Souvenir Saturday: Miss Bell

Of all the most tantalising items there can be nothing to beat an unidentified, or mis-identified, photograph. A handwritten note on the back of the above photo claims that the winsome young lady is Miss Bell, 'a sister of Captain William Bell'. 

This is hardly likely, as her costume tells us she is of a much later generation than Captain Bell's (he was born in 1807). There is, however, some family resemblance, reinforced by a companion photograph showing a Mr Bell who certainly could be a close relative of the Captain, though again of a later date.

For the moment, Miss Bell remains a mystery lady. The 1871 Census for Drumburgh, Bowness-on-Solway, shows Thomas Bell (the Captain's father), a widower aged 87, and blind. The other occupants of the house are Elizabeth, granddaughter, aged 38, unmarried, and a grandson, John. It was tempting to consider this Elizabeth as a contender for the Miss Bell in the photo portrait, but the date and age simply do not fit. Back to the drawing board ...

Check that Memorial Inscription

Even when carved in stone, family information may be suspect. It's worth checking MI dates and names against primary sources.

After establishing William Bell's place of origin I visited the parish of Bowness-on-Solway and found St Michael's Church where Bell had been baptised and where various other Bell events had taken place. I'd heard there was a memorial stone in the churchyard of St Michael's, commemorating members of the Bell family. I searched for and eventually found this stone, in a reasonable state of preservation. The inscription read as follows:

Erected to the Memory of Elizabeth Bell of Drumburgh who died Feb 27 1867 aged 82 years Thomas Bell, who died Decr 10th 1872, aged 88 years Also their son William who died at Port Natal South Africa, April 3rd 1869 Aged 63 years Also their son John who died at Port Carlisle Decr 17th 1880 aged 63 years Also Elizabeth Bell of Drumburgh Who died December 4th 1906 aged 81 years.’

Elizabeth and Thomas Bell were William Bell's parents. William is mentioned as having died at Port Natal - a useful detail to find in a memorial inscription - but the date of his death should be April 10 1869.

The existence of a brother named John, who apparently died at Port Carlisle in 1880, was news to me. So far the identity of the last-mentioned Elizabeth Bell of Drumburgh remains uncertain.

Finding the stone wasn't the end of the journey, though, as the details shown in the inscription had to be checked. Next stop was Cumbria Record Office, then in the Castle at Carlisle, where I discovered that Bowness parish records began in 1642. The number of Bell families in the area were legion and hours of research were needed to identify the 'right' Bells. It's probable that links between these families will emerge as the search continues.
 


St Michael's Church, Bowness-on-Solway. Bell memorial stone in foreground left.

The parish of Bowness stands on the Solway Firth at the western end of Hadrian's Wall: border country, with Carlisle inland to the east. St Michael's Church is about four miles from Drumburgh, where some Bell family members lived at various dates, and not far from Glasson, Easton and other hamlets associated with the family.