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Bel Family History & Genealogy

251 biographies and 10 photos with the Bel last name. Discover the family history, nationality, origin and common names of Bel family members.

Bel Last Name History & Origin

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History

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Name Origin

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Spellings & Pronunciations

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Nationality & Ethnicity

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Famous People named Bel

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Early Bels

These are the earliest records we have of the Bel family.

Isabella  (Givens)Bell
Isabella (Givens)bel) was born on June 13, 1862. Family, friend, or fan, this family history biography is for you to remember Isabella (Givens)Bell.
Agnes Bel of New Orleans, Orleans County, Louisiana was born on December 21, 1876, and died at age 91 years old in June 1968.
William Bel of Amherst, Lorain County, Ohio was born on February 3, 1878, and died at age 88 years old in October 1966.
Horace Bel of New Orleans, Orleans County, Louisiana was born on February 25, 1884, and died at age 87 years old in May 1971.
Wallace Bel of San Antonio, Bexar County, Texas was born on December 2, 1884, and died at age 84 years old in January 1969.
John Bel of Ontario, Wayne County, NY was born on February 6, 1884, and died at age 84 years old in September 1968.
Ivy Bel of Louisiana was born on November 27, 1885, and died at age 79 years old in December 1964.
Amelia Bel of New Orleans, Orleans County, Louisiana was born on August 14, 1886, and died at age 86 years old in May 1973.
Herman Bel of Dorr, Allegan County, Michigan was born on March 23, 1886, and died at age 85 years old in May 1971.
Ernest Bel of Saint Maries, Benewah County, Idaho was born on March 9, 1887, and died at age 78 years old in January 1966.
Alvin Bel of Amite, Tangipahoa County, Louisiana was born on January 2, 1889, and died at age 84 years old in June 1973.
Elsie Bel of New Orleans, Orleans County, Louisiana was born on December 9, 1889, and died at age 87 years old in March 1977.

Bel Family Photos

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Bel Family Tree

Discover the most common names, oldest records and life expectancy of people with the last name Bel.

Most Common First Names

Updated Bel Biographies

Patricia L Grayston-Bel of Fort Smith, Sebastian County, AR was born on September 20, 1926, and died at age 82 years old on April 18, 2009. Patricia Grayston-Bel was buried at Ft. Smith National Cemetery Section 15 Site 1346 522 Garland Avenue And South 6th St, in Fort Smith.
Douglas W Bel of Covington, Saint Tammany County, LA was born on February 5, 1923, and died at age 74 years old on May 3, 1997.
Albert A Bel of Grand Rapids, Kent County, MI was born on April 3, 1915, and died at age 84 years old on August 26, 1999.
Tennyson R Bel of Grand Rapids, Kent County, MI was born on April 16, 1916, and died at age 81 years old on July 18, 1997.
Hart Bel of Allandale Australia. Family, friend, or fan, this family history biography is for you to remember Hart Bel.
Elizabeth Carolina Regina Carolina Regina (Bel) Smith of Nottingham Australia. Family, friend, or fan, this family history biography is for you to remember Elizabeth Carolina Regina (Bel) Smith.
Barbara Bel Geddes
Barbara Bel Geddes Born October 31, 1922 New York City, U.S. Died August 8, 2005 (aged 82) Northeast Harbor, Maine, U.S. Occupation Actress Years active 1941–1990 Spouse(s) Carl Sawyer (né Schreuer) (m. 1944; div. 1951) Windsor Lewis (m. 1951; died 1972) Barbara Bel Geddes (October 31, 1922 – August 8, 2005) was an American stage and screen actress, artist, and children's author whose career spanned almost five decades. She was best known for her starring role as Miss Ellie Ewing in the television series Dallas. Bel Geddes also starred as Maggie in the original Broadway production of Cat on a Hot Tin Roof in 1955. Her notable films included I Remember Mama (1948) and Vertigo (1958). Throughout her career, she was the recipient of several acting awards and nominations. Bel Geddes was born on October 31, 1922, in New York City, the daughter of Helen Belle (née Schneider; 1891–1938) and stage and industrial designer Norman Bel Geddes (1893–1958).[1] She married theatrical manager Carl Sawyer (né Schreuer) in 1944; they had one daughter, Susan. They divorced in 1951. Later that year, she married stage director Windsor Lewis, with whom she had a daughter, Betsy. When Lewis became ill in 1967, Bel Geddes suspended her career to care for him; he died in 1972. Career Broadway Bel Geddes came to prominence in the 1946 Broadway production of Deep Are the Roots. The performance garnered her the Clarence Derwent Award, the Theatre World Award and the Donaldson Award (forerunner of the Tony Awards) presented to her by Laurette Taylor, for "Outstanding Achievement in The Theatre". From 1951 to 1953, Bel Geddes played 924 performances of the F. Hugh Herbert hit comedy The Moon Is Blue. In 1955, she created the role of Maggie "The Cat" in Elia Kazan's original Broadway production of Tennessee Williams' Cat on a Hot Tin Roof, and in 1961 created the title role in the Jean Kerr comedy Mary, Mary which became Broadway's longest-running show with over 1,500 performances. Both roles earned her Tony Award nominations. Other highlights include John Steinbeck's Burning Bright, Edward Albee's Everything in the Garden, and Silent Night, Lonely Night with Henry Fonda. In 1952, she received the prestigious "Woman of the Year" award from Harvard University's Hasty Pudding Theatricals, America's oldest theater company; in 1993, having appeared in 15 Broadway productions, she was inducted into the American Theater Hall of Fame (located in the Gershwin Theatre in New York City), a distinction she shared with her father, stage and industrial designer Norman Bel Geddes. Hollywood Bel Geddes began her film career starring with Henry Fonda in The Long Night (1947), a remake of the 1939 French film Le Jour Se Lève. "I went out to California awfully young," she remarked. "I remember Lillian Hellman and Elia Kazan telling me, 'Don't go, learn your craft.' But I loved films." The following year, she was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for her performance in the George Stevens film I Remember Mama. She played Richard Widmark's wife Nancy in Kazan's 1950 film noir Panic in the Streets.[2] In 1958, Alfred Hitchcock cast her with James Stewart in Vertigo as the long-suffering bohemian, Midge. Bel Geddes also starred with Danny Kaye and Louis Armstrong in the screen musical The Five Pennies. When an investigation from the House Un-American Activities Committee had Bel Geddes's name put on the Hollywood blacklist during the 1950s, it stalled her film career for a time, and she carried on with her acting on Broadway and an occasional part on television. Bel Geddes found new opportunity in television when she was cast in four episodes of Alfred Hitchcock Presents, including "Lamb to the Slaughter", in which she played a housewife who killed her husband by bludgeoning him to death with a frozen leg of lamb, cooking the murder weapon, and then serving it to the investigating police. She appeared in series such as Playhouse 90, CBS Playhouse, Riverboat, Dr. Kildare, and Death Valley Days. In 1977, she starred in the highly acclaimed production of the Thornton Wilder classic Our Town with Hal Holbrook. Dallas Bel Geddes as Miss Ellie Ewing in the television series Dallas In 1978, Bel Geddes was the first artist signed to star in Dallas. The role of the family matriarch, Miss Ellie, brought her renewed international recognition. She appeared in many episodes, in almost every season of the series, for a total of 276 episodes from 1978 to 1990 (she was absent from the 1984–85 and 1990–91 seasons) and remains the only cast member to win the Emmy Award (Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress - Drama Series) and the Golden Globe (List of Golden Globe Awards: Television, Best Actress, Drama). In 1985, she also received Germany's Golden Camera Award. Larry Hagman (who was only nine years junior to Bel Geddes), who played J. R. Ewing, told the Associated Press: "She was the rock of Dallas. She was just a really nice woman and a wonderful actress. She was kind of the glue that held the whole thing together." In a later interview for the website "Ultimate Dallas", Hagman said, "The reason I took the show, they said Barbara Bel Geddes is going to play your mother, and I said, 'Well, that's a touch of class, you know,' so of course I wanted to work with her." In 1971, Bel Geddes underwent a radical mastectomy, which was an experience that she relived while playing Miss Ellie in the 1979–1980 season of Dallas. The performance garnered her the Emmy Award. She was also honored by former First Lady Betty Ford for helping to raise breast cancer awareness. On March 15, 1983, Bel Geddes narrowly avoided a heart attack, but the media falsely reported that she had had a heart attack. Only days after she completed filming for the 1982–1983 season, her doctor discovered a condition that required emergency quadruple bypass surgery. Bel Geddes underwent heart surgery, and she missed the first 11 episodes of the 1983–1984 season[3] and was replaced with actress Donna Reed for the 1984–1985 season. With her health improved, CBS-TV persuaded Lorimar Productions to return Bel Geddes to the role of Miss Ellie for the 1985–1986 season. Bel Geddes remained in the role until the later stages of the penultimate season of Dallas in 1990. Life after Dallas Bel Geddes retired from acting in 1990 and settled in her home in Northeast Harbor, Maine, where she continued to work as a fine artist. She was the author of two children's books, I Like to Be Me and So Do I, as well as the creator of a popular line of greeting cards. Looking back on her career, Bel Geddes told People: "They're always making me play well-bred ladies. I'm not very well bred, and I'm not much of a lady."[4] Death Bel Geddes died of lung cancer on August 8, 2005, at her estate in Northeast Harbor, Maine, at the age of 82.[5] She was cremated, and her ashes were scattered from a simple wooden boat into the harbor waters bordering her estate. At the revival of Dallas in 2012, Patrick Duffy (who played her youngest son, Bobby, in the original series) said: "Barbara is a big piece of our history, and it's important to me to honor her. To come back with Linda Gray as Sue Ellen and Larry Hagman in his J.R. hat, and then see the words Ellie Southworth Ewing Farlow on the gravestone made me think, 'Oh, that's right -- she's gone." "Through the whole first season, I don't think an episode goes by that Mama is not mentioned in reference to Southfork and the land," he said.
William Arnold Bel Iii of San Antonio, Bexar County, TX was born on April 16, 1935, and died at age 76 years old on August 17, 2011. William Bel was buried at Ft. Sam Houston National Cemetery Section 50A Site 225 1520 Harry Wurzbach Road, in San Antonio.
Edna M Bel of Tacoma, Pierce County, WA was born on September 19, 1909, and died at age 92 years old on May 10, 2002. Edna Bel was buried at San Joaquin Valley National Cemetery Section C-5 Site 275 32053 West Mccabe Road, in Santa Nella, Ca.
Henry Bel of San Francisco, San Francisco County, CA was born on May 20, 1918, and died at age 81 years old on August 6, 1999. Henry Bel was buried at San Joaquin Valley National Cemetery Section C-5 Site 275 32053 West Mccabe Road, in Santa Nella.
Doris Frances (Bel) Kennerley was married to John Rutherford Kennerley. Family, friend, or fan, this family history biography is for you to remember Doris Frances Kennerley ( Bell.
Geertrudia Petro Geertrudia Petro (Bel) Stekelenburg of St Kilda Australia. Family, friend, or fan, this family history biography is for you to remember Geertrudia Petro Bel Stekelenburg.
Aartje Aartje (Bel) Hamer of Croy Australia, was married to Hamerslag Herm Hamer, and has a child Hermanus Hamer. Family, friend, or fan, this family history biography is for you to remember Aartje Bel Hamer.
Marie Marie (Bel) Roux of Mpna Australia. Family, friend, or fan, this family history biography is for you to remember Marie Bel Roux.
Joan Bel of TX was born circa 1951. Joan Bel was married to Ernest F. Bel on November 19, 1994 in Midland County, TX. Family, friend, or fan, this family history biography is for you to remember Joan (Howbert) Bel.
Ernest F Bel of Midland County, TX was born circa 1936. Ernest Bel was married to Joan (Howbert) Bel on November 19, 1994 in Midland County, TX. Family, friend, or fan, this family history biography is for you to remember Ernest F. Bel.
Jan Bel of Harris County, TX was born circa 1935. Family, friend, or fan, this family history biography is for you to remember Jan Bel.
Karen W Bel of TX was born circa 1939. Family, friend, or fan, this family history biography is for you to remember Karen W. (Possehl) Bel.
Gerrit J Bel of Harris County, TX was born circa 1962. Family, friend, or fan, this family history biography is for you to remember Gerrit J. Bel.
Mai L Bel of TX was born circa 1965. Family, friend, or fan, this family history biography is for you to remember Mai L. (Nguyen) Bel.

Popular Bel Biographies

Barbara Bel Geddes
Barbara Bel Geddes Born October 31, 1922 New York City, U.S. Died August 8, 2005 (aged 82) Northeast Harbor, Maine, U.S. Occupation Actress Years active 1941–1990 Spouse(s) Carl Sawyer (né Schreuer) (m. 1944; div. 1951) Windsor Lewis (m. 1951; died 1972) Barbara Bel Geddes (October 31, 1922 – August 8, 2005) was an American stage and screen actress, artist, and children's author whose career spanned almost five decades. She was best known for her starring role as Miss Ellie Ewing in the television series Dallas. Bel Geddes also starred as Maggie in the original Broadway production of Cat on a Hot Tin Roof in 1955. Her notable films included I Remember Mama (1948) and Vertigo (1958). Throughout her career, she was the recipient of several acting awards and nominations. Bel Geddes was born on October 31, 1922, in New York City, the daughter of Helen Belle (née Schneider; 1891–1938) and stage and industrial designer Norman Bel Geddes (1893–1958).[1] She married theatrical manager Carl Sawyer (né Schreuer) in 1944; they had one daughter, Susan. They divorced in 1951. Later that year, she married stage director Windsor Lewis, with whom she had a daughter, Betsy. When Lewis became ill in 1967, Bel Geddes suspended her career to care for him; he died in 1972. Career Broadway Bel Geddes came to prominence in the 1946 Broadway production of Deep Are the Roots. The performance garnered her the Clarence Derwent Award, the Theatre World Award and the Donaldson Award (forerunner of the Tony Awards) presented to her by Laurette Taylor, for "Outstanding Achievement in The Theatre". From 1951 to 1953, Bel Geddes played 924 performances of the F. Hugh Herbert hit comedy The Moon Is Blue. In 1955, she created the role of Maggie "The Cat" in Elia Kazan's original Broadway production of Tennessee Williams' Cat on a Hot Tin Roof, and in 1961 created the title role in the Jean Kerr comedy Mary, Mary which became Broadway's longest-running show with over 1,500 performances. Both roles earned her Tony Award nominations. Other highlights include John Steinbeck's Burning Bright, Edward Albee's Everything in the Garden, and Silent Night, Lonely Night with Henry Fonda. In 1952, she received the prestigious "Woman of the Year" award from Harvard University's Hasty Pudding Theatricals, America's oldest theater company; in 1993, having appeared in 15 Broadway productions, she was inducted into the American Theater Hall of Fame (located in the Gershwin Theatre in New York City), a distinction she shared with her father, stage and industrial designer Norman Bel Geddes. Hollywood Bel Geddes began her film career starring with Henry Fonda in The Long Night (1947), a remake of the 1939 French film Le Jour Se Lève. "I went out to California awfully young," she remarked. "I remember Lillian Hellman and Elia Kazan telling me, 'Don't go, learn your craft.' But I loved films." The following year, she was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for her performance in the George Stevens film I Remember Mama. She played Richard Widmark's wife Nancy in Kazan's 1950 film noir Panic in the Streets.[2] In 1958, Alfred Hitchcock cast her with James Stewart in Vertigo as the long-suffering bohemian, Midge. Bel Geddes also starred with Danny Kaye and Louis Armstrong in the screen musical The Five Pennies. When an investigation from the House Un-American Activities Committee had Bel Geddes's name put on the Hollywood blacklist during the 1950s, it stalled her film career for a time, and she carried on with her acting on Broadway and an occasional part on television. Bel Geddes found new opportunity in television when she was cast in four episodes of Alfred Hitchcock Presents, including "Lamb to the Slaughter", in which she played a housewife who killed her husband by bludgeoning him to death with a frozen leg of lamb, cooking the murder weapon, and then serving it to the investigating police. She appeared in series such as Playhouse 90, CBS Playhouse, Riverboat, Dr. Kildare, and Death Valley Days. In 1977, she starred in the highly acclaimed production of the Thornton Wilder classic Our Town with Hal Holbrook. Dallas Bel Geddes as Miss Ellie Ewing in the television series Dallas In 1978, Bel Geddes was the first artist signed to star in Dallas. The role of the family matriarch, Miss Ellie, brought her renewed international recognition. She appeared in many episodes, in almost every season of the series, for a total of 276 episodes from 1978 to 1990 (she was absent from the 1984–85 and 1990–91 seasons) and remains the only cast member to win the Emmy Award (Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress - Drama Series) and the Golden Globe (List of Golden Globe Awards: Television, Best Actress, Drama). In 1985, she also received Germany's Golden Camera Award. Larry Hagman (who was only nine years junior to Bel Geddes), who played J. R. Ewing, told the Associated Press: "She was the rock of Dallas. She was just a really nice woman and a wonderful actress. She was kind of the glue that held the whole thing together." In a later interview for the website "Ultimate Dallas", Hagman said, "The reason I took the show, they said Barbara Bel Geddes is going to play your mother, and I said, 'Well, that's a touch of class, you know,' so of course I wanted to work with her." In 1971, Bel Geddes underwent a radical mastectomy, which was an experience that she relived while playing Miss Ellie in the 1979–1980 season of Dallas. The performance garnered her the Emmy Award. She was also honored by former First Lady Betty Ford for helping to raise breast cancer awareness. On March 15, 1983, Bel Geddes narrowly avoided a heart attack, but the media falsely reported that she had had a heart attack. Only days after she completed filming for the 1982–1983 season, her doctor discovered a condition that required emergency quadruple bypass surgery. Bel Geddes underwent heart surgery, and she missed the first 11 episodes of the 1983–1984 season[3] and was replaced with actress Donna Reed for the 1984–1985 season. With her health improved, CBS-TV persuaded Lorimar Productions to return Bel Geddes to the role of Miss Ellie for the 1985–1986 season. Bel Geddes remained in the role until the later stages of the penultimate season of Dallas in 1990. Life after Dallas Bel Geddes retired from acting in 1990 and settled in her home in Northeast Harbor, Maine, where she continued to work as a fine artist. She was the author of two children's books, I Like to Be Me and So Do I, as well as the creator of a popular line of greeting cards. Looking back on her career, Bel Geddes told People: "They're always making me play well-bred ladies. I'm not very well bred, and I'm not much of a lady."[4] Death Bel Geddes died of lung cancer on August 8, 2005, at her estate in Northeast Harbor, Maine, at the age of 82.[5] She was cremated, and her ashes were scattered from a simple wooden boat into the harbor waters bordering her estate. At the revival of Dallas in 2012, Patrick Duffy (who played her youngest son, Bobby, in the original series) said: "Barbara is a big piece of our history, and it's important to me to honor her. To come back with Linda Gray as Sue Ellen and Larry Hagman in his J.R. hat, and then see the words Ellie Southworth Ewing Farlow on the gravestone made me think, 'Oh, that's right -- she's gone." "Through the whole first season, I don't think an episode goes by that Mama is not mentioned in reference to Southfork and the land," he said.
Doris Frances (Bel) Kennerley was married to John Rutherford Kennerley. Family, friend, or fan, this family history biography is for you to remember Doris Frances Kennerley ( Bell.
Isabella  (Givens)Bell
Isabella (Givens)bel) was born on June 13, 1862. Family, friend, or fan, this family history biography is for you to remember Isabella (Givens)Bell.
Ivy Bel of Louisiana was born on November 27, 1885, and died at age 79 years old in December 1964.
Gwen E Bel of Baton Rouge, East Baton Rouge County, LA was born on November 6, 1922, and died at age 87 years old on October 22, 2010.
Margaret Bel of Spokane, Spokane County, Washington was born on December 31, 1895, and died at age 82 years old in April 1978.
Ferdinand Bel of Biloxi, Harrison County, Mississippi was born on November 9, 1908, and died at age 75 years old in January 1984.
Clyde F Bel was born on October 10, 1905, and died at age 85 years old on November 13, 1990. Family, friend, or fan, this family history biography is for you to remember Clyde F Bel.
Daisy Bel of Los Angeles, Los Angeles County, California was born on August 3, 1910, and died at age 68 years old in May 1979.
Ras Bel was born on October 18, 1926, and died at age 53 years old in June 1980. Family, friend, or fan, this family history biography is for you to remember Ras Bel.
Elizabeth Bel of Ontario Center, Wayne County, NY was born on May 22, 1893, and died at age 78 years old in January 1972.
Betty J Bel was born on August 11, 1920, and died at age 80 years old on September 22, 2000. Family, friend, or fan, this family history biography is for you to remember Betty J Bel.
L Wayne Bel of Leakey, Real County, TX was born on February 22, 1919, and died at age 71 years old on February 21, 1991.
Joseph Bel was born on June 16, 1919, and died at age 61 years old in April 1981. Family, friend, or fan, this family history biography is for you to remember Joseph Bel.
Patricia A Bel of New Orleans, Jefferson County, LA was born on August 13, 1937, and died at age 72 years old on March 28, 2010.
Dean T Bel of New Orleans, Orleans County, LA was born on November 14, 1962, and died at age 26 years old on February 22, 1989.
Edith Bel Geddes of Hudson, Columbia County, NY was born on August 1, 1907, and died at age 95 years old on August 16, 2002.
Oscar Bel of Benewah County, Idaho United States was born circa 1919. Family, friend, or fan, this family history biography is for you to remember Oscar Bel.
Er Robert E Bel of Essex County, Massachusetts United States was born circa 1918. Family, friend, or fan, this family history biography is for you to remember Er Robert E Bel.
Alvin Bel of Amite, Tangipahoa County, Louisiana was born on January 2, 1889, and died at age 84 years old in June 1973.

Bel Death Records & Life Expectancy

The average age of a Bel family member is 69.0 years old according to our database of 197 people with the last name Bel that have a birth and death date listed.

Life Expectancy

69.0 years

Oldest Bels

These are the longest-lived members of the Bel family on AncientFaces.

Edith Bel Geddes of Hudson, Columbia County, NY was born on August 1, 1907, and died at age 95 years old on August 16, 2002.
95 years
Wilhemina Bel of Hempstead, Nassau County, NY was born on March 5, 1907, and died at age 93 years old on February 14, 2001.
93 years
Grace N Bel of Erin, Chemung County, NY was born on January 30, 1909, and died at age 94 years old on August 28, 2003.
94 years
Joaquin Traverso-Bel of Aguada, Aguada County, PR was born on October 18, 1908, and died at age 93 years old on March 31, 2002.
93 years
Edna M Bel of Tacoma, Pierce County, WA was born on September 19, 1909, and died at age 92 years old on May 10, 2002. Edna Bel was buried at San Joaquin Valley National Cemetery Section C-5 Site 275 32053 West Mccabe Road, in Santa Nella, Ca.
92 years
Bessie Bel of Amite, Tangipahoa County, Louisiana was born on December 29, 1891, and died at age 92 years old in August 1984.
92 years
Juan Quinones Bel of Guayanilla, Guayanilla County, PR was born on May 24, 1905, and died at age 92 years old on April 29, 1998.
92 years
Agnes Bel of New Orleans, Orleans County, Louisiana was born on December 21, 1876, and died at age 91 years old in June 1968.
91 years
Helen M Bel of Webster, Monroe County, NY was born on January 27, 1914, and died at age 92 years old on August 29, 2006.
92 years
Hattie Bel Zung of San Antonio, Bexar County, Texas was born on July 23, 1890, and died at age 90 years old in March 1981.
90 years
Mary M Bel of Houston, Harris County, TX was born on August 20, 1911, and died at age 90 years old on November 29, 2001.
90 years
James V Bel of Fort Lauderdale, Broward County, FL was born on February 7, 1918, and died at age 89 years old on May 14, 2007.
89 years
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