| Name |
George (of Thos Sr) Bell [1] |
| Birth |
Abt 1653 |
Franktown, Northampton Co, Virginia  [2, 3, 4, 5] |
- Deposition on 27 Mar 1679 of George Bell "aged 25 years or there abouts"
|
| Gender |
Male |
| Will - Fathers |
6 Jul 1678 |
Northampton Co, Virginia [1] |
- In his will Thomas Bell Sr. gave to son Thomas Bell my 250 A. plantation where I now live. To my son Thomas 350 A. in Northampton Co. on the seaboard side near Matchepungo as mentioned in my pattent dated 20 Oct. 1661 subscribed by Francis Morryson and Thomas Ludwell. To my son Thomas my handmill. To my sons William and Robert Bell 300 A. which belongs to the land I now live upon to be eq. div. as they themselves have agreed. To my son George Bell one shilling and I hereby disinherit him from any part of my land. To my dau. Elizabeth Giddins now the wife of Thomas Giddins one shilling. To John Giddins the youngest son of my dau. Elizabeth, one heifer. To my loving wife Mary Bell her full 1/3rd of the remainder of my cattle, and the remaining 2/3rds to be eq. div. by my children Thomas, George, William, Robert, and Anthony Bell, my dau. Mary Maddux, and my granddau. Elizabeth Gethings. Wife Mary extrx. and to dispose of remaining estate as she sees fit. Witt: Morgan (M) Dowell, Thomas Barton, John Burroughs.
|
| Biography |
1679 [2] |
- George Bell was eighteen years old at the time of his father's death. Having just married and now having family responsibilities, he must have been concerned about how he would begin farming without having inherited land or money. Opportunities for individuals to acquire land on the Shore in the late 1600's were better than they were in some settlements where most of the land was held in a very few very large plantations. There were a number of large land patents granted on the Eastern Shore in the early 1600's, but Ames points out that by the fourth quarter of the 1600's there was a breaking up of many of these larger tracts. By the year 1703, the average size plantation in Northampton County was 389 acres and in Accomack it was 520. Within these averages, there were still some larger plantations, at least by Eastern Shore standards.
Thomas (II) Bell, who received the major share of his fathers estate, came to George's aid in 1680, just two years after his father died. Thomas purchased 200 acres of land on Phillips Creek which he assigned to his "loving brother, George Bell". This land, plus additional acreage left to his wife Hannah by her father, George Brickhouse, amounted to 400 acres, as per the tax records of 1704. George and Hannah settled on the farm near Marionville and raised their family. This land, which borders on the south side of Phillips Creek, is in 1995 owned by James B. Bell (1932- ), a Great, Great, Great, Great, Great Grandson of George Bell. This, or at least a major part, of this land has been in the Bell family for most, but not all of three hundred plus years since it was acquired by George in 1680.
Finding labor to work his farm was likely an even greater problem for George than was acquiring the land itself. On the Eastern Shore, as throughout the colony, there was a continuing shortage of labor to work the farms. Servants and slaves were ways that some of the much needed labor was acquired. During the 1600's indentured service was widely used to bring workers to farms. Terms for indenture service and agreed payments at the end of the indenture period varied. Indentured service of five to seven years for an immigrant to pay the costs of ocean passage is one of the better know forms of indenture service, but other arrangements were common. When orphan children were involved, their age and term of service was set by the court to prevent abuses. Records show that William Bell, George's brother, had the court establish an indentured service agreement for a child whose age when he arrived in the country was twelve and his term of indenture was set until he was twenty-four years of age. After this term, presumably, he had learned to farm, would receive his fifty acre headright and would be off on his own.
Negro slaves were another source of labor for the farms of the Eastern Shore. At least some of the Negroes brought to the Shore in the early 1600' s came as indentured servants, worked out their term of indentured service, were given their headright and became settlers. Nevertheless, the status of the servitude of many Negro during this period was unclear. In 1670, the General Assembly enacted an Act stating that "all servants, not being Christians, imported into this colony by shipping should be slaves for their lives". Thereafter, Negroes brought to the colony were slaves for life unless freed by their masters. The will of George Bell indicates that he owned two female slaves at the time of his death in 1723.
George Bell and Hannah Brickhouse had seven children, five boys and two girls. Their children were David, Ezekiel, Rachel, Jehodiah, Jonathan , George (II), and Sarah Bell. After these children became adults many of them remained on the Shore as indicated by the appearance of their names in various court records, but, with the exception of George (II) Bell, their descendants have not been traced.
George Bell died at age sixty-three in 1723. In his Last Will and Testament, prepared in 1721, George Bell begins, "First, I bequeath my Soul to the Almighty God, my Creator, hoping and firmly believing in Resurrection of the Dead and that he will Receive the same into his Everlasting, not for any merits of mine, but for the sake and merit of his dearly beloved Son the Lord Jesus Christ, our only Savior and Redeemer." It is interesting that most wills in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries include a first bequeath of similar wording. In his will George Bell left to his three sons, George (II), Jehodiah and Ezekiel, two Negro girls, the one named Nan and the other named Betty. This was not to be effective until after the death of his wife, Hannah. He left one steer to each of his four children, Jonathan, Rachel, Sarah, and David. All the remainder of his estate he left to his three sons, George, Jehodiah and Ezekiel. No mention is made of the number of acres of land that was in the estate at the time of his death.
|
| Record ID |
66064 |
| Will |
7 Aug 1721 |
Accomack County, Virginia, USA [6] |
- In his will George Bell gave to my three sons George, Jeodiah, and Ezekiel (after the death of my loving wife Hannah) n. girls Nan and Betty. To son Jonathan. To my dau. Rachel Powel. To my dau. Sarah Powel. To my son David. Sons George, Jeodiah and Ezekiel extrs. Witt: Edward 'X' Belote, William 'X' Brickhouse, Jacob Stringer.
|
| Death |
Bef 8 Oct 1723 |
Marionville, Northampton Co, Virginia [6, 7] |
- It was on this date that his will was probated.
|
 Siblings |
4 brothers and 2 sisters |
| | 1. Thomas Bell, Jr., b. Abt 1651, Accomack County, Virginia, USA d. Bef 1 Dec 1696 (Age < 45 years)
╚═Barbary [16] Wise, b. Abt 1652, Accomack County, Virginia, USA d. Yes, date unknown , m. 28 Sep 1693
| | | 2. William Bell, b. Abt 1653, Accomack County, Virginia, USA d. Yes, date unknown | | + | 3. Robert Bell, b. Abt 1655, Accomack County, Virginia, USA d. Bef 5 Jan 1724/25, Accomack County, Virginia, USA (Age < 70 years)
╚═Mary Cutting, b. 1659, Accomack County, Virginia, USA d. Yes, date unknown , m. Abt 1680
| | + | 4. Elizabeth Bell, b. Abt 1658, Accomack County, Virginia, USA d. Yes, date unknown
╚═Thomas Giddens, (Gittings), b. 1652, Northampton Co, Virginia d. Bef 28 Mar 1710, Northampton Co, Virginia (Age < 58 years), m. Abt 1675
| | | 5. Anthony Bell, b. Abt 1659, Accomack County, Virginia, USA d. Bef 10 Jul 1742, Somerset Co, Maryland (Age < 83 years)
╚═Abigail Roach, b. 3 Jan 1672, Annamessex, Somerset Co, Maryland d. 1745, Somerset Co, Maryland (Age 72 years), m. 25 Dec 1687, Somerset Co, Maryland
| | + | 6. George (of Thos Sr) Bell, b. Abt 1653, Franktown, Northampton Co, Virginia d. Bef 8 Oct 1723, Marionville, Northampton Co, Virginia (Age < 70 years)
╚═Hannah (of Geo I) Brickhouse, b. Abt 1662, Northampton Co, Virginia d. 1736, Marionville, Northampton Co, Virginia (Age 74 years), m. Bef 6 Jul 1678
| | + | 7. Mary Bell, b. Bef 16 Sep 1660, Accomack County, Virginia, USA d. Aft 1 Feb 1720/21, Somerset Co, Maryland (Age > 61 years)
╚═Alexander Maddox, II, b. Abt 1654, Northampton Co, Virginia d. Bef 14 May 1717, Somerset Co, Maryland (Age < 63 years), m. Abt 1677, Somerset Co, Maryland
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|
Origins |
|
| Patriarch & Matriarch |
|
| Person ID |
I66064 |
MilesFiles23 |
| Last Modified |
28 Sep 2023 |
Abt 1653 - Bef 1723 (< 70 years)
: Address
: Location
: City/Town
: County/Shire
: State/Province
: Country
: Not Set
