Josiah H. Bell

Josiah H. Bell. . , A member of Stephen F. Austin's original 300 colonists, Josiah Hughes Bell was born August 22, 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 18 12. 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., 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 Austin's 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.