Elizabeth Eleanor Bell 1823

ELIZABETH ELEANOR BELL 1823

Elizabeth Eleanor Bell and her brothers experienced the exquisite loneliness of orphan children. They watched in silent longing when a neighbor mother would lift her small children into her lap and caress him tenderly. This sense of lack, this need and hunger that wells in the young hearts of motherless children prompted Elizabeth, "Lib" to ask her brother, William, "Why haven't we a mother, as other children have?" Young as he was William gave her the right answer. "We do have a mother" he told her, "But ours has gone to Heaven to live with God. I think he lets her come and visit us sometimes, only we can't see her. She might be here right now, listening to us. When we grieve, she grieves, when we are naughty, she is sorry. Our mother is a good woman and wants us to be good too, so someday we can go to heaven and all live together happily.”
William Bells comforting thought planted in the heart of his baby sister a truth that would stand her in good, when many years later, when the missionaries came into her home in Phil. Pa. It was this tenet of family togetherness that struck a familiar cord in her heart and opened the way for those messengers to give her truths she had always sought. She responded the message of the elders and because she did we live in the top of the mountains. Elizabeth Eleanor was the only daughter, and youngest child of John and Susanna (See) Bell, who were married at New Castle, Del, 29 Jan 1817. She was born 22 Oct 1823, her brother James was born 12 May 1821 and William whose birth date we do not know was older than James. We are in debted to Aug "D" (Hatch) McAllister for faithfully preserving the tid-bits of family history that dropped from the lips of Grandfather, William J.F. McAllister II during the years he lived in her home.
Grandfather remembered his uncle William Bell and his family coming to their home in Phil each summer during school vacations, for he was a teacher, and visiting with his sister and her family. After Uncle William retired from teaching school in Delaware he moved to Maryland to live. As yet our research crew have not found a trace of him or his family in either Maryland or Delaware.
Elizabeth was only 3 years old when her mother died. Her father died when she was 8. She with her brothers moved into the home of their father’s brother, Uncle James Bell, whose family cared for them, and educated and trained them for their life's work. Uncle James Bell gave Lib her education and Uncle James See, her mother's brother taught her the trade of tailoring. In fact, she was working in the tailor shop of Uncle Jimmie See in Phil when she met and married Richard Wesley McAllister. The knowledge and skill she mastered there was a definite asset to her husband's work as a shoemaker; she would make the binding and linings, doing the facings around the top and fronts of the shoes. Their shoes were popular because of her expert finishing touches.
Several fine histories have been made about Elizabeth, her joining of the church, immigrating to Utah and raising her family. This story will therefore, concentrate on her ancestry - Having been raised on the Bell side, Elizabeth being too young when her mother died to retain family memories. It is easy to see why she left scant information about her mother's people. From the work she did in the Temple we learn that her mother, Susannah See, was born 11 Sept 1798at New Castle, New Castle Co. Delaware.



We present the identification we have for William See for the research minded members of our family; Grandfather Wm J.F. McAllisterII, was the oldest child of Richard Wesley and Elizabeth Eleanor Bell McAllister. His parents moved from Delaware to Philadelphia when he was 2 weeks old. He lived in Phil until the family joined the LDS church when he was 15 years old. His memories form the foundation of our research on the Bell and See families.

Some quotes preserved by "D" (Hatch) McAllister are;

"They lived at Southward (sic) [Southwark] in the South-East part o f Phil. On the banks of the Delaware River. Jimmie See, uncle of Elizabeth Eleanor Bell, lived on the corner of Front and Catherine Streets. In his back yard he had a large pear tree. How grandpa enjoyed going there to get pears." He, Uncle Jimmie Se had a tailor shop in a front room of his home. He was also a Lay Minister in the Methodist Church, and very strict in his beliefs. He had a son, also Jim See (The census says, William) who was a little hunch-back. He owned a tobacconist on the South Corner of Front and Shippen Streets. He made cigars and sold all kinds of tobacco. Elizabeth Eleanor Bell was visiting with her
Uncle Jimmie See when she met and married Richard Wesley McAllister.”