Charles M. Bell (July 14, 1840 – May 6, 1893) was an American lawyer and politician from New York.

Life

Bell was born on July 13, 1840, in

York, New York York is a town in western Livingston County, New York, United States. Its population was 3,397 at the 2010 census. The Abbey of the Genesee in the town's hamlet of Piffard is locally famous due to the production of Monks' Bread. History I ...

. He attended the Genesee Wesleyan Seminary in

Alexander Alexander is a male given name. The most prominent bearer of the name is Alexander the Great, the king of the Ancient Greek kingdom of Macedonia who created one of the largest empires in ancient history. Variants listed here are Aleksandar, Al ...

and the Amenia Seminary in Amenia, after which he taught at a school in Ancram. In August 1862, during the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union ("the North") and the Confederacy ("the South"), the latter formed by states th ...

, he enlisted and was mustered in as a sergeant in Company G., 128th New York Infantry Regiment. He was promoted to first sergeant in July 1863. In September 1863, he was discharged to accept a commission as first lieutenant of Corps de Afrique, 91st United States Infantry, a regiment of black soldiers he and others from the 128th Regiment helped organize. He served in the 91st for the rest of the war. He fought in Port Hudson and the Red River Campaign. He was the eldest of four brothers that fought in the Civil War, two of whom were killed in the war. After the war, he returned to Columbia County, where he studied law and was admitted to the bar in 1867. Bell served as

District Attorney In the United States, a district attorney (DA), county attorney, state's attorney, prosecuting attorney, commonwealth's attorney, or state attorney is the chief prosecutor and/or chief law enforcement officer representing a U.S. state in a l ...

of Columbia County from 1872 to 1874. He unsuccessfully ran for Surrogate of Columbia County in 1883. In 1892, he was elected to the

New York State Assembly The New York State Assembly is the lower house of the New York State Legislature, with the New York State Senate being the upper house. There are 150 seats in the Assembly. Assembly members serve two-year terms without term limits. The Assem ...

as a

Republican Republican can refer to: Political ideology * An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law. ** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...

, representing Columbia County. He served in the Assembly in

1893 Events January–March * January 2 – Webb C. Ball introduces railroad chronometers, which become the general railroad timepiece standards in North America. * Mark Twain started writing Puddn'head Wilson. * January 6 – Th ...

. While in the Assembly, he introduced bills that appropriated $75,000 to construct additional buildings for the House of Refuge for Women in

Hudson Hudson may refer to: People * Hudson (given name) * Hudson (surname) * Henry Hudson, English explorer * Hudson (footballer, born 1986), Hudson Fernando Tobias de Carvalho, Brazilian football right-back * Hudson (footballer, born 1988), Hudso ...

, dealt with bonded indebtedness in

Mount Lebanon Mount Lebanon ( ar, جَبَل لُبْنَان, ''jabal lubnān'', ; syr, ܛܘܪ ܠܒ݂ܢܢ, ', , ''ṭūr lewnōn'' french: Mont Liban) is a mountain range in Lebanon. It averages above in elevation, with its peak at . Geography The Mount Le ...

, regulated the compensation of

town supervisor The administrative divisions of New York are the various units of government that provide local services in the State of New York. The state is divided into boroughs, counties, cities, townships called "towns", and villages. (The only borou ...

s in Columbia County, amended the General Municipal Law, authorized Hudson to borrow money to build school buildings, revised Hudson's city charter, and made the County Clerk of Hudson County a salaried office. Bell was a Master of his local

Freemason Freemasonry or Masonry refers to fraternal organisations that trace their origins to the local guilds of stonemasons that, from the end of the 13th century, regulated the qualifications of stonemasons and their interaction with authorities ...

lodge and a member of the

Grand Army of the Republic The Grand Army of the Republic (GAR) was a fraternal organization composed of veterans of the Union Army (United States Army), Union Navy (U.S. Navy), and the Marines who served in the American Civil War. It was founded in 1866 in Decatur, Il ...

. Bell died at home in Hillsdale from

pneumonia Pneumonia is an inflammatory condition of the lung primarily affecting the small air sacs known as alveoli. Symptoms typically include some combination of productive or dry cough, chest pain, fever, and difficulty breathing. The severity ...

on May 6, 1893. He was buried in Hillsdale Rural Cemetery.

References

External links

*
The Political Graveyard
'
Charles M. Bell
at ''

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'' {{DEFAULTSORT:Bell, Charles M. 1840 births 1893 deaths People from York, New York People of New York (state) in the American Civil War Union Army officers 19th-century American lawyers County district attorneys in New York (state) People from Hillsdale, New York 19th-century American legislators Republican Party members of the New York State Assembly American Freemasons Deaths from pneumonia in New York (state)