Walter A. Bell Collection

Collection

Identifier: 1000.003

Staff Only

Scope and Contents

The Walter A. Bell Collection houses a small number of letters addressed to Walter A. Bell along with assorted other correspondence and a ledger book of unclear provenance. This collection, which dates from 1867 – ca. 1965, consist of letters, greeting cards, advertisements, account records and a ledger book. The letters addressed to Walter A. Bell primarily focus on issues pertaining to his tenure as a Tennessee State Senator from 1903-1907, representing the 23rd District which included Dickson, Stewart, Houston, and Humpreys counties.

Dates

1867 - 1960

Creator

Bell, Walter Abram, 1856-1911 (Person)

Conditions Governing Access

This collection is open for research use.

Conditions Governing Use

While the Montgomery County Archives houses an item, it does not necessarily hold the copyright on the item, nor may it be able to determine if the item is still protected under current copyright law. It is the user’s obligation to determine and satisfy copyright or other case restrictions when publishing or otherwise distributing materials found in the collections.

Biographical / Historical

Walter A. Bell (1856-1911) served two terms in the Tennessee Senate as the senator for the 23rd District from 1903-1907, representing Dickson, Stewart, Houston, and Humphreys counties. Bell was a Dickson native and an accomplished educator. Known as “Professor Bell,” he was the principal of the Cloverdale Academy. This was a small school founded by his father near Vanleer, Tennessee. According to his obituary he eventually retired from teaching due to poor health and died in 1911.

The majority of the correspondence in this collection is addressed to Walter A. Bell and pertains to his tenure as a senator. The provenance of the other materials is unclear, and a direct connection to Bell is unproven. Of particular note is the ledger book that is attributed to Nannie J. Peterson. Bell had a sister named Nancy who is listed as a 12 year old “Nannie” on the 1870 census, but as the ledger book is from 1867 it is unlikely to have belonged to her.