HISTORY OF KENTUCKY AND KENTUCKIANS, E. Polk Johnson, three volumes,
Lewis Publishing Co., New York & Chicago, 1912. Common version, Vol. III,
pp. 1210-11.   [Franklin County]

CHARLES WHEELER BELL--Most men esteem themselves fortunate to succeed in
any one line, but to few is it given to become prominent in many fields of
endeavor.  The versatility of Charles Wheeler Bell is indeed remarkable,
for he has won the most flattering recognition as a factor in the world
of affairs, and likewise as a lecturer and educator, while as insurance
commissioner of Kentucky he has gained the esteem of all who best realize
the efficiency he has brought to the disposal of the duties of his office.
     Charles Wheeler Bell is a native son, having been born at Springfield,
Washington county, Kentucky, April 23, 1866.  He is the son of William H.
and Ann M. (Scott) Bell.  The father also had his birthplace in the state,
his nativity having occurred in Mercer county, Kentucky, and his death at
Lawrenceburg, the date of the latter event being 1892, his age at the time
being sixty-five years.  Mr. Bell's grandfather was Burrus Bell, also of
Mercer county, and the Bells, like so many of the old Kentucky families,
had been previously founded in the Old Dominion.  Tracing the line to
remoter generations it is discovered that it is of English origin.  The
mother of Mr. Bell was born in Washington county, Kentucky, and her father
was William Scott, a pioneer of Washington county and a man of prominence.
     Charles Wheeler Bell was reared in Washington and Anderson counties
and had the good fortune to receive an excellent education.  After a
preliminary introduction to the primary branches in the country schools he
entered the Central Kentucky Normal College, and afterward matriculated at
the Anderson Seminary and the Lawrenceburg Normal College, graduating from
the latter in the year 1889.  Naturally inclined toward a career at an
educator, he had already taken up teaching in 1884, and while he was
perfecting his education he taught and attended school alternately.  His
pedagogical career, interrupted though it was, included the years between
1884 and 1908, and in the latter year he was appointed insurance
commissioner of Kentucky, of which office he is the present incumbent. From
the year 1890 for the ensuing eighteen years Professor Bell was principal
of the city schools of Harrodsburg, Kentucky.  He gives his faith and his
suffrage to the Republican party and has no small influence in party ranks.
In his religious convictions he is a member of the Christian church, in
which he is an elder.
     Professor Bell has been twice married, his first wife being Miss Maude
Myles, a daughter of the Rev. James Myles, and the date of their union
being in 1892.  His second union was with Miss Myrtle Britton, and their
marriage was solemnized in 1904.
     In no field has Professor Bell achieved a greater degree of success
than as a lecturer.  His attainments as a speaker are splendid and wherever
his eloquence is heard he wins hosts of admirers.  He has high standing as
a Chautauqua speaker and his gifted services has been retained by a number
of these institutions.  He is by no means a "prophet without honor," for
Kentucky takes a proper pride in him, and his fame has spread far beyond
the borders of the state.  He has called forth many plaudits and from some
of these appreciations it is a temptation to quote.  The celebrated author
and lecturer, Elbert Hubbard, of East Aurora, New York, has written him
the following characteristic letter:
     "Dear Friend:
     I have read your splendid speech with smiles and things.  It is extra
     choice, and I congratulate you on it.  Any man who can write as well
     as you should keep right at it.  It is certainly worthy of being
     reprinted and widely distributed.  Come and see us when you are along
     this way.  With love and blessings ever, I am
                                   "Your sincere
                                             "Elbert Hubbard."
     The famous Louisville Courier-Journal had said: "Mr. Bell is possessed
of a quaint, bucolic humor, as pure and fresh as a fresh plowed furrow. He
told of the 'Good Old Days' in such a manner that he was continuously
interrupted by the hearty laughs of the '500'."
     The comment of the Louisville Post is quoted for the reason that it
gives a nearer glance at the personality of the man: "All the speeches were
good, but Mr. Bell of Frankfort fairly carried away the honors.  His
address upon 'The Good Old Times,' was an admirable mixture of pathos and
humor and his unique delivery added to its effect.  He won the audience
after speaking less than three minutes.  In appearance Mr. Bell is the
typical American humorist, and his quaint manner of being funny, his
satirical way of speaking and the purity of his vocabulary recall the
traditions of Artemus Ward."  In short the "good and the great" have
commended him highly and repeatedly.  Governor August E. Willson had called
the celebrated "Good Old Days," "Food for hungry hearts, rest for weary
cares and raiment for pleasant thoughts."  A prominent clergyman has called
the same, "The greatest speech of the kind he has ever listened to," and
a Louisville citizen of high standing accuses Mr. Bell of having made the
best after dinner speech he ever heard.
     The career of the subject of this biography in the lecture field dates
from 1910, and it is no hazarding much to predict that even greater
victories lie before him.

Bell Scott Myles Britton Hubbard
=
Springfield-Washington-KY Harrodsburg-Mercer-KY
Lawrenceburg-Anderson-KY VA

http://www.rootsweb.com/~kygenweb/kybiog/franklin/bell.cw.txt