Thomas Bell was one of Stephen F. Austin's colonists, having moved to Texas in 1824 although one record has him entering the colony as early as 1822. He was a soldier during the

Texas Revolution The Texas Revolution (October 2, 1835 – April 21, 1836) was a rebellion of colonists from the United States and Tejanos (Hispanic Texans) against the Centralist Republic of Mexico, centralist government of Mexico in the Mexican state of ...

and received a bounty of land for participating in the Siege of Bexar. He and his brother James Bell later donated the land upon which the town of

Bellville, Texas Bellville is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the seat of Austin County. The city's population was 4,206 at the 2020 census. Bellville is on the eastern edge of the Texas-German belt, and Bellville is known for its German culture and descend ...

was built. His will was probated in Austin County, Texas.

Texian settler

In 1822, Thomas Bell moved to Texas from Florida with his brother James Bell.Bellville state historical marker A different Thomas Bell is recorded on 16 August 1824,

Felipe Enrique Neri, Baron de Bastrop Felipe Enrique Neri (born ''Philip Hendrik Nering Bögel''; November 23, 1759 in Paramaribo, Surinam (Dutch colony), Surinam – 23 February 1827) was a Dutch businessman and land owner known for his money in English American, Anglo-American ...

granted Bell title to a league of land in what is now

Brazoria County Brazoria County ( ) is a county in the U.S. state of Texas. As of the 2020 census, the population of the county was 372,031. The county seat is Angleton. Brazoria County is included in the Houston-The Woodlands-Sugar Land metropolitan stat ...

. This Thomas Bell can be traced until his death living on the grant of land in Brazoria, Texas until his death in 1849. His estate partition lists his surviving widow as Nancy M. Bell who received 1/2 of his estate. The remainder was divided in 1/10 increments to: Toila Bell, Laura D. Hinkle, Willis C. Bell, Emily A Bell and Christopher E. Bell. As head of a committee in Cedar Lake, a Thomas Bell corresponded with Austin on how to deal with the

Karankawa Indians The Karankawa were an Indigenous people concentrated in southern Texas along the coast of the Gulf of Mexico, largely in the lower Colorado River and Brazos River valleys."Karankawa." In ''Cassell's Peoples, Nations and Cultures,'' edited by John ...

in October 1825. The census of 1825 recorded that a Thomas Bell was married with three children and made a living farming and raising livestock. A legal document from 1829 noted that his wife's name was Prudencio and his place of habitation as Austin Municipality.

Noah Smithwick Noah Smithwick (January 01, 1808October 21, 1899) was a colonist who lived in Texas from 1827 and until the Civil War began. A gunsmith and blacksmith, he fought in the Texas Revolution and served as a Texas Ranger. Late in life he dictated his r ...

was a guest at Bell's pole cabin on the

San Bernard River The San Bernard River is a river in Texas. Course San Bernard River flows from a spring near New Ulm, Texas to its mouth on the Gulf of Mexico, some to the southeast of the source. It passes through portions of Austin, Brazoria, Colorado, ...

in 1835. A Thomas Bell served in Captain John York's volunteer company from September to December 1835, including the

Siege of Béxar The siege of Béxar (or Béjar) was an early campaign of the Texas Revolution in which a volunteer Texian army defeated Mexican forces at San Antonio de Béxar (now San Antonio, Texas). Texians had become disillusioned with the Mexican governm ...

. Thomas Bell of Bellville is noted in his obituary as having been with Ben Milam in the Siege of Bexar. A Thomas Bell was the flag bearer at the

Battle of Concepción The battle of Concepción was fought on October 28, 1835, between Centralist Republic of Mexico, Mexican troops under Colonel Domingo Ugartechea and Texian patriots led by James Bowie and James Fannin. The 30-minute engagement, which histor ...

in October 1835. Thomas Bell was on a committee that helped write the Goliad Declaration of Independence in December 1835.

Texas independence

Thomas Bell received 2,000 acres of land from the

Republic of Texas The Republic of Texas (), or simply Texas, was a country in North America that existed for close to 10 years, from March 2, 1836, to February 19, 1846. Texas shared borders with Centralist Republic of Mexico, the Republic of the Rio Grande, an ...

in 1837. It is known that a Thomas Bell was living with his family in

Austin County Austin County is a rural, agricultural dominated county in the U.S. state of Texas. As of the 2020 census, the population was 30,167. Its seat is Bellville. The county and region was settled primarily by German emigrants in the 1800s. Austi ...

in 1844. Since a new county seat to replace San Felipe was desired, he along with his brother James Bell donated the land on which Bellville was founded in 1846. The town grew rapidly. A courthouse and jail were constructed in 1848 and a hotel the following year. Bell later obtained a certificate for 640 acres in Archer County in north Texas. In 1857 he received an additional 320 acres in the same county. There is much confusion between these two Thomas Bells as they both arrived in Austin's Colony in the early years. Both Thomas Bells received leagues of land. Both Thomas Bells are recorded in Austin's earliest accounting. The Thomas Bell of Bellville along with his brother-in-law Benjamin Granville donated land to the Methodist Church on Piney Creek. It is apparent that the younger Thomas lived in Bellville most of his life while the other Thomas Bell lived in Columbia in Brazoria County until his death in 1849.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bell, Thomas B. Old Three Hundred People of Mexican Texas People of the Texas Revolution People from Austin County, Texas People from Brazoria County, Texas Year of birth uncertain 1858 deaths People from Bellville, Texas