James Augustus Bell (born February 8, 1814 in

Hebron Hebron ( ar, الخليل or ; he, חֶבְרוֹן ) is a Palestinian. city in the southern West Bank, south of Jerusalem. Nestled in the Judaean Mountains, it lies above sea level. The second-largest city in the West Bank (after East J ...

, Washington County, New York) was an American politician from New York.

Life

He was the son of George Bell (d. 1841) and Margaret Bell, immigrants from

Belfast Belfast ( , ; from ga, Béal Feirste , meaning 'mouth of the sand-bank ford') is the capital and largest city of Northern Ireland, standing on the banks of the River Lagan on the east coast. It is the 12th-largest city in the United Kingdo ...

who settled at Hebron in 1812. In 1824, the family removed to Brownville, Jefferson County, New York. He worked on his fathers farm, and taught school. From 1834 to 1836, he took part in the federal survey of the shores of

Lake Huron Lake Huron ( ) is one of the five Great Lakes of North America. Hydrology, Hydrologically, it comprises the easterly portion of Lake Michigan–Huron, having the same surface elevation as Lake Michigan, to which it is connected by the , Strait ...

between

Fort Gratiot Fort Gratiot was an American stockade fort in Fort Gratiot, Michigan, in Saint Clair County, Michigan. The former location of the fort was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1980. History The Army constructed Fort Gratiot in ...

and the

Straits of Mackinac The Straits of Mackinac ( ; french: Détroit de Mackinac) are the short waterways between the U.S. state of Michigan's Upper and Lower Peninsulas, traversed by the Mackinac Bridge. The main strait is wide with a maximum depth of , and connects ...

. Afterwards he became a merchant, first in Brownville, later in

Dexter Dexter may refer to: Arts and entertainment * Dexter, the main character of the American animated series ''Dexter's Laboratory'' that aired from 1996 to 2003 * Dexter, a fictional character in the British Diary of a Bad Man#Main, web series ''Diar ...

. In 1840, he married a Miss Wood who died 18 days later. On December 16, 1841, he married Rachel Parry Smith (b. 1818), and their son was Howard Parry Bell (1851–1908). He was Postmaster of Dexter from 1849 to 1853; Supervisor of the Town of Brownville and President of the Village of Dexter in 1856 and 1857; and a member of the

New York State Senate The New York State Senate is the upper house of the New York State Legislature; the New York State Assembly is its lower house. Its members are elected to two-year terms; there are no term limits. There are 63 seats in the Senate. Partisan com ...

(18th D.) from 1860 to 1865, sitting in the 83rd, 84th, 85th, 86th, 87th and

88th New York State Legislature The 88th New York State Legislature, consisting of the New York State Senate and the New York State Assembly, met from January 3 to April 28, 1865, during the first year of Reuben E. Fenton's governorship, in Albany. Background Under the pr ...

s. He was a delegate to the New York State Constitutional Convention of 1867–68. In April 1868, he was appointed as Auditor of the Canal Department.

Sources

''The New York Civil List''
compiled by Franklin Benjamin Hough, Stephen C. Hutchins and Edgar Albert Werner (1870; pg. 408 and 442f)
''Biographical Sketches of the State Officers and Members of the Legislature of the State of New York''
by William D. Murphy (1861; pg. 36ff)

at Ray's Place
''Tremayne's Table of the Post-Offices in the United States''
(1850; pg. 115)
''Convention Manual''
(1867; pg. IX) {{DEFAULTSORT:Bell, James A 1814 births Year of death missing Town supervisors in New York (state) Republican Party New York (state) state senators People from Washington County, New York People from Brownville, New York New York (state) postmasters