Cyrus D. Bell
| Cyrus Dicks Bell | |
|---|---|
| Born |
August , 1848 Mississippi, U.S. |
| Died | October 21, 1925 (aged 77) Omaha, Nebraska, U.S. |
| Occupation | Journalist |
| Political party | Democrat |
| Spouse(s) | Celia |
Cyrus Dicks Bell (August 1848 - October 21, 1925) was a journalist, civil rights activist, and civic leader in Omaha, Nebraska. He owned and edited the black newspaper Afro-American Sentinel during the 1890s. He was an outspoken political independent and later in his life became a strong supporter of Democrats. He was a founding member of the state Afro-American League and frequently spoke out against lynchings and about other issues of civil rights.
Bell was born into slavery in August 1848 and raised on a cotton farm in Mississippi. In about 1864 he escaped as a "contraband" and moved to St. Louis. He moved to Omaha on March 24, 1868 and believed he was the first black to vote Democrat in Omaha.
Bell married a woman named Celia on June 3, 1869. She came to Omaha from Leavenworth, Kansas, in 1868 and was born in Beaufort, South Carolina, in about 1853. She died December 18, 1899. Celia and Cyrus had 11 children. Their oldest son, Eugene M. worked for the Omaha World Herald. Another son, Walter, was manager at the newspaper the Afro-American Sentinel which Cyrus owned and edited. A third son was named Ira. Bell's oldest daughter, Ida May, married Silas Johnson on July 18, 1894. Bell's other daughters included, Beulah (married June 28, 1905, to Fred Emory) Gertrude (married Gordon Handy of Chicago), Bessie, and Adiline.
On November 6, 1893, Bell was inducted into the office of U. S. Storekeeper, Bell worked occasionally as a painter, and Bell and his family ran a laundry service. Bell was an officer in the Colored Mason's lodge, "Widow's Son Grand Lodge". Bell was a very active member of Omaha's St. Philip's Methodist Episcopal Church and involved in the state Methodist Episcopal church as well. In this capacity, he was refused admission to a Methodist Episcopal convention in 1889 because his selection to the convention had not occurred in the presence of the missionary assigned to the black mission. Bell died at the age of 77 on October 21, 1925. His funeral was at St. Philip the Deacon and he was buried at Forest Lawn Cemetery.
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