Virginia delegate to the U.S. Constitutional Convention ...

to Phantly Roy Bean (November 21, 1804 – June 13, 1844) and his wife Anna Gore. His paternal grandparents were Benjamin Bean and his wife Fernetta Johnston, daughter of Archibald Johnston. Both grandparents were born in

Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States, between the Atlantic Coast and the Appalachian Mountains. The geography and climate of the Commonwealth ar ...

. Bean's brother would later be known as

Judge Roy Bean Phantly Roy Bean Jr. (c. 1825 – March 16, 1903) was an American saloon-keeper and Justice of the Peace in Val Verde County, Texas, who called himself "The Only Law West of the Pecos". According to legend, he held court in his saloon along the ...

. Joshua Bean served with

Zachary Taylor Zachary Taylor (November 24, 1784 – July 9, 1850) was an American military leader who served as the 12th president of the United States from 1849 until his death in 1850. Taylor was a career officer in the United States Army, rising to th ...

in the

Mexican–American War The Mexican–American War, also known in the United States as the Mexican War and in Mexico as the (''United States intervention in Mexico''), was an armed conflict between the United States and Mexico from 1846 to 1848. It followed the 1 ...

and came to California in 1849 and

San Diego San Diego ( , ; ) is a city on the Pacific Ocean coast of Southern California located immediately adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a 2020 population of 1,386,932, it is the eighth most populous city in the United State ...

in 1850, where he was a trader and saloon owner. Bean was appointed Major General of the State Militia and served to crush the Antonio Garra revolt in 1851. Later he had a small role in preventing the massacre of John Edward Irvine near Redlands, California. San Diego was incorporated by the California State Legislature in 1850. Bean, the last alcalde of San Diego, was elected mayor in the first election under the charter on June 16. Bean was the first U.S. mayor of San Diego and served from 1850 until 1851.San Diego History, ''List of San Diego Mayors''
/ref> While mayor, he illegally "sold" City Hall and city pueblo lands to himself and his drinking buddy Lieutenant Cave J. Couts (the City Hall was recovered). In 1851 he moved to

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, largest city in the U.S. state, state of California and the List of United States cities by population, sec ...

, where he kept a saloon, and store, in Mission San Gabriel, called the Headquarters. He was ambushed and killed, just outside Mission San Gabriel, in 1852 during an argument over a woman.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bean, Joshua Mayors of San Diego 1818 births 1852 deaths People from Mason County, Kentucky 19th-century American politicians