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William Temple
Bell "Bell, William Temple, lawyer and florist, was born at Eals, Northumberland England, Feb 19, 1843, son of Joseph and Elizabeth (Todd) Bell, and came with his parents to America . . . settling at Franklin, Venango co., Pa. His father was much interest in botany and horticulture, and was a dominant factor in the civil and municipal life of Franklin. From youth the son was interested in the wild and cultivated plants, the study of which still remains his favorite pastime. In 1862 he began the study of law in the office of Samuel Plumer, and upon being admitted to the bar in 1865, formed a partnership with his preceptor under the name of Plumer & Bell, making a specialty of real estate and title law. But his inherited taste for floriculture was strong, and in 1868 he embarked in the florist business, being the first person to engage in that pursuit in his section. He conducted the business successfully for more than forty years when he transferred it to his three and it still flourishes as the Bell Floral Co. of Franklin. With extensive plant-houses at Niles, Pa., and a flower store in Franklin. He has contributed many articles relating to floriculture and other subjects to various publications; was judge at several extensive flower shows, and was judge at the rose section at the Pan-American Exposition in Buffalo. He read a paper on the carnation and its culture at the 1910 convention of the American Carnation Society. He was also a judge of the American Poultry Society; was a delegate to the Rivers and Harbors Congress, Washington, and has twice been invited to the meetings of the American Conservation Society. For years he has been superintendent of Park Cemetery, and president of the board of managers of Franklin Cemetery. He served for six years as a member of the historical committee of the Franklin Centennial Celebration he directed the construction and erection of monuments marking the sites of Forts Machault, Venango, and Franklin. Mr. Bell has traveled extensively both at home and abroad, and he has delivered a number of lectures on various scientific subjects. From boyhood he has been a rhymester of merit, and as early as 1866 published two small collections of verse, 'Writings on the Sand' and 'Lanercost Abbey.' His is the author of 'Various Verses' (1909), and 'An Aftermath of Rhyme.' In 1900 he went to Nebraska to examine a wondrous fossil known as Daemonelix, and at that time wrote 'The Fossil Hunters.' He was married Dec. 1, 1869, to Rachel, daughter of David Likins, of Waynesville, O., and has four children: Anna, John, Philip and Edward Bell." [Source: 16 The National Cyclopaedia of American Biography 350-51 (New York: James T. White & Company, 1918)] [Note: We find no OCLC listings for "Writings on the Sand," "Lanercost Abbey," or "An Aftermath of Rhyme."] Poetry William Temple Bell, Various Verses (New York: Cochrane Pub. Co., 1909) |
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