| Life fact | Information |
|---|---|
| Full name | Richard P. Bell, M.D. |
| Born | September 28, 1881, in Staunton, Virginia |
| Parents | Richard P. Bell and Emma Lyle Frazier |
| Spouse | Mary Campbell Gratsy |
| Children | Virginia Lyle, Richard Phillips, Mary Gratsy, Thomas G., Lewis Frazier, and Janet Bayless Bell |
| Principal role | Physician and surgeon in Staunton |
| Military service | Major and chief surgeon, United States Army, World War I |
| Decoration | Order of Officier d’Academie with silver palms |
Genealogy of Richard P. Bell, M.D.
This genealogical account was constructed from the family information contained in the biography below. No relationships or life facts have been added from outside sources.
Richard P. Bell was born September 28, 1881, in Staunton, Virginia, a son of Richard P. Bell and Emma Lyle Frazier. His paternal grandparents were Major Henderson M. Bell and Anne Kinney, and his paternal great-grandparents were James Bell and Betsey Henderson. The account traces the Bell line to an unnamed English immigrant.
In 1909, Richard P. Bell married Mary Campbell Gratsy. Their six children were Virginia Lyle Bell, Richard Phillips Bell, Jr., Mary Gratsy Bell, Thomas G. Bell, Lewis Frazier Bell, and Janet Bayless Bell.
Family outline
Richard P. Bell, M.D.
- Father: Richard P. Bell
- Mother: Emma Lyle (Frazier) Bell
- Paternal grandfather: Major Henderson M. Bell
- Paternal grandmother: Anne (Kinney) Bell
- Wife: Mary Campbell Gratsy
- Children: Virginia Lyle, Richard Phillips, Mary Gratsy, Thomas G., Lewis Frazier, and Janet Bayless Bell
Source
This biography appeared in History of the Shenandoah Valley: Family and Personal Records, Volume III (Lewis Historical Publishing Company, Inc., 1952), pages 41-42.
Verbatim biography
The following is a faithful transcription of the original biography. OCR errors have been corrected against the printed page images, but the original wording, spelling, grammar, punctuation, and factual claims have not been rewritten.
RICHARD P. BELL, M.D.—For a number of years, Dr. Richard P. Bell has been considered an outstanding physician and surgeon of Staunton, and one of the most distinguished members of his profession in the state of Virginia. He is personally popular, and his professional abilities are held in high regard, wherever his name is known.
A native of Staunton, Dr. Bell was born September 28, 1881, son of Richard P. and Emma Lyle (Frazier) Bell; grandson of Major Henderson M. and Anne (Kinney) Bell; and great-grandson of James and Betsey (Henderson) Bell. The family was established in the American colonies by the great-great-great-grandfather of Dr. Bell, a native of England who came to what is now Augusta County, Virginia, becoming one of the pioneers of the Shenandoah Valley. Members of the family served in the American Revolution, and all bearers of the name have been a credit to their locality and state. Joseph Bell, the son of the immigrant, became a large plantation owner in Augusta County, and on his homestead James Bell, the great-grandfather of Dr. Bell, was born.
Major Henderson Bell, the grandfather of Dr. Bell, received his title in the Confederate States Army. He was an attorney, and following the close of the war became a member of the famous law firm of Echols, Bell and Catlett. All of the members of this firm attained widespread distinction in their profession.
Richard P. Bell, a son of Major Bell and father of Dr. Bell, was born in Staunton, May 6, 1853, and died in that city February 22, 1904. He was a graduate of the Virginia Military Institute and the law department of the University of Virginia, and his life was spent at Staunton, where those of his confreres now living speak of him in the highest terms, both as a representative of his profession and as a man. Richard P. Bell married Emma Lyle Frazier, and to them seven children were born. Four of these survive: three daughters and one son, the latter being Dr. Richard Bell.
Passing his boyhood in his native community, Dr. Bell attended the schools there before taking his academic and professional training at the University of Virginia. He received his degree of Bachelor of Arts in 1901, and that of Doctor of Medicine in 1905. His interneship was passed in the hospital of the University of Virginia at Charlottesville, after which he entered the Union Protestant Infirmary in Baltimore. For four years he specialized in surgery.
It was in 1910 that Dr. Bell relocated in his native Staunton, and there he has practiced ever since, the only major interruption in the continuity of his practice being his term of service during World War I. At that time, he enlisted in the United States Army (January, 1918), and was stationed at Camp Hancock, Georgia, where he received a captain’s commission. Until July, 1918, he served with that rank in connection with Base Hospital No. 53, and was thereafter promoted to the rank of major and placed in charge as chief surgeon of his hospital. In the same month he was ordered overseas, attached to Base Hospital No. 53, but was in charge of an operating team which was attached to Mobile Hospital No. 6 at the front. For his services, Dr. Bell was cited and decorated by the French Government. He received a citation certificate and decoration of the Order of Officier d’Academie, with silver palms, awarded by the French Government on the recommendation of General Galon. In February, 1919, Dr. Bell was returned to the United States, and he received his honorable discharge the next month. He resumed practice at Staunton.
Dr. Richard P. Bell married, in 1909, Mary Campbell Gratsy, and they became the parents of six children: 1. Virginia Lyle, a graduate of Stuart Hall and of Mary Baldwin College; also of Wheaton College, Norton, Massachusetts. She married C. G. Hull, Jr., of Greenwood, Mississippi, and their children are Martha Virginia, Clarence G., and Richard P. 2. Dr. Richard Phillips, Jr., who was educated at Staunton Military Academy and Dartmouth College, and who took his degree of Doctor of Medicine from the University of Virginia in 1936. During World War II, Dr. Richard Bell, Jr., entered the United States Army Medical Corps, and his war-time career to a remarkable degree duplicated that of his father during World War I. He served in base hospitals in North Africa and Italy, and was commissioned a major. On his return from service he spent one year in postgraduate work before joining his father in practice in Staunton. He specializes in surgery. Dr. Richard P. Bell, Jr., married Hilda Franklin of Martinsburg, and they are the parents of two children: Richard P., III, and James Franklin. 3. Mary Gratsy, a graduate of Stuart Hall and of Mary Baldwin College. She married Dr. Henry St. George Tucker, Jr., of Richmond. Their children are Henry St. George, III, and Richard Bell. 4. Dr. Thomas G., who received his education at the Episcopal High School and graduated with the degree of Bachelor of Arts from the University of Virginia, and with the degree of Doctor of Medicine from the same university in 1938. At the time of World War II, he enlisted in the United States Army Medical Corps and was commissioned a first lieutenant. He served in the Pacific area and also in Japan, and during the course of this service, he was promoted to captain. On his return to civilian life, he took a residency in obstetrics at the University of Virginia Hospital. Dr. Thomas G. Bell married Eleanor Lile Tucker of Cleveland, Ohio, and they have two children, Eleanor Lile and Virginia Lile. 5. Dr. Lewis Frazier. He was educated first at the Episcopal High School and later at the University of Virginia, from which he received both the degree of Bachelor of Arts and that of Doctor of Medicine. He served in the Medical Corps in the Pacific and Japan during and after World War II, and since his return to civilian life is assistant resident in medicine at the University of Virginia Hospital. Dr. Lewis F. Bell married Eugenie McChristal, and their only child is Mary McChristal. 6. Janet Bayless, a graduate of Stuart Hall and of Mary Baldwin College.