Samson (Simon) Bell
Simon Bell was born on May 10, 1895 in Bulloch County, GA. He was the son of Henry and Vinnie Bell, who were tenant farmers, and had an older brother named Lonnie Bell (later Lonnie Hagan), as well as younger siblings Mary, Estelle, Corene, Annie May, and Theodore. He resided in the now unincorporated town of Hagan in Bulloch County. Simon worked on the farm of W.H. Lord as a laborer until he was drafted into the United States army in 1918. On his draft registration card he was physically described as a tall and slender African American with black eyes and hair. He was drafted into a labor unit due to African Americans in the United States generally not being able to serve in infantry positions.
On August 23, 1918 Simon reported to Camp Gordon where he was assigned to the 11 Company 157 Deputy Brigade for a week. He was then assigned to the 315th Company Black Labor Battalion that was being shipped to Musee-Argonne, France in Northwest Verdun as part of the Meuse-Argonne offensive. The offensive was led by France and the United States against the Germans in order to advance into German held territory. On September 4, 1918, he departed the United States, leaving from Hoboken, New Jersey on the USS Orizaba. Sadly, on September 12, 1918, Simon Bell passed away of pneumonia, presumably from complications from the Spanish Flu that killed more American soldiers than wounds received in battle. His brother, Lonnie Hagan received notification of his death. As a result of his records being held under the names Samson, Simon, and Simmon, it is currently unknown whether or not Simon's body was transported back to the United States and where he was buried.
Works Cited
We have elected to use the first name Simmon for Mr Bell. His military service card lists him as “Samson Bell '' and his name listed on the September 4th 1918 departure on the USS Orizaba was Sampson Bell. However, when he was filling out his World War I registration card on June 5th, 1917, he wrote his name as Simmon Bell. In both the 1900 and 1910 census, his first name is recorded as Simon. When he reported to Camp Gordon in 1910, his name was recorded as Simon Bell. Therefore, since most of his records have his name written down as some version of Simon, I have decided that Simon is the first name I have decided to use.
1900 United States Federal Census https://www.ancestry.com/discoveryui-content/view/8257554:7602
1910 United States Federal Census https://www.ancestry.com/discoveryui-content/view/146525888:7884
Simmon Bell in the U.S., World War I Draft Registration Cards 1917-1918 https://www.ancestry.com/discoveryui-content/view/11794745:6482
Simon Bell in the U.S., Lists of Men Ordered to Report to Local Board for Military Duty, 1917–1918 https://www.ancestry.com/discoveryui-content/view/469886:4906?tid=&pid=&queryId=f4184d0aad0b-4b3e-a340-1cb6904b3512&_phsrc=wnC8&_phstart=successSource
Sampson Bell in the U.S., Army Transport Service Arriving and Departing Passengers Lists, 1910-1939 https://www.ancestry.com/discoveryui-content/view/3183141:61174
Samson Bell in Georgia, U.S., World War I Service Cards, 1917-1919 https://www.ancestry.com/discoveryui-content/view/42548:3129?tid=&pid=&queryId=df4a4e8b-1 92f-489d-8af5-a3361e91334f&_phsrc=wnC11&_phstart=successSource