James Martin Bell

Born at Bell’s Mills, Huntingdon (Blair) County, December 7, 1799, James M. Bell was the son of Edward Bell, originally of Tuckahoe Valley.  He received a rural education; attended subscription schools in Huntingdon County; studied law under Robert Allison of Huntingdon; was admitted to the Huntingdon Bar in 1826; private practice (same year); elected to the state Senate, 1838-1840; moved from Huntingdon to Hollidaysburg in 1845; iron-business/investor; entered the banking business; organized state banks in Johnstown and Huntingdon, and served as president of the Huntingdon First National Bank.  He married Mary Page Ward in 1849.  The Senator died June 4, 1870, at his home in Hollidaysburg.