BELL, Timothy (1821-1898) The autobiography. Dated Appleton, Wis., March 31st, 1898.
4to. 40 ff. of typescript. N.d. (paper cover watermarked 1892).
An interesting and revealing account of life and linen manufacturing in Belfast and Northern Ireland in the early and mid-19th century. Timothy Bell writes that he was born in Lurgan into a devout Quaker family. In 1827 or 1828 the family moved to Belfast, near the home of his cousin Richard Bell, of the firm of Richard & Jacob Bell. He attended Lisburn School in c. 1830 for four years, and was later apprenticed for five years to William, son of John Bell of John Bell & Co., who were cotton spinners. William Bell had an import business, and the author gives details of that and of other commercial interests in Belfast. In 1840 or 1841, aged 18, he was sent to Maranhão in Brazil where John Bell & Nephew, who traded in muslin and linen, had found a ready market for their goods. He lodged with Mr. Wilson, the vice-consul and one of the several English businessmen established at São Luís, and he gives a long description of life as an English merchant in the tropics, but after eighteen months he was summoned back to Belfast as the firm of John Bell & Nephew had failed. When his uncle in New York died, Timothy Bell was sent to dispose of his stock, and he took advantage of his stay in the U.S. to travel to Albany to visit an old school friend. On returning to Belfast he worked for John Finlay, the leading flax merchant, where he worked as agent for the sale of Russian flax and flax seed. During a further nine years he was employed as John Finlay’s manager, travelling to England and Scotland, and dealing in Dutch, Belgian, French, Italian and Russian flaxes. He later set up in business on his own, and subsequently emigrated to the U.S.A.
£200
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