Edward Ellsworth Bell

According to Lina Bell, Edward was a very quiet and reserved man. He was extremely honest and fair-minded - almost to the point of pettiness. (Did this arise from being half-brother to a whole new family of Aplins after his mother's marriage to Joseph Aplin?) His life with them must have been satisfactory as Edward named some of his own children after his step- siblings.

Rosa's brother, Fred Cobb, supposedly helped Rosa and Edward elope. They lived in Coal Run and "Dunbridge", Ohio until about 1888-89, when they moved to Bay City, Michigan where their last seven children were born. They later moved to Arenac County to a settlement then known as "Welles' Addition". At some point in time, their house burned and they lost most of their possessions. They then bought a house in Standish.

After the tragic deaths of their two oldest children, life was never the same for Edward and Rosa.