Sixteen
The Life and Times of my
16 Great-Great Grandparents
Daniel and Margaret
“It's often said that "the Irish built America. The truth is, not only did they build it, they also manufactured, repaired, and cleaned it, especially in the decades before and after the potato famine.”
― Rashers Tierney, F*ck You, I'm Irish: Why We Irish Are Awesome
Daniel Bell was born in May of 1846 in Ireland, during the great potato famine. The only thing we know about his parents is that they were from Ireland. He arrived in America in 1856 at 10 years old, presumably with his parents. I could not find any record of him prior to 1870 when he is 24 years old.
Unlike Daniel, Margaret's family has deep roots in America, going back to the 1600’s and Colonial Rhode Island. Margaret Edwards was born in August of 1852 to David Fillure and Elizabeth Ann “Eliza” Worrell Edwards. Her father was 27 and a blacksmith who would later become a farmer. Her mother was 19 and couldn’t read or write. They had one son a year earlier named Charles and had at least three more after Margaret, John, Nancy and Mary. At that point things get a little fuzzy. The 1860 Census is the last we see of her mother Eliza.
SCANDALOUS.... I received this information from a distant cousin I met through Ancestry.com. I can't confirm it's accuracy, but it does fit into the family tree and timline.
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The scandal was that David Fillure's wife, Eliza Anne Worrell, had an affair with an Italian named "Dutch" Luciano about 1859 while David was out of town. When he returned he found that his wife was pregnant. When she delivered the child in 1860, she left the boy, who was clearly of Italian descent, in the care of her oldest daughter, Margaret Bell, and left town. Supposedly she went to Italy with her lover and was never heard from again. The boy, James William Newell Edwards, was raised by Margaret Bell and she would never speak of the scandal. James William's descendants learned the story from one of Margaret's sisters.
This is Margaret's brother, Charles L. Edwards and his wife, Florence (picture from ancestry.com)
By the 1870 Census Daniel and Margaret were already married, and had several relatives living with them, most with the last name of Edwards, including 10 year old William, who I assume is the child whose paternity is in question. 10 years later all five of their children had been born, John, Daniel, David, Elizabeth (my great grandmother), and Alma. Also the additional relatives are no longer living with them. Daniel is working in an Iron Foundry. By 1900 (20 years later) all but one child, David, has left the house. David is working in the Glass Factory and his father is a laborer who has managed to own his own home free and clear. Not bad for someone who immigrated to this country from Ireland at the age of 10.
Daniel with son-in-law Frank Phifer
Sadly, by 1910 Daniel had passed on and Margaret was living in Cape May New Jersey in a home that she owned free and clear. Her son Daniel Jr was living with her and working as a Stone Mason. In 1920 she lived in her son Daniel’s home in Wildwood NJ with his wife, Marie, and Margaret’s daughter (Daniel’s sister), Alma. Alma and Marie were Proprietors in a trade store.
Their Wildwood home as it looked on Google Maps in 2018
In 1930, a couple of years before her death, Margaret was living in the home of her other daughter, Elizabeth, and her 16 year old granddaughter Margaret, who we knew as Aunt Margaret, our grand-father’s sister. The home was located at 334 East Broad Street, Millville New Jersey. We’ll see this home again. In her younger days, Elizabeth was known as Lizzie. Keep her and this home in mind for the next chapter.
334 East Broad Street, Millville NJ, as it looks on Google Maps in 2018
Their Children
John L. Bell was born December of 1871 in Millville New Jersey. He worked as a day laborer. He married Lottie Murphin on 15 March 1890 in Vineland New Jersey. Together they had two children, Lola and John Jr. It's unclear when John died, but Lottie went on to marry Mark Hayes, perhaps after John died. I believe that John may have been named after Daniel's father, because he waits for his next son to be a Daniel Jr.
Daniel Bell Jr. was born on 23 February 1873, also in Millville. He was a stone mason by trade. He married Marie Grace Surran and they had two children together, Alma and Daniel III. Daniel Jr. died on 12 October 1924 of an illness related to his kidneys.
David Bell was no doubt named after Margaret's father. He was born on 6 March 1875 in Millville like his brothers before him. David spent most of his life as a glass blower in the local glass factory. He married a girl named Nellie and they had one son named Alvin. Alvin also works at the glass factory and when he marries Marie, they live with his parents.
My Great Grandmother Elizabeth Bell was born in February of 1878. When she's 19 years old she marries Frank B. Phifer on 28 May 1897 and moves into his family home, shared with his mother and four siblings. Together they have four children, the first born was another Frank, but sadly he died in infancy. The other three children were Leon (my grandfather), Meredith, and Margaret. Her husband, Frank, died in 1922 and Elizabeth remarried a man named Jerry Hoffman. She died on 8 October, 1957.
Elizabeth Bell Phifer
Alma Bell was born on 20 April 1878. She was the proprietor of her own store in Wildwood New Jersey. She married David Vanzant on 30 June 1898, when she was 20 years old. Their son, Orvus, was born later that same year. By 1920 she is living with her brother Daniel and going by Alma Bell, not Vanzant. I have no idea what happened to David or Orvus. Alma passed away on 16 February 1940.
Alma Bell Vanzant
Directory listing for Bell's Variety Store
Store location as it looks in 2018 on Google Maps.
Daniel Bell died in 1909 and Margaret Edwards Bell died on 12 September 1932. They were both buried at the Mount Pleasant Cemetery in Millville New Jersey.
Extras
As a child I remember going through some old photographs with my grandparents, Leon and Matilda Phifer (Tuda and Poppop). At this point Poppop was extremely senile, and barely knew who he was most days. He was handed a photograph of a lady and asked who it was. (I believe this photo) His eyes cleared as his cognitive memories seemed to return to him and he said, “That’s my Momma.” A moment of clarity I’ll never forget.
Elizabeth's two sons, Leon and Meredith
Elizabeth with her children, Meredith and Margaret
Elizabeth Bell Phifer Hoffman
Nan with her three grandchildren, Dimity, Marcia and David
Margaret with husband Ferdinand Hunter
Meredith with his wife Lilian Sharpless Phifer, and his niece, Dimity
THE STORY OF THE BOAT PICTURE
I found this picture among other old family photos. On the back someone had written, Daniel Bell. I was very excited, up to this point I had no likeness of him, but which one was he? Luckily for me my grandfather, Leon, has a distinct look, thanks in large part to his left ear. So the one thing I knew for certain is that number 1 below was him. My first instinct was that the boy next to him had to be his brother Meredith. The problem with that is, there are 4 years between them and those 2 didn't seem to have the age disparity. Then I realized there are only males on this boat and the little kid in the hat is a boy and is certainly Meredith. One look at the picture above, where Leon is about 4 and Meredith is a baby and you can clearly see the resemblance. Now to resolve Daniel, who died in 1909, and Leon was born in 1901. If Leon is 7 or 8 in this picture, then Daniel is about 62 or 63. My conclusion is that Daniel must be number 3 below. Subsequently I have seen a picture of him with his son-in-law, Frank, and it looks to be the same man. Sometime much later I came to the conclusion that number 4 must be Leon's father, Frank Jr., and I believe, although it's very subjective, that 5, 6, and 7 are Frank's 3 brothers, some of which may have been with him in that glass factory photo (shown in next chapter), but just a guess really.