BIO: William T. BELL, Huntingdon County, PA

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Commemorative Biographical Encyclopedia of the Juniata Valley: 
Comprising the Counties of Huntingdon, Mifflin, Juniata and Perry, 
Pennsylvania, Containing Sketches of Prominent and Representative 
Citizens and Many of the Early Settlers.  Chambersburg, Pa.: J. M. 
Runk & Co., 1897, pages 349-350.
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  WILLIAM T. BELL, Mount Union, Huntingdon county, Pa., was born in 
Decatur township, Mifflin county, Pa., June 23, 1852, in the same home 
in which his father was born in 1826, and is a son of Prof. John M. and 
Henrietta (Haller) Bell. John Bell, grandfather of William T. Bell, was 
a native of Mifflin county, in which his father settled at a very early 
day. The family is of Scotch-Irish descent, the original ancestors in 
Pennsylvania coming to this country before the Revolutionary war. John 
Bell was a farmer and underwent all the experiences of the early 
settlers of Mifflin county, which was practically a wilderness at the 
time of his birth. His wife, Mary Sigler, was of German descent. The 
two families came into the county about the same time. Mr. Bell passed 
his entire life in his native county. Prof. John M. Bell, the father of 
William T., was born December 24, 1826, in Decatur township, Mifflin 
county, Pa., and was one of twelve children, of whom but two are now 
living: Mrs. Sarah Martin, of Hammond, Ill.; and Mrs. Adeline Haller, 
of Hillsboro, Ill. Professor Bell was reared as a farmer and received a 
common school education, supplemented by a course in Tuscarora Academy, 
at Academia, Pa. From his youth to the time of his death, he took a 
great interest in educational matters. In early manhood he began 
teaching, and for many years followed this occupation in the winter and 
farming in the summer. In 1868, he was elected county superintendent of 
Mifflin county and re-elected in 1871. in the latter year he bought the 
Kishacoquillas Seminary, of which he was principal until 1879. In 1880 
he was a candidate for the legislature on the Democratic ticket, and 
though the county was strongly Republican, he came within eighteen 
votes of being elected, thus proving his popularity with the people of 
both parties. In the fall of 1881 he removed to Bellefonte, and for 
nearly five years had charge of the books of the J. F. Mann Ax 
Manufacturing Company, of that place. In 1885 he became a resident of 
Mount Union, Huntingdon county, where he opened an insurance office in 
partnership with his son, William T., the style of the firm being J.M. 
Bell & Son. He continued in this business until his death, July 3, 
1887, at the age of sixty-one. Mr. Bell was a member of the 
Presbyterian church, in which for twenty years he held the office of 
ruling elder. In 1849 he was married to Henrietta Haller, a daughter of 
Henry and Margaret Haller, of Lewistown, Mifflin county. They had five 
children: F. Margaret, wife of J.M. Martin, an attorney of Minneapolis, 
Minn.; William T., of Mount Union, Pa.; Henry Haller, a resident of 
Minneapolis, Minn., where he carries on a steam laundry; J. Vernon, a 
Presbyterian minister of DuBois, Pa.; and Davis Bates, a district 
manager of the Travelers' Insurance Company, at Pittsburg, Pa. Mrs. 
Bell is a resident of Mount Union, Pa.
  After a preliminary course in the common schools of Armaugh township, 
Mifflin county, whither his parents removed when he was five years old, 
William T. Bell became a student at Milroy under a private tutor, with 
a view to preparation for college. At the age of seventeen, however, he 
left home and became a clerk in the store of R. M. Kinsloe, at Newton 
Hamilton. Here he remained one year and a half, and acquired a valuable 
knowledge of practical business methods. He then returned home and 
attended the Kishacoquillas Seminary for over a year. After carrying on 
a general store at Kishacoquillas for two years, he went on the road 
for a Philadelphia house in 1873, and for five years led the life and 
underwent the experiences of a commercial traveler. This valuable 
school of business training gave him a deeper and clearer insight into 
practical business affairs than he could possibly have acquired in any 
other way. On September 17, 1879, he entered upon the duties of cashier 
of the Central Banking Company, of Mount Union, Huntingdon county, a 
position he has filled to the present time with ability, efficiency and 
fidelity. He is also the cashier of the Orbisonia Bank, Orbisonia, Pa. 
This bank was established in 1892, and is owned and operated 
principally by the same persons as the bank at Mount Union, Pa. Both 
banks are carefully conducted, and are regarded as safe and sound 
financial institutions. Mr. Bell is also a member of the insurance firm 
of Bell & Harrison, successors of J. M. Bell & Son. He has been a 
stockholder and director in, and treasurer of, the De Frehn Chair 
Company, of Mount Union, since its organization in 1892, and is in 
every respect a representative citizen and business man.
  On March 24, 1881, Mr. Bell was married to Miss Frank W., daughter of 
John and Jane M. Shaver, of Mount Union, members of one of the oldest 
families in that part of Huntingdon county. Mr. and Mrs. Bell have the 
following children: John Raymond, who died in infancy; Harry A., who 
though only fourteen years of age, has passed a teacher's examination; 
Jesse G.; William Bates; Hugh W., who died in infancy; and Russell 
Shaver.
  Mr. Bell is a Republican, and although he has not held any elective 
offices, has been an active supporter of the principles and doctrines 
of his party. He has served on the county committee and as chairman of 
Republican county conventions, and in the momentous campaign of 1896 
was a member of the Republican State committee. He is a member of the 
P.O.S. of A. Mr. Bell is an adherent of the Presbyterian church, in 
which he has served as trustee since 1881.