BIO: Mrs. Eliza C. BELL, Clearfield County, PA Contributed for use in the USGenWeb Archives by Judy Banja & Sally Copyright 2005. All rights reserved. http://www.usgwarchives.net/copyright.htm http://www.usgwarchives.net/pa/clearfield/ NOTE: Use this web address to access other bios: http://www.usgwarchives.net/pa/clearfield/1picts/swoope/swoope.htm _____________________________________________________________ From Twentieth Century History of Clearfield County, Pennsylvania, and Representative Citizens, by Roland D. Swoope, Jr., Chicago: Richmond-Arnold Publishing Company, 1911, pages 699 & 700. _____________________________________________________________ MRS. ELIZA C. BELL, who was born in Jordan Township, Clearfield County, Pa., February 27, 1842, resides on her valuable farm of ninety acres, which is situated in Greenwood Township. She is a daughter of David and Mary (Glenn) Williams, and the widow of the late John W. Bell. David and Mary Williams, parents of Mrs. Bell, were born and reared in Center County and after their marriage lived there until after the birth of three children. They then moved to Jordan Township, near Ansonville, Clearfield County, where David Williams acquired a farm of more than 200 acres. His death occurred there when he was but forty-two years of age. His widow survived to be eighty years old. Their burial was in the old Zion Cemetery in Jordan Township. They were consistent members of the Baptist church and were good and worthy people in every relation of life. They had six children, namely: Martha, Austin C., James G., William G., Eliza C., and John. Eliza C. Williams attended the country school and grew to womanhood under the care of a loving and judicious mother. She was married in 1868, to William Thompson, who was born in Jordan Township, in 1842, a son of John Thompson, and died September 31, 1872, at the age of thirty years. After marriage, Mr. and Mrs. Thompson lived in Greenwood Township, where he was engaged as a timber marker. During the Civil War he served as a soldier in Co. M, in a cavalry regiment and for three years was exposed to all the dangers of a soldier's life, but was never either wounded or captured. He was a man of excellent standing in his community, an active member of the Republican party and belonged to the local Masonic lodge. Two children were born to Mr. and Mrs. Thompson: Martha M. and William Harry. The former is the wife of the famous missionary, Dr. Corson, of Bridgeton, N. J., with whom she spent six years in mission work in India. They have one child, Ethera Glenn. William Harry Thompson lives with his family at LaJose, Pa. He married Emma Stevenson, a daughter of James Stevenson, and they have two children, Helen Elizabeth and Glenn Elton. After the death of her husband, Mrs. Thompson returned to her old home in Jordan Township, where she was married a second time, December 28, 1876, to John W. Bell. To this marriage was born, February, 1878, one child, Ai T., who resides at home. John W. Bell was born in Greenwood Township, Clearfield County, Pa., July 12, 1838, a son of Arthur and Katherine (Hazlett) Bell. He was well educated, having attended the Normal School at Indiana, Pa. He became a man of wealth, making a fortune in lumber and acquired 700 acres of land in Greenwood Township. He cleared 150 acres of this land and sold much of the timber. He was a member of the Baptist church and one of its most liberal supporters. In everything pertaining to the advancement and development of Greenwood Township he was progressive and public spirited. In his early manhood he was a Republican in his political views but later became a supporter of the Prohibitionist party. He was a charter member of Greenwood Grange and belonged to both the Masons and Odd Fellows. When his death occurred, February 7, 1904, Greenwood Township lost one of its most worthy men. John W. Bell was married first in 1862, to Elizabeth Cook, a daughter of Alexander Cook, and they had five children, namely: Ida, who is now deceased; Cora E., who is the wife of Frank Cooper, and lives at Cherry Tree, Pa.; Alice C., who is deceased; Arthur A., who is a farmer in Greenwood Township; and Saner C., who resides in New York. Mrs. Bell is widely known and is very highly esteemed. She is a very active member of the Baptist church at Bells Landing and a liberal contributor to its many benevolent enterprises. She is one of the stockholders in the Mahaffey National Bank at Mahaffey, Pa.