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Archiver > BELL > 2003-01 > 1043768689


From: lizzy johansen <>
Subject: [BELL-L] BELL, Richard Yorkshire England to USA
Date: Tue, 28 Jan 2003 15:44:49 +0000


I have been researching my father's BELL family for some time now and I
am able to trace his ancestry back to the l700's in North Yorkshire,
England.

Recently, some interesting old documents came to light which have opened
the door on a family mystery about which I had heard rumours. It appears
that my 3 x great grandfather, James BELL (b. Hutton Rudby North
Yorkshire l790) had a brother Richard who emigrated to the USA in the
early part of the l9th Century and that his nephew, James (b. l820
Girsby, County Durham, England) later followed him there "to take his
place". It would appear that this nephew James died in Port Elizabeth,
South Africa, l907.

The family documents suggest that there was a scrabble for ancestral
verification after a newspaper article appeared in "The News of the
World" in England in l911 searching for descendants of one Richard
BELL "of America". It is evident from letters that there was a rush of
activity in trying to trace the BELL family bible which would prove
James (l790) was the brother to Richard. I gather nothing became of the
search.

I find the whole story totally fascinating. Unfortunately we have been
told that no newspaper exists for the given date in l911 so we are
unable to follow the story back. Also, there is no mention of a
particular state in the US where Richard lived or what he did - nor a
date for his death - but I imagine that the problem of descendancy only
arose after the death of his nephew in South Africa in l907.

I have lots of family lines that I am researching and I enjoy finding
out all the names and the dates but this is a really tantalising story
that I would love to research further. If the story made a national
newspaper in England then Richard BELL must have been someone rather
special.

Kind regards
Diane Johansen

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