Baxter Bell
1823 - 1880
of
Tennessee and Collin County, Texas
Submitted by Brenda Kellow,
CG, CGI
Extracted from Wylie Area Heritage,
c1990
By the author, Beb Fulkerson
A cabinetmaker by trade
in Tennessee, Baxter Manton Bell and his wife, nee Marjorie Horner, and
three children came to the Wylie area via McKinney and Dallas. They were:
I. CLEMENTINE BELL was born circa
1843 and married Michael Boylan. She died within a year of their marriage,
presumably in childbirth.
II. HENRY "NELSON" BELL was born
October 1844 and married T.J. Kirkpatrick July 3, 1870. For many years Nelson
Worked at the Dallas Courthouse.
III. RUFUS A. BELL was born September
1853. A railroad engineer, stationed for many years at Marshall, Rufus invented
the steam coupling which fastens the railroad cars together. For this invention
he received $600. It is still in use.
One of sixteen children born to Samuel and Elizabeth
Crider Bell, Baxter was born January 9, 1823 in Jefferson County Tennessee.
A sister also came to the Texas area and affected the life of some Wylieites.
Her name was Lavina and she became the wife of Thomas McDonald.
After arriving in Texas, Marjorie died in McKinney.
Baxter, a handsome six foot six inch widower, came to this area and met the
Samuel Spurgin family. On June 20, 1859 he married one of their daughters,
Rachel. By her he had one son, Samuel Houston Bell (1860). He was called
Houston. In March 1860 Rachel contacted the typhoid fever and died. Within
two months (May 19, 1860), Baxter wed her sister, Louisa "Lou" Spurgin. By
Lou he had four children who were:
I. LIZZIE BELL was born July 4, 1861
and married T. Lee Eldridge of Rockwall.
II. WILLIAM BAXTER BELL was born June
25, 1864 and died 1959. He is buried in Garland. About 1872 William saw his last
buffalo in Garland. One was located near the present Shiloh and Miller and
several were near the present Garland Memorial Hospital. A farmer by trade,
William was 5'5 in comparison with his father's 6'6 inch frame. He married Mary
Green Blankenship by whom he had ten children. They were Clayton, Oscar,
Charlie, Raymond, Luther Kemp, Mary Lizzie, Georgia, Lillie, Frank and Leona
Bell.
III. CHARLIE BELL was born October 1869
and married Mabel Butler. He is buried in Laredo.
IV. FRANK BELL was born in 1867 and
died at age 17 years
When the Civil War erupted, all of Samuel Bell's sons
signed up to serve — some for the North and others for the South. Although
Baxter did not believe in slavery, he signed up for the Confederacy. He was
told, "You hang or you fight." Baxter paid one man a mule to take his place
and returned home. Here he gave Lou a $50 gold piece and lit off as fast as
he could to Matamoras, Mexico where he stayed for a two-year period. When
the war ended, he calmly returned to Wylie. It was at this time that Lou
presented him with this same $50 gold piece. In raising all of his children,
she had not spent one cent of it.
Baxter was a "go-getter." Once he took a load of
freight which consisted of bois d'arc apples to Missouri and traded them for
the real apples. He also built many cabinets and quite a number of homes
here. He received religion following the Civil War and became instrumental
in helping to establish the Methodist Church.
After leaving Wylie, Baxter moved to Garland where he
died March 27, 1880. There he had the first mule-powered gin which was
located on Duck Creek. He later would convert this to Garland's first
steam-powered gin. In Garland he bought much land covering Miller to Forest
Lane near Shiloh E-Systems, as well as numerous businesses, are now located
on his former holdings. The price paid for this property was $1.50 per acre.
Surname Index
Recommended Citation:
"Baxter Bell,
EARLY SETTLERS OF COLLIN COUNTY." Collin County, Texas History
and Genealogy Webpage by Genealogy Friends of Plano Libraries, Inc., <http://www.geocities/genfriendsghl>
[Accessed Fri February 13, 2004 ].
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