Samuel Bookstaver Bell was born September 17, 1817 in Orange County, New York. He was ordained an Evangelist of the Presbyterian denomination at Onondaga, New York, in 1852, and in November of the same year was sent by the American Home Missionary Society to the Pacific Coast. He came to San Francisco on the clipper ship Trade Wind, and on his arrival commenced his work as a Presbyterian missionary on the site where the city of Oakland now stands, building the first Presbyterian church there. He served as its pastor for many years. Possessing great breadth of view and intellectual vision, Bell procured the charter for the College of California, now the University of California, and was one of its founders. He also represented his district in the California State Senate and the House of Representatives for three years, during which time he was connected with important legislation, particularly aiding in the passing of the Homestead law and introducing the bill creating the Board of Regents for the university. He was one of the original Republicans when the party was formed, and attended the first Republican convention in California. He was married to Sophia Walworth (1824-1899) and died in Santa Barbara, California on December 27, 1897.
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