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Pioneer - BELL, William
Biographical Sketches of
Early Settlers of Wellington County
Information from: Historical Atlas of the County of Wellington, Ontario.
Toronto: Historical Atlas Publishing Co., 1906
|
BELL, William.
Probably
no musical instruments are more extensively known in Canada than are the
Bell Pianos and Organs. It is with the manufacture of these instruments
that the gentleman whose name appears at the opening of this sketch is
identified. William Bell, the founder of the Bell Organ Co., in Canada,
and for many years an honoured resident of Guelph, was b. in
Dumfriesshire, Scot., in 1832, the son of William and Mary (Watert)
Bell, natives of Scot. The former b. in 1802, d. 1898. They set. in
Dundas Co., Ont., where Mrs. Bell died, Mr. Bell returning to Scot, wher
he d. in the year above mentioned. Their children: William, Joseph, and
Robert.
In 1853 William Bell, subject of this sketch, set. in Toronto, and later removed to the Southern States. In 1860 he returned to Canada and m. Isabella, dau. of the late Thomas and Nancy (Grant) Christie, early settlers in Edwardsburg, Ont., where Mr. Christie engaged extensively in milling, and where he subsequently d. He was a son of William Christie, early settler of Kempville. Mrs. Bell's mother, Nancy Grant, was a dau. of Lewis and Ann (Gernsey) Grant, early settlers of "Muddy York" (Toronto), where for many years, Mr. Grant was a P.S.L. The log cabin at the Exhibition Grounds, Toronto, in 1904, the "Grant-Fraser Cabin," is said to have been built from the logs of which Lewis Grant's house in "Muddy York," was constructed. After their marriage, Mr. Bell and Mrs. Bell set in Minnesota, where Mr. Bell followed his trade of carpenter and contractor. In 1865 they returned to Canada and set. in Guelph, where Mr. Bell, in company with his brother Robert, established the Bell Organ Co., with which Mr. Bell has since been identified. Mr. Bell has filled a number of important business positions. He is Ex-President of the Globe Building and Loan Co.; President of the Guelph Junc. Ry., and was Vice-President of the Manufacturers Life Ins. Co., when the late Rt. Hon. Sir John A. McDonald was President. He is Ex-President of the Traders Bank of Canada, and was one of the promoters of the Guelph Junc. Ry. now owned by the city of Guelph, being chairman of the Board when the road was built, which position he still holds. Mr. Bell and James Goldie were largely instrumental in securing a grant of $47,000 from the Dominion Government. This railway is a financial success and a most valuable asset of the city. Since 1897 Mr. Bell has been retired from active business operations, Mr. and Mrs. Bell's dau. is the wife of Dr. B. Kennedy of Guelph, and one son, Wm. Bell, is a well known business man of that city. Mr. and Mrs. Bell are members of the St. Andrew's Church. Mr. Bell is politically a Conservative, fraternally a Mason, and commercially the pioneer organ manufacturer of Canada. Mr. Wm. Bell's portrait appears upon another page of this work From: Historical Atlas of the County of Wellington, Ontario. Toronto: Historical Atlas Publishing Co., 1906 |
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