Raised their niece Samantha (my great grandmother) as their own. Don say they called Samantha "little Mattie" after her mother Matilda, who died when Samantha was two of TB.

Samantha and Lavirus lived in Ohio then moved to Missouri in 1883. They lived there until Oct. 1, 1886 when they moved to Western Kansas. They moved to White Cloud, Kansas April 7, 1892.

She was a member of the Methodist Episcopal Church.

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Biography written by Evelyn Park Blalock. Please do not publish elsewhere without providing full and proper credit. Thank you. 
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"Grandma Bell" was not actually my father's grandmother, but her place in our family was sealed through her love and care. 

Samantha Jane Sines was born in Van Buren, Hancock County, Ohio, to John Sines and Belinda Woods. She had many siblings, and was particularly close to her sisters Susannah and Matilda. Samantha married Lavirus Addison Bell on 19 Dec 1865, in Antwerp, Paulding County, Ohio. Susannah and Matilda married two Hawkins brothers and the three families were very close. Matilda even named own her daughter Samantha Ellen Hawkins, undoubtedly in honor of Samantha Jane. 

Sadly, soon after the birth of Matilda's third child, both mother and infant succumbed to tuberculosis. Matilda's husband, William Hawkins, felt inadequate to raise both his tiny daughter and his very young son, so Samantha Jane and her husband, Lavirus, took in Samantha Ellen and raised her as their own. They called her "little Mattie" as she reminded them so much of her beloved mother, Matilda. The Bells had lost their only child a year earlier, and they were happy to once again have a child as part of their family. A few years later, the Bells also had another child, Edwin Addison Bell. 

After "Mattie" was grown and had children of her own, Lavirus and Samantha Sines Bell filled the role of grandparents and then great grandparents to the entire extended family... to the extent that some within the family never realized that she was not truly "Grandma"!

Samantha Jane Sines Bell died on 10 Mar 1936. Lavirus Addison Bell died soon thereafter, on 2 Apr 1937. They are buried in Olive Branch Cemetery in White Cloud, Kansas. 

NOTE ABOUT SPOUSE:
Husband Lavirus Addison Bell, should also not be forgotten. He selflessly opened his home to his wife's relatives. He supported and nurtured "Mattie" as if she was his own, doting as much as any biological father ever could! As their only son had no children, Lavirus and Samantha had no grandchildren of their own... and thus no direct descendants to hold their memories close.

Served in the Civil War as a division teamster.


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Biography written by Evelyn Park Blalock (EveyBl). 


Lovirus Bell was born 6 January 1838 at Jonesville, Hillsdale County, Michigan. By 1865, he had moved to Antwerp, Ohio. There, he met Samantha Jane Sines, and they were married on 25 December 1865. 

Lovirus and Samantha Jane raised their niece Samantha Ellen Park as if she were their own child. They called her "little Mattie" after her mother Matilda, who died of tuberculosis when Mattie was only two years old. Lovirus and Samantha Jane also had one biological child, Edwin A. Bell, who established his own farm in White Cloud. 

On 26 August 1861, Lovirus enlisted in Company G of the 14th Ohio Infantry. He served as a division teamster with the rank of Corporal, and mustered out on 26 July 1865 in Louisville, Kentucky. 

After the war, Lovirus returned to his home in Ohio, but the family moved to Missouri in 1883. They moved to Western Kansas three years later, arriving in 1886. The family moved once more in 1892, to White Cloud, Kansas, where their niece Mattie met and married her husband, Francis Edward Park. 

As their son Edwin never married or had children, Lovirus and Samantha Jane had no actual grandchildren or great grandchildren. However, they served in that capacity with great love and dedication for all of the children and grandchildren of Mattie. Unfortunately, the “name” used by these children for Lovirus is no longer remembered, but Samantha Jane was called “Grandma Bell” by the entire family. Her relationship was so close that some of the youngest members of the family did not even realize she was not their actual grandmother!

Lovirus died April 2, 1917 and is buried at Olive Branch Cemetery, White Cloud, Kansas.