The Quarterly of the Texas State Historical Association, Volume 3, July 1899 - April, 1900 Page: 50
294 p. : ill., maps ; 23 cm.View a full description of this periodical.
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Texas Hlistorical Association Quarterly.
three named James and one named Joseph, came to, America from
Ireland and settled in Lancaster county, Pa., in 1740. They re-
mained in Pennsylvania but a short time, and all moved to Augusta
county, Va., whither they finally brought their families. From
these four the writer can trace all the Bells of this country. One
of the four had a son named Samuel, who was an officer in the revo-
lution, while quite young, and who, along with some of his cousins,
was with Morgan at Cowpens, and became a major under Washing-
ton. He was the grandfather of Governor Bell. The father of the
Governor was a lieutenant in the war of 1812 and must have been
commissioned captain, for he was known for years as Capt. James
Bell.
To show that the Bells have been a fighting family, in addition
to the fact already stated that the branch to which the Governor
belonged was represented in the American Revolution, the War of
1812, the Texas Revolution, the Mexican War, and the Confeder-
ate War, I cull from the Genealogy of the American Bells and the
Official Records of the War of the Rebellion the following sum-
mary of the roster of Bell officers. On the Confederate side there
were three brigadier-generals, nine colonels, five lieutenant-col-
onels, nine majors, thirty-four captains, thirteen lieutenants, three
corporals, two sergeants, two surgeons, two adjutant-generals, one
quartermaster-a total of seventy-one. On the Federal side there
were one brigadier-general, nine colonels, five lieutenant-colonels,
eleven majors, thirty-two captains, fifteen lieutenants, four sur-
geons, one adjutant, four corporals, five sergeants, and in the navy
one rear-admiral, and one commander-a total of eighty-nine.
The grand total of officers for both sides is one hundred and sixty.
Of these, ten on the Confederate side and eight on the Federal side
lost their lives in battle. Judging from the proportion of privates
that went from the writer's native county, that of Augusta in Vir-
ginia, which was eighteen to one officer, over three thousand Bells
of the same family were arrayed against each other in the Civil
War. One branch of this family has given five governors to the
different States. Of these, three were governors of New Hamp-
shire, as follows: Samuel in 1819, John in 1828, and Charles H.
in 1881. The other two were P. H., Governor of Texas in 1849,
and Frank, Governor of Nevada in 1890. From another branch
came Thomas Bell of Pennsylvania, an officer in the French and
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Texas State Historical Association. The Quarterly of the Texas State Historical Association, Volume 3, July 1899 - April, 1900, periodical, 1900; Austin, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth101015/m1/58/: accessed April 26, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Texas State Historical Association.