| Scott Simpson's Virginia Genealogy |
| William Bell |
!Abstracts or transcriptions of all of the primary-source information that I have gathered on the several William Bells of eighteenth- century Virginia are posted on my Web site, at http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.com/~vagenealogy/ william_bell.htm. !BIRTH PLACE ("of Augusta, Virginia"): Augusta County, Virginia, Order Book 15, page 235 (November 17, 1773). ("William Bell a Witness from Orange County made Oath that he has attended two days as a Witness for James Dever at the Suite of the derwoods Administrators. Ordered that he pay him for the same fifty pounds of Tobacco and for Coming and Returning Sixty Eight Miles Once According to Law.") This is probably *not* a different William Bell, who died in Orange County in 1780 (Orange County Will Book 3, page 25), because: (1) the will of that William Bell said that he was bequeathing land in Orange County that he had purchased from Edward Watkins; and (2) one Edward Watkins sold land to William Bell in 1762 (Orange County Deed Book 13, page 268), thus suggesting that the William Bell who died in 1780 was already living in Orange County at least as early as 1762, and, therefore, that he was not living in Augusta County shortly before 1773. (I have not actually reviewed this 1762 deed, only an abstract of it in _Deed Abstracts of Orange County, Virginia, 1743-1786_, by Ruth Sparacio (1985).) !MARRIAGE (to Elizabeth Cave): Marriages of Orange County, Virginia, 1747-1810; Catherine L. Knorr; page 8. ("23 February 1786. William BELL and Elizabeth Cave Johnson, widow, dau. of Benjamin Cave. William Bell a widower. Wit. Ben Johnson and Thomas Barbour. p. 18.") That the William Bell of this marriage is my William Bell (d. 1800) is indicated by the following facts: (1) The 1800 will gives the name of the testator's wife as Elizabeth, and this is the only William Bell known to have been married to an Elizabeth during this time, other than one William Bell who married an Elizabeth Davis (see below), (2) Elizabeth Cave Johnson Bell was a widow when she died in Feb. 1803. (Her will is in Orange Co. WB 4:73. It mentions her son, Valentine Johnson. That this is the will of William Bell's widow is further shown by the title of a lawsuit in Fredericksburg district court, filed 1795, in which William and Elizabeth Bell and other plaintiffs sue Valentine Johnson and numerous other defendants, all devisees of one David Cave, deceased. [Fredericksburg district court #DC-L-1795-390-41.]) !DEATH DATE, DEATH PLACE: Will of William Bell; Orange County, Virginia; Will Book 3; page 512. The will lists his wife, Elizabeth, his son John, and his son-in-law William Golding. !This William Bell is probably not the one who married Elizabeth (Unknown) DAVIS in Orange County, Virginia, about 1734-1738 (Orange County, Virginia, Order Book 1, June 22, 1738: "...that the sherif take Elizabeth Davis now the wife of William Bell in custody, and to shew cause why she should not give counter security to John Rucker and John Davis for the administration of the estate of John Davis deceased"). First, Elizabeth (Unknown) DAVIS was probably 50 years old (or very close to it) when her first husband, John Davis, died about 1734 (Spotsylvania County, Virginia, Will Book A; page 233). As indicated by John Davis's will, the couple had six children, and four of them were married by 1734. Even assuming Elizabeth Davis was older than William Bell when Elizabeth and William were married, the age difference probably would have been no more than 10-12 years, so the William Bell who married this Elizabeth was at least 38 years old in 1734-1738. That would mean that he was born about 1700 or earlier. But my William did not die until 1800. Thus, if my William were the one who married Elizabeth (Unknown) DAVIS, he would have lived to the unlikely age of at least 100 years. My second reason for believing that my William Bell is not the one who married Elizabeth (Unknown) DAVIS is that, as indicated above, my William lived in Augusta County until shortly before November 17, 1773, so he was probably not living in Orange County when Elizabeth Davis and (a different) William Bell were married in Orange about 1734-1738. !This William Bell is also not the son of the William Bell who died about 1780 (Orange Co. WB 3:25-31). That William Bell (d. c.1780) did have a son William, named in his will (hereinafter called William-3). However, William-3 was young enough to need a guardian in 1786 (Orange Minute Book 2:361, 20 Apr. 1786, as quoted in Pamunkey Neighbors of Orange County, Virginia, by Sam and Ruth Sparacio, page 135). Therefore, William-3 was born no earlier than 1765, and, thus, he would have been no older than 35 in 1800. My William Bell (d. 1800) had a son-in-law in that year (per his will). It would seem nearly impossible for a man of 35 to have a son-in-law. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
http://www.gencircles.com/users/simpson/1/data/783
