Another $5 photo from an antique mall in Tucson. A young man wearing a suit jacket and vest, tie, white shirt, a handkerchief in his pocket and a gold chain suspended from his vest, probably for a watch.

The photo was taken at the Griffing studio in Morris, Grundy County, Illinois. On the back it is called the Normal Art Gallery. In pencil is written James Bell[,] M.N. & S.S.[,] 1885 8."

James Bell.


I searched James Bell in Morris, Illinois on Ancestry Public Trees and quickly found him. I realized that the previous blog entry was also for a person from Grundy County, Illinois (the two photos were purchased from the same antique mall booth). 

James was born on 5 November 1866 in Saratoga, Grundy County, the son of Alexander Bell and Ellen Hayes. He was married to Jeanette Mitchell (1869-1959) and they had three children- Alexander, Anna, and Laura May. 

On 18 April 1910, James and Jennie and their children Alex, Anna, and Laura, as well as James's 80 year old grandfather John Mitchell lived in Saratoga, Grundy County. James was a coal miner.

James died on 27 October 1939 in Morris. He was buried in Evergreen Cemetery in Morris.

 

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