Jacob Bell (shipbuilder)

Jacob Bell
Clipper ship builders Jacob A. Westervelt and Jacob Bell
Born	1792 Middlesex Parish, Stamford, Connecticut
Died	July 21, 1852 Sharon Springs, New York
Resting place	Darien, Connecticut
Nationality	American
Occupation	Shipbuilder
Employer	Brown & Bell
Known for	Building the first two ocean steamers launched in New York, as well as one of the earliest clipper ships, the Houqua

Jacob Bell was a shipbuilder, and founder of the Brown & Bell shipyard in New York City. His company built the first two ocean steamers launched in New York, as well as one of the earliest clipper ships, the Houqua.

Jacob Bell was born in the parish of Middlesex, in the town of Stamford, and was left motherless at the age of six years. At the age of 17 years, about the year 1809, he was apprenticed to Messrs. Adam and Noah Brown, then among the most enterprising and successful shipbuilders in New York City. In early 1813, his employers sent him to the frontier, on the shores of Lake Erie, at that time a dense and almost unbroken wilderness. Mr Bell was employed as a foreman in the construction of two vessels of war, the Lawrence and the Niagara. These ships were part of the American squadron on Lake Erie, with which Capt. Oliver Hazard Perry gained victory in the Battle of Lake Erie on September 10, 1813. At the close of his apprenticeship, in December 1813, Mr. Bell engaged to accompany the well-known Henry Eckford to Sackett's Harbor on Lake Ontario and aid him in building war vessels ordered by the Government. He witnessed the Battle of Lundy's Lane on July 25, 1814.

After the termination of the war, Mr. Bell established himself, together with David Brown, as a successful shipbuilder in Blakely, Alabama. Bell and Brown returned to New York in 1829. The uncle of Mr. Bell's wife left an estate valued at $20,000, which Bell used to purchase the shipyard of his former employer at the foot of Stanton Street at Houston Street on the East River. There, he went into business with David Brown, as Brown & Bell.