Peter Hansborough Bell

Bell was a businessman from Virginia, born there in 1812. He came to Texas to join the fight for independence, serving as a private in the Army at the Battle of San Jacinto. He later served in the Texas Rangers and then the US Army during the Mexican American War. He was later elected Governor of Texas in 1849 and 1851, serving two terms, and then served as a US Representative for two terms. Following his congressional service, he moved to North Carolina where he lived the remainder of his life, dying in 1898. He was originally buried in Littleton, NC, but he and his wife were reinterred in the Texas State Cemetery in 1930. Bell County is named in his honor.