CYRUS N. BELL
A
native of Lucas county, Cyrus N. Bell has passed his entire
life in this section of the state, where he was born in White
Breast township on September 20, 1860, a son of Nelson and
Rebecca (Hobson) Bell. He
was the only child born of this union. White Breast
township now knows him as one of its most prosperous
agriculturists, his holdings comprising two hundred and four
acres of choice land on section 7, 5, 9, 10, 20, 29 and 30,
with two sets of good improvements.
The
paternal grandfather of our subject, Thomas Bell, was a native
of Cumberland county, North England, and in an early day of
the history of this country settled in Ohio, being among the
pioneers of that state.
His wife was a native of Ireland and also died in Ohio. The maternal
grandfather, Joseph Hobson, was born in Kentucky and died in
Van Buren county, Iowa, his wife, Margaret (Sutphin) Hobson,
being a native of New York and passing away in Lucas, Iowa. They were among
Iowa’s first pioneers. The
father of Cyrus N. Bell, Nelson Bell, was born in Madison
county, Ohio, January 24, 1832, and died in the Civil war
while serving in the Union army. He enlisted in Company B, Sixth Iowa
Volunteer Infantry, and was under the command of General
Grant. He
participated in the battle of Shiloh and died in Mississippi
on December 24, 1862, of an illness due to the bad conditions
of living which the army endured. His death occurred at the time of the
events leading up to the siege of Vicksburg. The mother, Rebecca
(Hobson) Bell, was a native of Clark county, Indiana, born May
5, 1826, and now makes her home with her son, Cyrus N., at the
age of eighty-seven years.
The parents settled in Iowa in 1854, in Wapello county.
Cyrus N. Bell was born one and a half miles west of the post office at Chariton and has always been a resident of this neighborhood. He early engaged in agricultural pursuits and in addition learned bridge carpenter work, having been engaged along that line for some time with the Chicago, Burlington & Quincy Railroad. He located with his parents on the farm where he now resides in 1868. As the years have passed success has attended his labors and his property now comprises two hundred and four acres of the most fertile land of his locality, where he engages in general farming, also giving considerable attention to the raising of live stock, of which he keeps a good grade. He has installed on his farm the modern equipment which is considered indispensable in up-to-date agricultural methods, and his buildings bespeak the care of the owner.
On
April 5, 1888, Mr. Bell was united in marriage to Miss
Florence E. Robbins, who was born in Decatur county, Indiana,
on September 17, 1862. When
but three years of age she was brought by her parents to Lucas
county, of which she has been a resident since. The father during
all his life followed agricultural pursuits, coming to this
section overland from Eddyville, which was as far as the
railroad extended at that time.
James H. Robbins was born in Decatur county, Indiana,
and his wife, Della (Rutherford) Robbins, is also a native of
that county. Both
are still residing in a pleasant home in Chariton, Iowa. In their family
were six children, of whom Mrs. Bell is the eldest. The others were: George, deceased;
James H., Jr., a dealer in live stock residing at Chariton,
Iowa; Ludlow, of Des Moines, this state; Mrs. Margaret
Jamison, a resident of Osceola, this state; and Electa, of
Burlington, Iowa. The
two eldest were natives of Decatur county, Indiana, but the
younger ones were born in Lucas county, where all were reared. Mr. and Mrs. Bell
are the parents of four children: James J., born May 9, 1889, who
completed a business course in Elliott’s Business College at
Burlington, Iowa, and is employed by the Drake Wholesale
Hardware Company of the latter city; Floyd F., born June 17,
1890, who also attended business college in Burlington and now
resides in Jackson township; Edna, born February 13, 1892, who
graduated from the Chariton high school with the class of
1912; and William McKinley, born August 27, 1894, attending
Elliott’s Business College of Burlington.
Politically Mr. Bell is a republican. He has efficiently served as assessor of White Breast township for four years and has been a school director. Mrs. Bell and her daughter Edna are members of the Methodist Episcopal church of Lucas, while fraternally Mr. Bell is a member of Good Shepherd Lodge, No. 414, A. F. & A. M., of Lucas, and a charter member of the Eastern Star of that city. A public-spirited man who takes a deep interest in community affairs, he stands ever ready to bear his share in time or money in the promotion of any measures originated for the benefit of the community and is highly esteemed and regarded by all who know him for his many high qualities of mind and character.