Fred Bell
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Thomas Frederick Bell, Jr. (May 10, 1875 – June 9, 1934) was an American millionaire heir, the son of banker Thomas Bell and his wife Teresa.[1]
Mary Pleasant litigation
Bell's father had been an associate of African-American businesswoman
The first lawsuit, filed against Teresa, claimed that she was wasting the family fortune under Pleasant's influence, and demanded that she be removed as head of the household. Two years later Bell publicly accused Pleasant of murdering his father, and Teresa evicted her from the family home. The litigation continued even after Pleasant's death in 1904.[1]
Career
Teresa Bell died in 1922, leaving her children $5 each. They successfully fought the will in court. Out of his mother's $1,000,000.00 estate Fred received only $75,000.00. He invested his money in the stock market, benefitting handsomely from the ongoing stock boom, and was known as "Champagne Fred." By his own admission at the time of the death of his third wife Alvide H. Thurson in May 1929 he was broke.
References
- ^ a b Hudson, Lynn M. (2003). The Making of "Mammy" Pleasant".
- ^ Healdsburg Tribune, Number 104, 9 March 1931
- ^ San Bernardino Sun, Volume 43, 27 December 1936 p.25