Josiah H. Bell

Duane's take

Here's how the marker on Josiah H. Bell tells it, in my own words. Now, you want to talk about a man who was in on Texas from the very beginning — and I mean the very beginning — then pull up a chair, because Josiah Hughes Bell is your man.

He came into this world on August 22nd, 1791, in Chester District, South Carolina. Life didn't ease him in gently, either. His father died when Josiah was just five years old, so he packed up and went to live with family in Tennessee, where he learned the trade of hatter.

A hatter. Which tells you something about the man's patience — that is a precise, exacting kind of work — before he ever picked up a rifle or a surveyor's stake. Sometime later he found himself living in the Missouri District, and that's where fate handed him a connection that would change everything.

He became friends with Moses Austin, and Moses Austin's son — a young man by the name of Stephen F. Austin. Now that friendship, as friendships sometimes do, turned out to have consequences well beyond anybody's living room in Missouri.

When the War of 1812 came calling, Josiah Bell answered. He joined the Missouri Mounted Militia as a second lieutenant. After the war, he traveled back to Tennessee to visit his mother, and it was there he met Mary Eveline McKenzie — born 1799.

They married in 1818 in Kentucky. The two of them set up a mercantile business in Natchitoches, Louisiana, ran it for two years, and then moved on to Hemphill, Texas. The man was not one for standing still.

Then comes 1821, and Stephen F. Austin writes Bell a letter granting him permission to settle in the new colony near New Washington. Bell was in — one of the original three hundred colonists Austin brought into that raw, uncertain land.

And once Bell was in, he was all the way in. He served as Alcalde, constable, and judge in the new colony. When Austin had to travel to Mexico, Bell even stepped in and took over Austin's duties.

The colony needed somebody who could hold things together, and Bell was that somebody. His family moved several times along the Brazos River, finally settling near the town of Columbia, near what is now the present-day cemetery. From there, Bell laid out two towns.

He developed a sugar plantation. He built the first hotel in the area. And he began work on a family home that was completed in 1827 — a home that Stephen F.

Austin himself used as an office when he came to town. Through all of it, Bell and Austin kept up their friendship through letters — correspondence that covered tax laws, the regulations of the Mexican government, and education in the colony. These were not small matters.

These were the bones of a civilization being built from scratch. Josiah Hughes Bell died on May 17, 1838, and was buried in the very cemetery his wife, Mary Eveline McKenzie Bell, would later give to the citizens of West Columbia. He hatted in Tennessee, soldiered in Missouri, traded in Louisiana, and helped build a colony along the Brazos.

Some men leave a town behind. Josiah Bell left a couple of them.

What the marker says

A member of Stephen F. Austins original 300 colonists, Josiah Hughes Bell was born August 22m 1791, in Chester District, South Carolina. Josiah Bells father died when he was five years old, so he went to live in Tennessee with family to learn the trade of hatter. While living in the Missouri District, Bell became friends with Moses Austin and his son, Stephen F. Austin. Josiah Bell joined the Missouri Mounted Militia as a second lieutenant during the War of 1812. Following the war, he traveled to Tennessee to visit his mother and met his future wife, Mary Eveline McKenzie (1799-1856). She and Bell married in 1818 in Kentucky. The couple operated a mercantile business in Natchitoches, Louisiana, for two years before moving to Hemphill, Texas. PARAGRAPH BREAK In 1821, Austin wrote bell granting him permission to settle in the new colony near New Washington. Bell served as Alcalde, constable, and judge in the new colony, even taking over Austins duties while he was traveling in Mexico. Bell and his family moved several times along the Brazos River and eventually settled in the town of Columbia near the present-day cemetery. Bell laid out two towns, developed a sugar plantation and built the first hotel in the area. During this time he began work on the Bell family home, completed in 1827. The home was often used as an office for Stephen F. Austin when he was in town. Bell and Austin continued their friendship through correspondence, including letters regarding tax laws, regulations of the Mexican government and education in the colony. Bell died on May 17, 1838, and was buried in the cemetery that his wife later gave to the citizens of West Columbia. (2016)