Good Morning list: Adams/Robertson Co.,TN has been keeping the story of the Bell Witch alive for over 200 years. I have just finished reading a new book(fiction) and find it to give great insites in how our early TN families may have lived on a day to day basis.("All that lives" by Melissa Sanders-Self ISBN 0-446-52691-6 get your library to order it for you in inter-library loan. Has anyone out there read M.V. Ingram's Authenticated History of the Bell Witch, 1894 or had the story passed down in their family? Penny NM

What is the BELL WITCH? mema ----- Original Message ----- From: "Penolope Giacoletti" <azaeox3@cybermesa.com> To: <TN-ROOTWALKER-L@rootsweb.com> Sent: Thursday, April 03, 2003 6:40 PM Subject: [ROOTWALKER] The Bell Witch of TN > > > > > > > Good Morning list: > > Adams/Robertson Co.,TN has been keeping the story of the Bell Witch alive for over 200 years. I have just finished reading a new book(fiction) and find it to give great insites in how our early TN families may have lived on a day to day basis.("All that lives" by Melissa Sanders-Self ISBN 0-446-52691-6 get your library to order it for you in inter-library loan. > > Has anyone out there read M.V. Ingram's Authenticated History of the Bell Witch, 1894 or had the story passed down in their family? > > Penny > NM > > > > > ==== TN-ROOTWALKER Mailing List ==== > To change from list mode to digest mode, send the word unsubscribe to TN-ROOTWALKER-L-request@rootsweb.com and then send the word subscribe to TN-ROOTWALKER-D-request@rootsweb.com > > ============================== > To join Ancestry.com and access our 1.2 billion online genealogy records, go to: > http://www.ancestry.com/rd/redir.asp?targetid=571&sourceid=1237 > >

Penny, I have a reprint of the "Authenticated History of the Bell Witch" by M.V. Ingram. It is a red, soft cover book, 4 1/2 inches by 6 inches, 316 pages. I have read it. My husband is fascinated with the Bell Witch story. We have visited Adams, Tenn. in Robertson Co. where the Bell Family and Kate Batts lived. I have been interested in the Bell family because there are Morris family members mentioned in this book and I had thought that some of my Morris family might be traced from where the Bell family came from. Stories have it that Morris families came to Tenn. with the Bell family as well as other families. John Bell was born in Halifax Co. NC in 1750, married Lucy Williams in 1782. Lucy was the daughter of John Williams of Edgecombe Co. NC. The Bells had 9 children, 7 sons and 2 daughters. The "Witch" supposedly disliked John Bell and tormented him until he died (poisoned as I recall) in 1820. The witch liked his wife, Lucy. There are supposed to many accounts of the hauntings and sightings of this witch. Some people think it was a neighbor, Kate Batts. Mr. John Bell was reported to have cheated her in some kind of a deal (land, I think) and she swore revenge on him. The Tenn. State Library has a file on the Bell Witch and so does the Clarksville Public Library. There are several newer books on it too. Andrew Jackson is reported to have gone with a group of people to the Bell home to check the stories out for himself. It was said that his buggy only got so close to the home and that the horses were unable to move any closer, no matter how hard they tried. Andrew Jackson was convinced at this point that there was something to the story and it is said that he and his entourage left, never coming back there again. After Mr. Bell died, the witch disappeared saying that she would return in 7 years and did so. Then at some time (I don't recall) left again, saying that she would return in 100 years which would have been sometime in the 1930s. I do not live in Tenn. and don't know if anything was ever reported in the area during that time or not. I have not seen anything written about it, if there were any sightings. My husband took some notes from information in the file at TSLA and I can look for them if anyone wants to know more. As I recall, Mr. Bell was excommunicated from his church as it was determined that he had cheated someone out of something. The M.V. Ingram book certainly does not indicate this. It extoles him as a good and virtuous person. Interesting history there! I asked several of my older cousins still living in Tenn. if they knew anything about this and they told me no. Deanna