USA > Maryland > Washington County > Leitersburg > History of Leitersburg District, Washington County, Md.: Including Its Original Land Tenure. > Part 17
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delphia, and Thomas Johnson, the first Governor of the State, writing from that city on the 20th of January informed the Coun- cil of the arrival of Stull's battalion. There can be little doubt that it proceeded to New Jersey, then the scene of Washington's operations .*
No roster of Captain Bell's company is known to be in exist- ence. The names of the commissioned officers have been given; John Eyerly was the drummer, and many years after the war with Privates Black, Schultz, and Lock he visited Peter Bell, Jr., the Captain's second son. Eyerly was then living at Green Spring near Bath, W. Va. Frederick Bell, the Captain's oldest son, used to relate that he rode in front of his father on his horse when the militia marched from Hagerstown. It was called out to serve until the 15th of March, but probably continued in the field beyond that date. Captain Bell did not long survive the hardships of the campaign. He died at Hagerstown in the spring of 1778, probably in February, as his will is dated January 21st and was admitted to probate on the 2d of March. The inventory of his personal property was the first to be entered upon the offi- cial records of Washington County.
Peter Bell married Elizabeth Leiter, a member of the family that has given its name to Leitersburg District. Their children were Juliana, who married Francis Bittle; Frederick; Elizabeth, who married Peter Krauth; Margaret, who married Barnhart Lowman; Peter, and Daniel. Bittle and Krauth removed to the Shenandoah valley in Virginia; Lowman located at Middlebrook, Augusta County, Va., in 1800, and there he was engaged in busi- ness as a tanner until his death in 1846. He has numerous de- scendants in Shelby County, Mo. Peter and Elizabeth Bell were members of St. John's Lutheran Church at Hagerstown, and here the baptisms of several of their children are recorded. He was buried in the graveyard adjacent to the old church building; his grave is unmarked and its exact location can not be determined, but it is supposed to be under the west wall of the present church edifice.
FREDERICK BELL, the oldest son of Peter and Elizabeth
*The facts regarding Captain Peter Bell's military record have been obtained from the minutes of the Committee of Observation for Washington County, now in the custody of the Maryland Historical Society, and from the published Archives of Mary- land, Journal and Correspondence of the Council of Safety, 1777, p. 42, etc.
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(Leiter) Bell, was born in Leitersburg District, June 29, 1768. When he was seven years old the family removed to Hagerstown, where he obtained his education and learned the trade of carpen- ter and cabinet maker. It does not appear that he ever followed this occupation, for, having married soon after attaining his ma- jority, he returned to the farm where he had passed his early childhood and there he resided until his death. In 1812 he erected the substantial stone house near the turnpike, one of the most attractive residences in the District, and here he reared a numerous family, for whom the various operations connected with a large farm at that period furnished ample employment. When his father died only a small part of the tract was under cul- tivation, and the removal of the timber was continued at frequent intervals for years. Local distilleries furnished a convenient mar- ket for surplus grain, but having experienced severe losses by disposing of his crops in this way he decided to haul them to Baltimore and invest the proceeds in land. This proved to be a wise business policy. At his death he owned, in addition to the homestead tract of 274 acres, the farm in Leitersburg District now owned by Franklin M. Strite, the mill of George H. Bowman and eighty acres adjacent thereto, and a farm of 161 acres in Ringgold District, the whole aggregating 603 acres. The entire proceeds of his estate amounted to upward of $50,000.
Although a successful business man he also found time for other pursuits. IIe had a library of respectable proportions for the time and the community in which he lived. It included such works as Rollin's Ancient History, histories of the American Rev- olution and the Napoleonic wars, German and English theological works, etc. He had a taste for music and collected the young people of the neighborhood at his house for instruction and prac- tice in singing. In politics he was an ardent supporter of Thomas Jefferson and equally emphatic in his opposition to John Adams. He was also in hearty sympathy with the policy of An- drew Jackson. He was a lifelong member of the Lutheran Church and an elder in the Jacobs congregation at the time of his death. He was also a member of the building committee for the Lutheran church at Leitersburg and contributed liberally toward its erection, although not a member of that organization. He was one of the first farmers in the community to abandon the
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custom of offering alcoholic drinks to visitors at his home and to laborers in harvest time. He died on the 3d of July, 1839, and is buried at Jacobs church.
Frederick Bell was twice married. His first wife was Rosina Lantz, and their marriage occurred August 17, 1790. Three children were born to this union: John; Elizabeth, and Peter. Their mother died, February 13, 1798, and on the 24th of May, 1801, he married Maria, daughter of Ludwig and Susan (Em- minger) Emerick, who died on the 20th of January, 1852. Their children were Jacob E .; David; Susan, who married George Jacobs; Samuel; Daniel; Mary, who married John Saunders; Frederick; George; Jonas; Samuel; Lewis, and Henry F.
PETER BELL was born at Hagerstown, Md., June 1, 1775, the son of Peter and Elizabeth (Leiter) Bell. In his youth he learned the trade of potter, and about the year 1800 he was engaged in the manufacture of earthenware at Hagerstown as a member of the firm of Leisinger & Bell. Subsequently he engaged in this business individually; his residence and pottery were located on the south side of West Washington street and their site is now owned by Alexander Neill. As a practical workman he enjoyed a high reputation among the members of his craft. He was par- ticularly expert at glazing, in which he is said to have originated a process unknown to the generality of potters in his day. About the year 1825 he removed to Winchester, Va., where he operated a pottery for some years; in 1844 he returned to Hagerstown, and here he died on the 18th of June, 1847. He married Mary Ziegler, who was born in York County, Pa., April 1, 1778, and died on the 20th of December, 1854. Their children were John; Elizabeth, who married William Miller; Samuel, who died in in- fancy; Polly, who died in childhood; Peter; Samuel; Rebekah, who married Jacob .Newcomer; Susanna; Solomon, and Upton. Peter Bell was confirmed as a member of St. John's Lutheran Church at Hagerstown in 1796, and while a resident of Win- chester he served as an officer in the congregation at that place. He was a Democrat in politics.
DANIEL BELL was born at Hagerstown, Md., July 12, 1777, the son of Peter and Elizabeth (Leiter) Bell. His father died when he was less than a year old, and at an early age he was ap- prenticed to a hatter at Hagerstown, where he was employed at
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this occupation for some years. Subsequently he located at Middlebrook, Augusta County, Va., and while a resident of this place he served for a short time in the War of 1812 under General Briscoe G. Baldwin. He afterward lived at Staunton, Va., whence he removed to Missouri in 1840, dying at Macon City in March, 1844. He married Catharine Wiseman, who survived him until September, 21, 1864. They reared twelve children: John W .; Mary, who married Atkinson Fisher; Elizabeth; Jacob; David, who died without issue; Lavina; Catharine, who married Calvin Sutton; Isabella; Sarah; Eliza, widow of James Ellis; Julia A., who married Albert Grear, a Baptist preacher and farmer of Gainesville, Tex., and Nancy, deceased wife of Sterling Gee. Daniel Bell was a Whig in politics and a member of the Lutheran Church.
JOHN BELL was born in Leitersburg District, June 29, 1791, the son of Frederick and Rosina (Lantz) Bell. He was a black- smith by trade and first established himself in business at a shop on his father's farm, after which he was located in the vicinity of Ringgold and finally on the Smithsburg road a mile east of Leitersburg, where he died on the 12th of April, 1830. He mar- ried Elizabeth, daughter of George Bonebrake, and their children were Kate, who married Leonard Barrack; Rosina, who married Jacob Kissell; George W .; Mary, who married Upton Bell; Sophia, who married Benjamin Oswald, and Frederick. John Bell was a member of the Lutheran Church and an officer in the congregation at Leitersburg. Heconducted at hisown house one of the first prayer meetings in Leitersburg District. He was also a pioneer in the temperance reform. In the War of 1812, being an unmarried man, he entered the ranks in place of his uncle, Jacob Bell, who was a man of family, and participated in the bat- tle of Baltimore.
PETER BELL was born in Leitersburg District, September 23, 1795, the son of Frederick and Rosina (Lantz) Bell. He was a farmer by occupation and owned the farm east of Leitersburg that is now the property of Henry Martin, where he resided for many years. He married Juliana, daughter of Jacob Leiter, and their children were Frederick, who died in infancy; Judith; Isaac; Daniel L .; Susan, who married John Garver, and John A. Peter Bell died on the 4th of June, 1880. He was a Democrat in poli- tics and a member of the Lutheran Church.
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JACOB E. BELL was born in Leitersburg District, March 11, 1802, the son of Frederick and Maria (Emerick) Bell. In 1828 he engaged in farming as tenant on his father's farm in Leiters- burg District near Martin's school house; he purchased this farm in 1839 and resided here until 1874. In 1825 he married Ann Maria, daughter of Henry and Ann Maria (Miller) Jacobs, and they were the parents of four children: Lewis J .; Julia Ann; Simon P., and Lydia. Jacob E. Bell was a member of the Lu- theran Church and an officer in the congregation at Leiters- burg for many years. He was a Democrat in politics and was once the candidate of his party for county commissioner but was defeated. He was one of the organizers of the Planters' Mutual Insurance Company of Leitersburg and president of that corpora- tion for some years. His death occurred on the 7th of May, 1886. His wife, who was born on the 15th of August, 1803, died on the 25th of January, 1892.
DAVID BELL was born in Leitersburg District, September 28, 1803, the son of Frederick and Maria (Emerick) Bell. IIe was apprenticed to the milling trade in his youth and was engaged in this business throughout his active life. For a time he oper- ated the mill in Leitersburg District owned by his father. In 1848 he removed to the West, locating at Byron, Ill., where he conducted a mill on the Fox river one year. IIe then removed to Freeport, where he conducted the first flour mill at that place. In 1850 he located at Mill Grove, Stephenson County, Ill., where he was engaged in milling and farming until 1883. Here he also served as justice of the peace. He was a Democrat in politics and a member of the Lutheran Church. In 1827 he married Elizabeth Gierhart, and their children were Jeremiah; Mrs. Mar- tha J. Smith; William; Franklin; Mrs. Rebecca A. C. Wertz; Mrs. Amanda K. Mitchell, and Mrs. Mary A. Mitchell. Mrs. Eliza- beth Bell was born on the 10th of December, 1803, and died on the 24th of May, 1884. David Bell died on the 14th of Sep- tember, 1892.
DANIEL BELL was born in Leitersburg District, May 8, 1808. the son of Frederick and Maria (Emerick) Bell. He was a capa- ble horseman and was the teamster on his father's farm from about the year 1825 to 1840. During this period he was almost constant- ly on the road between the home farm and mill and Baltimore,
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hauling grain and flour to that city and merchandise or plaster on the return journey. In 1840 he purchased the home farm of 274 acres, 125 of which he sold to his brother George in 1845, retaining that part adjacent to the turnpike, and here he was engaged in farming until his death, March 13, 1860. He was twice married. His first wife was Catharine, daughter of Henry Lyday, and they were the parents of one son, M. Luther, of Kan- sas City, Mo. She died on the 16th of December, 1838. In 1841 he married Mary, daughter of Daniel and Elizabeth (Settles) Mickley* and their children were Amos M .; Theophilus F .; Mary Olivia, deceased wife of Daniel Stover; Daniel M .; Cora E., wife of James B. Kreps; Emma C., deceased wife of William H. Kreps, and John H. Daniel Bell was a member of the Lu- theran Church and a Democrat in politics.
FREDERICK BELL was born in Leitersburg District, May 17, 1811, the son of Frederick and Maria (Emerick) Bell. In his youth he was employed in his father's mill and thus acquired some knowledge of the business, but before engaging in it individually he rented for several years the farm near Jacobs church owned by his father. In 1840 he purchased the mill east of Leitersburg that had been the property of his father and here in 1841 he em- barked in the milling business. After relinquishing this he re- sided in Leitersburg and subsequently removed to Fulton, Mo .. where he died on the 30th of November, 1893. In 1837 he mar- ried Susan, daughter of Philip and Martha (Hege) Tritle, who died at Leitersburg on the 28th of June, 1872. Their children were Magdalena, deceased; Rebecca, deceased wife of Lewis I .. Mentzer: Ann Maria, wife of Benjamin Garver; Philip M .: Amanda C., widow of Hiram Wolf, of Mt, Morris, Ill .; Morris F .: Emma A., deceased wife of II. J. Friedlein, and Ida M., wife of R. J. McFarland, of Kansas City, Kans. Frederick Bell was a member of the Lutheran Church. He was a Republican in poli- tics and was elected county commissioner of Washington County in 1865, serving one term.
GEORGE BELL was born in Leitersburg District, January ?.
* The ancestry of the Mickley family of America is traced to Jehan Michelet of Metz, 1414. One of his descendants in the fifth generation was Jean Jacques Michelet (John Jacob Mickley), born at Zweibrucken in the Palatinate in 1607 : he emigrated to Penn- sylvania in 1733 and settled near Mickley's in Lehigh County. He was the ancestor of the American branch .- Genealogy of the Mickley Family, by Minnie F. Mickley, 1803.
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1813, the son of Frederick and Maria (Emerick) Bell. His early life was spent upon his father's farm with the exception of one year, when he was employed in the mill. In 1838 he began farming as tenant on his father's farm near Ringgold. In 1845 he purchased from his brother Daniel the eastern part of the tract originally secured by their grandfather in 1767; here he erected the present substantial improvements and resided for about twenty years. He then purchased the farm near Leitersburg now owned by Daniel V. Shank and located thereon. Several years later he acquired Esther Mills on Antietam creek a mile north of Leitersburg, and here he was engaged in the mill- ing business until his death, May 27, 1874. On the 24th of De- cember, 1835, he married Mary Ann, daughter of Joseph and Esther (Hartman) Mickley; she was born on the 24th of May, 1814, and died on the 28th of December, 1860. Their children were Henry F., deceased; Malinda C., deceased wife of Daniel Snively; Jason; Joseph M .; George M. D .; John A .; Mary E., book-keeper at the Pennsylvania State Norman School, Blooms- burg, Pa .; Ezra K., and Anna K., wife of Charles H. Albert, a member of the faculty of the Bloomsburg Normal School. George Bell was a member of the Lutheran Church and a Demo- crat in politics.
JONAS BELL was born in Leitersburg District, November 24, 1814, the son of Frederick and Maria (Emerick) Bell. He began his active business life as tenant on that part of his father's home farm subsequently acquired by his brother George. There he farmed two years. In 1840 he purchased the farm in the east- ern part of Leitersburg District now owned by Curtis Fogler; here he erected the present improvements and resided twenty-five years. In 1865 he bought a tract of three hundred acres in Wil- liamsport District; this he also improved and here he resided until his death, October 29, 1885. He was a member of the Lu- theran Church and an officer in the congregations at Leitersburg and Williamsport. In politics he was a Democrat. He married Catharine, daughter of Daniel and Elizabeth (Settles) Mickley and their children were Mary Ann, widow of David Martin; Aaron; Martin L .; Clara E., deceased: Amanda C., wife of George W. Frye: Jonas: Martha A., deceased wife of Clayton Kemp: Albert; William H .; Cyrus D .; Effie S., wife of Alvey Hoffman, and Charles C., deceased.
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SAMUEL BELL was born in Leitersburg District, April 22, 1816, the son of Frederick and Maria (Emerick) Bell. He owned the farm east of Leitersburg that is now the property of Julia and Lydia Bell and here he was engaged in farming until 1849, when he romoved to Pleasant valley near Weverton. In 1852 he migrated to the West, locating at Hagerstown, Ind., where he was engaged in farming until his retirement from active busi- ness. He married Elizabeth, daughter of Jacob Smith, of Boons- boro, Md.
LEWIS BELL was born in Leitersburg District, April 12, 1818, the son of Frederick and Maria (Emerick) Bell. In 1842, in partnership with his brother Frederick, he built a mill for hulling clover seed on Little Antietam creek; this he operated individu- ally and was one of the first to introduce this method of hulling seed in the District. In 1843 he purchased the Pleasant Valley mill near Weverton, Md., to which he added a file factory, which he operated in connection with the mill until his death. He married Ruth, daughter of Hezekiah and Elizabeth (Easton) Boteler, and their children were Mary E., deceased wife of Wil- liam Barnhart; Henry K., and Hamilton B.
HENRY F. BELL was born in Leitersburg District, December 12, 1819, the son of Frederick and Maria (Emerick) Bell. In 1845 he visited the principal eastern cities of the United States, and in the following year he made a tour of the West. In 1850 be began the manufacture of grain drills at Boonsboro, Md .; two years later he transferred this business to Waynesboro, Pa., where it was successfully continued until 1857. This was the first spring-shovel drill ever manufactured in this locality. From 1857 to 1862 he operated a grain thresher. In 1864 he was traveling salesman for George Frick. In 1864-65 he was employed by the Pennsylvania Railroad Company as ticket agent at Pittsburg. From 1865 to 1871 he was agent for the Grover & Baker sewing machine, and from 1872 to 1878 he was engaged in the retail coal business at Hagerstown. He has since resided at Newton, Iowa, Williamsport, Md., Carthage, Ill., and Selins- grove, Pa. In 1849 he married Amelia E., daughter of Heze- kiah and Elizabeth (Easton) Boteler of Pleasant Valley, Md .. and they were the parents of four children: Lawrence B. and Flor- ence A., deceased; Mary Fredericka, wife of Rev. J. A. M. Zingler.
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and Justice H., deceased. Mr. Bell is a Republican in politics and a member of the Presbyterian Church.
UPTON BELL was born in Hagerstown, Md., October 10, 1820, the son of Peter and Mary (Ziegler) Bell. He was reared at Win- chester, Va., where he obtained his education at the local schools. At the age of seventeen he was apprenticed to Levi Saunders, a wagon maker of Waynesboro, Pa., by whom he was also employed for several years after the period of his indenture had expired. In 1844 he located at Leitersburg, where he has since resided. For some years he made a specialty of the heavy wagons used in hauling produce, etc., to Frederick, Georgetown, and other ship- ping points, and the industry thus established was one of consid- erable local importance. Mr. Bell was a Whig until the dissolu- tion of that party, after which he became a Republican. He was one of the first registers of voters in the Lei- tersburg Election District, his colleagues being Frederick Bell and Daniel Mentzer. He married Mary, daughter of John and Elizabeth (Bonebrake) Bell, and their children are Athalinda, a teacher by profession; John F., of Springfield, Ohio; Mary K., wife of William H. Young, of Springfield, Ohio; Ann E., wife of Clinton Repp, of Pratt, Kans .; Mary L., wife of Samuel Rey- nolds, of Hagerstown, Md .; George U .; Susan; Frank D., and Ida, deceased. Mr. Bell is a member of the Lutheran Church.
JOHN W. BELL was born at Middlebrook, Va., July 1, 1805, the son of Daniel and Catharine (Wiseman) Bell. He was reared in his native town and obtained his education at the local schools. In 1830 he removed from Rockbridge County, Va., to Howard County, Mo., and thence in 1838 to Macon County, where he owned and operated a farm of four hundred acres near Macon City. Here he resided until 1878, when he removed to Mexico, Mo., and there he died, June 30, 1880. In 1824 he married Elizabeth Combs, and their children were Mary J., deceased, who married William Grafford, a farmer of Macon County, Mo .; Mar- garet; Rev. William F., a minister in the Methodist Episcopal Church South; Elizabeth C., widow of Marshall Samuels, and Martha. John W. Bell was a Whig until the dissolution of that party, after which he became a Democrat. In religion he was a Methodist and for forty years he held official position in the church.
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JACOB BELL was born at Middlebrook, Va., March 22, 1809, the son of Daniel and Catharine (Wiseman) Bell. In 1839 he married Virginia McWilliams, who died in 1865. They were the parents of three children, all deceased. In 1866 he married Vir- ginia Shepherd, of Highland County, Ohio, and they are the par- ents of four children: Robert L .; Mary V .; Jacob W., and E. Maude. In 1841 he secured by original entry a tract of 240 acres of land near Macon City, Mo., and here he has since resided. He is a member of the Presbyterian Church and a Democrat in politics.
REV. LEWIS J. BELL, A. M., was born in Leitersburg District, October 1, 1828, the oldest son of Jacob E. and Ann Maria (Jacobs) Bell. In 1847 he entered Pennsylvania College, from which he was graduated in 1851; after this he was employed as tutor in the preparatory department of that institution. He entered the Theological Seminary of the Lutheran Church at Gettysburg in 1853 and graduated in 1855. In the same year he was licensed to preach the gospel by the Pittsburg Synod and at once accepted a call to a missionary field in Cambria County, Pa., and had charge of a classical school in Johnstown. As a result of his labors in this region a congregation was organized at Scalp Level and a house of worship erected, while beginnings were also madeat other points nowincluded in several pastoral charges. Dis- engaging himself from the classical school, he became pastor of congregations in Adams County, Pa. During the Civil War. after a year in Virginia, he was occupied in literary and educa- tional work and in hospital and quartermaster's service until 1868, when he located at Smithsburg, Md., where he has since conducted a drug and book store, preaching as much as defective organs of speech and other limitations have permitted. In 1857 he was married to Charlotte A., daughter of Alexander and Sarah (King) Marbourg in Johnstown, Pa., and their children are James A., of Cincinnati, Ohio; Sallie K., deceased in 1878: Max F .; Henry J., of Wayneshoro, Pa .; Emerick C., of Hagerstown, Md .; Julia M., wife of Charles H. Ulery; Anna M .; Elizabeth W .; Charles K., a Theological student at Gettysburg, Pa., and Char- lotte K.
SIMON P. BELL was born in Leitersburg District, June 26, 1838, the son of Jacob E. and Maria (Jacobs) Bell. His educa-
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tion was obtained at Martin's and Leitersburg schools, after which he was engaged in teaching several years. In 1863 he en- gaged in plant raising and market gardening, at which he still continues. In 1862 he married Rebecca M. Resser, and two chil- dren were born to them, May A. and Nena K. Mr. Bell is a member of the Lutheran Church and a Democrat in politics.
GENERAL MORRIS FREDERICK BELL was born in Leitersburg District, August 18, 1849, the son of Frederick and Susan (Tritle) Bell. His early education was obtained at Martin's school in his native District, after which he entered Duff's College at Pitts- burg, from which he graduated with the Class of 1868. He then entered upon the study of architecture, which he pursued in Vir- ginia and at Baltimore and Pittsburg. In 1869 he located at Mexico, Mo., where he was engaged in business as a builder and contractor. In the following year he removed to Fulton, the county seat of Callaway County, Mo., and there he has since resided. As an architect he has designed and superintended the erection of many private residences and public buildings in different parts of the State, among the most important of which are the State Lunatic Asylum at Nevada, costing $350,000; the Deaf and Dumb Institute at Ful- ton, of which the cost was $300,000, and the new University build- ing at Columbia, upon which $500,000 were expended. At the opening of the Missouri Reform School at Boonville he was appointed by Governor Moorehouse a member of the board of managers of that institution, and for seven years he has been president of the board of managers of the Missouri Deaf and Dumb Institute at Fulton. He is president of the Mokane Realty Company and the Sun Printing Company of Fulton, and a dirce- tor in the Callaway County Savings Bank. In politics he is an aggressive Democrat, and in 1894 he was the candidate of his party for State railroad commissioner. In 1897 he was appointed adjutant general of Missouri by Governor Stephens, and in this position he has done much to promote the interests of the State militia. In 1873 he married Marie, daughter of Joseph and Mary Dreps, and they are the parents of two daughters, Beulah Beatrice and Kathryn Lee. General Bell and his family are members of the Presbyterian Church.
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