James BELL, Congress, NH (1804-1857)

BELL, James, (son of Samuel Bell, uncle of Samuel Newell Bell, and cousin of Charles Henry Bell), a Senator from New Hampshire; born in Francistown, Hillsboro County, N.H., November 13, 1804; attended Phillips Academy, Andover, Mass., and was graduated from Bowdoin College, Brunswick, Maine, in 1822; studied law at Litchfield Law School, Litchfield, Conn.; was admitted to the bar in 1825 and commenced practice in Gilmanton, N.H.; moved to Exeter in 1831 and to Gilford in 1846; member, New Hampshire house of representatives 1846-1850; delegate to the State constitutional convention in 1850; unsuccessful candidate for Governor of New Hampshire in 1854 and 1855; elected as a Republican to the United States Senate for the term beginning March 4, 1855, and served from July 30, 1855, until his death in Laconia, Belknap County, N.H., May 26, 1857; interment in Exeter Cemetery, Exeter, N.H.

Source: Biographical Directory of the United States Congress, 1771-Present