Joshua Fry BELL, Congress, KY (1811-1870)

BELL Joshua Fry , a Representative from Kentucky; born in Danville, Boyle County, Ky., November 26, 1811; attended the public schools; was graduated from Centre College, Danville, Ky., in 1828; studied law in Lexington, Ky.; traveled in Europe for several years before admission to the bar; commenced practice in Danville, Boyle County, Ky.; elected as a Whig to the Twenty-ninth Congress (March 4, 1845-March 3, 1847); declined to be a candidate for renomination in 1846; secretary of state of Kentucky in 1849; chosen by the legislature as one of six commissioners to the peace convention of 1861 held in Washington, D.C., in an effort to devise means to prevent the impending war; delegate to the Border State convention in 1861; nominated in 1863 by the Union Democrats for Governor of Kentucky, but declined to accept the nomination; member of the State house of representatives 1862-1867; died in Danville, Ky., August 17, 1870; interment in Bellevue Cemetery.

Source: Biographical Directory of the United States Congress, 1771-Present