This is the 3rd installment done on March 22, 2013
Hello Everyone!
This year is going by so fast. This is the first family installment for
2013. I decided to write a little more
about the Bell side this time. Since we
are all related I thought it would still be relevant for the Steele’s. In honor of the Jackie Robinson movie coming
out 42 (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/
Warren Charles Bell married a woman from Putnam County named
Mary Louise (Mollie) Reid. Warren Bell
must have been very well respected in the community because the announcement of
the marriage made it into the Union Recorder newspaper.
January 26, 1886
Union and Recorder
Warren Bell, the colored
porter of the store of A. Joseph, Esq., was married in Eatonton, on Wednesday,
20th inst., to Miss Mollie Reid, of that town, the ceremony being performed by
Rev. G. W. Fears. Warren was born and raised here and has the esteem of many
whites as well as colored friends. We hope he and his bride will have a happy
and prosperous voyage on the somewhat uncertain sea of matrimony.
I have attached a photo of Mollie in her
wedding gown. This was probably handmade by Mollie herself because she was
listed as a seamstress on the census.
Don’t be alarmed that is was not white, the tradition of wearing white
wedding gowns came much later after the wedding of Queen Victoria to Albert in
1840. It did not become a tradition around the world until the advent of the
department store where purchases of wedding gowns were available in 1890.
Now back to Ambrose.
Mollie’s mother was a woman name Katherine (Katie) Broyle. Katie took the name Rainey from the family
that she traveled to Georgia with from Woodstock or Culpepper, Virginia. I am not sure what her status was I have not
found her listed as a FPOC in 1850 or 1860.
Katie had two children (Mollie and Katherine) by a man name David Henry
Reid. The Reid’s were Irish/Scots that migrated to Georgia from North Carolina,
via Lancaster, Pennsylvania, via Ulster, Ireland. David Reid fought in the civil war as a
confederate soldier along side another solider name William Suther who Katie
had an additional 5 children with. These children are listed as Rainey’s and
never took the Suther name. They were
Willie (Big Willie) Tommy Lee (Uncle Bubba), Jessie, Deuie or Dewie, and Annie
Claude or Claudia.
Jessie had a son by an Eatonton resident (last name Reid),
which she named Ambrose Leevolia Reid, he was named after the brother that
Katie Broyle left in Virginia and would never see again. Ambrose Reid was born December 3, 1895 or
1898 in Eatonton, Georgia and died in April of 1966 in Philadelphia,
Pennsylvania. I don’t know when Ambrose
took up baseball but in 1920 Ambrose Reid is listed as a player in the Southern
Negro League on the Atlanta Black Crackers.
From 1920 – 1932 he played for numerous team including the Detroit Stars,
Atlantic City Bacharach Giants, Philadelphia Hilldale Giants, Homestead Grays,
and the Pittsburgh Crawfords. He played
outfield, first, second, and third base.
Here is an excerpt from a story in 1931 that talks about Ambrose’s
playing.
Ageless Joe Williams went the distance as Homestead’s Grays
finished off St. Louis’ Stars in an April 13, 1931, luminous pitched, 8-1 win.
Williams slammed out a solo home run, showing that he was still the “Smokey
Joe” of old at bat as well as on the mound. Outfielder Ambrose Reid waylaid a pair of home runs, while ‘Jud”
Wilson added another home run. The win completed Pittsburgh’s three-game series
sweep.
The History
of the Negro Leagues
Prior
to 1890 there were integrated baseball teams. Fleetwood Walker and John D.
“Bud” Fowler were some of the most prominent black players during this time. Due
to pressures of segregation, there were about 200 black independent teams that
played in loosely organized groups by 1880.
By the early 1900’s the black baseball league found America’s heartland
and the south. By the end of World War I black baseball had become the number
one entertainment attraction for urban black populations. Three leagues were formed The Negro National
League, The Negro Southern League, and the Eastern Colored League. Ambrose at one time or another played in all
three leagues. Negro baseball became one
the most successful financial ventures of the time. As World War II came to a close many felt
that it was time that baseball’s color barriers came down. On April 18, 1946
the Dodger’s owner Branch Richie signed Jackie Robinson. Robinson was
instrumental in leading the Dodgers to a National League pendant. He was also
awarded Rookie of the Year. At the end
of the 1949 season the Negro League disbanded.
http://www.
During
Ambrose’s
time on the field he was on a championship team and played with the
some of the greatest players in history.
He helped pave the way by instilling the love of baseball in people’s
hearts and mind. He laid out a path for future players like Jackie
Robinson. Attached is Ambrose’s card that sold last year for $948.
If
anyone has other pictures or stories about Ambrose let me know.
Family Updated
Research
Also
thanks to our cousin Karen in California, there is a correction to the Jane
Gilbert/Brooks/Mitchell story. Laura Mitchell’s
mother was Jane McComb and Jane Gilbert is listed as Grandmother on the 1880
census. I have corrected the information
on my ancestry.com page. Also our story
of Jane and family was used in the February newsletter on ancestry.com (http://ancestry-stickynotes.
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