Joshua Fry Bell
American politician (1811–1870)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Joshua Fry Bell (November 26, 1811 – August 17, 1870) was an American politician. He represented Kentucky in the U.S. Congress for one term.
Joshua F. Bell | |
|---|---|
| |
| Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Kentucky's 4th district | |
| In office March 4, 1845 – March 3, 1847 | |
| Preceded by | George Caldwell |
| Succeeded by | Aylette Buckner |
| 31st Secretary of State of Kentucky | |
| In office July 2, 1849 – March 16, 1850 | |
| Governor | John J. Crittenden |
| Preceded by | Orlando Brown |
| Succeeded by | John William Finnell |
| Member of the Kentucky House of Representatives from Boyle County | |
| In office February 17, 1862 – August 5, 1867 | |
| Preceded by | William Clayton Anderson |
| Succeeded by | James M. McFerran |
| Personal details | |
| Born | November 26, 1811 |
| Died | August 17, 1870 (aged 58) |
| Resting place | Bellevue Cemetery Danville, Kentucky, U.S. |
| Party | Whig |
| Alma mater | Centre College |
| Profession | Lawyer |
Early life and education
Bell was born in Danville, Kentucky, where he attended public schools and then Centre College, where he graduated in 1828. He next studied law in Lexington, Kentucky, and travelled around Europe for several years before returning home and being admitted to the bar.
Political career and mid-life
Bell was elected as a Whig to the 29th Congress in November 1844. He did not seek reelection and served a single term in the House, March 4, 1845 – March 4, 1847. He was the Kentucky Secretary of State in 1849.
Bell owned four slaves as of the 1850 census, and 14 as of the 1860 census.[1][2]
Bell was the Whig Party nominee in the 1859 Kentucky gubernatorial election. He would lose to Democrat Beriah Magoffin, winning 46.9% of the vote.[3]
In February 1861 he was sent by Kentucky as a commissioner to the Peace Conference held in Washington, D.C., in an unsuccessful last-ditch effort to stave off what became the American Civil War.
Bell served in the Kentucky House of Representatives from 1862 to 1867. Union Democrats attempted to nominate him for Governor of Kentucky in 1863, but he declined the nomination.[4]
Later life and death
Joshua Fry Bell died in 1870 in Danville at the age of 58 and was interred at Bellevue Cemetery.[5] Bell County, Kentucky is named in his honor.[6]