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We received the remaining handful of seeds of this bean from a great granddaughter of Ida Eugene Smith Purser (18 August 1875 – 22 September 1957), known as “Mummy” to her children and grandchildren. The Mummy Bean is a true family heirloom bean that comes out of the southcentral Piedmont Region of North Carolina. No existing variety name can be applied to this bean. It was described to us as bush-type snap bean but may be a half-runner. It produces bunches of medium to large beans that fill out with white seeds. Unfortunately, rainy weather in spring, 2024, prevented good pictures of the beans when they were ready for harvest.
This bean can likely be traced back in Ida’s (“Mummy’s”) family history to the early or mid-1800s.Ida’s mother, Mary Malinda Shinn Smith (4 February 1833 – 20 October 1895), passed the bean down to her. Ida passed the bean down to her daughter, Alma Mae Purser Huneycutt (23 September 1896 – 7 January 1976), who in turn shared it with the family of Ardis Kimrey Carter (16 October 1906 – 12 April 1991).The bean was grown by the Huneycutt and Carter families until the late 1990s.By then, the seed supply had dwindled down to a handful of seeds stored in a jar. The family asked if we would try growing out those remaining seeds.
North Carolina used to be known the for three industries: tobacco, textiles, and furniture. Textile mills were common in the small towns (mill towns) that are within a 100-mile radius of Charlotte. The mills even provided affordable housing to their employees, establishing entire neighborhoods on city blocks. In the middle of the blocks were community barns and garden spaces. To this day, “mill hills” can still be found in these small towns, which are now nothing more than suburbs of Charlotte. The textile mills are, of course, long gone.
Carla Huneycutt Holt, a great granddaughter of Ida, sent us the handful of remaining seeds that had been stored in a jar since approximately 1999.We are pleased to return a nice crop of seeds to the family this year. We will grow the Mummy Bean out again next year and will hopefully have seeds available.
Ida Eugene Purser Smith “Mummy” (1875–1957) ca. 1905.
Mummy Beans harvested for seeds.
A rainy spring brought the possibility of seeds germinating while still in the pod. A lot of Mummy Beans were harvested at the shell out stage and dried before seeds were collected.
Mummy Bean transplants ready for the garden. The few remaining seeds had been stored in a jar since around 1999.
Snapbeans are nitrogen fixers so require very little, if any, fertilizer. Seen here are Mummy Bean plants starting to vine and produce flowers.
