He was born on 29 October 1842, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, to John Alexander Bell and Amanda McCarty. [sources: date: 6 (22 in 1862), 8, 10, 11 (17 in 1860), 12 (8 in 1850), 14 (26 Oct 43), 16 (24 in 1870). place: 8, 10, 12, 14, 16. parents: 10]
In 1850, he was living in the 4th ward of Southwark, Philadelphia County, Pennsylvania, with his parents. He had attended school in the last year. [source: 12]
In 1860, he was living in the 24th ward of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He was living with his parents. The census does not list an occupation for him. [source: 11]
When he enlisted, he was living in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. [source: 6]
He enlisted and was mustered into service in the 118th Pennsylvania Infantry on 9 August 1862. He enlisted at Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He was mustered in at Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. [1, 5, 6, 18]
He was promoted from corporal to sergeant in company G of the 118th Pennsylvania on 1 March 1863. He was promoted to second lieutenant. [source: 5]
He was promoted from second lieutenant in company G, to first lieutenant in company B (of the 118th Pennsylvania), on 17 November 1864. [sources: 5, 15]
He was wounded at Five Forks, Virginia, on 31 March 1865. [source: 5]
He was promoted from first lieutenant, in company B, on 1 May 1865, to Captain, of company F. [sources: 1, 2, 5]
On 2 June 1865, he was transferred from the 118th Pennsylvania Volunteer Infantry to company A of the 91st Pennsylvania by special order 138, headquarters Army of the Potomac, 1 June 1865. [sources: 4, 6, 13, 18 (captain]
On 13 June 1865, he was assigned to command company A, and ordered to receipt to William Beaver for all property. [sources: 4; see also 13 and 15]
He mustered out on 10 July 1865 with his company. He was captain of company A. [sources: 1, 2, 6, 18]
In 1870, he may have been living in Kit Carson, Greenwood County, Colorado. If so, he was a clerk, in a store. [source: 16]
He applied successfully from Colorado for a pension on 19 August 1892, under the Act of 27 June 1890. [sources: 3, 7, 15]
On 14 May 1895, he married Mrs Mary Egan, in Arapahoe County, Colorado. She was born in November 1859, in Ohio. She had four children, two of whom were alive in 1900, apparently:
[sources: 8, 9, 17]
In 1900, he was living at 2340 Welton Street, Denver, Colorado. He was a clerk, and had been unemployed 12 months. He was living with his wife Mary, and his step children Genevive Bell [sic] and Thomas Garrett. Mary had had four children, two of whom were alive. [source: 8]
On 23 March 1907, he received a pension of $15 per month, under the Act of 6 February 1907. (The certificate was dated 30 November 1907.) [sources: 3, 7, 15]
He died on 20 April 1909, at Denver, Colorado. He was buried in Riverside Cemetery, Adams County, Colorado. [sources: 3, 14, 15]
In 1910, his widow, Mary Bell, was living at 2340 Welton Street, with her daughter and son-in-law James and Genevive Edwards, and their daughter Genevivie. She had had four children, one of whom was still alive. [source: 9]
His widow, Mary Bell, applied unsuccessfully from Colorado for a pension on 13 July 1911. [sources: 3, 7]
1 Bates, Samuel Penniman. History of Pennsylvania volunteers, 1861-5. Harrisburg: B. Singerly, state printer, 1869-71. 5 volumes. 'Ninety-first regiment', volume 3, pages 186-233. (In the roster)
3 pension index, by regiment (John L Bell)
4 special order 34, HQ 91st PA, 13 June 1865
5 Bates, Samuel Penniman. History of Pennsylvania volunteers, 1861-5. Harrisburg: B. Singerly, state printer, 1869-71. 5 volumes. 'One hundred and eighteenth regiment'. Volume 3, pages 1319 (co.B), 1329 (co.F), and 1332 (co.G). (In the roster) (John L Bell)
6 Civil War Veterans' Card File, available at the Pennsylvania State Archives, searched 18 August 2004 (John L Bell)
7 pension index, by name (John L Bell)
8 1900 US census, Colorado, Arapahoe, 9th ward Denver, supervisor's district 24, enumeration district 73, microfilm series T623, film 119, page 75 = 7A handwritten (John L Bell)
9 1910 US census, Colorado, Denver, Denver 9th ward, microfilm series T624, roll 116, page 226 = sheet 1A handwritten, supervisor's district 1, enumeration district 120 (Mary Bell)
10 Skinner & Smith genealogy, a gedcom, available on WorldConnect at rootsweb.com, last updated 27 July 2005, accessed 13 November 2005 (John Leonard Bell)
11 1860 US census, Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, 9th precinct 24th ward, microfilm series M653 film 1175 page 1091 = 47 handwritten (J Leonard Bell)
12 1850 US census, Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, 4th ward Southwark, microfilm series M432, film 822, pages 276-277 (John L Bell)
13 consolidated morning report, 91st Pennsylvania, 13 June 1865 (Capt Bell)
14 Colorado Veterans' Grave Registrations 1862-1949 (viewed 26 April 2007) (John L Bell)
15 Veterans Administration pension payment cards, 1907-1933, from National Archives and Records Administration, microfilm series M850, film 146 (John L Bell)
16 1870 US census, Colorado Territory, Greenwood County, Kit Carson, microfilm series M593, film 95, page 309 verso = 6 handwritten (FamilySearch) (John Bell)
17 [not transcribed] Colorado marriages, 1859-1900, abstracted on Ancestry (accessed 13 July 2013) (John L Bell to Mrs Mary Egan)
18 index to compiled service records of volunteer Union soldiers who served in organizations from the state of Pennsylvania (John L Bell)
| line | 42 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 |
| Dwellings visited | 496 | ||||||
| Families visited | 577 | ||||||
| Name | John A Bell | Amanda Bell | John L " | Julia D. " | Emily " | Sarah H. " | Margaret Henry |
| Age | 30 | 29 | 8 | 6 | 4 | 2 | 19 |
| Sex | M | F | M | F | F | F | F |
| Color | |||||||
| Occupation of males over 15 years | Clerk | ||||||
| Real estate owned | |||||||
| Birthplace | Penna | Pennsylvania | " | " | " | " | Ireland |
| Married within year | |||||||
| Attended school within year | 1 | 1 | 1 | ||||
| Over 20 & can't read/write | |||||||
| Deaf, dumb, blind, etc. |
| line | 31 | 32 | 33 | 34 | 35 | 36 | 37 | 38 | 39 |
| Dwelling number | 284 | ||||||||
| Family number | 314 | ||||||||
| Name | John A Bell | Amanda " | J Leonard " | Julia " | Emile | Eliz [?] | Maltida [sic] | Amanda | Kate Foster |
| Age | 40 | 38 | 17 | 15 | 13 | 9 | 7 | 2 | 24 |
| Sex | m | f | m | f | f | f | f | f | f |
| Color | |||||||||
| Occupation | Clerk | Servant | |||||||
| Value of real estate owned | |||||||||
| Value of personal estate | |||||||||
| Place of birth | " [sc. Penna] | " | " | " | " | " | " | " | Ireland |
| Married within year | |||||||||
| Attended school within year | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | |||||
| Cannot read & write | 1 | ||||||||
| Deaf, dumb, blind, etc. |
| line | 34 |
| Dwelling-house number | [41] |
| Family number | [44] |
| Name | Bell John |
| Age | 24 |
| Sex | m |
| Color | w |
| Occupation | Clerk in Store |
| Real estate value | [blank] |
| Personal estate value | [blank] |
| Birthplace | Pennsylvania |
| Father foreign born | 1 |
| Mother foreign born | 1 |
| Birth month if born within year | |
| Marriage month if married within year | |
| Attended school past year | |
| Can't read | |
| Can't write | |
| Deaf, dumb, blind, etc. | |
| Male US citizen at least 21 years old | 1 |
| Male US citizen at least 21 years old who can't vote ... |
| line | 31 | 32 | 33 | 34 |
| street | Welton St | |||
| house number | 2340 | |||
| dwelling number | 6 | |||
| family number | 10 | |||
| name | Bell John L | - Mary | - Genivie | Garrett Thomas G. |
| relationship | Head | Wife | Step D. | Step-son |
| color | W | W | W | W |
| sex | M | F | F | M |
| birth date | Oct 1842 | Nov 1859 | Jan 1881 | April 1885 |
| age | 57 | 40 | 19 | 15 |
| married? | M | M | S | S |
| # years married | 5 | 5 | ||
| mother of how many children? | 4 | |||
| # of children living | 2 | |||
| birthplace | Pennsylvania | Ohio | Colorado | Colorado |
| father's birthplace | Pennsylvania | Ireland | Pennsylvania | Scotland |
| mother's birthplace | Pennsylvania | Ireland | Ohio | Ohio |
| immigration year | ||||
| # years in USA | ||||
| naturalized citizen? | ||||
| occupation | Clerk | Dressmaker | Clerk | |
| # months not employed | 12 | 0 | 0 | |
| # months in school | ||||
| can read | yes | yes | yes | yes |
| can write | yes | yes | yes | yes |
| speaks English | yes | yes | yes | yes |
| owned/rented | R | |||
| free or mortgaged | ||||
| farm/house | H | |||
| # of farm schedule | ||||
| line | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 |
| street | Welton Street | |||
| house nr | 2340 | |||
| dwelling nr | 3 | |||
| family nr | 5 | |||
| name | Edwards James H | - Genevive | - Genevive | Bell Mary |
| relationship | Head | Wife | Daughter | Mother-in-law |
| sex | M | F | F | F |
| color | W | W | W | W |
| age | 32 | 28 | 3 | 50 |
| marital status | M1 | M1 | S | W [?] |
| #years present marriage | 4 | 4 | ||
| mother of # children | 1 | 4 | ||
| mother of # living children | 1 | 1 | ||
| birthplace | New Jersey | Colorado | Colorado | Ohio |
| father's birthplace | England | Oregon | New Jersey | Ireland |
| mother's birthplace | England | Ohio | Colorado | Ohio |
| immigrated | ||||
| naturalized/alien | ||||
| speaks English | English | English | English | |
| occupation | Wagon Driver | None | None | None |
| nature of industry etc. | Express | |||
| employer etc. | OA | |||
| out of work 15 Apr 1910? | ||||
| # weeks out of work 1909 | ||||
| can read | yes | yes | yes | |
| can write | yes | yes | yes | |
| school since 1 Sep 09 | ||||
| owned/rented | R | |||
| owned free or mortagaged | ||||
| farm/house | H | |||
| nr on farm schedule | ||||
| civil war vet | ||||
| blind | ||||
| deaf & dumb | ||||
| CLASS. | RATE. | DATE OF COMMENCEMENT. | DATE OF CERTIFICATE. |
| [blank] | 15 | 23 Mch 1907 | 30 Nov 1907 |