Bertie County NcArchives Biographies.....Bell, Robert 1675 - 1738 ************************************************ Copyright. All rights reserved. http://www.usgwarchives.net/copyright.htm http://www.usgwarchives.net/nc/ncfiles.htm ************************************************ File contributed for use in USGenWeb Archives by: Sue Bee suebee@wfeca.net June 21, 2008, 8:07 pm Author: Al Barrs, Jr. George Bell — Birth: about 1630 Blaydon, Ryton, Durham, England — Marriage 1: about 1655 Blaydon, Ryton, Durham, England — Death: after1702 in Isle of Wight County, Virginia — Burial: after 1702 in Isle of Wight County, Virginia — Father: Richard Bell — Mother: Mary _____ — Marriage1: Hester Webster — Birth: About 1634 Blaydon, Ryton, Durham, England — Married: Probably about 1655 in Durham, England — Death: 1702 in Isle of Wight County, Virginia — Burial: 1702 in Isle of Wight County, Virginia — Marriage 2: Judy _____ in Isle of Wight County, Virginia — Children: born in County Durham, England 1. John Bell Birth: 1656 in Blaydon, Ryton, Durham, England Christening: 2 MAR 1656 in Blaydon, Ryton, Durham, England 2. Margaret Bell Birth: 1657 in Blaydon, Ryton, Durham, England Christening: 15 FEB 1657 in Blaydon, Ryton, Durham, England Note: English records of George and Hester Bell end here. This normally means that a person or family migrated to America or elsewhere. I believe George and Hester Bell immigrated to America about 1660. Our Bell line, Robert Bell, was born in Isle of Wight County, Virginia in 1675. I know that because the George Bell and Hester Webster born 1630 In County Durham England appear in English records and a George Bell and Hester Webster appear later in Isle of Wight County Virginia records. It is unlikely that two George Bell married wives named Hester Webster born the same dates. Proof: Virginia records and deeds stipulate: George Bell, born 1530, show that he was in Isle of Wight County VA in the 1660s; Bell family descendants George BELL who was born about 1630 in England. This George Bell sold 755 acres of land in Isle Of Wight County Virginia and then sold more land there on 7 Feb 1663; George Bell’s 1st wife Hester Webster, was born in 1634 in County Durham England. Hester Webster died in 1702 and George Bell died sometime after 1702 in Isle of Wight, Virginia; George Bell fathered at least 5 sons: John, Thomas, George, William and Robert Bell, only John was born in England. Note: George Bell’s children, who were born in Isle of Wight County Virginia, after George, Hester, children John and Margaret Bell emigrated from England with or shortly after George’s parents were the following. The mother of George Bell’s children, who were born in Virginia, is uncertain, but Hester did not die until 1702 and probably gave birth to most, or all, of them, however some may have been born to Judy _____-Bell, George’s 2nd wife. — Marriage 2: Judy ________ married after 1702 in Isle of Wight County Virginia — Children: born in Isle of Wight County, Virginia Thomas Bell born ____ Isle of Wight County, VA George Bell born ____ Isle of Wight County, VA William Bell born ____ Isle of Wight County, VA Robert Bell born 1675 in Isle of Wight County, VA; died 1738 Bertie County, NC < NEXT GENERATION> Narrative: Robert Bell (1675-1738) of Virginia Colony, Chowan and Bertie Counties, NC Robert Bell was transported to Virginia probably about 1700. However, this does not necessarily mean that he was born in England, as some researchers speculate. It was common practice for the sons of the early Virginia Colonists to be sent to England to be educated and then would return to the Colonies, with land awarded for their transport back to the Virginia Colony. Robert Bell was born in Isle of Wight County Virginia in 1675, a son of George Bell who was himself born in 1630 in County Durham England. Robert Bell 1st married Penelope Clement in Virginia, either Isle of Wight or Surry County Virginia shortly after arriving in Virginia about 1704. Penelope Clement was born in Surry County, Virginia to John and Mary Clement in 1680. Robert Bell was associated with a Henry Woodnut, before 1715, in Essex County, Virginia where he had bought land. He would eventually receive Henry Woodnut’s estate by instruction in Mr. Woodnut’s Last Will and Testament and would marry Henry Woodnut’s daughter Anne Woodnut, the widow of Mr. Ferguson (Fargeson), after his 1st wife Penelope Clement’s death about 1715. Robert Bell's children, born to his 1st wife, Penelope Clement, were: 1) Robert, Jr who died at age 7; 2) Jean Bell and 3) Mary Bell. They were all born in Virginia. After Penelope Clement’s death, around 1715, Robert Bell married the widow Anne Woodnut-Ferguson shortly after his 1st wife, Polly’s death. By 1719 Robert Bell had moved his family to Chowan County, North Carolina. To the marriage with Robert Bell, his 2nd wife, Anne Woodnut-(Ferguson)-Bell, who was the “widow Ferguson or Fargeson,” brought a daughter, Isabella (Isobel) Ferguson. I have no information or family tree of the Ferguson (Fargeson) family. I believe Isabel’s father may have been a John Ferguson. Mr. Ferguson was recorded to have died before 1715 in Virginia or North Carolina. Robert and Anne Bell had additional children in North Carolina. George Bell was born in 1718 in Chowan County NC and was the oldest living son of Robert Bell. Then Archibald Bell was born in 1719 in Chowan County NC; John Bell was then born in 1720 in Chowan County NC. He died after 1783. Penelope Bell was the last child born to Robert and Anne Bell in 1724 in Bertie County NC on the north bank of the Cashie River where Robert Bell had moved his family earlier. I am certain Robert Bell’s last child was named after his 1st wife, Penelope Clement, who was the daughter of John, the Indian Trader, and Mary Clements. As was often the case Indian Traders, such as Mr. Clement, because they ranges far from settlements and into the wilderness and up rivers to trade with the Indians, would return with information about new and better lands to settle and farm. Perhaps this is what entices Robert Bell to migrate to the north side of the Cashie River in what would become Bertie County North Carolina. John Clement died in 1734 in Bertie County, North Carolina. John Clement willed his estate to Robert Bell and each of his children, although John Clement’s Last Will and Testament does not mention that they are related by marriage. However, Robert Bell’s 1st wife was “Polly” Clement a daughter of John Clement. By this time the Bells were also well connected to the Bird or Byrd family of Bertie County North Carolina. Robert Bell’s daughter Mary Bell married John Bird and her sister Jean Bell married John's brother, William Bird. Robert Bell's son, Archibald Bell, moved to Duplin County, North Carolina along with his brother-in-law William Bird. By 1721 Robert Bell and his family were living on the north bank of the Cashie River in what would become Bertie County, NC in 1722. Bertie County was divided from Chowan County in 1722. Robert Bell died in 1738, at age 63, and was buried in a dedicated cemetery, called a “burial ground,” in January 1738 located on the north bank of the Cashie River near where he and his family lived. In 1759 Robert Bell’s oldest son, George, would buy the land to preserve his father’s grave. A deed proved January 15, 1759 in Chowan County, NC to George Bell [eldest living son and administrator of his father Robert Bell’s estate] of Duplin County bought from John Campbell, Merchant of Bertie County, dated December 27, 1758 property on the Cashie River. George Bell paid John Campbell 50 pounds ‘proc’ money for 200 acres, which Roger Smith sold to my (George Bell’s father Robert Bell) on August 7, 1721 and was recorded in Chowan Precinct on Oct 16, 1722, and then again in Bertie County on November 1, 1739. The “burial ground” and 200 acre parcel of land was located on the north side of the Cashie River. The boundaries of the 200 acre parcel were: “North side of Cashie River, joining Colonel Pollock’s property, Sam’s branch and Major West’s property.” George Bell stated in the deed that he was “reserving the burying ground where my (George Bell’s) father (Robert Bell) and others are laid.” Robert Rainey and Samuel Barron witnessed the deed. Robert Bell’s long association with Michael King (III) and his family is not completely understood by some Bell family researchers. Michael King III was born in 1698 in Nansemond County, Virginia and died in 1741 in Bertie County, NC. He wrote his Last Will and Testament in 1741. Michael King III was the oldest son of Henry II and Catherine King. Michael King III lived most of his life in the Bertie Precinct of North Carolina. Michael King married Isabel Ferguson (Bell). Isabel was Robert Bell’s stepdaughter and daughter of Robert Bell’s 2nd wife, the widow Anne Woodnut-(Ferguson)-Bell. Michael and Isabel had seven children. Isabel was not Michael King’s 1st wife. NOTE: Movement of Robert Bell: Robert Bell 1675 born in Isle of Wight County Virginia 1705 New Kent County Virginia 1715 Essex County Virginia 1719 Chowan County North Carolina 1722 Bertie County North Carolina 1738 buried on north side of Cashie River, Bertie County NC Robert Bell — Birth: 1675 in Isle of Wight County, Virginia — Death: 1738 in Bertie County North Carolina — Burial: January 1738 in the dedicated “Burial Ground” on the north side of Cashie River in Bertie County, North Carolina — Marriage 1: Penelope (Polly) Clement — Birth: 1680 in Surry County, Virginia — Death: about 1715 in Chowan County, NC — Married: about 1704 in Virginia — Note: on Penelope Clement’s family: — Father: John Clement born 1659 Surry County, Virginia; married Mary ____ before 1680 in Virginia and died in 1734 in Bertie County, NC — Father: John Clement was born 1631 in Surry County, VA; married about 1658 in Virginia; *Captain in Bacon's Rebellion of 1676 and died in Surry County, Virginia — Mother: Mary _______ born abt 1635 in Virginia — Children of Penelope Clement and Robert Bell: 1. Robert Bell, Jr. born in 1705 in Virginia and died in 1712 in Virginia at age 7 (seven) 2. Jean Bell born in 1708 VA; married William Byrd in 1727 in Bertie County, NC and died after 1765 in the Sumter District of South Carolina 3. Mary Bell born in 1710 in Virginia; married Robert Byrd in 1725 in Bertie County NC and died in August 1745 in Bertie County, NC Note: There are conflicting opinions about Robert Bell’s children’s mother. Following is my measured opinion based on all the evidence and data I have found. There was a period of years between the birth of Mary Bell, in 1710 to Polly Clement-Bell, and the birth of George Bell, in 1718 to Anne Woodnut-Bell. There apparently were no children born between 1710 and 1718. This leads me to believe that Penelope Clement-Bell was the mother of Robert Bell, Jr. who died at age 7, as well as the mother of Jean Bell and Mary Bell who were born in Isle of Wight County, Virginia by 1710. Some speculation exists that Robert Bell married Anne Ferguson “shortly after his first wife died,” which is plausible, but is in need of an explanation or at least speculation regarding what may have been going on with the Robert Bell family between 1710 and 1718. One possible and plausible explanation follows. With Robert Bell’s first child, Robert Bell, Jr having been born in 1705 and his second child, Jean Bell, born in 1708, and then the third child, Mary Bell born in 1710, and then no children born until George Bell was born 8 years later and after Mary Bell had been born, in 1718, simply defies logic without some sort of explanation. So, here goes! I believe Robert Bell’s first wife, Penelope Clement-Bell, probably had an extended illness before her death around 1715, which was not unusual for wilderness wives of that period, that began in about 1711 or 1712 that was the reason no more children were born until after Polly’s death around 1715... This being the case Robert may have and probably did remarried shortly after Polly’s death in 1715 to the widow Anne Woodnut-Ferguson. It was customary for a widower with children to seek out a new wife upon the death of their wife and a widow was the ideal candidate because she would have experience with children. We recall, that is what Frontiersman Daniel Boon did when his wife died and left him with young children. Robert and Anne Bell had their first child, George Bell, in 1718 in Chowan County North Carolina. The rest of Robert and Anne Bell’s children were born in Chowan or Bertie County North County. — Marriage 2: Anne (Woodnut) (widow Ferguson) was born 1682 in VA and died before Robert Bell in 1738 in Bertie County, NC — Father: Henry Woodnut — Mother: Unknown — Married: About 1715 in Bertie County, North Carolina — Children: 1. Isabelle Ferguson was born in 1706 in Nansemond County, Virginia to Anne Woodnut-Ferguson and Mr Ferguson. Isabel 1st married Michael King about 1720, but it was not Michael’s 1st marriage. Isabel and Michael had 7 children. Michael King died in 1741 in Bertie County, NC. Isabelle died in 1780 in NC. Michael King’s Last Will and Testament was dated 1741. Isabel and Michael King were the great grandparents of William Rufus King, Jr. the 13th Vice President of the United States of America, under President Franklin Pierce Note: Isabel lived with Robert and Anne Bell, and was called “Isabel Bell” beginning about 1715 and until her marriage to Michael King in Bertie County North Carolina in 1720. 2. George Bell born in 1718 in Chowan County d. 1792 Sampson County, NC 3. Archibald Bell born in 1719 in Chowan County, NC died 1779 4. John Bell born in 1720 in Chowan County, NC died after 1783 5. Penelope Bell born 1724 in Bertie County, NC Note: Bertie County was divided from Chowan County in 1722. 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