He died at his home at Resse River, Nevada on the family ranch. He was burried in the private family cemetery on the Bell family ranch.
~~~
SENATOR T. J. BELL NEVADA ARGONAUT PASSES AWAY –
Thomas Jefferson Bell, argonaut of Nevada, for fourteen years a member of the Nevada legislature, miner, rancher and outstanding figure in the business and political life of the state, died at his home in Upper Reese River valley yesterday noon. Senator Bell, as he was known throughout the state, had been ill but a few days, having been stricken with influenza shortly after his return to his home, having spent the winter at his Reno home. Although giving every appearance of being physically able to withstand an attack, his advanced age seemed to curtail his powers of resistance to the ravages of the dreaded influenza.
Funeral services will be held Wednesday at the ranch home, A. J. Maestretti, former district attorney of Lander county, reading the burial service by special request. Interment will be in the family cemetery on the Bell ranch.
Senator Bell started West in 1859 from Southeastern Iowa, where his parents had settled in 1846, He first located in Colorado, but remained there only a short time and started again for California. In the placer diggings of Plumas county he heard of the finds on the Comstock and he trekked eastward again to Virginia City, arriving there before the end of 1859, the year of the discovery of the Comstock, so he really became a resident of Nevada five years before statehood. Virginia City held him until 1869, when he again moved eastward to the White Pine district, at Hamilton. Later he went to Eureka and then to Austin, being in all of pioneer camps of that part of the state shortly after their important discoveries were made, and during a part of their boom periods.
Senator Bell was born on a farm near Indianapolis on November 8, 1939, and within thirty years he had begun the accumulation of a fortune and vast land holdings. He acquired much mining property in White Pine county and several large ranches. He sold these in later years and bought the famous John Gooding and John Becker ranch properties in Nye county, on which he made his home until the time of his death. Although a rancher, first, he never neglected the opportunity to investigate mining opportunities, and he is known to have had mining interests throughout the state, some of doubtful value, but many thought to hold great potentialities.
His home in the Upper Reese River valley, although in Nye county, was nearer to the famous camp of Austin than any other town in that part of the state, and Austin and Lander county people knew the former senator perhaps better than other sections. The Bell ranch home was famed throughout Nevada for their hospitality and it was there that he raised his large family.
Drifting from many of Nevada's pioneers, Senator Bell lived in the present. While he liked to discuss the early days of the state and the hardships encountered by the pioneers, his mind was continually on the present and the future. He used to tell with pleasure of the days when an ox team was thought to be the ideal of the stockman of the plains. Then came the team and wagon, the horse and buggy, the railroad, the automobile and finally the airplane. "And now," he said in a recent conversation, "we don't have to travel, we can telephone, or sit at home and listen to concerts by radio." He took joy in thinking he had participated in all the progress of the last sixty years.
Politically, Senator Bell was a Democrat war horse of Nevada. He represented Nye county in the state assembly for five terms, and for four years, 1903-1905, was state senator from that county. He is credited with having been the best informed man in the state on legislative enactments of the last thirty years, and with knowing the state tax situation better than any other authority. In 1915 he was appointed a member of the state livestock commission, holding that officer until his death.
Senator Bell had nine children, four of whom preceded their father to the grave. Archie, a son, died in 1918, a victim of the influenza epidemic of that year, the same disease which caried away the senator. Elmer died also of influenza, while in the service of the United States at the New Jersey training camp, just as he was about to embark for France. Senator Bell delivered a eulogy at the Bell ranch at his son's funeral. Two daughters, Mrs. J. Martinez and Jessie Bell, died some years ago.
Surviving are the widow; one daughter, Mrs. S. C. Worthington of Reese river and four sons – Walter L. Bell of Yerington, former member of the state assembly; Lester C. Bell of Oakland, and Cecil and Frank Bell, who live on the ranch. The latter is a county commissioner of Nye county. Fifteen grandchildren and two great grandchildren also survive. [Published in the "Reno Evening Gazette," Reno, Nevada, Monday, April 23rd, 1923, MDP, Page 3.]
~~~
Thomas Jefferson Bell was born on a farm near Indianapolis, Indiana, on November 8, 1839. In 1846 the family moved to Iowa, where Bell grew up. In 1859 he set off for the Pikes Peak excitement in Colorado. He intended to go to the Pacific coast later but instead heard of the rich strike on the Comstock Lode and went to Virginia City in early 1860s. He worked in mining and as a teamster until 1869, when he joined the rush to White Pine County. He acquired both mining property and land while in the area; however, in 1876 he sold his holdings and began ranching in the upper Reese River Valley while still continuing to participate in mining. Along with his partner, J. G. Court, he is credited for discovering the mining district of Southern Klondike. Bell also served Lander County five terms in the Nevada Assembly and four years in the State Senate. In 1915 he was appointed by Gov. Emmett Boyle to the new State Livestock Commission, a position he held until his death in 1923. Reese River Reveille, April 25, 1923, Beatty, "Who's Who in Nevada", 87-87. Published in "Letters from the Nevada Frontier: Correspondence of Tasker L. Oddie, 1898-1902" By Tasker L. Oddie, William A. Douglass, Robert A. Nylen.
T.J. Bell whose Cloverdale ranch, at the extreme southern tip of the Toiyabes, had been a stage stop on the old road from Belmont to the railroad at Sodaville.
All indications are that he is buried in a family cemetery on his Ranch in Nye County, Nevada.
~~~
SENATOR T. J. BELL NEVADA ARGONAUT PASSES AWAY –
Thomas Jefferson Bell, argonaut of Nevada, for fourteen years a member of the Nevada legislature, miner, rancher and outstanding figure in the business and political life of the state, died at his home in Upper Reese River valley yesterday noon. Senator Bell, as he was known throughout the state, had been ill but a few days, having been stricken with influenza shortly after his return to his home, having spent the winter at his Reno home. Although giving every appearance of being physically able to withstand an attack, his advanced age seemed to curtail his powers of resistance to the ravages of the dreaded influenza.
Funeral services will be held Wednesday at the ranch home, A. J. Maestretti, former district attorney of Lander county, reading the burial service by special request. Interment will be in the family cemetery on the Bell ranch.
Senator Bell started West in 1859 from Southeastern Iowa, where his parents had settled in 1846, He first located in Colorado, but remained there only a short time and started again for California. In the placer diggings of Plumas county he heard of the finds on the Comstock and he trekked eastward again to Virginia City, arriving there before the end of 1859, the year of the discovery of the Comstock, so he really became a resident of Nevada five years before statehood. Virginia City held him until 1869, when he again moved eastward to the White Pine district, at Hamilton. Later he went to Eureka and then to Austin, being in all of pioneer camps of that part of the state shortly after their important discoveries were made, and during a part of their boom periods.
Senator Bell was born on a farm near Indianapolis on November 8, 1939, and within thirty years he had begun the accumulation of a fortune and vast land holdings. He acquired much mining property in White Pine county and several large ranches. He sold these in later years and bought the famous John Gooding and John Becker ranch properties in Nye county, on which he made his home until the time of his death. Although a rancher, first, he never neglected the opportunity to investigate mining opportunities, and he is known to have had mining interests throughout the state, some of doubtful value, but many thought to hold great potentialities.
His home in the Upper Reese River valley, although in Nye county, was nearer to the famous camp of Austin than any other town in that part of the state, and Austin and Lander county people knew the former senator perhaps better than other sections. The Bell ranch home was famed throughout Nevada for their hospitality and it was there that he raised his large family.
Drifting from many of Nevada's pioneers, Senator Bell lived in the present. While he liked to discuss the early days of the state and the hardships encountered by the pioneers, his mind was continually on the present and the future. He used to tell with pleasure of the days when an ox team was thought to be the ideal of the stockman of the plains. Then came the team and wagon, the horse and buggy, the railroad, the automobile and finally the airplane. "And now," he said in a recent conversation, "we don't have to travel, we can telephone, or sit at home and listen to concerts by radio." He took joy in thinking he had participated in all the progress of the last sixty years.
Politically, Senator Bell was a Democrat war horse of Nevada. He represented Nye county in the state assembly for five terms, and for four years, 1903-1905, was state senator from that county. He is credited with having been the best informed man in the state on legislative enactments of the last thirty years, and with knowing the state tax situation better than any other authority. In 1915 he was appointed a member of the state livestock commission, holding that officer until his death.
Senator Bell had nine children, four of whom preceded their father to the grave. Archie, a son, died in 1918, a victim of the influenza epidemic of that year, the same disease which caried away the senator. Elmer died also of influenza, while in the service of the United States at the New Jersey training camp, just as he was about to embark for France. Senator Bell delivered a eulogy at the Bell ranch at his son's funeral. Two daughters, Mrs. J. Martinez and Jessie Bell, died some years ago.
Surviving are the widow; one daughter, Mrs. S. C. Worthington of Reese river and four sons – Walter L. Bell of Yerington, former member of the state assembly; Lester C. Bell of Oakland, and Cecil and Frank Bell, who live on the ranch. The latter is a county commissioner of Nye county. Fifteen grandchildren and two great grandchildren also survive. [Published in the "Reno Evening Gazette," Reno, Nevada, Monday, April 23rd, 1923, MDP, Page 3.]
~~~
Thomas Jefferson Bell was born on a farm near Indianapolis, Indiana, on November 8, 1839. In 1846 the family moved to Iowa, where Bell grew up. In 1859 he set off for the Pikes Peak excitement in Colorado. He intended to go to the Pacific coast later but instead heard of the rich strike on the Comstock Lode and went to Virginia City in early 1860s. He worked in mining and as a teamster until 1869, when he joined the rush to White Pine County. He acquired both mining property and land while in the area; however, in 1876 he sold his holdings and began ranching in the upper Reese River Valley while still continuing to participate in mining. Along with his partner, J. G. Court, he is credited for discovering the mining district of Southern Klondike. Bell also served Lander County five terms in the Nevada Assembly and four years in the State Senate. In 1915 he was appointed by Gov. Emmett Boyle to the new State Livestock Commission, a position he held until his death in 1923. Reese River Reveille, April 25, 1923, Beatty, "Who's Who in Nevada", 87-87. Published in "Letters from the Nevada Frontier: Correspondence of Tasker L. Oddie, 1898-1902" By Tasker L. Oddie, William A. Douglass, Robert A. Nylen.
T.J. Bell whose Cloverdale ranch, at the extreme southern tip of the Toiyabes, had been a stage stop on the old road from Belmont to the railroad at Sodaville.
All indications are that he is buried in a family cemetery on his Ranch in Nye County, Nevada.
He died at his home at Resse River, Nevada on the family ranch. He was burried in the private family cemetery on the Bell family ranch.
~~~
SENATOR T. J. BELL NEVADA ARGONAUT PASSES AWAY –
Thomas Jefferson Bell, argonaut of Nevada, for fourteen years a member of the Nevada legislature, miner, rancher and outstanding figure in the business and political life of the state, died at his home in Upper Reese River valley yesterday noon. Senator Bell, as he was known throughout the state, had been ill but a few days, having been stricken with influenza shortly after his return to his home, having spent the winter at his Reno home. Although giving every appearance of being physically able to withstand an attack, his advanced age seemed to curtail his powers of resistance to the ravages of the dreaded influenza.
Funeral services will be held Wednesday at the ranch home, A. J. Maestretti, former district attorney of Lander county, reading the burial service by special request. Interment will be in the family cemetery on the Bell ranch.
Senator Bell started West in 1859 from Southeastern Iowa, where his parents had settled in 1846, He first located in Colorado, but remained there only a short time and started again for California. In the placer diggings of Plumas county he heard of the finds on the Comstock and he trekked eastward again to Virginia City, arriving there before the end of 1859, the year of the discovery of the Comstock, so he really became a resident of Nevada five years before statehood. Virginia City held him until 1869, when he again moved eastward to the White Pine district, at Hamilton. Later he went to Eureka and then to Austin, being in all of pioneer camps of that part of the state shortly after their important discoveries were made, and during a part of their boom periods.
Senator Bell was born on a farm near Indianapolis on November 8, 1939, and within thirty years he had begun the accumulation of a fortune and vast land holdings. He acquired much mining property in White Pine county and several large ranches. He sold these in later years and bought the famous John Gooding and John Becker ranch properties in Nye county, on which he made his home until the time of his death. Although a rancher, first, he never neglected the opportunity to investigate mining opportunities, and he is known to have had mining interests throughout the state, some of doubtful value, but many thought to hold great potentialities.
His home in the Upper Reese River valley, although in Nye county, was nearer to the famous camp of Austin than any other town in that part of the state, and Austin and Lander county people knew the former senator perhaps better than other sections. The Bell ranch home was famed throughout Nevada for their hospitality and it was there that he raised his large family.
Drifting from many of Nevada's pioneers, Senator Bell lived in the present. While he liked to discuss the early days of the state and the hardships encountered by the pioneers, his mind was continually on the present and the future. He used to tell with pleasure of the days when an ox team was thought to be the ideal of the stockman of the plains. Then came the team and wagon, the horse and buggy, the railroad, the automobile and finally the airplane. "And now," he said in a recent conversation, "we don't have to travel, we can telephone, or sit at home and listen to concerts by radio." He took joy in thinking he had participated in all the progress of the last sixty years.
Politically, Senator Bell was a Democrat war horse of Nevada. He represented Nye county in the state assembly for five terms, and for four years, 1903-1905, was state senator from that county. He is credited with having been the best informed man in the state on legislative enactments of the last thirty years, and with knowing the state tax situation better than any other authority. In 1915 he was appointed a member of the state livestock commission, holding that officer until his death.
Senator Bell had nine children, four of whom preceded their father to the grave. Archie, a son, died in 1918, a victim of the influenza epidemic of that year, the same disease which caried away the senator. Elmer died also of influenza, while in the service of the United States at the New Jersey training camp, just as he was about to embark for France. Senator Bell delivered a eulogy at the Bell ranch at his son's funeral. Two daughters, Mrs. J. Martinez and Jessie Bell, died some years ago.
Surviving are the widow; one daughter, Mrs. S. C. Worthington of Reese river and four sons – Walter L. Bell of Yerington, former member of the state assembly; Lester C. Bell of Oakland, and Cecil and Frank Bell, who live on the ranch. The latter is a county commissioner of Nye county. Fifteen grandchildren and two great grandchildren also survive. [Published in the "Reno Evening Gazette," Reno, Nevada, Monday, April 23rd, 1923, MDP, Page 3.]
~~~
Thomas Jefferson Bell was born on a farm near Indianapolis, Indiana, on November 8, 1839. In 1846 the family moved to Iowa, where Bell grew up. In 1859 he set off for the Pikes Peak excitement in Colorado. He intended to go to the Pacific coast later but instead heard of the rich strike on the Comstock Lode and went to Virginia City in early 1860s. He worked in mining and as a teamster until 1869, when he joined the rush to White Pine County. He acquired both mining property and land while in the area; however, in 1876 he sold his holdings and began ranching in the upper Reese River Valley while still continuing to participate in mining. Along with his partner, J. G. Court, he is credited for discovering the mining district of Southern Klondike. Bell also served Lander County five terms in the Nevada Assembly and four years in the State Senate. In 1915 he was appointed by Gov. Emmett Boyle to the new State Livestock Commission, a position he held until his death in 1923. Reese River Reveille, April 25, 1923, Beatty, "Who's Who in Nevada", 87-87. Published in "Letters from the Nevada Frontier: Correspondence of Tasker L. Oddie, 1898-1902" By Tasker L. Oddie, William A. Douglass, Robert A. Nylen.
T.J. Bell whose Cloverdale ranch, at the extreme southern tip of the Toiyabes, had been a stage stop on the old road from Belmont to the railroad at Sodaville.
All indications are that he is buried in a family cemetery on his Ranch in Nye County, Nevada.
~~~
SENATOR T. J. BELL NEVADA ARGONAUT PASSES AWAY –
Thomas Jefferson Bell, argonaut of Nevada, for fourteen years a member of the Nevada legislature, miner, rancher and outstanding figure in the business and political life of the state, died at his home in Upper Reese River valley yesterday noon. Senator Bell, as he was known throughout the state, had been ill but a few days, having been stricken with influenza shortly after his return to his home, having spent the winter at his Reno home. Although giving every appearance of being physically able to withstand an attack, his advanced age seemed to curtail his powers of resistance to the ravages of the dreaded influenza.
Funeral services will be held Wednesday at the ranch home, A. J. Maestretti, former district attorney of Lander county, reading the burial service by special request. Interment will be in the family cemetery on the Bell ranch.
Senator Bell started West in 1859 from Southeastern Iowa, where his parents had settled in 1846, He first located in Colorado, but remained there only a short time and started again for California. In the placer diggings of Plumas county he heard of the finds on the Comstock and he trekked eastward again to Virginia City, arriving there before the end of 1859, the year of the discovery of the Comstock, so he really became a resident of Nevada five years before statehood. Virginia City held him until 1869, when he again moved eastward to the White Pine district, at Hamilton. Later he went to Eureka and then to Austin, being in all of pioneer camps of that part of the state shortly after their important discoveries were made, and during a part of their boom periods.
Senator Bell was born on a farm near Indianapolis on November 8, 1939, and within thirty years he had begun the accumulation of a fortune and vast land holdings. He acquired much mining property in White Pine county and several large ranches. He sold these in later years and bought the famous John Gooding and John Becker ranch properties in Nye county, on which he made his home until the time of his death. Although a rancher, first, he never neglected the opportunity to investigate mining opportunities, and he is known to have had mining interests throughout the state, some of doubtful value, but many thought to hold great potentialities.
His home in the Upper Reese River valley, although in Nye county, was nearer to the famous camp of Austin than any other town in that part of the state, and Austin and Lander county people knew the former senator perhaps better than other sections. The Bell ranch home was famed throughout Nevada for their hospitality and it was there that he raised his large family.
Drifting from many of Nevada's pioneers, Senator Bell lived in the present. While he liked to discuss the early days of the state and the hardships encountered by the pioneers, his mind was continually on the present and the future. He used to tell with pleasure of the days when an ox team was thought to be the ideal of the stockman of the plains. Then came the team and wagon, the horse and buggy, the railroad, the automobile and finally the airplane. "And now," he said in a recent conversation, "we don't have to travel, we can telephone, or sit at home and listen to concerts by radio." He took joy in thinking he had participated in all the progress of the last sixty years.
Politically, Senator Bell was a Democrat war horse of Nevada. He represented Nye county in the state assembly for five terms, and for four years, 1903-1905, was state senator from that county. He is credited with having been the best informed man in the state on legislative enactments of the last thirty years, and with knowing the state tax situation better than any other authority. In 1915 he was appointed a member of the state livestock commission, holding that officer until his death.
Senator Bell had nine children, four of whom preceded their father to the grave. Archie, a son, died in 1918, a victim of the influenza epidemic of that year, the same disease which caried away the senator. Elmer died also of influenza, while in the service of the United States at the New Jersey training camp, just as he was about to embark for France. Senator Bell delivered a eulogy at the Bell ranch at his son's funeral. Two daughters, Mrs. J. Martinez and Jessie Bell, died some years ago.
Surviving are the widow; one daughter, Mrs. S. C. Worthington of Reese river and four sons – Walter L. Bell of Yerington, former member of the state assembly; Lester C. Bell of Oakland, and Cecil and Frank Bell, who live on the ranch. The latter is a county commissioner of Nye county. Fifteen grandchildren and two great grandchildren also survive. [Published in the "Reno Evening Gazette," Reno, Nevada, Monday, April 23rd, 1923, MDP, Page 3.]
~~~
Thomas Jefferson Bell was born on a farm near Indianapolis, Indiana, on November 8, 1839. In 1846 the family moved to Iowa, where Bell grew up. In 1859 he set off for the Pikes Peak excitement in Colorado. He intended to go to the Pacific coast later but instead heard of the rich strike on the Comstock Lode and went to Virginia City in early 1860s. He worked in mining and as a teamster until 1869, when he joined the rush to White Pine County. He acquired both mining property and land while in the area; however, in 1876 he sold his holdings and began ranching in the upper Reese River Valley while still continuing to participate in mining. Along with his partner, J. G. Court, he is credited for discovering the mining district of Southern Klondike. Bell also served Lander County five terms in the Nevada Assembly and four years in the State Senate. In 1915 he was appointed by Gov. Emmett Boyle to the new State Livestock Commission, a position he held until his death in 1923. Reese River Reveille, April 25, 1923, Beatty, "Who's Who in Nevada", 87-87. Published in "Letters from the Nevada Frontier: Correspondence of Tasker L. Oddie, 1898-1902" By Tasker L. Oddie, William A. Douglass, Robert A. Nylen.
T.J. Bell whose Cloverdale ranch, at the extreme southern tip of the Toiyabes, had been a stage stop on the old road from Belmont to the railroad at Sodaville.
All indications are that he is buried in a family cemetery on his Ranch in Nye County, Nevada.
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