Rick Bell Family fonds, 1874-1875, 1879, 1884, 1886, 1888-1889, 1896, 1898, 1909-1910, 1939, 1945, n.d.

Lewis Tyrell married Jane Gains on August 31, 1849 in Culpeper Court House, Virginia. Jane Gains was a spinster. Lewis Tyrell died September 25, 1908 at his late residence, Vine St. and Welland Ave., St. Catharines, Ont. at the age of 81 years, 5 months. Jane Tyrell died March 1, 1886, age 64 years. Their son? William C. Tyrell died January 15, 1898, by accident in Albany, NY, age 33 years, 3 months. John William Taylor married Susan Jones were married in St. Catharines, Ont. on August 10, 1851 by William Wilkinson, a Baptist minister. On August 9, 1894 Charles Henry Bell (1871-1916), son of Stephen (1835?-1876) and Susan Bell, married Mary E. Tyrell (b. 1869?) daughter of Lewis and Alice Tyrell, in St. Catharines Ontario. By 1895 the Bell’s were living in Erie, Pennsylvania where children Delbert Otto (b. 1895) and Edna Beatrice (b. 1897) were born. By 1897 the family was back in St. Catharines where children Lewis Tyrell (b. 1899), Gertrude Cora (b. 1901), Bessie Jane (b. 1902), Charles Henry (b. 1906), Richard Nelson (b. 1911) and William Willoughby (b. 1912) were born. Charles Henry Bell operated a coal and ice business on Geneva Street. In the 1901 Census for St. Catharines, the Bell family includes the lodger Charles Henry Hall. Charles Henry Hall was born ca. 1824 in Maryland, he died in St. Catharines on November 11, 1916 at the age of 92. On October 24, 1889 Charles Hall married Susan Bell (1829-1898). The 1911 Census of Canada records Charles Henry Hall residing in the same household as Charles Henry and Mary Bell. The relationship to the householder is step-father. It is likely that after Stephen Bell’s death in 1876, his widow, Susan Bell married Hall. In 1939, Richard Nelson Bell, son of Charles Henry and Mary Tyrell Bell, married Iris Sloman. Iris (b. 22 May 1912 in Biddulph Township, Middlesex, Ontario) was the daughter of Albert (son of Joseph b. 1870 and Elizabeth Sloman, b. 1872) and Josie (Josephine Ellen) Butler Sloman of London, Ont. Josie (b. 1891) was the daughter of Everett Richard and Elizabeth McCarthy (or McCarty) Butler, of Lucan Village, Middlesex North. According to the 1911 Census of Canada, Albert, a Methodist, was a porter on the railroad. His wife, Josephine, was a Roman Catholic. Residing with Albert and Josie were Sanford and Sadie Butler and Sidney Sloman, likely siblings of Albert and Josephine. The Butler family is descended from Peter Butler, a former slave, who had settled in the Wilberforce Colony in the 1830s. Rick Bell b. 1949 in Niagara Falls, Ont. is the son of Richard Nelson Bell. In 1979, after working seven years as an orderly at the St. Catharines General Hospital while also attending night school at Niagara College, Rick Bell was hired by the Thorold Fire Dept. He became the first Black professional firefighter in Niagara. He is a founding member of the St. Catharines Junior Symphony; attended the Banff School of Fine Arts in 1966 and also performed with the Lincoln & Welland Regimental Band and several other popular local groups. Upon the discovery of this rich archive in his mothers’ attic he became passionate about sharing his Black ancestry and the contributions of fugitive slaves to the heritage Niagara with local school children. He currently resides in London, Ont.

Composite Photographs - William Woodruff and his children

The composite includes photos of: Richard Woodruff (1822-1887) brother of Samuel Woodruff, son of William Woodruff. He married Cornelia McCrumb. His son-in- law was Samuel Zimmerman of the bank. Richard was a director of the Niagara Suspension Bridge. Joseph Woodruff (1820-1886) son of William Woodruff. He married Julia Claus. He was the Sherriff of Lincoln County and one of the incorporators of the Zimmerman Bank. Samuel DeVeaux Woodruff (1819-1904) who was the son of William Woodruff. He married Jane Caroline Sanderson (1827-1912) William Woodruff (1793-1860) who was the son of Ezekiel Woodruff who was born on July 29, 1763 and moved to the Niagara area from Litchfield Connecticut. He died in Niagara on Nov. 26, 1836. Henry Counter Woodruff (1833-1916) was the 7th child of William Woodruff. He married Emma Eloise Osgood (1835-1925) Dr. William Woodruff (1830-1908) of London, Ont. was the son of William Woodruff. Helena Woodruff (1828-1892) was the daughter of William Woodruff. She married Joseph Patterson Boomer. Julia Woodruff (1825-1870) was the sister of Samuel DeVeaux Woodruff and the daughter of William Woodruff.

Indenture between Joseph Hamilton and Joseph Hart

Indenture of sale between Joseph Hamilton of London and Joseph Hart of Montgomery County. This is regarding Lot no. 25 in the 5th concession in the Township of Norwich in the County of Oxford, May 11, 1833.

Indenture stating that Joseph A. Woodruff, sheriff, is paid $100 by S.D. Woodruff

Indenture stating that Joseph A. Woodruff, sheriff, is paid $100 by S.D. Woodruff for half interests in the cottage and its furnishings situated at the club in Long Point, Lake Erie and is now in possession jointly with R. Lucas of Hamilton. This is signed by Joseph A. Woodruff, Jan. 23, 1886.