Civil War Union Army Officer. Lieutentant Colonel, 17th Pennsylvania Volunteer Infantry. Theo. W. Bean was educated in the common schools of his township, and at the age of seventeen (May, 1850) he apprenticed himself to Isaiah Richards, then carrying on the smithing business at Jeffersonville. After serving his time (three years) he commenced business for himself at the Trooper village. He continued here until 1859, when he purchased the Richards homestead, where he had learned his trade. Mr. Bean pursued a methodical course of self-culture from and after his apprenticeship, having in view the practice of law. He was married January 4, 1860, to Hannah Heebner, youngest daughter of John Heebner, of Lower Providence. Mrs. Bean’s paternal ancestry is of German nativity. Her father, John Heebner, was born January 9, 1802; married Susannah Barndollar, January 7, 1827, and died June 8, 1850. He owned and operated the Perkiomen Mills, now located at Yerkes Station, and was a school director in Lower Providence township for many years, being an active supporter of the common-school system. His father, Christopher Heebner, died August 21, 1827, aged fifty-eight years, and his grandfather, Christopher Heebner, died August 21, 1827,— the same day and year. David (Huebner) Heebner, the emigrant ancestor, and his wife, Maria, came to Pennsylvania in 1734. He died December 27, 1784, and his widow June 11, 1793. The war for the Union swept our subject, with thousands of others, into the ranks of the army. He and his brother, Edwin A., enlisted in Company L, Seventeenth Pennsylvania Cavalry, August, 1862, recruited by Captain D.B. Hartranft. He was appointed first sergeant upon the muster in of the company at Harrisburg, and subsequently elected second and first lieutenant before the command left the State. He was promoted to captain May 30, 1863. The command entered the Army of the Potomac in the winter of 1862, and participated in all its subsequent campaigns. The Fifth Squadron of the regiment to which his company was attached was called, by order of General John Buford, to division headquarters, soon after the battle of Gettysburg, for escort and special duty. Captain Bean served on the staff of General Buford until the death of that officer, February, 1864, and on the staff of Buford’s successors, Generals Torbet and Merritt, being with the latter while in command of the cavalry corps Army of Potomac at the battle of Five Forks, and in the pursuit of Lee until the surrender of the Army of Northern Virginia at Appomattox, April 9, 1865. He was breveted major and lieutenant-colonel for "gallant and distinguished service" in the army. Upon his return to civil life he immediately resumed business and study, and was admitted to the bar of Montgomery County March, 1869, when he entered upon the duties of his profession. In March, 1870, he was appointed deputy escheator for the county of Montgomery; was solicitor for the county treasurer from 1872 to 1877, solicitor for the borough of Norristown for the year 1880, and solicitor for the sheriff’s office from 1880 to 1884. Colonel Bean brought with him to the bar mature years, experience and self-possession, with pleasing address and tireless industry. He is fertile, and exhaustive in effort, and never hopeless in a cause which he espouses. To these qualities as a lawyer must be added that of a public-spirited citizen. His fondness for historical truth and logical deductions has made him a popular orator with the masses. Among his best efforts may be named the "Historical Oration" at the Valley Forge centennial, June 19, 1878; General Zook memorial, Gettysburg, Pa., July, 1882; and Memorial Day oration, Lancaster, May, 1883. His writings, some of which are noted in Mr. Buck’s bibliography, page 350, are mostly of a historic character, the last of which being the "History of Montgomery County," for which this outline of the editor’s life and family is furnished. Colonel Bean and family now reside in Norristown. He has three children,— William Heebner, now a cadet at the United States Military Academy, West Point; Mary L., the only daughter; and Lane S., in his seventh year.