Frank Bell (governor)

American politician

Frank Bell

6th Governor of Nevada
In office
September 21, 1890 – January 5, 1891
Lieutenant| Vacant
Preceded by| Charles C. Stevenson
Succeeded by| Roswell K. Colcord
8th Lieutenant Governor of Nevada
In office
1889–1890
Governor| Charles C. Stevenson
Preceded by| Samuel W. Chubbuck
Succeeded by| Joseph Poujade
Personal details
Born|

Francis Jardine Bell

(1840-01-28)January 28, 1840
Toronto, Upper Canada (modern Ontario, Canada)
Died| February 13, 1927(1927-02-13) (aged 87)
Oakland, California, U.S.
Resting place| Masonic Memorial Gardens
Reno, Nevada, U.S.
Political party| Republican
Spouse|

Mary Poore

(m. 1872; died 1925)​

Children| 2

Francis Jardine Bell (January 28, 1840 – February 13, 1927) was a British North American-born American politician who was the sixth governor of Nevada. He was a member of the Republican Party.

## Biography

[edit]

Bell was born on January 28, 1840, in Toronto, in the province of Upper Canada (a British colony at the time; Confederation would not be achieved until another 27 years after his birth). He was educated in the common schools of his native country. He was a distant cousin to Alexander Graham Bell. He married Mary Poore on July 9, 1872, in Reno, Nevada and they had two children.[1]

## Career

[edit]

Bell came to Nevada in 1858, to supervise the construction of a transcontinental telegraph line though the state from Utah to California. He worked on this project until 1860. Later, Bell became a telegraph operator and was one of operators who telegraphed Nevada's Constitution to Washington D.C. in 1864.

Bell served as warden of the Nevada State Prison from 1883 to 1887. In 1889, he was appointed the eighth lieutenant governor by Charles C. Stevenson. He became acting governor when Governor Stevenson signed a disability certificate on September 1, 1890, making him Nevada's first foreign-born governor.[2] During his tenure, he continued to carry out the policies of the Stevenson administration.

Bell did not seek a full term, serving until the inauguration of Roswell K. Colcord in 1891. He then returned to his work in the telephone and telegraph field. He continued to be politically active. He served as Warden of the Nevada State Prison from 1893 to 1895 and as justice of the peace from 1905 to 1909.[3]

## Death

[edit]

Bell died on February 13, 1927, in his daughter's home in Oakland, California, at the age of 87. He is interred at Masonic Memorial Gardens in Reno, Nevada.

## See also

[edit]

* List of U.S. state governors born outside the United States

## References

[edit]

1. ^ "Frank Bell (governor)". National Governors Association. Retrieved September 28, 2012.
2. ^ "Frank Bell (governor)". Nevada Culture. org. Archived from the original on March 5, 2012. Retrieved September 28, 2012.
3. ^ "Frank Bell (governor)". National Governors Association. Retrieved September 28, 2012.

## External links

[edit]

* Frank Bell at Find a Grave
* Biography
* Nevada Culture.org
* National Governors Association

Political offices

Preceded by

Charles C. Stevenson

|  Governor of Nevada
1890 – 1891  | Succeeded by

Roswell K. Colcord

Preceded by

Samuel W. Chubbuck

|  Lieutenant Governor of Nevada
1889 – 1890  | Succeeded by

Joseph Poujade

* v
* t
* e

Governors of Nevada

Provisional (1859–1861)|

* Roop

Territorial (1861–1864)|

* Nye

State (since 1864)|

* Blasdel
* Bradley
* Kinkead
* Adams
* Stevenson
* Bell
* Colcord
* Jones
* Sadler
* Sparks
* Dickerson
* Oddie
* Boyle
* Scrugham
* Balzar
* Griswold
* Kirman
* Carville
* Pittman
* Russell
* Sawyer
* Laxalt
* O'Callaghan
* List
* Bryan
* Miller
* Guinn
* Gibbons
* Sandoval
* Sisolak
* Lombardo

* v
* t
* e

Lieutenant governors of Nevada

* Crosman
* Slingerland
* Denver
* Hyman
* Adams
* Laughton
* Davis
* Chubbuck
* F. Bell
* Poujade
* Sadler
* Judge
* Allen
* Dickerson
* Ross
* Sullivan
* Griswold
* Alward
* Sullivan
* Pittman
* Jones
* R. Bell
* Frazier
* Laxalt
* Fike
* Reid
* Rose
* Leavitt
* Cashell
* Miller
* Wagner
* Hammargren
* Hunt
* Krolicki
* Hutchison
* Marshall
* Cano Burkhead
* Anthony

Authority control databases

International|

* VIAF

National|

* Germany

*[m.]: married
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