John Bell (July 20, 1765March 22, 1836) was the 12th

governor of New Hampshire The governor of New Hampshire is the head of government of New Hampshire. The governor is elected during the biennial state general election in November of even-numbered years. New Hampshire is one of only two states, along with bordering Verm ...

from 1828 to 1829. Samuel Bell, a brother, was the eighth governor of New Hampshire from 1819 to 1823. John Bell was born on July 20, 1765, in Londonderry in the

Province of New Hampshire The Province of New Hampshire was a colony of England and later a British province in North America. The name was first given in 1629 to the territory between the Merrimack and Piscataqua rivers on the eastern coast of North America, and was n ...

, the son of John and Mary Ann (née Gilmore) Bell. John Bell, Jr. (1730–1825) served in the

New Hampshire Senate The New Hampshire Senate has been meeting since 1784. It is the upper house of the New Hampshire General Court, alongside the lower New Hampshire House of Representatives. It consists of 24 members representing Senate districts based on populatio ...

from 1786 to 1790 representing Rockingham County. He received a limited education by several New Hampshire

common school A common school was a public school in the United States during the 19th century. Horace Mann (1796–1859) was a strong advocate for public education and the common school. In 1837, the state of Massachusetts appointed Mann as the first secretary ...

s, and became a merchant, attaining success by trading and selling New Hampshire products in

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

and Canadian products in New Hampshire. He was later involved in other ventures, including farming and

land speculation In finance, speculation is the purchase of an asset (a commodity, goods, or real estate) with the hope that it will become more valuable shortly. (It can also refer to short sales in which the speculator hopes for a decline in value.) Many ...

. Initially a Federalist, according to the New Hampshire Division of Historical Records, he entered state politics when he became a member of the New Hampshire House of Representatives from Londonderry in 1799. He later moved to Chester, and he married Persis Thom on December 25, 1803. They had 10 children; the youngest,

Charles Henry Bell Charles Henry Bell (November 18, 1823 – November 11, 1893) was an American lawyer and Republican politician from Exeter, New Hampshire. Bell served New Hampshire in both the New Hampshire House of Representatives and the New Hampshire Senate, ...

, served as governor from 1881 to 1883. From 1803 to 1804 Bell was a member of the

New Hampshire State Senate The New Hampshire Senate has been meeting since 1784. It is the upper house of the New Hampshire General Court, alongside the lower New Hampshire House of Representatives. It consists of 24 members representing Senate districts based on population ...

, representing the 3rd District. He was also a member of the

Executive Council of New Hampshire The Executive Council of the State of New Hampshire (commonly known as the Governor's Council) is the executive body of the U.S. state of New Hampshire. The Executive Council advises the Governor on all matters and provides a check on the governor ...

from 1817 to 1823, as a

Democratic-Republican The Democratic-Republican Party, known at the time as the Republican Party and also referred to as the Jeffersonian Republican Party among other names, was an American political party founded by Thomas Jefferson and James Madison in the early ...

and the sheriff of Rockingham County from 1823 to 1828. In 1828 Bell was a

National Republican The National Republican Party, also known as the Anti-Jacksonian Party or simply Republicans, was a political party in the United States that evolved from a conservative-leaning faction of the Democratic-Republican Party that supported John Qu ...

and a supporter of President

John Quincy Adams John Quincy Adams (; July 11, 1767 – February 23, 1848) was an American statesman, diplomat, lawyer, and diarist who served as the sixth president of the United States, from 1825 to 1829. He previously served as the eighth United States ...

. Adams lost to

Andrew Jackson Andrew Jackson (March 15, 1767 – June 8, 1845) was an American lawyer, planter, general, and statesman who served as the seventh president of the United States from 1829 to 1837. Before being elected to the presidency, he gained fame as ...

in that year's presidential election,John Norris McClintock (1888),
Colony, Province, State, 1623–1888: History of New Hampshire
', published by B. B. Russell, page 553 but Bell defeated Jackson supporter Benjamin Pierce 21,149 to 18,672 votes in the election for governor. While he was governor, the Exeter Savings Bank was chartered; several state manufacturing companies were incorporated; a number of schools were founded; and manufacturing within the state increased. Bell also promoted state support for formal

agricultural education Agricultural education is the teaching of agriculture, natural resources, and land management. At higher levels, agricultural education is primarily undertaken to prepare students for employment in the agricultural sector. Classes taught in an ...

, and experimentation in farming and agriculture. In 1829, Bell was defeated for re-election by Benjamin Pierce. He then retired from public service, and pursued actively his farming interests. He died in Chester on March 22, 1836, and was buried in the Village Cemetery in Chester.

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* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Bell, John 1765 births 1836 deaths People from Londonderry, New Hampshire American Presbyterians New Hampshire National Republicans Governors of New Hampshire People from Chester, New Hampshire National Republican Party state governors of the United States