When Captain Thomas Bell Sr was born about 1710, in Scotland, his father, James Bell, was 11708 and his mother, Mary Ratoun, was 13. He married Elizabeth Weir about 1733, in Franklin, Chester, Pennsylvania, British Colonial America. They were the parents of at least 5 sons and 3 daughters. He died in 1792, in Woodford, Kentucky, United States, at the age of 83.
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Thomas Jefferson's American Declaration of Independence endorsed by Congress. Colonies declare independence.
On June 1, 1792, Kentucky became the 15th state. It was the first state west of the Appalachian Mountains
English (northern) and Scottish (Lowlands): from the Middle English personal name Bell. As a man's name this is from Old French beu, bel ‘handsome’, which was also used as a nickname. As a female name it represents a short form of Isabel .
English (northern) and Scottish (Lowlands): from Middle English belle ‘bell’ (Old English belle), in various applications; most probably a metonymic occupational name for a bell ringer or bell maker, or a topographic name for someone living ‘at the bell’ (as attested by 14th-century forms such as John atte Belle). This indicates either residence by an actual bell (e.g. a town's bell in a bell tower, centrally placed to summon meetings, sound the alarm, etc.) or ‘at the sign of the bell’, i.e. a house or inn sign (although surnames derived from house and inn signs are rare in Scots and English).
English: from Middle English bel ‘fair, fine, good’ (Old French bel ‘beautiful, fair’). See also Beal 1.
Dictionary of American Family Names © Patrick Hanks 2003, 2006.
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