Charlie Bell Beard

Black female, born 24 September 1912 in Pensacola, FL. Charlie Bell first entered my research as the mother of an infant daughter stillborn on 14 April 1932 in Pensacola.

According to Social Security records, she was the daughter of Virginia Williams and William Beard; however, Virginia did not appear to have been in a position to raise her daughter, as they do not appear in any records in the same household. Virginia apparently had another child – Alberta Nelson – by another man in 1909.

Charlie Bell made her first appearance in the records in the 1920 federal census of Escambia County, FL. She was in the household of Joseph Adams, her uncle by marriage. Her aunt was Daisy Williams Adams. At the time of the census, she was ten years old. Also in the household were Charles (2 years old) and Joe (5 months old). Charlie B, as she was enumerated, was identified as a daughter of Joseph and Daisy. The household was working class; Joseph was a driver (hard to read: Grocery Wagon?) and Daisy took in washing. They lived at 510 E. Belmont St.

In the 1930 census, Charlie Bell, 17 years old, was enumerated by her full name: Charlie Bell Beard, still in the household of Joseph and Daisy but this time identified as their niece. Joe was a pressing clerk for a cleaners; Daisy worked as a cook for a private family. Charlie’s occupation was housegirl, for a private family. Also in the household were Joe and Daisy’s sons, Charles, 12; Joseph, Jr., 10; Clarence, 8; and Richard, 5. Another niece, Willie White, 6 years old, also lived with them. They lived at 516 W. Strong St.

On 11 July 1931, Charlie Bell gave birth to a stillborn infant girl. The father was Charley McKinley, born in Alabama. The birth took place at 1613 N. Hayne St., which Charlie Bell – who was the informant on the death certificate – gave as her residence. (In the 1931 City Directory, she was listed at 516 W. Strong St. with the rest of the Adams family). Her relationship with McKinley does not otherwise appear to be documented. The child was buried at Zion Cemetery.

Charlie Bell gave birth to a second stillborn daughter on 14 April 1932. The father of this child was Loren Alex Leech, born in Illinois. Again, there is no documentation of this relationship, so one assumes it was temporary. The birth took place at 421 N. Davis Street, which must have been rented as the owners listed in the 1931 City Directory have no apparent relationship to either parent. The informant on this death certificate was Alberta McGee, who would later be identified as a sister of Charlie Bell in Richard Adams’ obituary. I suspect this is the Alberta Nelson identified as Virginia Williams’ daughter in the 1910 census, though I have not found any records that explain the change in name. The child was buried in the Escambia County Poor Farm cemetery.

The 1934 Pensacola City Directory lists her as living at 108 E. La Rua, working as a cook. She does not appear in the 1935 Florida State census with the Adams family; in fact, I have not located her in this census. She is not listed in any subsequent city directories that I can find.

The 1940 Census of Pensacola enumerates Charlie Bell Beard as the head of a household she shares with Annie Cooper, her aunt. (I have not yet connected Annie to Charlie Bell’s family.) Charlie Bell was 29 years old and single, working as a maid. She stil llived at 108 E. LaRua. Her aunt, 39 years old, took in washing.

After this, I have trouble finding records of Charlie Bell in which I can positively identify her. The Social Security Index gives her last name as Foster, and various unsourced trees say she married Roscoe Conkling Foster, Sr. The obituary of Roscoe Foster, Jr., mentions Charlie B. Foster as his stepmother; and Richard Adams’ obituary mentions “two sisters, Alberta McGhee and Charlie Bell Foster, both of Chicago.” I cannot find the records that would confirm this distant move from Pensacola to Chicago, nor the marriage. If she is the Charlie B. of the obituaries, her life must have taken something of a fairy tale turn, considering the hardship she endured until then. For her sake, I hope it’s true, and research continues.

If Social Security records are correct, Charlie Bell died on 19 June 2000, probably in Chicago, but that is not stated. Burial place remains unknown at present.

FAMILY:

Mother: Virginia Williams

Father: William Beard

Children: Unnamed stillborn daughter, unnamed stillborn daughter

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SOURCES:

Florida Certificate of Death, Florida Deaths, 1877-1939. Database. FamilySearch. http://FamilySearch.org : 14 June 2016. Index based upon data collected by the Genealogical Society of Utah, Salt Lake City.

Ancestry.com. U.S., City Directories, 1822-1995 [database on-line]. Lehi, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2011.

“Charlie Bell Foster,” Ancestry.com. U.S., Social Security Applications and Claims Index, 1936-2007 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2015. Original data: Social Security Applications and Claims, 1936-2007.

“Charlie B. Foster,” Ancestry.com. U.S., Social Security Applications and Claims Index, 1936-2007[database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2015. Original data: Social Security Applications and Claims, 1936-2007.