by AUDREY CREEL / December 28, 2020
©Audrey Creel, 2020 (All rights reserved.)

Hester Bell was born in approximately 1844 in Tennessee.[i] It is unknown where Hester was enslaved prior to emancipation. With the last name “Bell,” Hester was likely enslaved by a member of the Bell family in Murfreesboro prior to the Civil War. J. Bell enslaved a young woman Hester’s age in 1860, so it is likely that Hester was enslaved on J. Bell’s plantation.[ii] G. Bell also enslaved a young woman approximately Hester’s age in 1860, so it is possible that Hester was enslaved on this plantation in Rutherford County, Tennessee.[iii] The Bell family and the Maney family were closely related, so this is likely how Hester met her future husband.

Hester Bell married George Maney on December 5, 1865 in Rutherford County, Tennessee.[iv] Following their marriage, Hester and George moved into a home in Murfreesboro, Tennessee.[v] A young girl, Lizzie Maney, was living in Hester and George’s home.[vi] It is likely that Lizzie was George and Hester’s daughter, but the census records do not confirm this relationship. Hester worked as a domestic servant, though it is unknown for whom she was employed.[vii] There are no further known records for Hester Maney. It is unknown what happened to Hester following 1870.

Return to The Untold Stories Project Page

---

References

[i] United States Census, “Maney, Hester,” 1870 United States Census, 1870, accessed December 28, 2020 from ancestry.com database, https://www.ancestry.com/imageviewer/collections/7163/images/4275524_00029?treeid=&personid=&hintid=&queryId=fb71bbbe6dec8dbb247917550d1d9334&usePUB=true&_phsrc=Kxs394&_phstart=successSource&usePUBJs=true&_ga=2.6810811.882264017.1599938151-1700215809.1599080803&pId=14340865.

[ii] United States Census, “J. Bell,” 1860 United States Census – Slave Schedule, 1860, accessed December 28, 2020 from ancestry.com database, https://www.ancestry.com/imageviewer/collections/7668/images/tnm653_1285-0268?treeid=&personid=&hintid=&queryId=13cb68f87adb57017bb3d84ca50677ac&usePUB=true&_phsrc=iaY1090&_phstart=successSource&usePUBJs=true&_ga=2.159747001.524064394.1609173571-1638797985.1606331613&pId=92236529.

[iii] United States Census, “G. Bell,” 1860 United States Census – Slave Schedule, 1860, accessed December 28, 2020 from ancestry.com database, https://www.ancestry.com/imageviewer/collections/7668/images/tnm653_1285-0193?treeid=&personid=&hintid=&queryId=13cb68f87adb57017bb3d84ca50677ac&usePUB=true&_phsrc=iaY1089&_phstart=successSource&usePUBJs=true&_ga=2.188575660.524064394.1609173571-1638797985.1606331613&pId=92230935.

[iv] Marriage Record, “George Maney to Hester Bell,” Rutherford, TN: December 5, 1865, accessed December 28, 2020 from familysearch.orghttps://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3QSQ-G93F-4CDV?i=141&cc=1619127&personaUrl=%2Fark%3A%2F61903%2F1%3A1%3AQKH3-WZDW.

[v] United States Census, “Maney, Hester,” 1870 United States Census.

[vi] United States Census, “Maney, Hester,” 1870 United States Census.

[vii] United States Census, “Maney, Hester,” 1870 United States Census.