Daniel Bell

Image from the cover of Slavery and the slave trade at the nation's capital, 1846, William Harned, New York. Daniel Bell (ca. 1802 – March 1877) was a formerly enslaved man who gained his freedom and then sought the freedom of his wife, Mary, and their children. Due to a series of unfortunate events, it took decades for the Bell family to obtain their freedom. Daniel and his wife had both been enslaved again after they had obtained their freedom. Two of their children who were born free were enslaved.

Bell was an organizer and fundraiser for what was called "the single largest known escape attempt by enslaved Americans", by Vincent DeFort, a Washington, D.C., resident of the National Park Service. Having been thwarted many times by the court system and their slaveholder's behavior, the Bells were prevented from attaining their freedom. Bell helped plan the use of a schooner, the Pearl, to transport his family north from Washington, D.C., in 1848. The plan expanded to carry a total of 77 fugitive slaves on the schooner. Two days after their flight, the schooner was overtaken and Bell family members were taken back to the District of Columbia and held in a slave pen for sale. Bell was able to pay for the freedom of Mary and two of his children, before the remaining children were spread out across the slave-holding states, including Louisiana and Mississippi in the Deep South.

Some of his children were never found, some were found after the Civil War, and some died by 1870. A daughter and granddaughter were freed by the Compensated Emancipation Act of 1862 for residents of Washington, D.C. The Emancipation Proclamation was ratified on December 6, 1865 that made any remaining enslaved relatives free. Bell and his wife settled in Washington, D.C.

Early years

Born about 1802 in Prince George's County, Maryland, After Ann's death in 1810, Daniel and his sister Harriet went to Ann's son Gabriel Greenfield, who died in 1815. He may have lived with his mother and two sisters in the District of Columbia near the Navy Yard by 1820.

Adulthood

Loaned out to work for the government by his slaveholder, Bell worked in the Navy Yard's blacksmith shop casting and moulding heavy ironworks. With Samuel Edmonson, brother of the Edmonson sisters, The plan became more harrowing when the decision was made to transport more individuals and families, resulting in a total of 77 fugitive slaves. They began their journey on April 15, 1848, but had to anchor near Point Lookout, Maryland due to headwinds. They were apprehended after slaveholders learned of the plan and caught up with them in a steamer. The fugitives were taken back to D.C. where they were met by an angry crowd, that led to the Washington riot of 1848. After being held, the fugitives were transported and sold to places in the area—Richmond, Annapolis, and Baltimore—and to southern states. Daniel was unable to get her from the train. He was only able to get enough money to buy the freedom of Mary, their son Thomas, and another child. Most of his children were sold and transported south, such as to Mississippi and Louisiana. was married to Thomas Snow and had four children before she died between 1870 and 1875. Eleanor (Nora) was born free, but in 1849 she lost her petition against Susan Armistead. She was gifted in February 1862 to Sarah Jane (Armistead) O'Brien. She and her 6-month-old daughter Caroline were freed by the Compensated Emancipation Act of 1862 for the residents of Washington, D.C., She had no more children and was believed to have died by 1870 when Caroline lived with Ann Bell, her great-aunt, but definitively by 1875. Thomas appears to have been born around 1845 in the District of Columbia. He was five years old and lived with his parents in 1850. His whereabouts are unknown since that time.

Daniel, Mary and Thomas Bell shared a house with his sister Ann Bell, his mother Lucy Bell, John Ash, Anthony Ash, and Phebe Dorsey in Washington, D.C., in 1850.

Later years and death Upon his death in March 1877, Bell left his estate to his wife, who he said was his "well beloved and devoted wife, Mary". She lived in their house in Washington, D.C., with her daughter Caroline and her son-in-law. Daniel Bell stipulated in his will of 1875 that after Mary died the estate should be left to their children Caroline, Daniel, and Mary Ellen and their grandchildren Harriet and Elenora. Mary died in 1884.