Joshua Fry Bell (November 26, 1811 – August 17, 1870) was a

Kentucky Kentucky ( , ), officially the Commonwealth of Kentucky, is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States and one of the states of the Upper South. It borders Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio to the north; West Virginia and Virginia ...

slave owner and

political figure A politician is a person active in party politics, or a person holding or seeking an elected office in government. Politicians propose, support, reject and create laws that govern the land and by an extension of its people. Broadly speaking, a ...

. Bell was born in Danville, Kentucky, where he attended public schools and then

Centre College Centre College is a private liberal arts college in Danville, Kentucky. It is an undergraduate college with an enrollment of approximately 1,400 students. Centre was officially chartered by the Kentucky General Assembly in 1819. The college is a ...

, where he graduated in 1828. He next studied law in Lexington, Kentucky, and travelled around Europe for several years before returning home and being

admitted to the bar An admission to practice law is acquired when a lawyer receives a license to practice law. In jurisdictions with two types of lawyer, as with barristers and solicitors, barristers must gain admission to the bar whereas for solicitors there are dist ...

. Bell owned four slaves as of the 1850 census, and 14 as of the 1860 census. Bell was elected as a Whig to the

29th Congress The 29th United States Congress was a meeting of the legislative branch of the United States federal government, consisting of the United States Senate and the United States House of Representatives. It met in Washington, D.C. from March 4, 1845 ...

in November, 1844. He did not seek reelection and served a single term in the House, March 4, 1845 – March 4, 1847. He was the Kentucky Secretary of State in 1849, and was sent by Kentucky as a commissioner to the Peace Conference held in Washington, D.C. in February 1861 in an unsuccessful last-ditch effort to stave off what became 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 ...

. Bell served in the Kentucky House of Representatives from 1862 to 1867.

Union Union commonly refers to: * Trade union, an organization of workers * Union (set theory), in mathematics, a fundamental operation on sets Union may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Music * Union (band), an American rock group ** ''Un ...

Democrats attempted to nominate him for

Governor of Kentucky The governor of the Commonwealth of Kentucky is the head of government of Kentucky. Sixty-two men and one woman have served as governor of Kentucky. The governor's term is four years in length; since 1992, incumbents have been able to seek re-e ...

in 1863, but he declined the nomination. Joshua Fry Bell died in 1870 in Danville at the age of 58 and was interred at Bellevue Cemetery.

Bell County, Kentucky Bell County is a county located in the southeast part of the U.S. state of Kentucky. As of the 2020 census, the population was 24,097. Its county seat is Pineville. The county was formed in 1867, during the Reconstruction era from parts of Kn ...

is named in his honor.

References

* 1811 births 1870 deaths Politicians from Danville, Kentucky American people of Scotch-Irish descent Burials in Bellevue Cemetery (Danville, Kentucky) Whig Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Kentucky Secretaries of State of Kentucky Members of the Kentucky House of Representatives Kentucky lawyers Centre College alumni 19th-century American lawyers {{Kentucky-politician-stub