Shake Rag, Georgia · a family history exhibition
Bell Family History
Generations of one Georgia family, four family lines, and the records that tell their story.
Enter the exhibition ↓A collateral relative: son of Joseph Scott Bell, not in the direct line shown here. Brady-Handy Collection, Library of Congress
Timeline
The family year by year, each entry sourced.
Discover →ExploreFamily Tree
Every generation, filterable by line.
Discover →ExploreCherokee Roots
The Vann, McNair and Rogers line, link by link.
Discover →ExploreGallery
Spring Place and the places tied to the family.
Discover →ExploreStories
Galleries telling the family's story in records.
Discover →The Bells of Shake Rag descend from Francis Bell, a Revolutionary War soldier from Guilford County, North Carolina. Francis settled in Jackson County, Georgia around 1800, and his son Joseph Scott Bell moved the family to Forsyth County in 1838–40. In 1846 Anderson Smith Bell married Albina McNair Rogers, joining the Bells to the Cherokee-connected Rogers, McNair, Vann and Cordery families along the Chattahoochee. Their line runs through W. A. Bell to Thomas Randall Bell, and five generations rest at Rogers-Bell Cemetery in Johns Creek, Fulton County.
Every fact links to its source and carries a label: verified a record or a published primary or near-primary source · likely consistent secondary evidence · testimony recollections from family members.
Gallery I
Into Georgia
A Revolutionary War soldier and his son carry the Bell name south.
Francis Bell of Guilford County, North Carolina settled in Jackson County, Georgia around 1800. His son Joseph Scott Bell moved the family to Forsyth County in 1838–40.
Gallery II
A marriage joins two worlds
1846: Anderson Smith Bell and Albina McNair Rogers.
The marriage of Anderson Smith Bell and Albina McNair Rogers joined the Bells to the Cherokee-connected Rogers, McNair, Vann and Cordery families along the Chattahoochee. See Cherokee Roots.
Gallery III
Shake Rag
The community, the church and the family cemetery.
Five generations rest at Rogers-Bell Cemetery in Johns Creek. The line runs through Louis Raphael Bell and W. A. Bell to Thomas Randall Bell. See Shake Rag & Duluth.
Gallery IV
The family today
Living relatives appear by name and relationship only.
Browse every generation in the family tree, or follow the story year by year in the timeline.
Gallery wall
Spring Place
The Vann family home in the Cherokee Nation, places tied to the Vann line, and a portrait of a collateral Bell relative. None is a photograph of a direct ancestor.
The collections
The main lines
Bell line
Francis Bell, a Revolutionary War soldier of Guilford Co., NC, settled in Jackson Co., GA around 1800. His son Joseph Scott Bell moved the family to Forsyth Co. in 1838–40, and the line continues through Anderson Smith Bell of Shake Rag, W. A. Bell and Thomas Randall Bell.
22 people
Rogers line
John Rogers of Bulloch Co. and Sarah Cordery settled above the Chattahoochee; their granddaughter Albina married Anderson Smith Bell in 1846.
3 people
McNair line
Capt. David McNair, a Scottish pioneer, built McNair's Stand at a Cherokee council ground in Tennessee; his daughter Mary Vann McNair married William Rogers.
2 people
Chatham line
Mamie E. Chatham married W. A. Bell in 1919. Several Chathams rest at Rogers-Bell.
1 people
Families joined by marriage
Cordery family
Sarah Cordery, part Cherokee, wife of John Rogers.
3 people
Vann family
Delilah Amelia Vann, daughter of a Cherokee chief, married David McNair.
2 people
Phinazee family
Rachel Phinazee, a native Georgian of Irish descent, married Joseph Scott Bell around 1813–14.
3 people
Allen family
Julia Blanch Allen married Louis Raphael Bell and, after his death, Walter Lenoir Bell.
1 people
Family tree
Every generation, filterable by line.
Timeline
The family year by year, with labels and sources.
Cherokee Roots
The Vann, McNair and Rogers line, sourced link by link.
Sources
Every record and reference used.
The family emblem is an original design for this site, not a granted coat of arms or inherited heraldry; no arms are known for this Bell line.
Open questions
- Mamie Chatham's parents and the Chathams' origins.
- Julia Blanch Allen's parents.
- Sarah Bell's married name and burial; Helen Vantress's burial.
- Primary (census or probate) confirmation of the tree links for generations 3–5.