Over the years, the Beman family made a significant and lasting impact on Chateaugay and the surrounding area following the relocation of the family here in the fall of 1795, as the settlement was being founded.

Nathan Beman was born in Amenia, New York on September 10, 1757 to Samuel Beman and Sarah Smith Beman. He was the second oldest of their six surviving children: four males – Samuel, Nathan, Aaron, Abraham and two females – Sarah and Elizabeth.

Nathan married Jemima Roberts (1754-1841) in Manchester, Vermont in 1777. From 1778 through 1802, they would have nine children. Only George W.P. would be born in Chateaugay following the family’s settlement here in 1796:

• Amy “Emma” Beman b. 27 Dec 1778 in Manchester, VT; d. 27 Apr 1862
  Married Ezra Turner, Jr. She died in Schuyler Falls, NY
• Mary Beman b. 20 Apr 1781 in Manchester, VT; d. Feb 1857
  Married Henry J. Banker. She died in Plattsburgh, NY
• Samuel Beman b. 7 July 1783 in Manchester, VT; d. Feb 1870
  Married Sibbil Thompson. He died in Pennsylvania
• John Beman b. 1785 in Manchester, VT; d. 1886
  Married Betsy Johnston. He died in Clark County, Iowa
• Sally Beman b. 1786 in Manchester, VT; d. 1 Feb 1876
  Married Jared Bigelow. She died in Schuyler Falls, NY
• Susan Beman b. 1790 in Manchester, VT; d. 1835
  Married Joshua Chamberlain. D. in Clinton County, NY
• Phoebe Beman b. 1795 in Plattsburgh, NY; d. 1860
  Married Henry Hilliker. She died in Chateaugay, NY
• Aaron Beman b. 1796 in Plattsburgh, NY; d. 1876
  Married Sarah Erwin. He died in Malone, NY
• George Washington Pratt Beman b. 1 Mar 1802; d. 1 Sept 1852
  Married Jane Greer. He died in Chateaugay, NY

Among the more noteworthy of Nathan and Jemima’s children and grandchildren that followed were:

Aaron Beman (1796-1870) A son of Nathan and Jemima Roberts Beman, he was born in Plattsburgh before the family came to Chateaugay. As an infant, he was carried in his mother’s arms during the week-long trip from Plattsburgh. He spent his early life in Chateaugay. In 1831, he was made Franklin County Under Sherriff and moved to Malone permanently. He was elected Sheriff in 1833. He died on September 1, 1876 and was buried in Morningside Cemetery in Malone with full Masonic honors.

George Washington Pratt Beman (1802-1852) A son of Nathan and Jemima Roberts Beman, he was their only child to be born in Chateaugay. George W.P. Beman became an attorney who practiced in Chateaugay throughout his adult life. He married Jane Greer. They are both buried in East Side Cemetery.

Nathan Beman (1829-1914) A son of George W.P. and Jane Beman (and a grandson of Nathan and Jemima), he was a prominent local businessman. He married Helen Hilliker. He built and owned a large commercial block, known as the “Beman Block” and now the site of Citizen’s Park, at the Four Corners in Chateaugay. He thought of himself as his grandfather’s favorite. He called his grandfather, “the old soldier.” He relayed his grandfather’s account of the takeover of Fort Ticonderoga to the Malone Palladium in 1835. Over the various decades, the U.S. Census listed him as a peddler, merchant, farmer, Notary, and capitalist. Beman was also a federal Collector of Customs at the local border crossing into Canada during the 1860s and ‘70s.

Jessie Ward Beman (1862-1927) She was a daughter of Nathan and Helen Beman (and a great granddaughter of Nathan and Jemima). Jessie Beman married Dr. J. Wesley Campbell, a local dentist. She wrote a biography about her great-grandfather, Nathan. She died at the age of 65 in Chateaugay and is buried in East Side Cemetery. The Campbells never had children.

Frank Ward Beman (1864-1946) – The youngest son of Nathan and Helen Beman (and the great grandson of Nathan and Jemima), Frank married Elizabeth Ives on May 24, 1885. They lived in Los Angeles, California and Leadville, Colorado before returning to Chateaugay in 1906. He lived in the family home on East Main Street for forty years. Frank died in 1946 in Chateaugay and is buried in the East Side Cemetery.

Theodore T.S. Beman (1808-1865) He was a son of Samuel and Sibbil Beman and grandson of Nathan and Jemima). He remained in Chateaugay when his parents relocated to Pennsylvania. Theodore became a civil engineer and worked for several railroads. He was one of the engineers who surveyed and laid out the Ogdensburg and Lake Champlain Railroad, a part of the Rutland railroad system that operated in Franklin County. He was also one of the founders of an Episcopal Church in Chateaugay. He died in Chateaugay of consumption (tuberculosis) at the age of 55 and was buried in Smith Cemetery.

Samuel A. Beman (1842-1916) A son of Theodore T.S. and Nancy Beman (Nathan and Jemima’s great-grandson), he was born in Chateaugay, N.Y. Aug. 21, 1843. He studied law in the offices of William P. Cantwell at Malone, N.Y., and was admitted to the bar in 1865. He served as deputy postmaster at Malone. He was a member of the assembly for three terms. In 1868, Mr. Beman was also elected district attorney of Franklin County. In 1889, he was elected county judge and held that office until 1908. Judge Beman was a highly regarded jurist. Beyond the legal field, he organized the 27th Company of the New York State National Guard and was its first captain. He was one of the founders of the Franklin County Agricultural Society, served as president of the Third National Bank, and was the attorney for the Northern Adirondack Railroad Company. He was a Mason in Chateaugay’s Frontier Lodge, No. 579, and in the Northern Constellation Lodge of Malone, a member of Northern Constellation Chapter, Royal Arch Masons, and a member of Franklin Commandery, Knights Templar.