Ella Rives (Reeves) Eaton Bell was born in Warrenton, NC, the daughter of William Eaton (1783-1869) and Eliza Hickman. Her mother died and her father remarried to Martha P. Hickman, Eliza's sister and Ella's aunt. Martha's will refers to Ella as her step-daughter and niece. Ella's father, William, was one of the wealthiest planters along the Roanoke River and he afforded Ella every possible advantage. As a young lady, Ella traveled extensively throughout Europe and attended Mrs. Meade's School in Richmond, VA. Her time was divided between Warrenton, NC and Washington, D. C. William Eaton built Eaton Place in the 1840s, in Warrenton, NC. The house is still there today and can be seen here: http://d.lib.ncsu.edu/collections/catalog/buch0093
Ella married Benjamin Augustus Dickens in Warren County on October 28, 1847. This marriage lasted 3 years and ended in divorce. At some point, she returned to Washington, D.C. where she met Congressman Peter H. Bell, who was also the former Governor of Texas. They married on October 22, 1856 in Washington, D.C.
Her husband retired from public office after his second term in Congress, and they moved to Texas. When Ella's father passed away, they moved back to Eaton Place in Warrenton, NC where they managed her father's estate. They sold the property in 1890 and moved to Littleton, NC where they lived out their lives together.
Ella died in 1897 and her husband Peter died in 1898. They were buried in a cemetery in Littleton, NC until 1930 when they were re-buried in Austin at the Texas State Cemetery.
Ella's obituary from Warrenton's newspaper "The Record", stated that "a lady of rare culture and refinement, well educated and traveled a great deal in her young days. She was delightfully entertaining in conversation having her mind well stored with incidents gathered from extensive reading and travel. She was a christian lady and died a member of the Episcopal church." Her will stated that everything would go to her husband. They had no children.
Ella's birth date varies according to census data as any time between 1831 to 1835. The gravesite in Texas records her birth date as 1835. A passage from The Southwestern Historical Quarterly, Vol. 13, page 326 records the following from Littleton College, Office of the President, J. M. Rhodes, Littleton, NC - Jan. 22, 1910, ..."Governor and Mrs. Bell are both buried in the same grave, over which there is a hollow brick wall, or a wall about eight inches thick and about three feet high. On top of this lies a marble slab, long enough to cover both graves. On the slab is the inscription, a copy of which I enclose - Died July 16, 1897. Ella Rives Bell Wife of Ex-Governor Bell. In her Sixty-second Year."
Ella married Benjamin Augustus Dickens in Warren County on October 28, 1847. This marriage lasted 3 years and ended in divorce. At some point, she returned to Washington, D.C. where she met Congressman Peter H. Bell, who was also the former Governor of Texas. They married on October 22, 1856 in Washington, D.C.
Her husband retired from public office after his second term in Congress, and they moved to Texas. When Ella's father passed away, they moved back to Eaton Place in Warrenton, NC where they managed her father's estate. They sold the property in 1890 and moved to Littleton, NC where they lived out their lives together.
Ella died in 1897 and her husband Peter died in 1898. They were buried in a cemetery in Littleton, NC until 1930 when they were re-buried in Austin at the Texas State Cemetery.
Ella's obituary from Warrenton's newspaper "The Record", stated that "a lady of rare culture and refinement, well educated and traveled a great deal in her young days. She was delightfully entertaining in conversation having her mind well stored with incidents gathered from extensive reading and travel. She was a christian lady and died a member of the Episcopal church." Her will stated that everything would go to her husband. They had no children.
Ella's birth date varies according to census data as any time between 1831 to 1835. The gravesite in Texas records her birth date as 1835. A passage from The Southwestern Historical Quarterly, Vol. 13, page 326 records the following from Littleton College, Office of the President, J. M. Rhodes, Littleton, NC - Jan. 22, 1910, ..."Governor and Mrs. Bell are both buried in the same grave, over which there is a hollow brick wall, or a wall about eight inches thick and about three feet high. On top of this lies a marble slab, long enough to cover both graves. On the slab is the inscription, a copy of which I enclose - Died July 16, 1897. Ella Rives Bell Wife of Ex-Governor Bell. In her Sixty-second Year."
Ella Rives (Reeves) Eaton Bell was born in Warrenton, NC, the daughter of William Eaton (1783-1869) and Eliza Hickman. Her mother died and her father remarried to Martha P. Hickman, Eliza's sister and Ella's aunt. Martha's will refers to Ella as her step-daughter and niece. Ella's father, William, was one of the wealthiest planters along the Roanoke River and he afforded Ella every possible advantage. As a young lady, Ella traveled extensively throughout Europe and attended Mrs. Meade's School in Richmond, VA. Her time was divided between Warrenton, NC and Washington, D. C. William Eaton built Eaton Place in the 1840s, in Warrenton, NC. The house is still there today and can be seen here: http://d.lib.ncsu.edu/collections/catalog/buch0093
Ella married Benjamin Augustus Dickens in Warren County on October 28, 1847. This marriage lasted 3 years and ended in divorce. At some point, she returned to Washington, D.C. where she met Congressman Peter H. Bell, who was also the former Governor of Texas. They married on October 22, 1856 in Washington, D.C.
Her husband retired from public office after his second term in Congress, and they moved to Texas. When Ella's father passed away, they moved back to Eaton Place in Warrenton, NC where they managed her father's estate. They sold the property in 1890 and moved to Littleton, NC where they lived out their lives together.
Ella died in 1897 and her husband Peter died in 1898. They were buried in a cemetery in Littleton, NC until 1930 when they were re-buried in Austin at the Texas State Cemetery.
Ella's obituary from Warrenton's newspaper "The Record", stated that "a lady of rare culture and refinement, well educated and traveled a great deal in her young days. She was delightfully entertaining in conversation having her mind well stored with incidents gathered from extensive reading and travel. She was a christian lady and died a member of the Episcopal church." Her will stated that everything would go to her husband. They had no children.
Ella's birth date varies according to census data as any time between 1831 to 1835. The gravesite in Texas records her birth date as 1835. A passage from The Southwestern Historical Quarterly, Vol. 13, page 326 records the following from Littleton College, Office of the President, J. M. Rhodes, Littleton, NC - Jan. 22, 1910, ..."Governor and Mrs. Bell are both buried in the same grave, over which there is a hollow brick wall, or a wall about eight inches thick and about three feet high. On top of this lies a marble slab, long enough to cover both graves. On the slab is the inscription, a copy of which I enclose - Died July 16, 1897. Ella Rives Bell Wife of Ex-Governor Bell. In her Sixty-second Year."
Ella married Benjamin Augustus Dickens in Warren County on October 28, 1847. This marriage lasted 3 years and ended in divorce. At some point, she returned to Washington, D.C. where she met Congressman Peter H. Bell, who was also the former Governor of Texas. They married on October 22, 1856 in Washington, D.C.
Her husband retired from public office after his second term in Congress, and they moved to Texas. When Ella's father passed away, they moved back to Eaton Place in Warrenton, NC where they managed her father's estate. They sold the property in 1890 and moved to Littleton, NC where they lived out their lives together.
Ella died in 1897 and her husband Peter died in 1898. They were buried in a cemetery in Littleton, NC until 1930 when they were re-buried in Austin at the Texas State Cemetery.
Ella's obituary from Warrenton's newspaper "The Record", stated that "a lady of rare culture and refinement, well educated and traveled a great deal in her young days. She was delightfully entertaining in conversation having her mind well stored with incidents gathered from extensive reading and travel. She was a christian lady and died a member of the Episcopal church." Her will stated that everything would go to her husband. They had no children.
Ella's birth date varies according to census data as any time between 1831 to 1835. The gravesite in Texas records her birth date as 1835. A passage from The Southwestern Historical Quarterly, Vol. 13, page 326 records the following from Littleton College, Office of the President, J. M. Rhodes, Littleton, NC - Jan. 22, 1910, ..."Governor and Mrs. Bell are both buried in the same grave, over which there is a hollow brick wall, or a wall about eight inches thick and about three feet high. On top of this lies a marble slab, long enough to cover both graves. On the slab is the inscription, a copy of which I enclose - Died July 16, 1897. Ella Rives Bell Wife of Ex-Governor Bell. In her Sixty-second Year."
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