Albert H Bell
ALBERT H. BELL, a prominent member of the bar of Westmoreland county, was born in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, November 20, 1857, and is a representative of an old Westmoreland county family. While born in the then far west, he was reared in the Ligonier valley, removing to Greensburg in 1880, where he is now engaged in the practice of his profession.
David Bell (grandfather) was a native of Westmoreland county, and was a brother of Judge James bell, on of the early associate judges of the county. David Bell was a school teacher during the greater part of his life ; in politics he was a Democrat, and he took a lively interest in supporting his party. He married Mary Robinson, also a native of Westmoreland county, a daughter of John Robinson, who was one of the pioneer settlers, and a soldier in the Revolutionary war, and whose wife was Isabella Guffey, a sister of John Guffey, the ancestor of the numerous and widely dispersed Guffey family.
John R. Bell, son of David and Mary (Robinson) Bell, was born in Westmoreland county, December 17, 1824. He was a man of considerable ability and served the public in various important positions. He was a school teacher for a number of years ; served as justice of the peace in Donegal township, and in 1879 was elected clerk of the county courts, a position which he acceptably occupied for three years. After 1883 he lived a retired life. He was a staunch Democrat, and always took an active part in political affairs. His first wife was Margaret Singer, a daughter of Samuel and Jane (Matthews) Singer. Their children were : Mrs. Emma Lenhart, of Greensburg ; Albert H., and Mrs. May M. Cairns, deceased. The mother of these children having died, Mr. Bell married Margaret Kalp, and to them were born three children, among whom was James E. Bell, secretary and treasurer of the Merchant's Trust Company of Greensburg, Pennsylvania.
Albert H. Bell, second child and only son of John R. and Margaret (Singer) Bell, attended the public and private schools of Westmoreland cunty, laying an excellent foundation for advanced studies in Mount Union College, which he entered at the age of nineteen years, and where he pursued a two years course. Following the example of his father and grandsire, he was a school teacher in his early manhood, teaching for seven years in Westmoreland county, and conducting a normal class at Mount Pleasant for one year. During his father's term of service as county clerk, from 1880 to 1883, he served as deputy clerk, entering upon his duties with the advantage of a previous six month experience (in 1870) as clerk in the office of the prothonotary. While faithfully discharging his duties as deputy clerk, he was also at the same time engaged in the study of law under the preceptorship of James S. Moorhead an Hon. John B. Hench, judge of the superior court, beginning his reading in to the bar in 1884, since which time he has been successfully engaged in the practice of his profession. He is well equipped, industrious, and takes rank with the foremost of his profession colleagues. He is a member of the United Presbyterian church of Greensburg, in which he has long served as an elder. He has always been deeply interested in education, served six years on the school board of Greensburg, five years as secretary, and for the past nine years a member of the board of trustees of Westminster College. He is also a member and past officer of the State Educational Association, and is a life member of the board of trustees of the Morrison Underwood Donation Fund, a trust created for the benefit of the Greensburg High School. Mr.. Bell married, March 19, 1885, Mary C. Clarke, of Greensburg, a daughter of Judge James C. Clarke. Their children were : James Clarke and Mary M. Bell, now pursuing their studies in Westminster College, and Albert H. Bell, JR.
Source: Pages 29 & 30 History of Westmoreland County, Volume II, Pennsylvania by John N. Boucher. New York, The Lewis Publishing Company, 1906
Transcribed June 4, 1999 by Marilynn Wink for the Westmoreland County History Project
Contributed for use by the Westmoreland County Genealogy Project (http://www.pa-roots.com/westmoreland/)
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