James Montgomery Bell vs. James M. Bell

James Montgomery Bell vs. James M. Bell

I have found much research that has been done for these two gentlemen, and much of it overlaps.  Digging through the records, here is what I have discovered:

William Bell (b. 1740, Virginia) and Mary Foster (b. 1745, Virginia) had several children.  Among them, were two sons:

Judge William Bell, Sr., born in 1768, Virginia

Married about 1786 to Sarah Knight, born in 1768, Virginia

Son, James M. Bell, born in 1815, Kentucky

Married in 1845 to Mary Ann Elizabeth Hall, born 1825, Kentucky

Thomas Bell, born in 1773, Virginia

Married about 1799 to Hannah Boggess, born in 1781, Kentucky

            Son, James Montgomery Bell, born in 1812, Kentucky

            Married in 1835 to Nancy G. Boggess, born in 1814, Kentucky

Much of the research that has been done suggests that James Montgomery Bell and James M. Bell are the same person, having married Nancy G. Boggess first, and then Mary Ann Elizabeth Hall, ten years later. 

That assumption is false. 

James M. Bell and Mary Ann Elizabeth Hall appear in the 1850, 1860, 1870, and 1880 US Census records, all in McCracken County, Kentucky.

Meanwhile, James Montgomery Bell and Nancy G. Boggess are listed in the 1840 and 1850 US Census Records in Muhlenberg County, Kentucky, and 1860 in Hopkins County, Kentucky.

The information listed in the 1850 and 1860 US Census Records proves that James M. Bell and James Montgomery Bell are not the same person.

Geraldine Gibson (1892- )

Geraldine Gibson was born in April 1892 in Kentucky, the daughter of J. Gibson and Alberta Josephine Albritton.

Geraldine married Samuel Henry Montgomery on November 17, 1912 in Kentucky.  She was 21 years old and he was 24 years.  Samuel was born on May 26, 1888 in Midnight, Mississippi, the son of J.L. Montgomery and Annie Henry.

Samuel and Geraldine had one child:

Gerald J.        born June 10, 1914

Samuel registered for the draft for the First World War in June 1917 in Greenwood, Leflore County, Mississippi.  At that time, he was working as a clerk for Greenwood City.  He was described as tall and stout, with blue eyes and brown hair.  He did not serve in the war.

In 1940, Samuel and Geraldine were living in a house worth $14,000 on Grand Boulevard in Greenwood, Leflore County, Mississippi.  Their son, Gerald, and his wife, Jane M., were living with them.

Notes for Geraldine Gibson

Birth:  Year: 1900; Census Place: Union City, Obion, Tennessee; Roll: 1591; Page: 22B; Enumeration District: 0108; FHL microfilm: 1241591

Marriage:  "Kentucky Marriages, 1785-1979," index, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.1.1/F4S6-F38 : accessed 1 February 2015), S.H. Montgomery and Geraldine Gibson, 17 Nov 1912; citing , reference 315; FHL microfilm 1,944,441.

Notes for Samuel Henry Montgomery

Birth & Military:  Registration State: Mississippi; Registration County: Leflore; Roll: 1682936.  Ancestry.com. U.S., World War I Draft Registration Cards, 1917-1918 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2005.

Parents & Residence in 1910:  Year: 1910; Census Place: Greenwood East Ward, Leflore, Mississippi; Roll: T624_749; Page: 9B; Enumeration District: 0071; FHL microfilm: 1374762.  Ancestry.com. 1910 United States Federal Census [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2006.

Residence in 1920:  Year: 1920; Census Place: Greenwood, Leflore, Mississippi; Roll: T625_883; Page: 18B; Enumeration District: 88; Image: 836.  Ancestry.com. 1920 United States Federal Census [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2010. Images reproduced by FamilySearch.

Residence in 1930:  Year: 1930; Census Place: Greenwood, Leflore, Mississippi; Roll: 1156; Page: 3B; Enumeration District: 0006; Image: 7.0; FHL microfilm: 2340891.  Ancestry.com. 1930 United States Federal Census [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2002.

Residence in 1940:  Year: 1940; Census Place: Greenwood, Leflore, Mississippi; Roll: T627_2043; Page: 2B; Enumeration District: 42-17A.  Ancestry.com. 1940 United States Federal Census [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2012.

Notes for Gerald J. Montgomery

Birth & Death:  Ancestry.com. U.S., Social Security Death Index, 1935-2014 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2011.

Notes for Jane M. (Montgomery)

Birth & Death:  Ancestry.com. U.S., Social Security Death Index, 1935-2014 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2011.

William P. Nichols (1829-bef 1913)

William P. Nichols was born around 1829, probably in either Caldwell County or McCracken County, Kentucky.  He was the son of Jesse Nichols and Elizabeth Wadlington.  He was raised on the family farm in McCracken County, Kentucky. 

William married Sarah A. Rice on February 16, 1854 in Paducah, McCracken County, Kentucky.  He was 24 years old and she was 18 years.  Sarah was born about 1835 in Kentucky, the daughter of Samuel Lewis Rice and Jane Morrow.  William and Sarah had at least three children:

            (Daughter)                 born December 28, 1854, died before 1860

            Mary C.                      born November 4, 1855

            William Burnet           born May 18, 1858

After their marriage, William and Sarah made their home on a farm in Paducah, McCracken County, Kentucky. 

Sarah A. Rice Nichols died around 1871 in McCracken County, Kentucky.  She was in her early 40’s at the time of her death.

William married again on September 8, 1887 in Spencer County, Kentucky.  He married Anna Isabell Bell, daughter of James Montgomery Bell and Mary Ann Elizabeth Hall.  Anna was born on January 15, 1849 in McCracken County.

Anna Isabell Bell Nichols died as a result of liver failure on March 12, 1913 in McCracken County, Kentucky, at the age of 64 years.  She was a widow at the time of her death.

Notes for William Preston Nichols

Birth:  Year: 1850; Census Place: District 2, McCracken, Kentucky; Roll: M432_211; Page: 166B; Image: 338.

Marriage:  FamilySearch.org, Kentucky Marriages, 1785-1979 for Sarah A. Rice

Residence & Occupation in 1860:  Year: 1860; Census Place: District 2, McCracken, Kentucky; Roll: M653_383; Page: 812; Image: 476; Family History Library Film: 803383.

Residence & Occupation in 1870:  Year: 1870; Census Place: District 3, McCracken, Kentucky; Roll: M593_487; Page: 15A; Image: 33; Family History Library Film: 545986.

Marriage to Ann:  FamilySearch.org, Kentucky Marriages, 1785-1979 for Annie Bell

Notes for Sarah A. Rice

Birth:  Year: 1850; Census Place: District 2, McCracken, Kentucky; Roll: M432_211; Page: 195A; Image: 395.

Children:  Kentucky Births and Christenings, 1839-1960

Death:  New.FamilySearch.org, Sarah A. Rice

Notes for Anna Isabell Bell

Birth & Death:  Ancestry.com. Kentucky Death Records, 1852-1953 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: The Generations Network, Inc., 2007.

Wyley Jesse Bell (1847-1928)

Wyley Jesse Bell was born March 24, 1847 in McCracken County, Kentucky.  He was the fourth child born to James Montgomery Bell, and the first born to Mary Ann ElizabethHall.  He was raised on the family farm in McCracken County, Kentucky. 

Jesse married Elizabeth Eaker in McCracken County, in 1881.  He was 34 years old and she was 19 years.  Lizzie was born on July 30, 1862 in Jackson, Mississippi, the daughter of Mike Eaker and Lizzie Lee.

By 1920, Jesse and Lizzie had established themselves on a dairy farm in Paducah, McCracken County, Kentucky.  Jesse worked on the farm alongside his two older sons.  Jesse and Lizzie were the parents of six children:

            Clarence Knight                   born January 10, 1882

            Mayme Lee                           born March 11, 1884

            Ray Hobson                          born November 16, 1885

            Jessie Louise                       born September 1887

            Lula May                                born May 1889

            Herman Thomas                   born August 1892

Wyley Jesse Bell died on April 10, 1928 in Paducah.  Jesse died of arteriosclerosis, or heart disease.  He was 81 years old at his death.  He was buried two days later in the Mt. Kenton Cemetery in Paducah.  After her husband’s death, Lizzie moved into the Margaret Apartments in Paducah, where she rented a room for $20 a month. 

Elizabeth Eaker Bell died on July 5, 1930 in Paducah, McCracken County, Kentucky, at the age of 67.  Lizzie’s death resulted from a severe infection caused by a ruptured appendix, which had turned into gangrene.  She was buried beside her husband two days later in the Mt. Kenton Cemetery in Paducah.

Notes for Jesse Wyley Bell

Birth and Death:  Ancestry.com. Kentucky Death Records, 1852-1953 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: The Generations Network, Inc., 2007.

Marriage:  Yates Publishing. U.S. and International Marriage Records, 1560-1900 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: The Generations Network, Inc., 2004.  Source number: 12608.000; Source type: Electronic Database; Number of Pages: 1; Submitter Code: JDM.

Occupation and Residence in 1920:  Year: 1910; Census Place: District 6,  McCracken,  Kentucky; Roll: T624_493; Page: 11B; Enumeration District: 128; Image: 582.

Notes for Elizabeth Eaker

Birth and Death:  Ancestry.com. Kentucky Death Records, 1852-1953 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: The Generations Network, Inc., 2007.

Residence in 1930:  Year: 1930; Census Place: Paducah, McCracken, Kentucky; Roll: 768; Page: 1B; Enumeration District: 14; Image: 491.0.

James Montgomery Bell (1812- bef 1900)

Note:  click here for more information regarding the research of James Montgomery Bell

James Montgomery Bell was born in 1812 in Lewisberg, Muhlenberg County, Kentucky.  He was the sixth child born to Thomas Bell and Hannah Boggess.  He was raised on the family farm in Muhlenberg County.

On March 19, 1835, James married his cousin, Nancy G. Boggess.  He was 23 years old and she was 20 years.  Nancy was born in Muhlenberg County in 1814, the daughter of Robert Boggess (brother to Hannah Boggess) and Rosannah Reynolds.

           

James and Nancy had three children:

                       

                        Eliza               born in 1837

                        Mary               born in 1839

                        Ann                born in 1844

In 1840 and 1850, James and Nancy were living on a farm in Runney, Muhlenberg County. 

By 1860, the family had moved to Madisonville, Hopkins County, Kentucky, where James continued his work as a farmer.

There is a gentleman buried in the Wright Cemetery in Hubbard, Wayne County, Illinois, whose information closely matches that of James Montgomery Bell.  J. M. Bell was born on April 14, 1812 in Greenville, Muhlenberg County, Kentucky and died on December 29, 1864 in Xenia, Clay County, Illinois.

Notes for James Montgomery Bell

Birth:  Edmund West, comp.. Family Data Collection - Births [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: The Generations Network, Inc., 2001.

Marriage to Nancy:  Muhlenberg County Marriages, 1799-1901.  Accessed 12 January 2008. http://www.rootsweb.com/roots-l/USA/files/MUHLEN.TXT

1840 US Census:  Year: 1840; Census Place: Runney, Muhlenberg, Kentucky; Roll: 120; Page: 346; Image: 699; Family History Library Film: 0007830.  Ancestry.com. 1840 United States Federal Census [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2010.

1850 US Census:  Year: 1850; Census Place: Subdivision 2, Muhlenberg, Kentucky; Roll: M432_214; Page: 227B; Image: 495.  Ancestry.com. 1850 United States Federal Census [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2009. Images reproduced by FamilySearch.

1860 US Census:  Year: 1860; Census Place: Madisonville, Hopkins, Kentucky; Roll: M653_374; Page: 836; Image: 394; Family History Library Film: 803374.  Ancestry.com. 1860 United States Federal Census [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2009. Images reproduced by FamilySearch.

Possible Death?: Ancestry.com. U.S., Find A Grave Index, 1600s-Current [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2012.  Find A Grave. Find A Grave. http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi

Notes for Nancy G. Boggess

Birth:  Edmund West, comp.. Family Data Collection - Births [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: The Generations Network, Inc., 2001.

Children:  Edmund West, comp.. Family Data Collection - Births [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: The Generations Network, Inc., 2001.

Notes for Eliza, Mary, and Ann Bell

Birth:  Edmund West, comp.. Family Data Collection - Births [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: The Generations Network, Inc., 2001.