Michael Beam

He died in 1849 in Tishamingo County, Mississippi. He was buried in Tishamingo County, Mississippi. Died single, He rode a horse to Cincinnati, OH Michael Beam was a natural genius and a gifted mechanic. He was never married.

At the age of 32 years he rode on horseback to Cincinnati, Ohio; the country then being almost a wilderness. He drew a draft of a cotton factory and when he returned to his mother's on Buffalo Creek, he and Daniel Warlick commenced building a cotton factory and had it about completed when it was washed away by a freshet. They were not able at that time to rebuild.

This article is found on page #7 of the "Millhand's and Preachers" by Liston Pope. "Articles of Agreement made and Entered into this 27th day of April 1816 between Michael Shenk & Absolom (Daniel maybe) Warlick of the County of Lincoln & State of North Carolina of the one part, and Michael Beam of the County and State aforesaid of the other part." (MS. in archives of the North Carolina Historical Commission, Raleigh), a contract whereby Shenk and Warlick agreed to pay Beam $1300 for making a spinning machine, a carding machine and a roving machine.

He invented a cotton planter and rode on horseback to Washington D.C. to obtain a patent for it. He went west and was selling his cotton planter with success when he was taken sick and died in 1849, Tishamingo County.