Mr. Leonard Cooper, a Bell descendant whose name is highlighted below in red, is my source for the following material. He found one of my webpages and contacted me concerning sharing material related to our mutual Bell family connections. While his material definitely relates to some of the people buried in the same cemetery as several of my relatives, he's not yet found the "Fannie" Bell of Bogue Chitto who married my gg-granduncle Chesley R. Gwin.

Leonard's cousin Ms. Janet Neimeyer, name also highlighted below in red,, has now sent data as well. Her grandfather is Gerald GwinBell, which news greatly encourages me!

--John M. Gwin  jmcdgwin@zianet.com

---

Elijah Bell

1._--Elijah Bell, b. unk.; d. unk.; bd. unk.; m1. Ann Jones (b. unk.; d. early in the marriage but after 1848, and Enoch was raised by her parents, Grandpa and Grandma Jones; bd. unk.); m2. Laura Page Grice; m3. Ms. Daugherty;

2.1--Enoch Jones Bell, b.1848; m. Josephine Jones;

Clockwise from top left: Enoch Jones Bell; Josephine Jones Bell; Elijah Bell and wife Eleanor Bell;
Elijah Bell (b. 1932); Enoch J. Bell and sons (l. to r.: Horace, David, Enoch J., Elijah, and John Bell)

3.1--John Bell;
3.2--Elijah Bell, b. 1888 s/o Enoch Bell; m. Eleanor (nee unk.); see photos above

4._--granddaughter of Enoch Bell; m. Mr. Cooper;

5._--Leonard Cooper,

3.3--David Bell;
3.4--Horace Bell;

2.2--Turner Lee Bell, b. ca. 1867; d. unk.; bd. unk.; m. Blanch Booth (maybe a cousin of John Wilkes Booth)

3._--Gerald Gwin Bell; [John M. Gwin NOTE: Where did he get this name? Can this be Chesley Gwin's namesake and a relative of Chesley's wife, Fannie Bell?]

4._--child of Gerald Gwin Bell

5._--Janet Bell m. Mr. Neimeyer

[John M. Gwin NOTE: From the above data, one can see that Enoch Bell and Turner Bell are half-siblings, their respective children half-first cousins to each other, their respective grandchildren half-second cousins, and Leonard and Janet half-third cousins! :-)]

From: John Gwin <jmcdgwin@zianet.com>
Date: Sat Mar 19, 2005  12:03:51 PM US/Mountain
To: "Leonard Cooper" < l c o o p e r @ v a l o r n e t . c o m >
Subject: Re: Elijah Bell

Leonard, thanks for writing--good to meet you!

On Tuesday, March 15, 2005, at 03:57 PM, Leonard Cooper wrote:
Sir:  I just happened on this email regarding Elijah Bell. I am the Great Great Grandson of Elijah Bell. Elijah Bell, Enoch Bell, and Elijah Bell of Trinity, Texas. I have a picture of Elijah Bell and Fam. (Laura Grice) of Browns, Alabama, if you are interested.
Leonard L Cooper  lcooper@valornet.com

Well, now this is encouraging!  I've been wanting to know more about the Bells and Grices, so perhaps you're just the one to tell me!  :-)
I don't know if I'm related to the Bells at all except to one of them by marriage: Mary Frances "Fannie" Elizabeth Bell married my gg-granduncle Chesley R. Gwin 21 March 1850 (155 years ago Monday!), just a few months before the census was taken.

I know very little about the Bells, but I do know she lived in Bogue Chitto where her dad was a "hard-shell" Baptist preacher. I know Chesley and Fannie got married there--probably in her dad's church or perhaps their home, and that Chesley's father's Methodist pastor, James Cotten from Cahaba, recorded in his diary that the event was happening that evening.
Later I learned that Chesley's parents, John and Jane Gwin, were living (along with two of John's grandchildren) in the 1860 census with a young couple by the name of Grice (W.G. Grice, 32, and Eliza, 20), so there must've been a connection to the Grices somehow.

Then last summer I was in the Bell family cemetery just south of Browns and saw that a Susan Grice had married a William Bell. Her year of birth was 1837, so she'd've been 23 in 1860, perhaps the younger sister of the W. G. Grice with whom the Gwins were living then.

That's about all I know. I don't know Fannie's parents' or siblings' names; I don't know how the Grices connect or even if they're the same Grices. If you'd like to help me fill in some of the many blanks, I'd be obliged, friend. Thanks again for writing!

Best to you,
In Jesus,
John  (Contact information:)

John:
You were answering an email from B a l t 4 2 @ a o l . c o m. [Remove spaces before mailing!] She is Janet Bell Neimeyer. She wrote me:
"Elijah Bell and Laura Grice Bell's son Turner Lee Bell (born around 1867) was my grandfather Gerald Gwin Bell's father.
She also has notes on Gwins and Bells.
Turner Bell married Blanch Booth (maybe a cousin of John Wilkes Booth).
My G Grand father was Enoch Bell b.1848 son of Elijah Bell b.1818 and Elijah's first wife Ann Jones.
She passed away and Enoch was raised by his mother's parents, Grandpa and Grandma Jones.
Laura Grice comes into play.
and then his third wife was Daugherty.
I have the complete Bell History on my computer but it is a large file and I will have to subdivide it. I tried sending it to my sister and it was rejected as too large.
The Weissingers, Bells, Jones, Grices, and Gwins were all entwined together.
You might Google Johann Jacob Wisinger for a nice site on the Wisingers (spelled both ways).
I have checked all the Fannies in the Bell tree and I can't see where our Fannie fits yours. Ha.
You might have better luck at it than me. Between the three of us we should be able to come up with a lot more info.
Sincerely,
Leonard Cooper
Elijah Bell b.1818, Laura Grice Bell and Fam.

Letter from William Bell to his wife, Susan P. Grice Bell

[John Gwin Note: The following is my transcription of a pdf copy of an unnamed (and therefore unknown to me) transcriber's transcription of a letter written in 1862 from the CSA Camp Friendship by CSA soldier William Bell to his wife, Susan. I have taken the liberty of putting it into this column format for easier reading and of highlighting the names of people and places for easier reference. I hope I have corrected all my errors in my transcription. The pdf copy, which I received from Leonard Cooper, was two and a half typed pages. I don't know how many pages were in the original handwritten letter.]

[John Gwin's and original transcriber's Note: This is the same William Bell who appears in the 1850 census,  above, at age 23.  William Bell: b. 31 Aug 1827 in Browns, Dallas Co., AL, s/o Enoch Bell (b. 2 Mar 1789 in Chatham Co., NC; d. 28 Feb 1850) and Frances Manghon (b. 2 Mar 1789 in Chatham Co., NC); m. Susan Page Grice.]

[Note of original Transcriber: This is the best translation that we could make of this letter because William Bell's handwriting is hard to read. There are spelling errors, run on sentences, the symbol "&" is used many times, and capital letters are used where small letters should be used in the original letter. You will find these errors as you read this letter. We kept these errors in this documentation to keep from destroying the authenticity of what William Bell wrote.]
 

Camp Friendship, Sept. 7, 1862 My Dear Beloved Susan, I was glad to get your letter which came to hand last Friday night. I also got one at the same time from Bro. Elijah. The letter had been here some time before I got it, as we were out on a long scout. I have written you 4 letters.  Hope you have got them all, I have been well ever since my arrival in camp. I intended My Dear Susan to send you 2 pairs of gloves by Mr. Pasloy, then didn't get to see him, as he left while we were on a scout. Our scout troop out longer, than any that has ever been.  We had many strange little adventures and some very exciting times, while we were gone we were near the Mississippi line. We were after a large Yankee force at Russelville, Franklin Co. They were too strong for us to make the attack, so long around and tried to get him to bring his force out so that we could ambush him. The Yanks tried hard to find us, they said, but we did not think them keen, as we were lying in less than 2 miles of them. We had to be very sly in all our movements and done some good retreating. After staying long enough around Russelville to make the Enemy at Decatur & Tuscaloosa think we were going to storm Bylae, & finding the road clear, we ate supper, blew our whistle and started for Newburg. As the boys all thought, but didn't go far before we turned suddenly to the left and then we all knew we would ride all night or near it so after a brisk ride about 20 miles, we left the road and took through fields for about 3 or 4 miles where we parted.  We got down then counted off by 4's & let every 4th man hold horses. Other balance which was 3/4 formed & marched to the railroad tore it up. Then we Marched often up a road to slip the Iron so that it can't be seen but will run

this car off. We had 6 companies making 550 men in all on this Rail. Well, now I must tell you of one of the unfortunate road mishaps I ever saw in all my life, we were waiting for the Cars to come & run off about half our men were sleeping & from some unseen cause to us our horses became frightened and a few guns fired, the horses snorted like that many wild beasts. A regular stampeed took place & 5 or 600 horses broke through the field as hard as they could go running over some men trampling them in the ground.  I suppose we had at least 50 men run over and some badly damaged. Some so bad that I suppose they will die. I don't think more than 2 or 3 will die. None that you know are badly hurt. We all felt like fate was against us, but providence seems to take care of me, for my horse didn't run off & I think the Good Lord is taking care of all the Confederates in this section of our good state and after all this affair has done more good than the taking of several cars. No one ever saw and heard of anything like it. The Yanks were at Hatton in a good position and a big force. They heard the running and roaring of our horses & thought we were coming down by the thousands on them so they broke, fled the place & took in wild confusion, sent runners to inform their friends that 6000 Cavalry had attack. They have left Decatur & as all making for Tuscumbia. The Yankies are coming in and surrendering almost every day. Some say they didn't come here to steal negroes but to fight for the Union, but have fooled and many they say have laid down their arms, where they won't fight any more. My Dear Susan you can't tell how bad I felt when I saw in your letter that Our Dear Sister was dead, but we all have to die and at best can't live long. And as She

died so well satisfied, I hope we may be prepared to meet her inthat good land where there is no more war and strife. I hope though that it is the will of the good Lord that I may spend many good days on this earth with you & our dear children.  If I can get a substitute, I will do it and come home as soon as Possible, but if I can't, I must do the best I can & so must you. If I find I can't get a man, I will let you know it, &  if we get to a place where we will be stationed any length of time at, I will write for you to come & bring the children, as Bro. Elij will come with you I know & If I stay I must have a negro to cook and wash for me and must bring Isaiah I reckon. I suppose Mr. Pasley is with you today & has told you what sort of Good Soldier I make. I was sorry he left before I got back. Pasley got a horse here and gave an order on me for the money which I paid yesterday, it was $165.00, one hundred sisty five dollars. I shall want that money pretty soon if I can get a substitute, so tell Bro. Elij about it and if convenient to get the money & hold it in readness for me. I will write him soon. I hope you got my letters which I directed at Gunterville. I shall direct this to Bellville. If you were at home I should feel quite uneasy. As all our friends here received news that we were surrounded & 80 of our men killed. I am remarkably pleased with all our officers. We are doing nothing now only feeding and resting. We may leave tonight & may not leave in a week. Capt Lewis has gone to Chattanooga and has been for 2 weeks, Lieut. Brooks is in command.  Brooks is liked by all. Well, My Dear You want me to say what you must do about taking E. B. Wysinger's horse. Well, all I can say about that is if you want it, take it, for whatever accomodates you pleases me. I want you to enjoy yourself as well as you can while I am gone, for

if it is the will of the good Lord to permit me to get back to you & the babies, I know I can make you all happy, for I have in store many long years for you.  Let me tell you my Dear Susan how I would have you act on my absence. Anything you want, or any little trade you want to make, I want you to have it, so trade for it. As you think best, I am satisfied. Bro. E. will do anything for you he can make you happy, for when I think you are happy & enjoying yourself, it does me good. For let me tell you, if it were not for you & the children, this world would have no charms for me, don't forget to kiss all the children, Buck, Lester & Laura. Give my respects to Fannie too. Tell E. B. Wysinger we would all be glad to have in our Co. That man Henson that stayed all night at our house is very much a gentleman & a good man to boot. Give my respects to Whitt & W J Bell and Harris. I shall write often to you and if I get sick you shall know it, tell the negroes all how do for me & tell them I expect them to take good care of you and the children, as well as everything else on the place. Oh how I would like to be at home today with you & the children, but can't. Be cheerfull & happy, my Dear Susan if possible teach all our little ones to be good as I know you will teach them to say their little prayers at night, tell them I think of you and them all the time. I wish I had Enoch here. Graham sends his respects to Bro. E. & Mr. Harris Meggs sends his to you all.  Tell Mrs. Meggs if you see her, he is well. Meggs makes a good soldier and is a good man. I shall drop Bro. E. a small note in this, send it to him. If Melvin Harris comes back to our house, I will write to him soon. I will close My Dear goodbye my Dear Susan. Your devoted Husband W Bell

[John Gwin Note: The following is my transcription of a PDF copy of an unknown transcriber's transcription of a handwritten letter from a female college student at Tuscaloosa, AL, to her friend, Fannie Bell of Brown's Station, AL. It was sent to me by Leonard Cooper. I have taken the liberty of highlighting the names of people and places for easier reference. I hope I have corrected all my typos in transcription.
    At the top of the PDF copy is penciled "Love Letter", making me think that the original transcriber may have thought this was written by a male. I am confident, however, that this is written by a female, primarily because of the "he would have thought me rather fast" statement in column two and secondarily because it was not at all uncommon for female friends to use such intimate language with each other.
    Whether or not this Fannie Bell is the one who married Chesley Gwin is still unknown, but if so, I believe the date to be 1849 or earlier, not 1850, because Fannie and Chesley were married in Feb. 1850, and no reference is made to her being Mrs. Gwin.]

 

Miss Fannie Bell, Brown's Station, Alabama Dallas County Tuscaloosa, Ala., Nov. 2, ___?___ [about 185 0--date torn off] My Own Beloved Fannie, I received your dear letter this morning and I cannot begin to tell you how glad I was to get it. When I perused its contents however, I must confess that it inspired me with the conciousness that my darling Fannie is not as happy and contented as I could wish her to be or as she deserves to be. I discovered the fact throughtout the whole letter. If my sweet darling was not very sad she could not have written in such a sad tone. I could not help crying when I read it for I love you so much that the very thought of you being unhappy renders me miserable. If I could command the circumstances, ___ govern your life, nothin but sunshine should illumine your path way and sweet scented flowers shed their aroma around you in your journey through life. Nov. 8--Dear Fannie, here it is Sunday evening and I have not finished this letter yet. We have just come from dinner and are all in our rooms for the rest of the evening. I saw your cousin Mr. John Bell at church this morning. He looked so natural and so familiar that I wanted to speak to him and ask about you. If I had, he would have thought me rather fast, wouldn't he? But you know that would have been foreign to my nature. Is your brother coming back to the university? I ask for Bessie's benefit, but she did not tell me to. Mamie Long sends love to you and says she is going to be a good girl this year. Mrs. Clark sends love to you but says you have treated her just as badly as you can. She thought you would have been one of the first to write to her. So she would like to see you so much. Miss Bennie also says she has looked long and in vain for a letter from you. She sent love to you. Miss Nammie & Miss Lula Manly send lots of love and said to send your sister here to school. I wish she could come. If she can please tell her to come here. I would be so glad to see her. Fannie darling please send me one of your pictures. Send me the one that is most like yourself. I would consisder  it as one of my treasures. Please, please send me one. I have written to you since I came here. I suppose you have received that letter. Write soon to your loving friend, Love,--........... Your Property

 

Dark Days in Dallas Co., Alabama: The Family of Jesse and Susannah Weissinger William Thomas Weissinger as told to his daughter Susie Weissinger as told to Horace Weissinger and William Weissinger This information is from Horace Weissinger, 4529 Linpark Drive, Birmingham, AL 35222. Horace and Dr. William Weissinger are first cousns. Their gg-grandfather, Enoch Bell (1789-1850) is also our [antecedent unknown] gg-grandfather. Their infomation came from Mother Susie who died 1983 at the age of 94 years. She got information from her father W. T. Weissinger (1848-1934). Dr. William lives in Browns, AL. We have recently read an account in an old Selma, Ala. newspaper of the murder of Mr. Jesse Weissinger, and it has occurred to us that the known circumstances surrounding this murder should be written down, lest in a few years all knowledge of it be lost. Mr. Willliam Thomas Weissinger, Jesse's son, years after the event, was riding in a buggy with his daughter, Susie, from his homeplace to Browns, Ala. He told her that he had never mentioned much about his father's murder to his children, but now that she was grown and married, he would like to tell her more. These notes are written by Horace Weissinger, W. T. Weissinger's grandson, in December 1971 based on recollections of W. T.'s children and from other available information.  If any reader can supply more information or correct inaccuracies, we can make the necessary revisions. First, we shall list somethin about Mr. Jesse Weissinger's family. He was born in 1806 and married Susannah Bell when he was 24 years old and she 15. They had 14 children, and at the time of his death there were five living sons and five living daughters. The five sons at the time of their father's murder in 1881 were: Elijah, 44; Jim, 38; William T. and Enoch (twins), 33; and John Alonzo, 31. In December 1881, a group of negroes on the Weissinger plantation near Browns, AL, entered into a conspiracy to rob and kill Jesse's son, W. T. Weissinger, at his store near his residence near Browns, AL. W. T., however, had gone with his twin brother, E. J., to Selma, AL, to attend to business, leaving his father, Jesse, to mind the store. On the night of December 19, 1881, the negroes entered the store and asked Mr. Weissinger to sell them some molasses. As he leaned over the counter to draw it, one of the conspirators struck him in the head at least once with a fence rail, and Mr. Weissinger fell and was left for dead. He later regained consciousness and crawled to a bed in a room in the store. Early the next morning one of the negroes, who was supposed to find Mr. Weissinger dead when he built the morning fire, instead, found him alive. He then finished him off, saying later that he hated to kill" Old Marse", but that he know too much and that he had to do it. When he [was?] found Jesse still had molasses on his battered head from that, that he had drawn for his assailants. Jesse Weissinger had been reading a newspapaer by lamplight when he was first attacked. He had pencil-marked a quotation, "God moves in a mysterious way, His wonders to perform." Will Billingslea, a cousin living near Browns, sent a telegram to Selma, AL, reading: "Tell Weissinger his father's dead." W. T. and E. J. Weissinger were staying at the St. James Hotel after having conducted business and seeing a show in Selma. In their haste to get home, they rode a buggy rather than wait for the train, the distance back home being about 30 miles on the roads of those days. The telegram sent by Mr. Billingslea was said to be included in one of the family Bibles, which may be still on hand. Of course, many facts about events after the murder are missing, but it is abundantly clear that the months following the murder were ones of legal action, revenge, and were packed with drama. The known facts are: Dates Events December 19, 1881 Murder of Jesse Weissinger February 7, 1882 Trial in Selma, AL, begun February 9, 1882 Bill Ledlos, Al Wissinger, and Porter Ivey convicted of murder March 30, 1882 Bill Ledlow and Al Weissinger were hanged in a lot behind Live Oak Cemetery in Selma. April 19, 1882 Henry Ivey and Sim Acoff were hanged by 40 masked men. It is noted that one of the murderers was named All Weissinger. He was presumably a former slave [or the son of a former slave] for the family as was frequently done before the Civil War. There have been stories of others executed for the crime, but there is no way to authenticate them now. At least two eyewitnesses have come forward during the lifetime of W. T. Weissinger's children. One, a Mr. Rountree in Selma, was an old man in about 1930. He told that his father was Sheriff Rountree who conducted the legal hanging and that the hangings were witnessed by the younger Mr. Rountree. A confession to the crime was signed by Henry Ivey in the presence of seven witnesses. This confession appears to have been signed afer the execution of Bill Ledlow and Al Weissinger. Henry Ivy and Sim Acoff were being held by their interrogators for safe keeping when the 40 masked men overpowered the guards and hung the two near Bell's Church near Browns, AL. The story is told that interrogation of suspects was being held at a schoolhouse near Browns. When one suspect (probably Henry Ivey) admitted actually wielding the murder weapon, Dr. Alonzo Weissinger, in his rage, rushed forward to the platform and almost tore the man's cheek loose.  Some negroes came to the aid of the investigators with information. An "Aunt Maria" came voluntarily to W. T. Weissinger to tell him that her husband had talked in his sleep, saying something that caused her to think that he was one fo the murderers. There were others suspected but on which there was no proof. One was "Uncle Seab Acoff" who lived on or near W. T.'s place. - - - - - - - - - - - -  W. T. and E. J. Weissinger, in about 1873, left Alabama for Arkansas where they had relatives and where they hoped to homestead land. With a former slave, Uncle Jack Weissinger, and his wife, they went in a wagon to Arkansas and stayed about a year, returning to Alabama in 1874. The family has a letter addressed to Jesse dated Oct. 24, 1874, from Mr. James Wilson of Clark Co., Arkansas, in which he tells Jesse of knowing his twin sons (then 26 years old) in Arkansas. He is complimentary of them and states he has never "met anyone who excelled them in promptness nor accuracy in filling all their promises." The Family of Jesse and Susannah Weissinger A. Jesse Weissinger b. Oct. 15, 1806 d. Dec. 19, 1881 m. July 20, 1831 B. Susannah Weissinger b. Feb. 26, 1816 d. Aug 18, 1862 m. July 20, 1831 Children 1. Fannie b. Oct. 5, 1832 d. 1900 2. Mary b. Aug. 3, 1834 d. July 30, 1857 3. Elijah b. Jan. 8, 1837 d. 1908 approx. 4. Rebecca b. July 17, 1839 d.  5. Emma b. Oct. 7, 1841 d.    6. Jim b. June 28, 1843 d.  7. Ada b. Nov. 6, 1845 d. April 26, 1926, Guthrie, Okla. 8. William T. b. Jan. 12, 1848 d. Nov. 29, 1934, Browns, Ala. 9. Enoch J. b. Jan. 12, 1848 d. May 11, 1927, Browns, Ala.   10. Alonzo b. May 28, 1850 d. 1900, Selma, Ala. 11. Joseph b. Jan. 24, 1853 d. Browns, Ala. 12. Julia Mildred b. Sept. 18 1855 d. Browns, Ala. 13. Sallie b. Nov. 30, 1857 d. Browns, Ala. 14. Nonnie b. Feb. 2, 1860 d.

On Saturday, December 17, 2005, at 08:01 PM, C a r o l V a e t h at a o l dot c o m wrote:

I am researching Bell family in Alabama.  Do you have a John Bell in your line who married a Louisa D____? Or a John R. Bell?  

Thank you, Carol L. Vaeth