James learned the barbering trade when he was young and remained a barber his entire life. When his parents returned to Ayr, Nebraska, James stayed in Illinois opening a barber shop at Farmer City, Illinois. There he married Mayme Delores Keller, born in August 1881 to William Austin and Alice Elizabeth (Miller) Keller. Mayme lived her entire life in Illinois.
James and Mayme Keller were married in 1903 and they lived their entire married life in Farmer City, Illinois. They had no children.
James died on February 17, 1938 and is buried in the Farmer City Cemetery, Farmer City, Illinois. Mayme (Keller) Bell died in 1956 and is also buried in the Farmer City Cemetery, Farmer City, Illinois.
Linnie Alice Bell was the second child of Edgar and Nancy Anna (Corbin) Bell and was born on April 19, 1883 at Ayr, Adams County, Nebraska. Linnie grew up in Ayr, Nebraska and Chillicothe, Illinois. She married Eddie Edgar Parsons on August 9, 1924. She was a registered nurse and received her nurses training at Proctor Hospital in Peoria, Illinois.
In 1908, she returned to Hastings, Nebraska with her parents and united with the Christian Church there in 1909. On the 1910 U. S. Census, she is shown living with her parents, Edgar and Nancy Anna (Corbin) Bell in Hastings, Nebraska.
Like so many others, Eddie Edgar Parsons moved west with his parents. His father, Henry Harrison Parsons was born in Ohio in 1840 and moved west. He joined the Union Army during the Civil War and served with Company B, 118th Illinois Infantry from August 1862 until October 1865. He was married to Rachel Ann Mapes in 1867 at Hancock, Illinois and they lived there for over a decade before moving to Ayr, Adams County, Nebraska where they lived on a farm. Henry Harrison and Rachel Ann (Mapes) Parsons were the parents of eleven children.
Another of the Parsons children, William Henry Parsons, married into the extended Corbin family, when he took Estella Mae Wilder as his bride in 1900. Estella was the daughter of Loren H. and Mary Elizabeth (Corbin) Wilder and their story is found elsewhere in my blogs.
Unfortunately, Linnie Alice (Bell) Parsons died at an early age. The Hastings, Nebraska newspaper carried the following obituary for Linnie on August 18, 1937:
Funeral services for Mrs. Linnie Alice Parsons, 54, of Rose, Nebraska who died here Wednesday, will be held Friday at 2:30pm at the home of her mother, Mrs. Edgar Bell, 846 South Denver. The Rev. Dewey Meranda will conduct the services. Interment will be at the Leroy (Blue Valley) Cemetery. Vernon Wyman, Wilbur Parsons, James and Henry Ferguson, John and Frank English will be pallbearers. Flower bearers will be Betty Nunemaker, Mrs. Jack Bell, Dorothy and Hazel Parsons, Martha Ferguson and Esther Thornberry. Mrs. Parsons, who was born in Hastings and spent most of her life here, is survived by her husband Edgar, two brothers, Frank E. Bell of Hastings, and Llewellyn Bell of Farmer City, Illinois and a sister, Mrs. Sam Nunemaker of Fremont, Nebraska.
Eddie Edgar Parons lived the remainder of his long life in Hastings, Nebraska and died on June 11, 1973. The following short obituary appeared in the Hastings newspaper:Death:
Jun. 11, 1973 Good Samaritan Village, Adams County, Nebraska, USA.
Mr. Eddie E. Parson, 93 years old of Good Samaritan Village. Passed away Monday. Surviving are a twin sister Effie Carpenter, of Lincoln, sister-in-law Mrs. Frank Parsons of Lebanon, Oregon, many nieces and nephews. Services will be Wednesday at 2 in the All Saints Chapel with Reverend H.W. Lebsack. Burial in Blue Valley Cemetery.
A Photo of Eddie Edgar Parsons (standing middle) and unknown friends.
A photograph of Eddie Edgar Parsons and his twin sister, Effie Jane (Parsons) Carpenter taken on their 90th birthday in 1969.
Both Eddie and Linnie (Parsons) Bell are buried in the Blue Valley Cemetery near Ayr, Adams County, Nebraska.
Hattie Bell Nunemaker was the third child of Edgar and Nancy Anna (Corbin) Bell and was born on January 21, 1883 at Wakarusa, Elkhart, Nebraska. She took nurses training at the Mary Lanning Memorial Hospital in Hastings, Nebraska and worked as a nurse. She was married to Samuel Calvin Nunemaker on September 12, 1912 at Peoria, Peoria County, Illinois.
Sam Nunemaker was the son of Jacob and Phoebe K. (Darkwood) Nunemaker and spent his early life in Elkhart County, Indiana where his father was a farmer. Like so many other young men, Samuel moved West to Nebraska to seek a better life. Samuel Nunemaker worked for the Chicago and Northwestern Railroad his entire career.
A photograph of Hattie B. (Bell) Nunemaker in her nurses uniform.
Samuel and Hattie (Bell) Nunemaker were not able to have children and adopted a daughter, Betty Marie Bell. Betty was born on July 31, 1922 at Junita, Adams County, Nebraska. Betty grew up in Hastings, Nebraska where the family were members of the Assembly of God Church.
Samuel Calvin Nunemaker died on August 16, 1955 at Hastings, Adams County, Nebraska and Hattie B. (Bell) Nunemaker also died at Hastings. Both are buried at Parkview Cemetery, Hastings, Nebraska but I have not found a death date for Hattie Nunemaker.
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Betty Marie Nunemaker was raised from infancy by her adopted parents, Samuel Calvin and Hattie B. (Bell) Nunemaker. She was born July 31, 1922 at Juniata, Adams County, Nebraska. She was married to Rev. Merle Jennings Harris. Rev. Merle Harris died in 1990. Below is the obituary of Betty Harris, which provides additional details about her life and family:
| Betty Marie (Nunemaker) Harris July 31, 1922 - December 2, 2007 |
Betty M. Harris, 85, of Mablevale, Arkansas died on December 2, 2007. She was born July 31, 1922 at Hastings, Nebraska and adopted by the late Samuel and Hattie (Bell) Nunemaker. Besides her parents, she was preceded in death by her husband, Rev. Merle Jennings Harris.
Mrs. Harris was a Pastor’s Wife, sharing God’s Word, at Winnebago Indian Reservation, Mullins, Nebraska; Ozark, Arkansas; Fayetteville, Arkansas; Russellville, Arkansas; Administrator at Hillcrest Children’s Home, Hot Springs, Arkansas. She shared with Rev. Harris as past District Superintendent for the Arkansas District Council of the Assemblies of God. She was an accomplished violinist, loved children, had a joyful spirit and was known for her radiant smile. Survivors include her son; James Harris and wife, Linda of Mablevale; one granddaughter, Shannon Davis, and husband Chris of Mablevale; two beautiful great-granddaughters, Nicole and Casey Davis, and the many lives she touched at Hillcrest Children’s Home. |
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| Betty M. Harris
The author is deeply indebted to Rev. and Mrs. Harris for providing much information for the Edgar and Nancy Anna (Corbin) Bell portions of the Corbin Family History and this blog. They provided the only pictures of James and Cynthia Corbin and they had a diary kept by Mrs. Nancy Anna Bell Corbin which gave many dates of marriages, deaths, births and other information which has been utilized in these writings.
I spent two days with Rev. and Mrs. Harris in their home at Little Rock, Arkansas in 1979 and enjoyed a wonderful time and their fine hospitality. Betty Harris was a lovely lady who loved her family and its heritage. May she rest in peace.
The Merle Jennings Harris Family: L-R: Rev. Merle J. Harris, Betty M. (Nunemaker) Harris and son James Wesley Harris.
James Wesley Harris is the adopted son of Merle Jennings and Betty Marie (Nunemaker) Harris and was born on April 6, 1950 in Clinton, VanBuren County, Arkansas. He is married to Linda Diane Dixon who was born on May 1, 1950 at St. Louis, St. Louis County, Missouri to Emery and Myrtle Mae (Tucker) Dixon. James and Linda were married on October 6, 1973 at Hot Springs, Garland, Arkansas. James W. Harris is a fireman.
A photo of the James W. Harris Family. L-R: James W. Harris, Linda Diane (Dixon) Harris and daughter Shannon Elaine Harris.
James and Linda Harria are the parents of Shannon Elaine Harris, b orn January 22, 1975 at Ft. Smith, Arkansas. Shannon is married to Christopher Davis and they have two children: Casey and Nicole Davis. James and Linda Harris and the Davis family all live in Mablevale, Pulaski County, Arkansas at this writing.
A photograph of three geneations: Betty M. (Nunemaker) Harris, her mother Hattie (Bell) Nunemaker and James Wesley Harris, son and grandson of Betty (Nunemaker) Harris and Hattie (Bell) Nunemaker.
Frank Earl Bell was the fourth and last child born to Edgar and Nancy Anna (Corbin) Bell on October 25, 1889 at Chillicothe, Peoria County, Illinois. He was raised in Chillicothe and returned to Ayr, Adams County, Nebraska with his parents and family in the early 1900s. Frank started working for the Hastings Ice Cream Company at an early age and continued to work there his entire career.
L-R: Frank Earl Bell, John Edgar Bell and his mother Mary Margarette (Cooney) Bell.
Frank E. Bell was married to Mary Margarette Cooney and they lived in Hastings, Nebraska at 831 S. Denver Avenue. Mary Margarette Bell was born on March 12, 1890 in Nebraska. They were the parents of one son, John Edgar Bell, born on October 28, 1919 at Omaha, Nebraska.
John Edgar Bell was the only child of Frank Earl and Mary Margarette (Cooney) Bell and was born October 28, 1919 at Omaha Nebraska. John was married twice. His first marriage was to Sarah Adalaide Cook on May 17, 1937 at Hastings, Adams County, Nebraska. John E. Bell served in the U. S. Army during World War II and his marriage ended in divorce.
Frank E. Bell was married a second time to Mary Marjorie Wieland on June 23, 1941. They had two children: Jerry Allen Bell born October 21, 1942 and Nancy Anna Bell born June 11, 1946. This marriage ended in divorce. Mary Marjorie (Wieland) Bell married a second time and her husband adopted Jerry and Nancy Bell, who took his last name. There whereabouts is not known at this writing.
This is the last known photograph of Nancy Anna (Corbin) Bell. It was taken on her back porch in Hastings, Adams County, Nebraska by her granddaughter Betty Marie (Nunemaker) Harris. Nancy Anna died on September 26, 1950 and was buried beside her husband Edgar Bell in the Blue Valley Cemetery, Ayr, Adams County, Nebraska. The following is a short obituary from the Hastings newspaper.
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