Where Are Charles and Warren: sons of Joseph and Deborah (Williamson) Bell?

 

Where Are Charles and Warren: sons of Joseph and Deborah (Williamson) Bell?

Jean M. Hoffman, CG

The children of Joseph and Deborah Bell are documented in a gravestone and U.S. census records in Washington County, Ohio, in 1850 and 1860, then Gallia County, Ohio, beginning with Deborah’s death in 1865. Those surviving to the end of 1885 are listed in Joseph’s will. Sons Charles and Warren are not accounted for in later sources.

Joseph and Deborah were married in Washington County, Ohio, in 1839 when he was a resident of Newport Township, and she lived in Marietta.[1] They set up housekeeping in Newport Township as recorded in the 1850 U.S. census.[2] At that time their children were:

• John Bell            M          10                         Ohio
• Martha Bell         F            8                         Ohio
• Austin Bell         M            7                         Ohio
• Charles Bell       M            6                         Ohio
• Mary Ann Bell    F             4                         Ohio
• Warren Bell       M            2                         Ohio
• Judith Bell          F            6 months            Ohio

Ten years later they had four more children but the oldest, John, had died.[3] Charles was now 16, listed as a farmer, and Warren was 12. The family was still in Newport Township, Washington County, Ohio.[4]

In 1865 Deborah, the mother, died and was buried in Clay Chapel Cemetery in Clay Township, Gallia County, Ohio.[5] Joseph purchased land there adjacent to Walter S. Thorniley, Deborah’s brother-in-law.[6]

Joseph Bell’s household in 1870 consisted of the following:

• Martha A Bell     F            27                       Ohio
• Austin Bell         M           26                       Ohio
• Mary Bell           F            24                       Ohio
• Warren Bell       M           22                       Ohio
• Judith Bell         F            20                       Ohio
• Edgar Bell         M           18                       Ohio
• Ella Bell             F           16                       Ohio
• Willey Bell         M           14                       Ohio
• George Bell       M           11                       Ohio

Now both John and Charles are missing but the other nine children are listed.[7] Austin Bell had served in the Union Army as a private in Co. G, 36th Ohio Infantry during the Civil War but had returned to the family.[8] It is possible that Charles’s absence is related to the war, but with such a common name, it is hard to tell whether any Charles Bell in the army is this one.

During the 1870s six of the nine children married. At the time of the census in 1880 Joseph Bell still had his oldest and youngest daughters, Martha and Ella, living with him. In addition, the youngest child, George Bell, with his wife and child, lived with his father. Joseph (age 72) and George (age 21) were both said to be farmers.[9] Daughter Mary Ann Bell married in Caldwell County, Missouri, and remained there with husband Robert Glenn Murray. The others who married were Austin, Judith, Edgar, and William, all living in Clay Township in 1880.[10] No records were found for Charles or Warren.

Joseph Bell wrote his will on 30 December 1885. He left to “my daughters Martha A. Bell and Ella Bell and my son George Bell all my personal property and the farm on which we now reside.” From the estate he required them to pay his debts and funeral expenses plus a bequest of five dollars ($5.00) to each of his other children listed as “sons Charles W. Bell, Austin Bell, William Bell, Edgar Bell” and “daughters Judith Davis and Mary Murray.”[11]

 This raises the question, who was his son Charles W. Bell? Was this the long missing Charles? Or was it the more recently missing Warren? The settlement of the estate of Joseph Bell doesn’t quite answer the question, but it does make it appear that neither Charles nor Warren was still living.

The Application to Probate Will of Joseph Bell was presented on 12 February 1886 by George Bell. Oddly only five heirs were named: Martha Bell and Ella Bell, daughters in Eureka; Judith Davis, daughter in Gallipolis; sons William Bell and George Bell in Eureka.[12] Ultimately the estate was settled and $5.00 was paid to heirs other than the three, Martha, Ella, and George. Receipts for that sum were signed and included in the estate packet from W.W. Bell (William W.) on 22 November 1886,[13] Edgar Bell on 29 November 1886,[14] Mary B. Murray on 29 November 1886,[15] Austin Bell on 29 November 1886,[16] and Judith Davis on 1 December 1886.[17] There is no receipt from Charles or Warren Bell.

There is no evidence of the demise of either son, but it seems reasonable to think that Charles Bell died sometime in the 1860s and Warren Bell sometime in the 1870s. Clearly neither received any inheritance from their father’s estate in 1886.

All online sources viewed 30 November 2024.

[1] Hymeneal [marriages], Marietta Gazette and Washington County Agriculturist, Marietta, Ohio, Sat. Sept. 7, 1839, Vol. II, No. 40, “Married . . . On Sunday evening last, by the Rev. H. Gear, Mr. Joseph Bell of Newport to Miss Deborah Williamson of this township.”

[2] 1850 U.S. census, Washington County, Ohio, population schedule, Newport Township, sheet 465A, dwelling/family 1, Joseph Bell household; imaged, "1850 United States Federal Census," Ancestry (https://www.ancestry.com/imageviewer/collections/8054/images/4093962_00577).

[3] Find a Grave, database with images (https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/90379458), “John Bell” (1840-1854) memorial created by Arden & Ginger Wince with tombstone image by Jean Hoffman; citing Barker Cemetery, Lower Newport, Washington County, Ohio.

[4] 1860 U.S. census, Washington County, Ohio, population schedule, Newport Township, sheet 81, dwelling 66, family 68, Joseph Bell household; imaged, "1860 United States Federal Census," Ancestry (https://www.ancestry.com/imageviewer/collections/7667/images/4304720_00166).

[5] Find a Grave, database with images (https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/52061456), “Deborah Bell” (unknown-1865) memorial created by “hospicenurse ali” with tombstone image by “Anonymous”; citing Clay Chapel Cemetery, Clay Township, Gallia County, Ohio.

[6] Gallia County Deed Record 34: 545, Walter S. & Mary J. Thorniley to Joseph Bell, 7 April 1865; imaged, “Gallia. Deeds 1864–1865, 1865–1866,” FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3Q9M-C37H-WSWP-V), image 290 of 646.

[7] 1870 U.S. census, Gallia County, Ohio, population schedule, Clay Township, sheet 252A (continuation skips over a page), dwelling/family 83, Joseph Bell household; imaged, "1870 United States Federal Census," Ancestry (https://www.ancestry.com/imageviewer/collections/7163/images/4277795_00050).

[8] Official Roster of the Soldiers of the State of Ohio in the War of the Rebellion, 1861-1865, Vol. III (Cincinnati: Ohio Valley Pub. & Mfg. Co., 1886), 36th Regiment of Ohio Volunteer Infantry, Company G, p. 675, Private Austin Bell; imaged "Official roster of the soldiers of the State of Ohio in the War of the Rebellion, 1861-1865, Vols. 1-12," Ancestry (https://www.ancestry.com/imageviewer/collections/31412/images/glh_092851__0001_a_01-0344?usePUB=true&_phsrc=knB5087&pId=30225), image 1144 of 2792).

[9] 1880 U.S. census, Gallia County, Ohio, population schedule, Clay Township, ED 21, sheet 277B, dwelling 231, family 237, Joseph Bell household; imaged, "1880 United States Federal Census," Ancestry (https://www.ancestry.com/imageviewer/collections/6742/images/4243599-00200).

[10] See Joseph Bell - WikiTree Profile, ID Bell-48459 (https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Bell-48459) to follow his and his children’s records not cited here.

[11] Will of Joseph Bell, 1885, recorded 1886, Gallia County Will Record 3: 137-38; imaged, “Ohio, Probate Records, 1789-1996,” FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.3.1/TH-1971-27667-19735-76?cc=1992421&wc=M934-6WY:n601757916), Gallia > Wills 1898 vol 3-4 > image 169 of 1223.

[12] Joseph Bell Estate Case File no. 544, Application to Probate Will; imaged, “Gallia. Probate Estate Case Files 1803–1943,” FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3Q9M-CS2J-Z9LB-R), image group number (IGN) 103808575 > image 478 of 2118. Entire Case File > images 462-516.

[13] Joseph Bell Estate Case File no. 544, Receipt of W. W. Bell, image 497.

[14] Joseph Bell Estate Case File no. 544, Receipt of Edgar Bell, image 502.

[15] Joseph Bell Estate Case File no. 544, Receipt of Mary B. Murray, image 496.

[16] Joseph Bell Estate Case File no. 544, Receipt of Austin Bell, image 493.

[17] Joseph Bell Estate Case File no. 544, Receipt of Judith Davis, image 499.

What the Second Wife Said: Death of “Elcy” A. (Reynolds) Henry

 

What the Second Wife Said: Death of “Elcy” A. (Reynolds) Henry

Jean M. Hoffman, CG

 Alcey (or Elcy, see post about her name) was left in Gallia County, Ohio, with small children when her husband enlisted in the Union Army. James M. Henry enlisted across the river at Point Pleasant in Company H, 13th Virginia Infantry, later West Virginia, on 20 September 1862. At enlistment he was 35, a carpenter, 5’ 6” tall, with gray eyes, dark hair and a dark complexion. He reported his birth was in Columbiana [County], Ohio.[1]

 During his service Alcey gave birth to their last child, James A. Henry, on 5 June 1863.[2] Her husband mustered out on 25 May 1865 having remarried two months earlier on 19 March 1865.[3] His second wife was Mrs. Alvira S. Lyons who had received a divorce two days before from her husband, James H. Lyons.[4] Alcey apparently died between the birth of her son in 1863 and the remarriage of James M. Henry but no record of the death or gravestone was initially found.

 James M. Henry was hospitalized a few times during his service, but never applied for a pension before his death 27 December 1883 in Carroll County, Missouri.[5] He and his family moved to Missouri by September 1865 when he bought land there as a resident.[6] His widow, Alvira, applied for a widow’s pension in 1890 and needed to prove their earlier marriages had ended.[7] While Alvira obtained copies of her marriage record to James M. Henry and her divorce decree, there was no official record of Alcey’s death.

Alvira had no civil or church record of Alcey’s death, but she did have the James M. Henry family bible published by the American Bible Society in 1844. In 1891 a Notary Public transcribed from it the entries for the marriage of Elsy A. Reynolds and James M. Henry and the further entry “E. A. Henry wife of James M. Henry died October 5^th 1863.”[8] Alvira S. Henry also gave her own statement that “she was personally acquainted with said Elcy A. Henry during her life and has visited her grave since her death.”[9] And thus, the second wife revealed the death date of the first wife.

 Alvira said she had visited the grave of the first wife, so perhaps a gravestone was placed there. No record of it has been recorded by the Gallia County Genealogical Society in either Morgan Township where the Henry family lived in 1860 or Cheshire Township where their daughter Mary E. Henry was buried.[10] There are gaps between stones for Reynolds family members in Van Zant Cemetery, so perhaps Alcey was buried among them but with a stone no longer standing.[11]

 Also unknown is what the surviving Henry children did between their mother’s death and their father’s remarriage. They did move with their father to Missouri.[12] The two who survived their parents were Perry B. Henry (born ca. 1856) and James A. Henry (1863–1949).[13] Both inherited from their maternal grandfather, James Reynolds, and their father in the 1880s.

 In 1904, Alvira married another Union veteran, Henry McNelly, who died in 1909. Alvira’s information was recorded again.

 

Endnotes:

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[1] Volunteer Service, 15 September 1909, Alvira S. Henry, widow's pension application no. 463,317, W.C. no. 334,980, service of James M. Henry (Pvt., Co. H, 13th West Virginia Inf., Civil War); Case Files of Approved Pension Applications..., 1861–1934; Civil War and Later Pension Files; Record Group 15: Records of the Department of Veterans Affairs; National Archives, Washington, D.C.

 [2] “Missouri Death Certificates, 1910 – 1973,” database with images, Missouri Digital Heritage (https://s1.sos.mo.gov/records/archives/archivesmvc/deathcertificates : viewed 28 September 2024), 1949, certificate no. 29573, James Allen Henry, Carroll County; citing Missouri State Archives.

 [3] ”Ohio Marriages, 1800-1958,” database with images, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:33SQ-GRMD-SK5G?i=51&cc=1614804 : viewed 30 September 2024), image group number 4016312, image 52 of 276, Gallia County Marriage Record No. 3 (1862-1874), p. 88, James M. Henry and Alvira S. Lyons, 1865.

 [4] Certified Copy of Journal Entry, Divorce Decree, Gallia County, Ohio, 18 May 1891, Alvira S. Henry, W.C. no. 334,980, Case Files of Approved Pension Applications..., 1861–1934; National Archives, Washington, D.C.

 [5] “Missouri Birth & Death Records Database, Pre-1910,” database, Missouri Digital Heritage (https://s1.sos.mo.gov/records/archives/archivesdb/BirthDeath/ : viewed 29 September 2024), Jas. M. Henry, 1883; citing Carroll County, roll no. C 1368, page 15.  And, Find a Grave, database with images (https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/71960118 : viewed 19 June 2024), “James Madison Henry” (1827–1883) memorial and tombstone image created by Patt Ricketts: citing Big Creek Cemetery, Bosworth, Carroll County, Missouri. Only middle initial engraved on stone, has death date and age.

 [6] 1870 U.S. census, Carroll County, Missouri, population schedule, Hurricane Township, sheet 295A, dwelling 189 family 196, James M Henry household; imaged, “1870 United States Federal Census,” Ancestry (https://www.ancestry.com/imageviewer/collections/7163/images/4273845_00129  : viewed 19 June 2024). And, Carroll County, Missouri, Deed Record V (1865), page 207; imaged, “Deed records (Carroll County, Missouri), 1819-1929,” FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3Q9M-C39Y-6SHT-T?mode=g&cat=214042 : viewed 28 September 2024) image group no. 8487885,  image 111 of 685, quit claim Lewis B. Ely to James M. Henry, 6 September 1865; citing Recorder of Deeds.

 [7] Declaration for Widow's Pension, 1 September 1890, Alvira S. Henry, W.C. no. 334,980, Case Files of Approved Pension Applications..., 1861–1934; National Archives, Washington, D.C.

 [8] General Affidavit of J. H. McCombs, 12 March 1891, Alvira S. Henry, W.C. no. 334,980, Case Files of Approved Pension Applications..., 1861–1934; National Archives, Washington, D.C.

 [9] Inability Affidavit, 3 June 1891, Alvira S. Henry, W.C. no. 334,980, Case Files of Approved Pension Applications..., 1861–1934; National Archives, Washington, D.C.

 [10] “Gallia County Cemetery Records,” database, Gallia County Genealogical Society OGS Chapter, Inc. (https://www.galliagenealogy.org/cem_records.htm : viewed 30 September 2024), search of all entries for surname Henry.

 [11] Van Zant Cemetery (Cheshire Township, Gallia County, Ohio, section 35), Reynolds and related gravestones viewed and photographed by the author, 24 October 2000. There were gaps in the row and the standing stones were not in the best condition.

 [12] 1870 U.S. census, Carroll Co., Mo., pop. sch., Hurricane Twp., sheet 295A, dwell. 189, fam. 196, Henry.

 [13] Gallia County, Ohio, Gallia Probate Case File 197, James Reynolds, Power of Attorney of Perry B. Henry and James A. Henry, 14 February 1882; imaged in “Ohio, Gallia County, probate case files, 1803–1943,” FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3Q9M-CS2Q-GQSJ-Y?i=484&cat=2827731 : viewed 25 June 2024), image group no, 103741784 > images 485–87 of 2055. Also, “Missouri, U.S., Wills and Probate Records, 1766-1988,” database with images, Ancestry.com (https://www.ancestry.com/discoveryui-content/view/3527875:9071 : viewed 30 September 2024), image 205 of 606, Carroll County Will Record D, page 330, will of James M. Henry, 25 December 1883.

Alcey Annet Reynolds Henry: A Name Puzzle

Alcey Annet Reynolds Henry: A Name Puzzle

Jean M. Hoffman, CG

Alcey Annet Reynolds was born 12 Feb 1833, seventh of the nine children of James Reynolds and Elizabeth Guy of the Kyger area in Cheshire Township, Gallia County, Ohio. [1] She left few records with her name and those few vary. The names of children in the family in birth order were: Sarah, Mary, John, Nancy, Robert Franklin, Margaret, Alcey Annet, Elizabeth Jane, and David Lasley. All the other names are common given names for the area. John was the first son and that was the name of both his grandfathers. Mary was the second daughter and that common name was shared by her maternal grandmother. The unusual Alcey could be the name of her paternal grandmother. [2]

1850 U.S. census for James Reynolds family

The main difference in the records is whether the first name begins with an A or an E. Annet is likely her second name. Six records provide examples, four of them created in her lifetime. Her death apparently came between the birth of a son in 1863 and her husband’s remarriage in 1865 but no death record or burial is currently known.

Spelling her name depends on the record used. Elsie wasn’t used in this family at this time but could be what was meant. Elsie could be a nickname for Alice, so another possibility.[3] This is an example of the challenges in knowing what name and what spelling is right to use to remember our family members.

1. Elsy Garnet Reynolds        Family history (note 1)

           2. Alcy Reynolds               1850 census with father[4]
3. Alrey Anet Reynolds (indexed as Abey) probably incorrect copy of Alcey                                                                       1852 marriage to James M. Henry[5]
4. E. A. Henry                   gravestone of daughter, Mary E. Henry, 1854 (photo Oct. 2000)                                                engraved: “Baby of J.M. & E.A. Henry”[6]
5. Elzy A. Henry              1860 census with husband[7]
6. Annet Henry late Annet Reynolds                                                                                                                                      probate of her father's estate, PoA of sons Perry and James regarding her share, 1882[8]

*          Alcey Reese Reynolds—name of her grandmother as told by granddaughters of James Reynolds (this Alcey's nieces) according to their nephew, Oliver G. Lyle. The name is included in a Reynolds family history from 1948, possibly based on this information.[9]

---

[1] James Reynolds Family History Manuscripts, data probably collected by H. Bion Bradbury (1897–1944) husband of Luella Rupe, a great granddaughter of James and Elizabeth (Guy) Reynolds, was inherited. The information was shared with the author on 29 April 2009, Collection of Jinx Ann Farley (Gallipolis, Ohio).

 [2] Mrs. H. H. Horner (Mildred) (Chicago, Illinois) to Major Oliver G. Lyle, letter, 1 September 1933; Hoffman Family Papers, privately held by Jean M. Hoffman, [ADDRESS FOR PRIVATE USE,] (Cleveland Heights, Ohio), 2024. This letter in its envelope was passed by Oliver Guy Lyle (1882–1957) to his daughter Virginia B. Lyle McClintock (1910–1992) from whom the current owner inherited it

 [3] Christine Rose, Nicknames, Past and Present, 5th Edition Expanded (San Jose, California: CR Publications, 2007).

 [4] 1850 U.S. census, Gallia County, Ohio, population schedule, Cheshire Township, Gallia, Ohio, sheet 454A, dwelling 949, family 959, James Rennolds household; imaged, “1850 United States Federal Census,” Ancestry (https://www.ancestry.com/imageviewer/collections/8054/images/4204439_00371: viewed 25 June 2024).

 [5] ”Ohio, County Marriages, 1789-2016,” FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:33SQ-GRMD-S2R8?i=363&cc=1614804&cat=265736 : viewed 19 June 2024), digital film 004016313, image 364 of 493, Gallia County Marriage Record 2: 212, James Maddison Henry and Alrey Anet Reynolds, 1852.

 [6] Find a Grave, database with images (https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/48980895  : viewed 24 June 2024), memorial 48980895, Mary E Henry (1853–1854), Van Zant Cemetery, Cheshire Township, Gallia County, Ohio; gravestone photo by Jean Hoffman.

 [7] 1860 U.S. census, Gallia County, Ohio, population schedule, Morgan Township, Kyger post office, sheet 166, dwelling 1207, family 1138, James M. Henry household; imaged, “1860 United States Federal Census,”, Ancestry (https://www.ancestry.com/imageviewer/collections/7667/images/4282511_00170 : viewed 19 June 2024).

 [8] Gallia County, Ohio, Gallia Probate Case File 197, James Reynolds, Power of Attorney of Perry B. Henry and James A. Henry of Carroll County, Missouri, 14 February 1882; imaged ”Ohio, Gallia County, probate case files, 1803-1943,” FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3Q9M-CS2Q-GQSJ-Y?i=484&cat=2827731 : viewed 25 June 2024), digital film 103741784 > images 485–87 of 2055.

 [9] Stephen Frederick Tillman, The Rennolds, Reynolds Family of England and Virginia, 1530–1948 (Washington, DC: Stephen Frederick Tillman, 1948), 165, para. 1537; imaged, “The Rennolds, Reynolds Family of England and Virginia, 1530–1948,” Ancestry (https://www.ancestry.com/search/collections/12542/?name=alcey_reese&name_x=1 : viewed 30 June 2024).

What Year Was Effie Irion Born?

By Jean M. Hoffman, CG^SM

Effie Bell (née Irion) died 5 September 1948 in Gallipolis, Ohio. Her death certificate states that Effie was born 11 September 1862. The informant was Mrs. Oliver Lyle, the daughter with whom Effie lived.¹ An obituary repeated the birth date and the gravestone of Effie and her late husband was carved with her birth year as 1862.² While these might appear to be three different sources, most likely all came from Effie’s daughter, perhaps originally from Effie herself.

My problem is that I don’t believe that is the year she was born. An apparent two-year error in a birth date is a rather minor problem but provides an easily understood example of data analysis and conflict resolution.

The only U.S. census with birth information other than an age was recorded in 1900. Effie’s birth is written there as “Sep 1861.”³ No other records have been located that actually state her birth year. Civil birth records were not required in Ohio counties until 1867.⁴ The church to which she belonged in 1899 was the Clay Chapel Methodist Episcopal Church in Clay Township.⁵ Her parents were married by M. D. Vaughn, a minister of that church, so they may have been members when Effie was born.⁶ No baptisms for the Irion family are recorded in a book of extant records for 1856 –1875.⁷

The earliest record of Effie’s age is the 1870 U.S. census. The children in the household are Brooks age 11, Effie at 9, George 7, and John age 3. The enumeration took place on 6 June 1870.⁸ If Effie was born on 11 September, she would be nine on that date only if she was born in 1860. Effie married William W. Bell on 24 March 1879. The Gallia County marriage book documenting their marriage has pre-printed pages with blanks to fill. For the bride the printing reads: “is ____ of the age of eighteen years.” Parental consent would have been required for a bride under eighteen. Nothing is noted for Effie, implying she was at least eighteen.⁹ To be eighteen in March of 1879 with a birthday in September, she had to have been born by 1860. It is possible that she was underage at the time of her marriage and a license erroneously obtained without parental consent. However, she was married by J. D. Hathaway, the pastor of her church, and lived after marriage in close proximity to her parents. It is more likely that she really was eighteen. The following year on 19 June she is enumerated in the 1880 U.S. census as being nineteen years old.¹⁰ Again, she would be that age if born in 1860.

In 1900 she was listed as born in September 1861 as previously noted. In the census of 1910 Effie’s age was 47 on the 16^th of April.¹¹ This is the first record that would place her birth in 1862. The census records of 1920 and 1930 also have ages reflecting an 1862 birth.¹² Her son-in-law, Oliver G. Lyle, was the informant for his household on the 1940 U.S. census. Her age that April was 78, placing her birth back to 1861.¹³

All later records show a belief that Effie was born in 1862 or possibly 1861. The data closest to her birth consistently points to the year 1860. One other factor supports the year 1860. That is the ages and birth dates of her brothers Brooks and George between whom she was born. Brooks, at the age of one year, was the only child in the household of John T. Irion in 1860.¹⁴ His 1900 census entry has him born in December 1858.¹⁵ His ages in the census of one in 1860 and eleven in 1870 are consistent with that birth date. George M. Irion went from an 1870 age of seven to seventeen in the 1880 census.¹⁶ Family tradition of unknown origin has his date of birth as 6 April 1863, a date that would result in those ages. However, if that date is correct, Effie cannot have been born to the same mother six months earlier in September 1862. While 1861 is possible, her birth in 1860 would place her closer to halfway between these two brothers and a normal approximately two-year spacing than would an 1861 birth year.

While 1862 is carved in stone, Effie Irion, later wife of William W. Bell, was born in 1860. She died just six days before her 88^th birthday. My great grandmother lived to a slightly more advanced age than her family realized.

_______________________

Endnotes:

1.    Effie I. Bell, certificate of death no. 229 (1948), Gallia County Health Department, Gallipolis, Ohio.

2.    Mrs. Effie Bell Claimed Suddenly, Gallipolis (Ohio) Daily Tribune, 7 September 1948, p. 1. And Effie Irion and William W. Bell gravestone, Mound Hill Cemetery (Gallia County, Ohio); photographed by Jean M. Hoffman, 13 October 2001.

3.    1900 U.S. census, Gallia County, Ohio, population schedule, Clay Township, ED 26, sheet 8A, dwelling 155, family 160, William Bell household; NARA T623, roll 1271.

4.    Which Vital Records Do We Have? Ohio Department of Health (http://www.odh.ohio.gov/vitalstatistics/vitalmisc/whichrecs.aspx : accessed 13 Dec. 2013).

5.    H.E. Brill, History of Clay Chapel (Gallipolis, Ohio: A.R. Harding, printer, 1899), 47: members in 1899.

6.    Irion-Poole marriage, 1857, Gallia County Marriage Book 2:352, Probate Court, Gallipolis, Ohio. Also Brill, History of Clay Chapel, 34: list of pastors.

7.    “Clay Chapel Baptismal Records Book I 1856–1875,” Mary James, transcriber; database, Gallia County Genealogical Society, OGS Chapter, Inc. (http://www.galliagenealogy.org : accessed 13 December 2013).

8.    1870 U.S. census, Gallia County, Ohio, population schedule, Clay Township, post office Mercerville, O., page 258 (stamped), dwelling/family 174, John T. Iron household; NARA M593, roll 1203.

9.    Bell-Iron marriage, 1879, Gallia County Marriage Book 5: 44, Probate Court, Gallipolis, Ohio.

10.  1880 U.S. census, Gallia County, population schedule, Clay Township, ED 21, p. 277A, dwelling 215, family 220, Wm. W. Bell household; NARA T9, roll 1018.

11.  1910 U.S. census, Gallia County, Ohio, population schedule, Gallipolis Township, Gallipolis City, Ward 1, ED 30, sheet 2B, dwelling 40, family 40, William Bell household; NARA T624, roll 1184.

12.  1920 U.S. census, Gallia County, Ohio, population schedule, Gallipolis, ED 50, sheet 7, dwelling 165, family 196, Oliver G. Lyle household; NARA T625, roll 1385. Also 1930 U.S. census, Gallia County, Ohio, population schedule, Gallipolis City, Third Ward, ED 27-7, sheet 4B, dwelling 111, family 116, Oliver Lyle household; NARA T626, roll 1803

13.  1940 U.S. census, Gallia County, Ohio, population schedule, Gallipolis, Ward 3, ED 27-8, sheet 4B, dwelling 95, Oliver G. Lyle household; digital image, FamilySearch.org (https://familysearch.org : accessed 3 April 2012); NARA T627, roll 3072.

14.  1860 U.S. census, Gallia County, Ohio, population schedule, Clay Township, p. 352, dwelling/family 285, John T. Irion household; NARA M653, roll 966.

15.  1900 U.S. census, El Paso County, Colorado, population schedule, Colorado Springs, ward 5, ED 31, sheet 19A, dwelling 416, family 444, Brooks Iron household; NARA T623, roll 124.

16.  1880 U.S. census, Gallia County, population schedule, Clay Township, ED 21, p. 277A, dwelling 214, family 219, John T. Irion household; NARA T9, roll 1018.