Peter Hansborough Bell

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Peter Hansborough Bell

Peter Hansborough Bell ( May 12, 1812 in Spotsylvania County , Virginia , † March 8, 1898 in Littleton , North Carolina ) was an American businessman, soldier and 3rd governor of Texas .

Bell lived and worked as a businessman in Petersburg , Virginia, until he decided to fight for the freedom of Texas. He began as a simple soldier in a cavalry company under Henry W. Karnes and also fought in the Battle of San Jacinto , for which he received 640 acres of settlement land. For his military service from 1836 to 1839 he received an additional 1080 acres of land. In 1840 he became a Texas Ranger under John C. Hays and in 1842 had the rank of major. In 1845 he led his own company of Texas Rangers as captain. Under the command of General Zachary Taylor , he won the Battle of Buena Vista .

On December 21, 1849 he became Governor of Texas for the first time, succeeding George T. Wood , and in 1851 the second time. He held this office until November 23, 1853; his successor as governor was J. W. Henderson . Subsequently, Bell was a member of the United States House of Representatives until 1857 as the Democratic representative of the second Congressional constituency of Texas.

Bell married Ella Reeves Eaton Dickens, the daughter of a successful North Carolina plantation owner, on March 3, 1857, and moved to North Carolina herself. When the Civil War broke out , he was offered the position of Colonel by the Confederates and Jefferson Davis , but he declined and spent the war years on his wife's plantation.

The Bell County in Texas was named after him and in 1930, 32 years after his death, his remains and those of his wife in the National Cemetery in were Austin buried. In 1936 the State of Texas erected a memorial in Belton in his honor .

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personal data
SURNAME Bell, Peter Hansborough
BRIEF DESCRIPTION American politician
DATE OF BIRTH May 12, 1812
PLACE OF BIRTH Spotsylvania County , Virginia
DATE OF DEATH March 8, 1898
Place of death Littleton , North Carolina