Francis Atherton Bean, Sr., was born in Watertown, Massachusetts, in 1840 and came to Minnesota with his parents in 1855. In about 1865 he traveled by covered wagon from Minnesota to Helena, Montana, returning to Minnesota in 1872. During his absence, his father purchased a small flour mill in Faribault, Minnesota. Francis Atherton Bean, Sr., operated the mill, rebuilding after a fire in the 1880s, until his debts forced him to sell the mill in 1891. Later that year, at the age of 51, he leased a mill in New Prague, Minnesota, and from it built the company that was to become International Multifoods Corporation. IMCO was headed by three generations of the Bean family. Francis Atherton Bean, Sr., died on February 20, 1930. In that year his business partner, William L. Harvey, became president of International Milling Company and his son, Francis Atherton Bean, Jr., became vice president.

Francis Atherton Bean, Jr., known as F. A. Bean and as Frank Bean, was the son of Francis Atherton Bean. He was born in Faribault, Minnesota, on October 1, 1878. In 1892, after the foreclosure on his father's first mill, the family moved to New Prague, Minnesota, where his father began the New Prague Flouring Mill Company. Francis Atherton Bean, Jr., attended the State Teachers College at Winona, Minnesota, and the University of Minnesota Law School, from which he graduated in 1900. Francis Atherton Bean, Jr., worked for the family firm his entire career, beginning in 1900. In 1930 after the death of his father, Francis Atherton Bean, Jr., became the International Milling Company's vice president and in 1938 its president. He became chairman of the board of directors in 1943, a position he held until January 1955. The New Prague Flouring Mill Company became International Milling Company in 1910 when it expanded its operations into Canada by purchasing Robin Hood Flour Company. When the company expanded into Canada, Francis Atherton Bean, Jr., invested personal funds in Canadian land and operated tenant farms near Regina, Saskatchewan, from about 1920 until 1953. This business, chartered as F. A. Bean Farms, Ltd. and later subsumed under the Central West Securities Corporation, supplied grain to the Robin Hood mills.

F. A. Bean, Jr., was very involved with the Boy Scouts of America at both national and regional levels. As a youth he was instrumental in getting the first scout troops organized in New Prague and in 1919 organized troops for the South Central Council of Minnesota. He contributed the original land and buildings for the Fish Lake camp in Scott County, Minnesota. Francis Atherton Bean, Jr. was appointed head of the regional Rural Scouting Committee in 1923, was regional vice chairman from 1925 to 1946, and served on the regional Executive Committee from 1922 until 1955. He was also a member of the Minneapolis Executive Board from 1924 until 1955 and on the national Executive Board from 1935 until 1955.

Church life was also important to F. A. Bean, Jr., evidenced by his activite membership in the Plymouth Congregational church (Minneapolis, Minn.), serving as chairman of the board of trustees from 1945 to 1948 and as chairman of the chapel building campaign from 1945 to 1947. He was also a member of the Council of Churches of Christ of the United States of America. Bean served secular nonprofits as well; from 1943 to 1946 he served on the War Chest and Council of Social Agencies. He also served as president and member of the board of governors of the Encampment Forest Association (Two Harbors, Minn.).

Francis Atherton Bean, Jr., married Bertha Juanita Boynton and together they had three children: Bertha Juanita, Francis Atherton, and John Boynton. Bertha Boynton Bean died in October 1954. Francis Atherton Bean, Jr., died on August 19, 1955. Francis Atherton Bean III, known as Atherton Bean, also worked for International Milling company, which became International Multifoods Corporation.

Biographical information was taken from the collection.

Genealogical Information on the Bean Family

Bean, Andrew Douglas, 1979-. (son of Bruce Bean)

Bean, Bertha Boynton, 1878-1954. (wife of F.A.jr.)

Bean, Bridget, 1956-. (daughter of John B. Bean)

Bean, Bruce William, 1945-. (son of F.A.III)

Bean, Constance, 1954-. (daughter of John B. Bean)

Bean, Douglas Atherton, 1937-1979. (son of F.A.III)

Bean, Elizabeth Winifred, 1964-. (daughter of Douglas Bean)

Bean, Francis Atherton, 1840-1930.

Bean, Francis Atherton, 1878-1955.

Bean, Francis Atherton, 1910-1998.

Bean, Glen Atherton, 1962-. (son of Douglas Bean)

Bean, James Christopher, 1952-. (son of John B. Bean.)

Bean, John Atherton, 1981-. (son of Bruce Bean)

Bean, John Boynton, 1919-. (son of F.A.jr.)

Bean, John Michael, 1947-. (son of John B. Bean)

Bean, Karen Louise, 1965-. (daughter of Douglas Bean)

Bean, Mary Ferman, 1945-. (wife of Bruce Bean)

Bean, Molly, 1942-. (daughter of John B. Bean)

Bean, Robin, 1945-. (daughter of John B. Bean)

Bean, Ruth Leslie, 1921-. (wife of John B. Bean)

Bean, Scott Daniel, 1984-. (son of Bruce Bean)

Bean, Winifred Elizabeth, 1909-. (wife of F.A.III)

Flournoy, Rose. (sister of Bertha Bean)

Fraser, Alice A. (sister of F.A.jr.)

Fraser, J. Frank. (brother-in-law of F.A.jr.)

Larkin, Laura Bean, 1877-. (sister of F.A.jr.)

Larkin, Charles. (brother-in-law of F.A.jr.)

McDonald, Alice Fraser. (daughter of Alice Fraser)

McDonald, Donald Jefferson. (nephew-in-law of F.A.jr.)

Nolan, Eleanor Caswell, 1939-. (widow of Douglas Bean)

Nolan, Patrick Dean, 1931-. (husband of Eleanor Casewell)

de Porres, Mary Ellen Cornelia, 1944-. (daughter of Bertha J. Flinsch)

de Porres, Manuel. (husband of Mary Ellen de Porres)

Flinsch, Bertha Boynton, 1952-. (daughter of Bertha Juanita Flinsch)

Flinsch, Bertha Juanita, 1914-1976. (daughter of F.A.jr.)

Flinsch, Caroline Sumner, 1939-. (daughter of Bertha Juanita Flinsch)

Flinsch, Francis Michael, 1940-. (son of Bertha Juanita Flinsch)

Flinsch, Harold, 1909-. (husband of Bertha Juanita Flinsch)

Flinsch, Harold, 1938-. (son of Bertha Juanita Flinsch)