Clan Bell Septs
The following names are considered septs or associated names of Clan Bell:
Baeill, Bail, Baill, Bails, Bale, Bales, Ball, Bayle, Bayles, Beal, Beale, Beales, Beall, Bealles, Bealls, Beals, Beel, Beele, Beeles, Beels, Behel, Beil, Beill, Beils, Bel, Bell, Belle, Bellis, Biehl, Biel, Biels, Bile, Biles, and Bill
Bell was accepted by CDSNA as a sept of Clan Douglas in 1984 based on the research and historical evidence provided by Col. William H. Bell.
There is an interesting connection between the Douglas sept name Blacket and that of Bell. Scotland – Crossing the Borders in Quest of the Bell Clan states,
Today, Blacket House is recognized as the Bell family seat because it was the home of the clan’s last recognized chief, William (Redcloak) Bell. Near the village of Eaglesfield, the tower is all that remains of the original L-shaped Blacket House.
In an article describing the Bells and the relationship of William Bell and Flora McCorquodal,
“……This old West Marche Clan, one of the eight great riding families of the Scottish Border since the early 1100s, were retainers of the Great House of Douglas and also allied with the best border families through blood and friendship. Their land holdings were extensive, and to survive, they engaged in the “rieving” of the period and participated in many battles against the English.”
James and Frances Bell, in Sir Robert Bell and his early Virginia Colony descendants…(page 102) claim
Charles Davidson Bell’s Memorial of the Clan of the Bells tells of the relationship of the Bells and the Douglas on Scotland’s border in those early days. The Bells were never a Sept but retainers of and allied with the Great House of Douglas by blood as well as friendship. They generally accompanied any of the Douglas in their expeditions and invasions into England and the Bells of Kirkconnel, being valiant men, were always sent upon the most hazardous enterprises.
When William, 8th Earl of Douglas, set out for London in 1451 to foment a rebellion against the Scottish Crown, Thomas Bell of Kirkconnel went with him and his name was included in the Letter of Safe Passage. After the murder of William, his brother James, 9th Earl of Douglas, attempted to avenge his death by armed opposition to King James II. Betrayed by almost all his allies, but not the Bells, the 9th Earl lost at Arkinholme on 1 May 1455. The Earl escaped to France, but his possessions went to the victors and the Bell Family, it is said, forfeited Kirkconnel to the Maxwells. The Bells of Blackethouse did not lose their lands. After the fall from power of the Black Douglases, records how that the Bells of Dumfriesshire were ever more turbulent. In 1484, the forfeited 9th Earl of Douglas returned to Scotland with a small Army of 500 men. He rested at Bell’s Castle on the eve of the Battle of Kirtle.
Sources:
Anderson, William. The Scottish Nation, Or, the Surnames, Families, Literature, Honours, &
Biographical History of the People of Scotland [3,683]. Wakefield: Microform Academic, 2001. Print.
Bell, James Elton, and Frances Jean Bell. Sir Robert Bell and his early Virginia Colony descendants: a compilation of 16th, 17th, and 18th century English and Scottish families with the surname Bell, Beale, le Bel … et al.. rev. C. Tucson, Ariz.: Wheatmark, 2007. Print.
Bell, Col. William H. “Letter to the Editor.” Dubh Ghlase X.4&5 (1985). Print.
lan Bell International website. http://www.clanbell.org/
Scotland – Crossing the Borders in Quest of the Bell Clan. http://ezinearticles.com/?Scotland—Crossing-the-Borders-in-Quest-of-the-Bell-Clan&id=4473744
William Bell and Flora McCorquodale.
http://www.angelfire.com/space/kellysworld/genealogy/people/BellMcCorquodale.html