Gen 1: Mary Jane Beal - FAN Club

What are the origins of Johann Nicholas Biehl?

 

Last week we continued our Biehl research project with the end goal of identifying the German origins of Johann Nicholas Biehl. I continued research on the first generation, which is Mary Jane Beal. You can find that post here. 

 

Cluster Methodology

 

Solving genealogical questions often requires researching the collateral family, friends, associates, and neighbors; cluster methodology or the “FAN Club,” a term coined by Elizabeth Shown Mills.[1] In order to do that, you need to keep track of those individuals. By reviewing who and how often the people interacted with the family being researched, you can prioritize which individuals should be at the top of the research list. I do this by creating the simple table shown below.

 

As each source is accessed, noting the individuals and their roles are documented. As can be seen, there are some Beal individuals that should be researched. The Beal surname is not very common in Washington and Benton counties, Arkansas, so they may all be family to Mary Jane Beal.  Another individual of note is Madison Painter/Panter given that he was a neighbor to the Henry household in the 1850 census and a witness to the Henry’s 1854 deed. Peter Beal’s wife is alleged to be Elizabeth Painter. Additional sources will continue to add to this table and to add important FAN club members that may need to be researched. 

 

	Type of Record in Which Each Associate Appears
Name	1850 Census	1854 Deed	1860 Census	Cemetery
Beal, Albert (child)				Adjacent Grave
Beal, Albert (sibling)			Neighbor
Beal, Peter	Neighbor
Covington, William		Grantee
Henry, Eliza R.				Adjacent Grave
Painter/Panter, Madison	Neighbor	Witness
Stout, Jonathan		Witness & J.P.

 

Future Research

 

Future research will include:

 

·      Continue search for all real estate, both local and Federal, that James Henry owned in Washington County, Arkansas. He owned $300 in 1850 and $1,000 in 1870. Start a table showing the land transactions, both in and out, to ensure all transactions are captured.

·      Determine if there are records for Friendship Baptist Church in Springdale, Arkansas.

·      Locate James Henry in the 1880, 1900, and 1910 Federal censuses.

·      Locate the extant applicable agricultural censuses for Arkansas.

·      Search for additional marriage records for James Henry.

 

Next up: Continuing the research on Mary Jane Henry and her husband, James, as noted in “Future Research” above.

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[1] Elizabeth Shown Mills, “QuickLesson 11: Identity Problems & the FAN Principle,” Evidence Explained: Historical Analysis, Citation & Source Usage (https://www.evidenceexplained.com/content/quicklesson-11-identity-problems-fan-principle : 1 December 2025).