Lewis Bell & Mary Anderson

The Bells are ancestors on my father's maternal grandmother's branch of the family. Her maiden name was Bertha Mae Bell. She was the daughter of Jacob S Bell, who was the son of Harrison Bell. We believe that Harrison was the son of Lewis Bell and Mary Anderson who lived in Fauquier County, Virginia from at least 1800 to 1820.

My most recent research for Lewis Bell was to lookup the deed that has been referenced on "One World Tree" and Ancestry.com member trees establishing the fact that he was James Anderson's son-in-law and Mary Anderson's husband.

I ordered the microfilm from the LDS Family History Library and printed a copy of the original document for myself. I also looked at the index to see if other family members appeared on the same microfilm.

The film that I requested was:

Fauquier County, VA Deed books Vols 26-27 microfilm # 0031595

I found 8 Bells listed in the index. There was also a Maddux listed (Mary Anderson's brother James married Anna Maddux - they are buried in Bethel Twp, Miami Co, OH).

The Bells referenced were:  Charles Bell and his wife, Agatha C. Bell; John Bell; William Bell and his wife, Sarah; James Bell; and Lewis Bell. Thomas L. Maddux was listed in the index. Peter A. Maddux was a witness to Lewis Bell's deed of trust.

I believe that William Bell and James Bell were children of Lewis Bell. They were both named as recipients of debt payments in a deed signed by Charles Bell, so he may have also been a brother, but could have just as easily been a cousin, uncle, nephew, etc.

The deed that Lewis Bell signed mentioned a suit between Lewis and George Harrison. It's interesting that the surname Harrison shows up in this deed. If they named their son after a relative using his surname as their son's given name, this could be another family connection.

Lewis Bell deed of trust to Ludwell Rector:

"This Indenture, made the 7th day of November in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and twenty two between Lewis Bell of the County of Fauquier and commonwealth of Virginia of the one part, and Ludwell Rector of the County of Fauquier and commonwealth aforesaid of the other part witnesseth that the said Lewis Bell for and in consideration of the sum of one dollar lawful money of the United States to him in hand paid by the said Rector at and before the sealing and delivery hereof, the receipt whereof he doth hereby acknowledge, and thereof and of every part thereof doth for ever exonerate, acquit and discharge the said Rector for the uses herein after named by there presents hath granted, bargained, sold, aliened, en??, released and confirmed & transferred unto the said Rector, his heirs and assigns forever all the right, title & interest in p?? remainder of the said Lewis Bell in & to the estate of James Anderson dec'd of Prince William County & father in law of said Bell said interest consents of the ? part of the property now held by Mary the widow of said James Anderson for her life...

... thirdly, pay to William Bell son of sd Lewis four hundred dollars ..."

This establishes the relationship between Lewis Bell and James Anderson as well as establishing that William Bell was the son of Lewis Bell.

Other source documents that I have found for Lewis Bell are:

Fauquier Co, VA 1800 Tax List; District of Elias Edmonds Junr;

"Bell, Lewis  1-2-0-1" 

1 free male over 16
2 horses
0 slaves over 16
1 slave between 12 and 16

1810 United States Federal Census

Fauquier Co, VA

"Lewis Bell  3 2 1 1 - 2 1 - 1 - - 9"

3 males under 10; 2 males bet 10 and 15; 1 male between 16 and 25; 1 male between 26 and 44
2 females under 10; 1 female bet 10 and 15; 1 female between 26 and 44; 9 slaves

1820 United States Federal Census

Fauquier Co, VA

"Lewis Bell - 3 1 - - 1 2 1 2 1 - - 4 - - - - - - 4 - 1"

3 males between 10 and 15; 1 male between 16 and 18; 1 male 45 or older
2 females under 10;1 female between 10 and 15; 2 females between 16 and 25; 1 female between 26 and 44

1830 United States Federal Census

Bethel Twp, Clark Co, OH

"Lewis Bell  - - - - 3 - - - 1 - - - - - - - 2 - - - - 1 - - -"

3 males between 20 and 29; 1 male between 60 and 69
2 females between 15 and 19; 1 female between 60 and 69

Lewis Bell was not listed in the Bethel Twp census of 1840 - he may have died, but I did not find a death record or probate file for him when I searched in Miami County. Because Bethel Twp is split between Miami and Clark Counties, the information may have been recorded in Clark County.

From this limited information, we can deduce that Lewis Bell of Fauquier County, VA moved to Bethel Twp, Clark Co, OH between 1820 and 1830. He was probably born between 1766 and 1770. His wife, Mary Anderson, was probably born between 1776 and 1784. Mary was the daughter of James Anderson.

The LDS website, Family Search, provides us with more information, but no direct source documents. A DAR publication from January, 1918 lists two reader queries, one entitled "Anderson" and the other "Bell". It refers to Lewis and Mary Anderson Bell and their children. It also lists the children of James Anderson. Presumably this came from a family bible or oral family tradition, but the source is not given.

Next week I will go through these two sources and analyze the data given.