The Bell deep line — every layer, graded by its evidence

Built 15 Aug 2026 · evidence tags refer to Bell/BELL-00_Research_Notes.md, current through [BELL-207] · the ahnentafel chart remains the formal record; this page is the map of what holds it up.

HOW TO READ THIS A solid green line means the link is documented. Amber means probable — one document says so, and nothing contradicts it. Dashed purple means a hypothesis: a candidate, not yet tied in. Red dotted is THE MISSING DOCUMENT — the one gap that would settle the whole line. Grey dashed is a lead: a pointer worth following, nothing more. A red box is a person or branch a document has ruled out.

Everything below William Rasor Bell is your proven line; everything above him is candidate territory, graded honestly.

documented probable (asserted, one source) hypothesis (candidate) lead (compiled / unplaced) documented link asserted by one document inferred missing document
VIRGINIA — CANDIDATE TERRITORY: four separate Bell worlds, and our William Rasor Bell is not yet proven to belong to any of them [BELL-193–207] 1 · THE SPRING SWAMP CLAN — mapped in full, and there is no William anywhere in it the main Bell family of Sussex Co., Virginia · worked out this week [BELL-193/194/196/199] John Bell (d. 25 May 1746) = Hannah (d. 1768) Spring Swamp, ~635 ac. · the patriarch · LEAD named as his sons in the will of 13 Apr 1746 [BELL-196] John Jr. = Phoebe Stokes · d. 1748/9 only 2 sons: Sylvanus, John RULED OUT — NO WILLIAM Burrell never appears as a father in any record read AN OPEN SLOT Benjamin left Virginia by 1765 and never came back · compiled lead: Capt. Bell of Edgefield SC, k. 1779 AN OPEN SLOT Balaam d. 1755 · widow Mary children 1745–55 possible AN OPEN SLOT Rev. James Baptist preacher, d. 1778 will names 6 — no William ELIMINATED Verdict — if our William Rasor Bell belongs to this clan at all, it is as an unnamed grandson: through Burrell or Balaam, or as a child of the absent Benjamin. Two of the five sons are ruled out outright. [BELL-199] 2 · THE STOKES IN-LAWS — they married in, and they moved south the neighbour family that intermarried with the clan · Raccoon Swamp, Virginia [BELL-197/199/200/201] Silvanus Stokes (d. 1766) = Cecilia of Raccoon Swamp · the family next door · LEAD named in Silvanus Stokes’s will [BELL-200] Phoebe Stokes married John Bell Jr. the marriage that makes the two families kin · verified Sylvanus Bell Phoebe’s son · stayed in Virginia executor for Cecilia Stokes Micajah Stokes moved to CLAREMONT CO., S.C. the same tiny county as our William Rasor Bell · 1787 trust Marcus Stokes went to Pitt Co., NORTH CAROLINA instead not South Carolina Verdict — the Bell–Stokes kinship is proven in Virginia. Whether OUR William Rasor Bell is part of it is exactly the open question: his warm 1787 ties to Micajah Stokes in South Carolina are the strongest clue that his family came from this world. [BELL-197/201] 3 · WHERE THE CLAN ACTUALLY WENT: NORTH CAROLINA — documented, and it is not where our line ended up the clan’s dispersal, 1769–1790 [BELL-207] Pitt County, North Carolina Balaam Bell — Rev. James’s son, a newlywed household in 1790 Benjamin Bell — 16 enslaved people Marcus Stokes — the Stokes brother who went north RULED OUT AS OUR PATH Wake County, North Carolina Zadock Bell — Hannah’s grandson, 6 enslaved people among Bells named Burwell and George RULED OUT AS OUR PATH Verdict — every test for a crossing from this North Carolina corridor into South Carolina failed. The corridor and our South Carolina Bells are separate streams. [BELL-207] 4 · THE OTHER BELL HOUSES OF SURRY — unmapped, and the William question lives here now Bell families of neighbouring Surry Co. that are NOT the Spring Swamp clan [BELL-206] Richard Bell of Lawne’s Creek · d. 1734/5 the only local branch with documented WILLIAMS MAPPED 15 AUG: NO WILLIAM SLOT FOUND Micajah Bell of Surry d. by 1782 · six orphans: James, John, Samuel, Ann, Rebecca, Elizabeth Benjamin Bell guardian of the six orphans almost certainly Micajah’s brother WHICH BENJAMIN? UNDETERMINED Jacob Bell d. 1807 · sons Micajah Jr. and Thomas may be Richard’s grandson Also in the parish register, not in the 1746 will: Thomas & Mary · Wm & Faith · Wm & Sarah · Joseph · Sylvanus which house any of these couples belongs to is unsettled · LEAD [BELL-184] Verdict — either the absent Benjamin came home, or this is Richard Bell’s branch surfacing. Richard’s branch is the one that could hold our William — and it has never been mapped. [BELL-206] attachment unproven — if our William belongs to the Spring Swamp clan at all, it is as an unnamed grandson via Burrell or Balaam [BELL-199] the Stokes tie — the strongest clue [BELL-197/201] CLAREMONT COUNTY / SALEM CLUSTER — South Carolina · 1784–1809 [BELL-181–182] Frederick Bell Rev. claimant · kinsman, degree unproven · LEAD Lewis · John · Mary X Bell the 1794 deed cluster · LEAD William Rasor Bell (d. 1808×09) = Mary planter, Salem · 9 sons, 2 daughters · nodes 256/257 HYPOTHESIS — CONDITIONAL ON NODE 128 1803 will: “my son Archibald Bell” — asserted [BELL-152/181] Archibald “Archy” Bell (d. 1839) = Martha 275 ac., Lynches Creek, Salem · nodes 128/129 HYPOTHESIS — THE STRONGEST CIRCUMSTANTIAL CASE IN THE FILE THE MISSING DOCUMENT [BELL-180] no record asserts “John, son of Archibald” the test: SCDAH settlements & receipts — reopening ~17 Aug THE PROVEN LINE — Barbour County, Alabama → Alec [six documented generations] John Bell (1807–1890) = Laney (~1806–1873) Louisville, Barbour Co., Alabama · nodes 64/65 · ok / part John T. Bell (1841–1915) = Sarah “Sallie” Cox the 1915 obituary carries the Darlington sentence · ok Thomas Jefferson Bell (d. 1921) = Alice May Bradley nodes 16/17 · ok John Henry Bell (b. 1901) = Margaret Beatrice Eaken nodes 8/9 · ok Robert Lee Bell Sr. node 4 · ok (living) → Alec Bell nodes 2 · 1 · the researcher himself Collaterals: W. W. Bell (1839–1924) & C. A. “Curve” Bell — John T.’s brothers per the 1915 obituary · William Wesley Bell of Darlington (b. 1820), residue legatee, alive 1866, daughter “Margaret Louisa.” Every claim on this page carries its evidence tag; the grades are the project’s own, held by five adversarial reviews. One document at SCDAH turns the red dotted line solid — or cuts it. Either way the map is finished honestly.
Table view — every person on this map
Who — in plain EnglishPersonGradeKey evidence
The 1746 patriarch of the Sussex clanJohn Bell of Spring Swamp (d. 25 May 1746) = Hannah (d. 1768)leadWill made 13 Apr 1746, proved 18 Jun 1746, Spring Swamp; wit. Silvanus Stokes Junr [BELL-185, BELL-196]
His five sons — two of them ruled outSons John Jr., Burrell, Benjamin, Balaam, JamesleadNamed in the 1746 will; only Benjamin & James outlived Hannah (1768); John Jr. (m. Phoebe Stokes) d. 1748/9, Balaam d. 1755, Zadock unassigned [BELL-194, BELL-196, BELL-199]
His eldest son, who died three years after himJohn Bell Jr. (d. 1748/9) = Phoebe Stokesruled outIssue closed at two sons, Sylvanus and John — no William [BELL-197, BELL-199]
A son who is never seen as anyone’s fatherBurrell Belllead — open slotIn the 1746 will; predeceased Hannah; no record of children [BELL-194, BELL-199]
The son who left Virginia and vanishedBenjamin Belllead — open slotAbsent by 1765, “provided he comes himself in person”; never returned [BELL-194, BELL-199]
A son who died young, leaving a widowBalaam Bell (d. 1755) = Marylead — open slotPosthumous daughter Phoebe; children 1745–55 possible and unrecorded [BELL-194, BELL-199]
The preacher son whose children are all namedRev. James Bell branch (Sussex, d. 1778)eliminated[BELL-193, BELL-199] will WB C p.310: six children, no William/Frederick/Lewis
The Southside Virginia neighbours who moved as a groupSussex / Greensville Co., Va. chain migration to Claremontrefuted[BELL-399, BELL-401] Four rare surnames on W.R.B.’s own 1790 census page co-locate in two Virginia counties — but the 1782–85 Virginia enumeration survives for only 39 of 80 counties, and Brunswick, Southampton, Dinwiddie and Prince George have NO name lists. Two of the six “unique” results are false; “Peebles” at Sussex is a given name. The 1790 N.C. census, never consulted, holds seven Hathcock and four Peebles households in Northampton, across the line. And self-correction #76 had already EXCLUDED the Stokes-uncle chain.
The neighbour on a royal warrant, in another colony“W:m Rasor Bells Line”, Duplin Co., N.C., Jan 1773hypothesis[BELL-389, BELL-397, BELL-402, BELL-405] Gov. Josiah Martin’s printed warrant lays out 400 acres to Fredrick Bell “on the S. side of Bare Swamp joining his own & W:m Rasor Bells Line” — read at the ink at 4×, and it is a Bell, not a Ball. But the survey run on that same warrant 14 months later names Robert Wilkinson instead, and no N.C. land grant ever issued in that name. His whole North Carolina footprint is one clause in one clerk’s hand. The day of the month was left blank.
The brother who demonstrably made the crossingFrederick Bell, Duplin N.C. → Camden District S.C.documented[BELL-402, BELL-404] Sworn before “Henry Cassels one of the Justices assigned to keep the peace for the district of Camden” on 8 May 1777; sells his last Duplin land in March 1778. Graded W.R.B.’s brother at probable-strongly [BELL-307]. The brother’s crossing is proved; William’s is not.
The candidate father in North CarolinaJohn Bell of Duplin, will 5 May 1783eliminated[BELL-405] Names sons Thomas, Archibald and John and daughter Elizabeth — no William, no Frederick, no William Rasor — and his executors and witnesses are the Ten Mile Swamp cluster that never left. The complete Duplin estate drawer is 539 files holding exactly ten Bells; Sampson’s 753 hold no 18th-century Bell estate at all. The Bare Swamp Bells left Duplin as a group and left no probate behind them.
The neighbours the Bells married intoSilvanus Stokes (d. 1766) = Cecilia, of Raccoon SwampleadWill names Phoebe, Micajah, Marcus; Cecilia’s executor was her Bell grandson [BELL-197, BELL-200]
The Stokes daughter who married a BellPhoebe Stokes = John Bell Jr.leadMicajah’s sister per her father’s will, read on the will book; adversary-verified [BELL-197/199/200]
The in-law who moved to our South Carolina countyMicajah StokesleadClaremont Co., S.C.; 1787 trust held by W. R. Bell “for love, good will and affection”; in Claremont 1790 beside him [BELL-197/200/201]
His brother, who went to North Carolina insteadMarcus StokesleadPitt Co., N.C. — not South Carolina [BELL-200, BELL-207]
Phoebe’s son, who stayed in VirginiaSylvanus BellleadExecutor for Cecilia Stokes [BELL-199, BELL-200]
Where the clan’s young men actually landedPitt Co., N.C. — Balaam Bell, Benjamin Bell, Marcus Stokesruled out as our path1790: Balaam (Rev. James’s son) a newlywed household; Benjamin with 16 enslaved people [BELL-207]
Hannah’s grandson, found in North CarolinaZadock Bell, Wake Co., N.C.ruled out as our path1790, 6 enslaved people, among Bells named Burwell and George; every SC crossing test failed [BELL-207]
A different Surry family — the one with WilliamsRichard Bell of Lawne’s Creek (d. 1734/5)lead — being mappedThe only local branch with documented Williams; tree never mapped, agent working it [BELL-206]
A Surry Bell who left six orphaned childrenMicajah Bell of Surry (d. by 1782)leadOrphans James, John, Samuel, Ann, Rebecca, Elizabeth; may be Richard’s grandson [BELL-206]
The man who took in those six orphansBenjamin Bell, guardianleadAlmost certainly Micajah’s brother; whether he is the clan’s absent Benjamin is undetermined [BELL-206]
Another Surry Bell of the same clusterJacob Bell (d. 1807)leadSons Micajah Jr. and Thomas; may be Richard’s grandson [BELL-206]
Parish-register couples outside the 1746 willThomas & Mary, Wm & Faith, Wm & Sarah, Joseph, SylvanusleadParish register couples not in the will [BELL-184]
A Bell standing beside ours on the S.C. deedsFrederick Belllead1784/1787/1794 with W.R.B.; Rev. claimant [BELL-153, BELL-182]; 50 days Siege of Charleston, Nelson’s co. [BELL-192, BELL-195]
The Bells around the 1794 South Carolina deedLewis Bell · John Bell · Mary X Belllead1794 Darlington-proved deed; 1803 will witness [BELL-181/182]
Probably Alec’s 6th-great-grandfather — where the trail stopsWilliam Rasor Bell (256) = Mary (257)hypothesisWill 26 Dec 1803 asserting son Archibald; d. 1808×09 [BELL-152/181]
The missing link — probably our John’s fatherArchibald Bell (128) = Martha (129)hypothesisWill 1839; census brackets 1820/1830; five refusals recorded [BELL-147–207]
Alec’s 4th-great-grandfather — first proven generationJohn Bell (64) = Laney (65)ok / part1850 deed “Lany Bell his wife”; censuses; Beasley Cemetery [BELL-164 etc.]
Alec’s 3rd-great-grandfather, a Confederate sharpshooterJohn T. Bell (32) = Sallie Cox (33)ok1915 obituary; marriage 1861; service record [BELL-177]
Alec’s 2nd-great-grandfatherT. J. Bell (16) = Alice May Bradley (17)okmain chart
Alec’s great-grandfatherJohn Henry Bell (8) = Margaret B. Eaken (9)okmain chart
Alec’s grandfather, then two living generationsRobert Lee Bell Sr. (4) → (living) → Alec (1)okmain chart; living people redacted