Last updated: November 2, 2021
Person
Sim Bell
Falan Goff
Quick Facts
Significance:
Florida Homesteader
Place of Birth:
Florida
Date of Birth:
March 1842
Simon “Sim” Bell was born March 1842 in Florida and on July 5th, 1866, at 24 years old, he was married to Eliza “Liza” Kilcrease.
When Sim was 37 years old, he filed a Homestead Application #5620 on June 26th, 1872, at the county clerk’s office in Tallahassee, Florida for 39.94 acres located in Chattahoochee, Gadsden County. Sim paid seven dollars for the application filing fee.
Sim Bell ‘s claimant testimony in support for his Homestead application #5620 was on December 16th 1878. He was the head of his family; and in addition to his wife had a total of 4 children living with him. Upon later research, he and his wife Eliza had a total of 9 children.
Sim made a revealing statement in his testimony that he was a “Native Born Citizen of the United States by virtue of Emancipation Proclamation of President Lincoln.” This statement leads one to believe he was born enslaved and this gave him an opportunity to acknowledge that he was freed from slavery. Sim received 39.94 acres which is just short of his 40 acres. During that time, it was symbolic of an unfulfilled promise of land to those who had endured the terrors of slavery known as “40 acres and a mule.”
Sim settled on the land June 26th, 1872 and established actual residence around September or about October 1st, 1872. He made improvements to his land that included a house, an outhouse and about 30 acres of cultivated land. The total value of the improvements was about $75 dollars. On about 30 of his acres, Sim cultivated corn, cotton, sugar cane, potatoes, ground peas and rice. He specifically stated that he moved his family with him to the homestead and they had resided there up to that present time of his testimony on December 1878. Sim’s final application was approved on June 5, 1882 and he received his land patent # 1588 on August 25, 1882.
Additional research revealed that in the 1885 Florida State Census Sim Bell, Eliza and their children, including his Aunt Matilda Baker lived on his homestead. The 1885 Census and 1900 Census included the names of his 9 children (Elville Bell, Eliza Bell, Meshader Bell, Josephine Bell Goldin, David Bell, Carry Bell and Ruth Bell Jones).
In that same 1885 census, Sim lived near 30 of his family members that consisted of his nieces and nephews and, his siblings (Arthur Bell, Milly Bell-Smith and William Bell).
By the 1900 US Census, Sim is 58 and a farmer, who owns his home and farm. Twelve (12) people are now living with him including Milly and her daughter Lucinda Scott. Lucinda and her children Maud L Scott and Olivia Scott were Sim’s grandnieces.
~ Contributed by Falan Goff
Image of acres that made up Sim Bell’s 39.94 acres of land.
Latitude 30.6661568083384
Longitude 84.8277225667653
Image credit: Falan Goff
More from Falan Goff: Milly Bell is my 3x great grandmother. Of her 6 children, Lucinda (Eliza) Scott is my 2x great grandmother and her daugher, Olivia Scott-Woods, was my great grandmother. Olivia’s daughter Maud Woods-Humphries, my grandmother, is now 91 years old.
Pictured: Maud Olivia Woods Humphries, age 91, pictured holding a jar of Red Soil Clay from her great-great uncle Simon “Sim” Bell’s Homestead in Chattahoochee, Gadsden County, FL. The jar is also sealed with a Bell to represent her Bell ancestor.
Photo Credit: Falan Goff
The homestead is no longer in the family, however, Maud was made aware of her of her family through discovering Sim’s Homestead Record. She always knew her family was from Gadsden County and grew up only knowing a small number of her relatives. In fact, she never knew how many relatives she truly had until now. When told the story of Simon, Maud stated that she “wished her mother was alive to know this.” It has been 149 years since Sim first settled on his land. Maud was told that Simon was a farmer. She then stated that her family always kept the tradition of getting fresh vegetables and agriculture products from Chattahoochee. She recalled it being the best tasting produce in the area. I also informed Maud that Sim’s land was less then a mile away from the Apalachicola River. She informed me that was the only way they could travel to her hometown of Apalachicola from Chattahoochee. The Apalachicola River was a major mover of commerce during that time.
Photo of Falan Goff
Photo Credit: Falan Goff
Falan Olivia Goff is the 3rd great grandniece of Florida Homesteader, Simon “Sim” Bell and Eliza Bell.
Falan is a genealogist/family historian. She is currently an active member of Mobile Creole Cultural and Historical Preservation Society. She is a 2x graduate of Florida A&M University receiving her Master of Science in Agriculture. Falan currently works for the United States Department of Agriculture. She has always been drawn to connecting family history, agriculture and ancestral lands. Falan's primary goal is to continue to educate and connect families through her work with genealogy. She also is vested in bridging the gap between agriculture and family history. Her primary areas of research are along the Gulf Coast from Bayou Lafourche and Orleans Parrish, La, Mobile, AL and Apalachicola, FL. She is also researching Gadsden County FL and Orangeburg, SC.