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CricketArchive - behind a paywall - wants to tell us that he was born 2 May 1869 at Hettinger, North Dakota. It's the only source that I can find that places either Bell or his father anywhere near North America, let alone Dakota. Given the farming background of his father (who seems fairly prominent) it's possible - but it feels off. Anyone got any thoughts? Blue Square Thing (talk) 14:08, 8 January 2022 (UTC)[reply]
@Blue Square Thing and Lugnuts: Yes, agree that Hettinger, North Dakota, is unlikely as a birthplace in 1869, given how sparsely the Dakotas were populated at that time and that Hettinger County, North Dakota wasn't constituted until 1883 and the town of Hettinger, North Dakota wasn't founded until 1907. The 1881 census shows the family at 17 Courtfield Gardens, Kensington, London, with Arthur G. Bell listed as 11 years old, and birthplace given as "New England". I believe that the enumerator has probably mistranscribed "New Zealand". My reasons for this are as follows: (a) George Meredith Bell is known to have been living in Southland in 1869: see this advertisement from the Southland Times of 11 October 1869 where he is requested to stand for election to the Provincial Council; (b) the date of May 2 given in Arthur's listing in the Rugby School register appears to indicate a birth date (I've cross-checked several other random entries where birth dates are known from other sources and they all tally), which would make Arthur's date of birth 2 May 1869; and (c) the Southland Times of 5 May 1869 has the announcement of a son born to Mrs G. M. Bell at Waimea Plains, on 2 May. Unfortunately, the birth does not appear to have been registered as I cannot locate it in the Department of Internal Affairs online index. However, my conclusion is that Arthur Bell was born at Waimea Plains on 2 May 1869. Paora (talk) 21:25, 8 January 2022 (UTC)[reply]
