Charles Frederick "Fred" Bell (Houtzdale, PA)
Charles Frederick "Fred" Bell (August 18, 1875 – March 29, 1952)
Biography
- Name: Charles Frederick Bell
- Birth: August 18, 1875 Neffs Mills, Huntingdon County, PA
- Death: March 29, 1952 Huntingdon, PA (buried Mooresville, PA)
Charles Frederick "Fred" Bell was born August 18, 1875 at Neffs Mills, Shaver’s Creek Valley, West Township, Huntingdon County, PA. His parents were George Washington Bell (1841-1911) and Barbara Ann Gettis Bell (1847-1909). Fred was the second of five children. George Washington Bell was a farmer.
Fred completed an eighth grade education in a one-room in West Township and returned there as a teacher after attending summer sessions at Millersville State Normal School. One of his top students was Carrie Maguire Johnston, who was three years younger. If Fred had to be away from the classroom, he left Carrie in charge. He later married Carrie on June 3, 1903.
Fred completed his education by attending Juniata College and Williamsport Business College. He continued his career by working for the Pennsylvania Railroad Company as a ticket agent at Pittsburgh, PA. He then worked for the East Pittsburgh National Bank at Wilmerding, PA and the Mellon National Bank at East Liberty.
On July 22, 1907, Fred was elected Treasurer of the newly formed Grange Trust Company in Huntingdon, and also held the position of Cashier. The Grange Trust Company opened for business in a newly constructed building on Penn Street in January of 1908, where the Bell household occupied an apartment on the second floor. Son Robert Bell was born there on January 10, 1908, shortly after the family’s arrival. Fred held his position at the Grange Trust Company until February 24, 1920, when he resigned to work for the Insurance Management Corporation in Huntingdon.
By 1928 Fred had become Cashier of the First National Bank of Houtzdale, where he remained until the bank went into receivership late in 1931. According to a family member, Fred observed during the Depression that the bank president had been too liberal in lending money. Fred felt legally obligated as cashier to call in the bank examiners, who conducted an audit and then placed the bank in receivership. During the receivership the bank directors voted on a proposal to reopen the bank by having the shareholders invest more capital. One shareholder, a local merchant, voted against the proposal so the bank never reopened.
The closure of the Houtzdale bank cost Fred his job at the age of 56. In those days, there was no unemployment compensation insurance or Social Security, so the situation was desperate. Fred moved back to Huntingdon. For a while he worked for Benson Dairy. In his later years he was supported in part by two sons-in-law, who sent him monthly checks. His daughter R. Elizabeth Bell, a registered nurse, returned to Huntingdon and lived with her parents in a first-floor apartment at 407 Penn Street. Fred never owned a home or a car.
Fred was a lifelong Methodist and served on the board of the First Methodist Church in Huntingdon. He was a Republican in politics and was proud of the fact that he had once sat next to Theodore Roosevelt on a train.
Fred was an ardent hunter and angler. On December 1, 1920, he and a group of friends purchased an old farm at the base of Tussey Mountain near Neffs Mills and founded White Deer Rod and Gun Club. Other family members who eventually joined White Deer were Clifton Benson, Robert Bell and John Swigart.
Fred and Carrie had five children: Ruth Elizabeth Bell (1904-1974), Jane McIlwain Bell Swigart (1906-1994), Robert Stewart Bell (1908-1979), Ann Esther Bell Benson (1910-1992), and Mary Eleanor Bell Schock (1917-1947).
Early in the morning of March 29,1952, Fred suffered a heart attack at his home and passed away shortly thereafter. He was buried at Mooresville Cemetery, close to where had been born.
Bio info compiled by Charles F. Bell's grandson Frederick B. Benson.
Bank Officer Summary
During his banking career, C. F. Bell was involved with the following bank(s):
Sources
- Bio info compiled by C.F. Bell's grandson Frederick B. Benson.
- Obituary: https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-daily-news-obituary-for-charles-fred/90890646/
- Findagrave.com: https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/31175543/charles-frederick-bell
- Banks & Bankers Historical Database (1782-1935), https://spmc.org/bank-note-history-project