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Joseph M. Bell

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Joseph M. Bell
President of the Massachusetts Senate
In office
1849
Preceded byZeno Scudder
Succeeded byMarshall Pinckney Wilder
Member of the
Massachusetts Senate
In office
1848–1849
Member of the
Massachusetts House of Representatives
In office
1845–1847
Member of the
New Hampshire House of Representatives
In office
1821, 1828–1830
Personal details
BornMarch 21 (or 27), 1787
Bedford, New Hampshire, U.S.
DiedJuly 25, 1851(1851-07-25) (aged 64)
Saratoga Springs, New York, U.S.
Political partyWhig
Spouse(s)Catherine Olcott
Helen Olcott Choate
Children5
Alma materDartmouth College
Occupation
  • Lawyer
  • abolitionist
  • politician

Joseph M. Bell (March 21, 1787 – July 25, 1851) was a New Hampshire and Massachusetts lawyer, abolitionist, and politician. Bell served as a member of the New Hampshire House of Representatives in 1821 and from 1828 to 1830 and the Massachusetts House of Representatives from 1845 to 1847. He served as a member of the Massachusetts Senate from 1848 to 1849 and President of the Massachusetts Senate in 1849.

Early life

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Joseph M. Bell was born on March 21, 1787 (or March 27, 1787), in Bedford, New Hampshire to Mary (née Houston) and Joseph Bell.[1][2][3] He graduated from Dartmouth College in 1807.[1][4] He then worked as principal of Haverhill Academy in Haverhill, New Hampshire for one year. He studied law; reading law in the offices of Governor Samuel Bell, Judge Samuel Dana and Governor Jeremiah Smith. He was admitted to the bar in 1811.[1][3]

Career

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Bell worked as a cashier with the Coos Bank and later became the bank president. In 1811, he started a law practice in Haverhill.[1] Bell joined the New Hampshire Militia, Second Division, around 1818.[3]

Bell was appointed as Solicitor for Grafton County, New Hampshire. He worked in that role from 1815 to 1820.[1][3] He served in the New Hampshire House of Representatives, representing Haverhill, in 1821 and from 1828 to 1830.[3] Bell ran for U.S. Congress as a Whig in 1835.[1][5] In 1842, Bell moved his law practice to Boston and partnered with Henry F. Durant, founder of Wellesley College.[1] Bell also practiced law with his uncle and father-in-law Rufus Choate.[6]

Bell represented Boston in the General Court from 1844 to 1847.[3] Bell served as a member of the Massachusetts House of Representatives, representing Suffolk County, from 1845 to 1847.[7][8][9] Bell served as a member of the Massachusetts Senate, representing Suffolk County, from 1848 to 1849. He served as President of the Massachusetts Senate in 1849.[10][11][12][13]

Personal life

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Bell married Catherine Olcott, daughter of Mills Olcott of Hanover, New Hampshire.[2] Bell married Helen Olcott Choate, daughter of Rufus Choate and niece of his former wife. He had five children, including two daughters.[1][14][15][16] Bell was friends with Daniel Webster.[4]

In December 1821, Bell purchased the Wentworth Brown House in Haverhill.[1] Later in life, Bell lived in Boston.[17] He owned property in Massachusetts, Vermont and New Hampshire.[18]

Bell died on July 25, 1851, at Saratoga Springs, New York, while on vacation with his family.[4][10]

Awards

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Bell received an honorary LL.D. degree from Dartmouth College in 1837.[1]

References

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  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j "Over 200 Years of History". wentworthbrownproject.org. Archived from the original on September 21, 2022. Retrieved September 21, 2022.
  2. ^ a b "Genealogies". History of Bedford New Hampshire From 1737. The Rumford Printing Co. 1903. pp. 869–970. Retrieved September 21, 2022 – via Internet Archive.
  3. ^ a b c d e f "Military History of New Hampshire". Report of the Adjutant General of the State of New Hampshire for the Year Ending June 1, 1868. John B. Clarke. 1868. pp. 246–248. Retrieved September 21, 2022 – via Internet Archive.
  4. ^ a b c "Hon. Joseph Bell". The Pittsfield Sun. July 31, 1851. p. 2. Retrieved September 20, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.Open access icon
  5. ^ "New Hampshire". The Vermont Courier. January 30, 1835. p. 2. Retrieved September 21, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.Open access icon
  6. ^ John R. Vile, ed. (2001), Great American Lawyers: An Encyclopedia, Volume 1, Santa Barbara, California: SABC-CLIO, p. 106
  7. ^ "State Government, 1845". Massachusetts Register and United States Calendar for 1845. 1845. Retrieved September 21, 2022 – via Internet Archive.
  8. ^ "State Government, 1846". Massachusetts Register and United States Calendar for 1846. hdl:2027/umn.319510022331967 – via HathiTrust.
  9. ^ Capen, Nahum. "State Government, 1847". Massachusetts State Record and Year Book of General Information, 1847. pp. 5 v. hdl:2027/nyp.33433081766754 – via HathiTrust.
  10. ^ a b "Dead". The Recorder. Greenfield, Massachusetts. August 4, 1851. p. 2. Retrieved September 20, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.Open access icon
  11. ^ Calhoun, William (1879). Resolves of the General Court of Massachusetts in the Years 1849; 1851; 1850. Boston, Massachusetts: Secretary of the Commonwealth. p. 268.
  12. ^ Capen, Nahum. "State Government, 1848". Massachusetts State Record and Year Book of General Information, 1848. pp. 5 v. hdl:2027/nyp.33433081766747 – via HathiTrust.
  13. ^ Capen, Nahum. "State Government, 1849". Massachusetts State Record and Year Book of General Information, 1849. pp. 5 v. hdl:2027/chi.108279638 – via HathiTrust.
  14. ^ "Death of Hon. Joseph Bell". The Liberator. August 1, 1851. p. 3. Retrieved September 20, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.Open access icon
  15. ^ Memorial biographies of the New England Historic Genealogical Society. Vol. 3. New England Historic Genealogical Society. 1883. p. 434. Retrieved September 21, 2022 – via Internet Archive.
  16. ^ Cogswell, John B. D. (1884). Memoir of Rufus Choate. pp. 427, 429, 434. Retrieved September 21, 2022 – via Library of Congress.
  17. ^ "Hon. Joseph Bell". New England Farmer. Boston, Massachusetts. August 2, 1851. p. 3. Retrieved September 20, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.Open access icon
  18. ^ "The estate..." Greenfield Democrat. Greenfield, Massachusetts. August 4, 1851. p. 3. Retrieved September 20, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.Open access icon
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Political offices
Preceded by President of the Massachusetts Senate
1849 		Succeeded by
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