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Charles H. Bell (politician)

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Charles Henry Bell
United States Senator
from New Hampshire
In office
March 13, 1879 – June 18, 1879
Appointed byBenjamin F. Prescott
Preceded byBainbridge Wadleigh
Succeeded byHenry W. Blair
38th Governor of New Hampshire
In office
June 2, 1881 – June 7, 1883
Preceded byNathaniel Head
Succeeded bySamuel W. Hale
President of the
New Hampshire Senate
In office
1864–1864
Preceded byOnslow Stearns[1]
Succeeded byEzekiel A. Straw[1]
Member of the
New Hampshire Senate
Speaker of the New Hampshire House of Representatives
In office
1860[2]–1860[2]
Preceded byNapoleon B. Bryant[2]
Succeeded byEdward A. Rollins[2]
Personal details
BornNovember 18, 1823
Chester, New Hampshire
DiedNovember 11, 1893(1893-11-11) (aged 69)
Exeter, New Hampshire
Resting placeExeter Cemetery
NationalityAmerican
Political partyRepublican
Spouse(s)Sarah Almira Gilman, Helen A. (Williams)
Signature

Charles Henry Bell (November 18, 1823 – November 11, 1893) was an American lawyer and Republican politician from Exeter, New Hampshire. Bell served New Hampshire in both the New Hampshire House of Representatives and the New Hampshire Senate, as a U.S. Senator, and as the 38th governor of New Hampshire.

Early life

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Charles H. Bell was born on November 18, 1823, in Chester, New Hampshire, one of the ten children of Governor John Bell. He was also the nephew of Samuel Bell, first cousin of James Bell and the first cousin, once removed of Samuel Newell Bell.

Service in the New Hampshire General Court

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Bell's career in the New Hampshire General Court was notable in that he held two unique offices. In 1860 Bell was the Speaker of the New Hampshire House of Representatives.[2] and President of the New Hampshire Senate[1] in 1864.

Writings

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Bell was the author of an influential early history of Exeter, New Hampshire, as well as a number of other books.[3] His first wife was Sarah Almira Gilman, daughter of Nicholas Gilman; his second wife Helen A. (Williams) daughter of Reuel Williams of Portland, ME, and widow of John Taylor Gilman of Exeter. Both wives were descendants of Edward Gilman Sr., an early Exeter settler who had previously lived in Hingham, Massachusetts, and Ipswich, Massachusetts.

Frontispiece, History of the Town of Exeter, New Hampshire, Charles H. Bell, 1888

Honors

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Bell was elected a member of the American Antiquarian Society in 1868.[4]

Death and burial

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Charles Bell died on November 11, 1893 (one week shy of his 70th birthday) in Exeter, New Hampshire, and is buried at the Exeter Cemetery in that town.[5]

Footnotes

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  1. ^ a b c Jenks, George E. (1866), Political Journal for the State of The New Hampshire 1867, Concord, New Hampshire: McFarland and Jenks, p. 44
  2. ^ a b c d e Jenks, George E. (1866), Political Journal for the State of The New Hampshire 1867, Concord, New Hampshire: McFarland and Jenks, p. 45
  3. ^ The New England Historical and Genealogical Register, Henry Fitz-Gilbert Waters, New England Historic and Genealogical Society, Boston, 1894
  4. ^ American Antiquarian Society Members Directory
  5. ^ "Death of Ex Gov Bell". The Boston Globe. Exeter. November 12, 1893. p. 3. Retrieved January 6, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
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Party political offices
Preceded by Republican nominee for Governor of New Hampshire
1880 		Succeeded by
U.S. Senate
Preceded by U.S. senator (Class 3) from New Hampshire
1879
Served alongside: Edward H. Rollins 		Succeeded by
Political offices
Preceded by Governor of New Hampshire
1881–1883 		Succeeded by
Preceded by President of the New Hampshire Senate
1864–1864 		Succeeded by
Preceded by Speaker of the New Hampshire House of Representatives
1860–1860 		Succeeded by
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