Santa
Clara County
Biographies
LAFAYETTE F. BELL
San Jose is particularly rich in interest as
regards the lives of her retired population. Upon its streets meet and jostle
in friendly intercourse the men of the past and the men of today, with this
chief distinction, that among the former many have at least partially realized
their expectations, while the latter rear their heads in the misty and
uncertain haze of possibility, content to grope and struggle in the same path,
yet with more encouraging surroundings than their predecessors. Among the men
who still walk erect, with faculties unimpaired and interest keen, and who have
won the right to leisure through work well done, is Lafayette F. Bell, now
attained to the ripe age of eighty-one, and who has lived for four years more
than half a century on the coast. What marvelous transformations have passed
before the eyes of this observing and faithful chronicler.
To hear him talk of the camps and mines and hardships of the old days is to
live in reality among scenes which have been duplicated in no other part of the
world. This pioneer had twenty-five cents when he arrived in the state, but he
had what was better than monetary consideration, a strong body and persevering
will. He has never lost track of the homely teachings of his youth, and is
consequently honored and esteemed by the countless people who have passed his
way on the coast.
Born in Oneida county,
N. Y., May 25, 1823, Mr. Bell was reared on the farm of his father, Andrew J.,
and at rare intervals attended the log schoolhouse of his district. Upon
attaining his majority he went to the middle west, and after a couple of years
on a farm, determined to take advantage of the rare opportunities glowingly
pictured by returned miners. Joining a train of youthful enthusiasts, he
traveled the pace set by plodding oxen for many weary days, and arrived in Hangtown, now Placerville, in the fall of 1850. His
diminished capital necessitated an early start in the mines, and, although he
was small in stature, he was strong withal, and soon was able to command the
wages of an able-bodied man. Saving his money he was soon able to operate a
claim of his own in Tuolumne county, and later at Drytown he made forty dollars a day. Interspersed with
these encouraging days were many in which absolutely no returns came his way,
yet on the whole he made money, especially at placer mining. Eventually he
turned his attention to quartz mining with great success, and at one time was
part owner of the now famous Oneida mines at Jackson, Cal. By 1853 he had
amassed what, to the untutored country youth seemed quite a fortune and which
far exceeded his expectations when he left the middle west farm. Coming to
Santa Clara county in the fall of 1853, he found a
congenial companion in Mr. Hale, with whom he purchased five hundred sheep, and
proceeded to inaugurate a sheep-raising enterprise. At that time there was
plenty of free land at the disposal of stockmen and no fences raised by
civilized man to intercept the peaceful grazers. The five hundred sheep were
soon increased to a thousand, and after five years Mr. Bell sold out at a large
profit.
Starting a small stock business
after selling his sheep, Mr. Bell sold out two years later, and in Watsonville
engaged in a livery business for five years, under the firm name of Bell &
Dubois. Trading his stock in the livery for a toll road at Bell’s Station,
leading to the Pacheco Pass, he managed it for a few years, and then, feeling
that he had already well profited by the resources of the west, determined to
retire to San Jose, where he could better educate his children. Investing his
capital in real estate in different parts of the town, he purchased a lot for a
family residence, erecting the beautiful and commodious home in which his family now live on Vine street. His surroundings are such as
appeal to his heart, his eye, and his large nature, and the visits of friends
who have traveled with him for many years, and the esteem and honor cast by his
worthy and honorable life, are creating a setting of charm and delight for his
serene and kindly later years. Mr. Bell married Rose McMahon, who was born in
Ireland, and reared and educated in New York, and who is the mother of seven
children, five of whom are living: Frank, a machinist of San Jose; Martin B., a
miner of San Jose, who was born in California, left home at the age of fourteen
visited Arizona and Mexico, and finally located valuable mines near Boise City,
Idaho; Mary, Elizabeth and Marcella E., a teacher.
Transcribed By: Cecelia M. Setty.
Source: History of the State of California & Biographical Record of Coast
Counties, California by Prof. J. M. Guinn, A. M., Pages 1093-1094. The
Chapman Publishing Co., Chicago, 1904.
© 2016 Cecelia M. Setty.