Blog Posts about Mary Lincoln

[RJNorton]

Many thanks to Steve for sending these articles. Steve writes, "Mrs. Henry Jackson" was Mary Montgomery Bell Jackson nee' Engleman and was the first President of the Danville-Boyle County Historical Society (KY). I found an article from page 3 of the 16 October 1988 edition of the Danville Advocate Messenger where Lincoln scholar John Y. Simon was trying to track down the original letter and put out an appeal to the locals to see if anybody knew its whereabouts.

Unfortunately, Simon is no longer living, so he can't be contacted to see if he was able to find it. The article says an old journal article said the original was in a Kentucky county historical society, without naming the said society. Unfortunately, the Danville-Boyle County Historical Society's museum was closed and its historical collection was given away to several institutions in 2009. Though, I suspect if the letter had been held by the DBCHS, Simon wouldn't have had to make an appeal to the local paper. The Society was only founded in 1941, so the letter may have already been in another local county historical society - if what the journal said was even accurate.

Mary was the grandaughter of Civil War-era Kentucky Congressman Joshua Fry Bell. Joshua's wife was Mary Montgomery Helm, so maybe the "Ann Bell" the letter was addressed might have been one of Joshua sisters?

Looking at online trees I found two possible sisters of Joshua that might fit the bill.

- Mildred Ann Bell (b. 1818) who married Rev. Ormond Beatty, a future President of Centre College in 1848 and lived in Danville


- Ann Fry Bell - this person is listed in several online trees with nothing more than a birth year (sometimes 1813, sometimes 1815) listed. I don't know if she was still alive, single and living in Danville in 1841. I'm not even sure if she was a real person and not a phantom on a genalogical database that's just been copied over and over.

Mary Montgomery Bell Jackson's Find a Grave page:
https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/4157...ll-jackson

Book with some more information about Joshua Fry Bell's family:
https://books.google.com/books?id=LDU3AA...&q&f=false

[kerry]

Thanks for posting these...I believe some of the citations say that the recipient was a cousin or other relative of Speed, and also I think to the Helm family. Jane Bell was related to the Bell who was associated with Joshua Speed's store in Springfield.