A Guide to the Paul G. Bell Papers, 1824-1877, 1912, 1937-2002
Descriptive Summary | ||
| Creator: | Bell, Paul G. | |
| Title: | Paul G. Bell Papers | |
| Dates: | 1824-1877, 1912, 1937-2002 | |
| Abstract: | Speeches, correspondence, chronological files, genealogical research, photographs, financial and legal documents, certificates, Bell’s 1999 biography My War Story, and military records comprise the Paul G. Bell Papers, 1824-1877, 1912, 1937-2002, which relate to Bell's research on the Austin, Bryan, Gawley, Perry, Shepard, and Lewis families as well as his military career during and following World War II. | |
| Accession No.: | 2000-181; 2001-044; 2002-030; 2005-157; 2009-215; 2010-186 | |
| OCLC No.: | 55890170 | |
| Extent: | 5 ft., 5 in. | |
| Laguage: | Materials are written in English. | |
| Repository: | Dolph Briscoe Center for American History,The University of Texas at Austin | |
Biographical Note
Paul Gervais Bell, Jr. was born July 15, 1922 in Fort Knox, Kentucky to Paul Gervais and Mary Bryan Bell. After graduating from Lamar High School in 1939, he graduated from the New Mexico Military Institute in 1942. During World War II, he entered the U.S. Army in 1943 to fight in the European Theater of War and earn a Purple Heart and an European-African-Middle Eastern Campaign Medal with Two Bronze Stars, among other honors. After the war, he was promoted to Captain on November 8, 1949, and continued to serve until his honorable discharge in 1954. Bell served the Texas State Historical Association as second vice president (1996) and president (1998-1999). He is a descendant of Moses Austin Bryan and a member of the Sons of the Republic of Texas. Due to interest in his family genealogy, Bell has extensively researched the Bryan, Gawley, Austin, Perry, Shepard, and Lewis families.
Scope and Contents
Speeches, correspondence, chronological files, genealogical research, photographs, financial and legal documents, certificates, Bell’s 1999 biography My War Story, and military records comprise the Paul G. Bell Papers, 1824-1877, 1912, 1937-2002. Genealogical research on Bryan, Gawley, Austin, Perry, Shepard, and Lewis families includes copies of letters, financial invoices, a diary, a 1912 school yearbook, and photographs. Original correspondence, receipts and bills, property inventories, land papers, and other legal and financial documents, 1824-1877, pertain to the personal and business lives of Guy M. Bryan, Moses Austin Bryan, Cora Lewis Bryan, the Bryan family, Thomas Jefferson Chambers, Chauncy B. Shepard, the Shepard family, Ira Randolph Lewis, and the Lewis family. Additionally, correspondence, certificates, army officer’s notebooks, a military patch, an insignia medal, and other military records document Bell’s service during and after World War II as an officer in the U.S. Army. His 1999 privately printed biography, My War Story, contains transcriptions and photocopies of his war documents.
Restrictions
Access Restrictions
The collection is open for research use.
Photographic negatives are restricted for preservation purposes.
Index Terms | ||
| Subjects (Persons) | ||
| Bell, Paul G. – Archives | ||
| Austin family. | ||
| Bryant family. | ||
| Bryan, Moses Austin, 1817-1895. | ||
| Gawley family. | ||
| Ledbetter, Paul V. | ||
| Lewis family. | ||
| Perry family. | ||
| Subjects (Organizations) | ||
| Texas State Historical Association. | ||
| Sons of the Republic of Texas. | ||
| Subjects | ||
| World War, 1939-1945 -- Texas. | ||
| Places | ||
| Texas -- Genealogy. | ||
| Texas -- History -- Republic, 1836-1846. | ||
| Texas -- History -- 1846-1950. | ||
Administrative Information
Preferred Citation
Paul G. Bell Papers, 1824-1877, 1912, 1937-2002, Dolph Briscoe Center for American History, The University of Texas at Austin.
Detailed Description of the Papers