Standard History of Georgia and Georgians, Vols. I-V
by Lucian Lamar Knight, published by the Lewis Publishing Company, Chicago, 1917
George L. Bell. - In making record in this history concerning the courts
and lawyers of the Empire State of the South there is special consistency in
according specific recognition to Judge Bell, who has been a member of the
bar of Georgia for nearly forty years and who is now serving on the bench
of the Superior Court of the Atlanta Circuit, with high standing both as a
legalist and jurist. By his character and services he has conferred dignity
upon his profession and honor upon his native state and prior to assuming
his present judicial office he had served three years as standing master in
chancery of the United States District Court for the northern district of
Georgia, so that his experience in connection with jurisprudence has been
specially wide and varied.
Judge Bell was born at Cumming, Forsyth County, Georgia, on the 10th
of March, 1857, and is a son of Hiram P. and Virginia (Lester) Bell, the
former of whom was born in Jackson County, this state, in 1827, and the
latter at Lawrenceville, Gwinnett County, in 1833, both being representatives
of Sterling pioneer families of the state. On other pages of this publication
is entered a memoir to the late Hiram P. Bell, and thus it is unnecessary in
the present article to offer further review of the family history.
After due preliminary discipline Judge Bell was matriculated in Emory
College, at Oxford, Georgia, in which institution he completed his literary or
academic education, after which he began the study of law under effective
preceptorship, his admission to the bar having occurred in 1877. He forthwith
engaged in the practice of his profession at Gumming, the judicial center
of his native county, and there his distinctive success as one of the leading
members of the bar of Forsyth County set at naught any possible
application of the scriptural aphorism that "a prophet is not without honor save in
his own country." In 1893, under the administration of President Cleveland, he was
appointed assistant United States district attorney for the
northern district of Georgia, whereupon he established his residence at
Gainesville, Hall County, which city continued to be his home until 1897,
when he removed to Atlanta, his residence being now at Inman Park, one of
the most attractive suburban residence districts of the Georgia metropolis.
While the incumbent of the office of district attorney Judge Bell conducted
the prosecution of many important felony cases for the Government, and one
of the most noteworthy of these was the celebrated Murray County "Whitecap" cases, as they were commonly designated. The technical charge
against the defendants was that of conspiracy, and their trials attracted
much interest on the part of the public, even outside of the borders of the
state. The charges against the malefactors were substantiated and all were
convicted.
On the 9th of December, 1905, Judge Bell resigned the office of United
States district attorney and resumed the private practice of his profession, in
Atlanta, where he formed a partnership alliance with his son Clarence and
Charles L. Pettigrew, under the firm name of Bell, Pettigrew & Bell. In
1906 he was appointed standing master in chancery of the United States District
Court for the northern district of the state, and of this position he
continued in tenure until August 20, 1909, when he. was appointed a judge
of the Superior Court of the Atlanta Circuit, on the bench of which important tribunal
he has since continued to serve with distinctive zeal and
efficiency, he having been twice re-elected, and each time without opposition,
� a noteworthy tribute and one that indicates the high estimate placed upon
his ability and service in this responsible judicial office.
From the time of attaining to his legal majority Judge Bell has been a
stalwart advocate and supporter of the principles and policies for which
the democratic party stands sponsor, and in 1888-89 he represented Forsyth
County in the Lower House of the State Legislature, in which he made
an admirable record and in which he was assigned to various important committees,
including those on judiciary, corporations, and ways and means.
The judge is affiliated with Kappa Alpha College fraternity and he is an
active and popular member of the Atlanta Athletic Club. Both he and his
wife hold membership in the Methodist Episcopal Church, South.
On the 22d of November, 1881, was solemnized the marriage of Judge
Bell to Miss Helena Jones, daughter of the late Thomas H. and Susan
(Hoyle) Jones, of Norcross, Gwinnett County, and they have four children:
Louise, Clarence, Jennie Sue, and George L., Jr.
This website created October 12, 2011 by Sheryl McClure.
� Georgia American History and Genealogy Project
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