Thomas Bell

Thomas Bell (1822–October 16, 1892) was a Scottish-American capitalist. He was an investor, banker, He began his career with Barron, Forbes & Company as a clerk in Tepic, Mexico, he later became partner and then owner of the house, which was renamed to Thomas Bell & Company. He took on a partner, George Staacke in 1879. Bell was the director of the California Bank by 1875. He entered into a lucrative, yet boundary crossing and entwined, relationship with Mary Ellen Pleasant that may have complicated Bell's personal life, while it also helped manage family relationships. After his death the relationship with Pleasant resulted in a years-long lawsuit filed by his wife against Pleasant.

Early life Bell was born in the Highlands of Scotland in 1822. He sailed from London for Valparaíso, Chile when he was 18 years old.

Career He became a clerk at Chile's largest commission house, where relatives were employed. Next known as Bolton, Barron & Company, it was located in London and had branches in Mexico, South America, and San Francisco. Bell entered into a partnership with a widow and philanthropist Mary Ellen Pleasant, making investments and establishing businesses that made her $30 million by 1875. She put most of her investments in Bell's name, because it would have been harder for a black woman to have managed the transactions on her own. She had two strikes against her at the time: she was a rich woman and she was rich black person, the latter of which made it very difficult to ensure the safety of her fortune. She arranged marriages, too. Teresa's maiden name was Harris and she was a widow when she married Bell. There was an air of mystery about life in the mansion, much of it having to do with the unusual relationship between Pleasant and the Bells. She also mediated between Bell and his wife. From the court testimony, Teresa stated she had no other names than Harris, Percy and Hoey. However, the baptismal record for Mary (Marie) refers to Teresa Bell as formerly Clingham. Frederick stated that he had been told that his parents were married in 1874 in New York. He was buried at Laurel Hill Cemetery and it was said that he was buried in a grave plot owned by Pleasant. He stated in the will that the estate included all that he had amassed before his marriage to Teresa.

After hearing the will, and that he was not mentioned in the will, John S. Bell contented to his friends that he believed he was the only living natural heir to the estate. John had a number of sources, he said, who could vouch for his uncle's intention to leave the ranches in Santa Barbara County to him. John won the case against Thomas Bell's estate on October 26, 1897, giving him the 10,000 acres Los Alamos Ranch, worth around $300,000 (~$ in ). To receive ownership of the property, he had to resolve a debt of $110,000 due to the estate. Final payments from the estate were made on or around June 8, 1917, with Teresa gaining control of the large estate.

His widow Teresa sued to gain control of Pleasant's investment that were in Thomas Bell's name. She was determined to seek retribution for acts that she believed Pleasant to have committed. Without evidence required to charge her of illegal acts, she fought her in court.