John Adair Bell (1806-1860)

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Cherokee Nation participant in 1838 Trail of Tears forced removal
Cherokee Settler of Mount Tabor Indian Community

Biography

John Adair "Jack" Bell was born 1 January 1805 in South Carolina, United States to John Christopher Bell (1782-1852) and Charlotte Lightfoot Adair (1784-1838) and died 1 May 1860 Rusk County, Texas, United States of unspecified causes. He married Jane Jennie Martin (1816-1838) 1830 . He married Elizabeth Harnage (1820-1847) 1839 . He married Ellen Drowningbear (1814-1896) 1845 . He married Sabra Lynch (1808-1863) 14 December 1847 in Beattle's Prairie, Oklahoma.

Trail of Tears

The Trail of Tears was a series of forced relocations of Native American peoples from their ancestral homelands in the Southeastern United States, to areas to the west (usually west of the Mississippi River) that had been designated as Indian Territory. The forced relocations were carried out by government authorities following the passage of the Indian Removal Act in 1830. The relocated peoples suffered from exposure, disease, and starvation while en route to their new designated reserve, and many died before reaching their destinations. The forced removals included members of the Cherokee, Muscogee (Creek), Seminole, Chickasaw, Choctaw, and Ponca nations. The phrase "Trail of Tears" originates from a description of the removal of many Native American tribes, including the infamous Cherokee Nation relocation in 1838.

Between 1830 and 1850, the Chickasaw, Choctaw, Creek, Seminole, and Cherokee people (including mixed-race and black slaves who lived among them) were forcibly removed from their traditional lands in the Southeastern United States, and relocated farther west. Those Native Americans who were relocated were forced to march to their destinations by state and local militias. The Cherokee removal in 1838 (the last forced removal east of the Mississippi) was brought on by the discovery of gold near Dahlonega, Georgia in 1828, resulting in the Georgia Gold Rush. Approximately 2,000–8,000 of the 16,543 relocated Cherokee perished along the way.

John Bell Caravan

Memorial Marker at Davey Crocket State Park -

"On October 11, 1838, 660 Cherokee led by John Adair Bell left from Fort Cass (present day Charleston, Tennessee) to begin an arduous 700-mile journey. Weak and miserable from being held in removal camps, the people in the Bell detachment who passed through here banded together, staying close to family members for the long trek. You are invited to walk along the same path the Cherokee traveled on the Trail of Tears in 1838. It was a cold and wet November as they trudged by, not even half way to their destination to Indian Territory. The Cherokee that passed through here left their homes in North Carolina, Alabama, Georgia, and Tennessee with 56 wagons and 318 horses. The journey had already been a trying one, as they were faced with terrible road conditions that slowed their progress. Imagine how the numbers of people and wagons would have mired an already muddy road. The Bell detachment that traveled through here lost 23 of its members along the route due to exhaustion and illness before the group of weary travelers arrived in Evansville, Arkansas, on January 7, 1839."

Flight to Mount Tabor, Texas

Inside the Cherokee Nation, there was a lot of hatred towards those who were affiliated with the treaty signing party. Those that did not approve were called the John Ross Party and they outnumbered the Treaty party by 2-1. In 1839, several of the more prominent Cherokee leaders were assassinated, Major Ridge, his son John Ridge, and Elias Boudinot, all signers of this treaty, were all killed on the same day - 22 June 1839. In 1845, another leader, John Starr was killed. Many of their family members then fled to Texas for safety.

Several of these families ultimately removed to Rusk County, Texas where they settled about six miles south of the town of Kilgore. They included members of the Bean, Bell, Harnage, Mayfield, Miller, Starr and Thompson families. As a group, these families came to be known as the "Mount Tabor Indian Community." The appellation "Mount Tabor" was obtained from the name that John Adair Bell (1800-1860) selected for his new plantation in Rusk County, Texas.

Biographical sketches for eight of the families are provided elsewhere at this website. Many of these families buried their dead in what is now called the old Mount Taber Cemetery. Unfortunately, this cemetery was essentially destroyed during the East Texas oil exploration boom in the 1930's and 1940's.

Some of these old families owned slaves at the time they lived in Rusk County, and the slaves adopted their master’s name. Some of the Negro families living there now are descendents from these old slave families. There are several families by the name of Mayfield, Bell and Starr still living in this community, both white and black, but the name “Mt. Taber” is unknown to them.

Children

Offspring of John Adair "Jack" Bell and Jane Jennie Martin (1816-1838)
Name	Birth	Death	Joined with
Andromache Bell (1831-1906)	31 December 1831 Cherokee Nation	28 November 1906 Howland, Lamar County, Texas, United States	Harvey Shelton (1821-1864)
Maria Josephine Bell (1834-1876)	26 March 1834 Echota, Gordon County, Georgia, United States	27 October 1876 Oklahoma, United States	William Wirt Buffington (1830-1901)
Charlotte Bell (1836-1864)	1836 Georgia, United States	1864 Rusk County, Texas, United States	James Washington Ivey (1831-)
Lucien Burr Bell (1838-1915)	13 February 1838 Habersham County, Georgia, United States	27 January 1915 Vinita, Craig County, Oklahoma, United States	Sabra Ann Cunningham (1844-) Mary Frances Starr (1844-1928)
Jennie Bell (c1832-)

Offspring of John Adair "Jack" Bell and Elizabeth Harnage (1820-1847)
Name	Birth	Death	Joined with
John Bell (1840-)
Elizabeth Bell (1842-1868)
Nancy Bell (1843-1934)

Offspring of John Adair "Jack" Bell and Ellen Drowningbear (1814-1896)
Name	Birth	Death	Joined with
Nancy Elizabeth Bell (1845-1905)

Siblings

Offspring of John Christopher Bell (1782-1852) and Charlotte Lightfoot Adair (1784-1838)
Name	Birth	Death	Joined with
John Adair Bell (1806-1860)	1 January 1805 South Carolina, United States	1 May 1860 Rusk County, Texas, United States	Jane Jennie Martin (1816-1838) Elizabeth Harnage (1820-1847) Ellen Drowningbear (1814-1896) Sabra Lynch (1808-1863)
Elizabeth Hughes Bell (1807-1848)
Silas Bell (1808-1883)
David Bell (1809-1848)
Samuel Bell (1812-)
Nancy Bell (1814-1864)
Devereaux Jarrett Bell (1817-1875)
Sarah Caroline Bell (1820-1882)
Ruth Bell (1822-1835)
Charlotte Bell (1825-1912)
James Madison Bell (1826-1915)
Martha Jane Bell (1827-1857)

Residences

Footnotes (including sources)

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