Arabella, who went by "Belle, was born 20 Oct 1840 in Shelburne Falls, Shelburne, Franklin, Massachusetts. She was the daughter of Kingsley Williams Macomber and Martha Sophia Alexander Macomber. [1]
The family was living in Northampton, Hampshire, Massachusetts in 1850. [2] (Arabella is recorded in the Census as Anabella and Kingsley as H W).
Household | Role | Sex | Age | Birthplace | Occupation |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
H W Macomber | head | M | 42 | Massachusetts | silk manufacturer |
Martha Macomber | wife | F | 36 | Massachusetts | |
Anabella Macomber | daughter | F | 10 | Massachusetts | |
Henry Macomber | son | M | 8 | Massachusetts | |
John Macomber | son | M | 1 | Massachusetts | |
Leonard Macomber | M | 26 | Massachusetts | ||
Dorathy Watchen | F | 20 | Ireland | ||
Mary White | F | 32 | Massachusetts |
When she was about fourteen years old, her family moved to Iowa. She completed her education and became a school teacher in Cass County, Iowa.
Belle married William S. Reynolds on 19 Apr 1860 in Cass, Iowa and they moved to Peoria, Illinois, where William was a druggist. They had been married one year when the Civil War broke out. [3]
After the attack on Fort Sumter in April 1861, William immediately enlisted with the Union Army in the 17th Illinois Volunteer Regiment, and became a second lieutenant. After a few months alone in Peoria, Belle went to Missouri to join her husband. She convinced the regiment's colonel to allow her to join them on the front. When the regiment moved, Belle moved with them, whether in a wagon, an ambulance, on the back of a mule, or marching beside them carrying a musket. She remained with the regiment until the close of the war, embarking on long marches, sleeping on the ground, and weathering harsh elements, while she nursed the sick and wounded on and off the battlefield.
The regiment traveled the Mississippi River with General Grant's successful campaigns at Fort Henry and Fort Donelson in early 1862, and then on to Shiloh, Tennessee. On April 6, the regiment was attacked. When artillery rounds began flying over the camp, Belle and another nurse were told to run for their lives. Arriving at the river, a surgeon directed her to the vessel the Emerald, where she assisted in treating the approximately 350 wounded housed there. At one point, when hungry, exhausted, and panicked soldiers tried to force their way on to the Emerald, she was tasked with guarding the vessel with revolver in hand.
On April 9, after the battle had turned in favor of the Union, Belle left the Emerald to tend to those on the field and in field hospitals. Her duties included assisting surgeons with amputations. The events of the recent days took their toll on Belle, and on April 13 she boarded a transport vessel for a brief stay at home. Also on the transport was Illinois Governor Richard Yates, who recognized her on the spot for her service with the 17 Regiment at Shiloh, presenting her with the rank of Major. The commission stated: "Given to Mrs. Belle Reynolds for meritorious conduct in camp and on the bloody battlefield of Pittsburg Landing, as daughter of the regiment, with the rank of Major.” Although the commission was an honorary one, all soldiers under her command were required to obey her. She was twenty-one. Returning to the 17th Regiment, she continued to serve through the Vicksburg Campaign and until their enlistment expired 1 June 1864.
In 1870, Belle and William were living in Pymosa Township, Cass, Iowa. [4]
Household | Role | Sex | Age | Birthplace | Occupation |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Wm Reynolds | head | M | 36 | Massachusetts | cashier |
Arabella Reynolds | wife | F | 27 | Massachusetts | keeping house |
Alice Betterby | F | 16 | Illinois | domestic |
After the war, Belle began the study of medicine and surgery. She was on the clinical staff of Hahnemann College in Chicago, Illinois for several years and practiced medicine in Santa Barbara, California for many years. [5] (The Census indicates that Bell is widowed, however she and William divorced in 1884).
Household | Role | Sex | Age | Birthplace | Occupation |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Belle L Reynolds | head | F | 60 | Massachusetts | physician |
She worked as a representative of the American Red Cross for many years. In 1893, she travelled to Pomeroy, Iowa which had been devastated by a tornado, and in 1899 to Manila in the Philippines to inaugurate educational and health programs. At the conclusion of her service, Belle returned to Santa Barbara and continued practicing medicine until 1915.
In 1930, Belle was a lodger at a hotel in Santa Barbara. [6] (This census also indicates that she was widowed, not divorced.)
Household | Role | Sex | Age | Birthplace | Occupation |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Belle L Reynolds | lodger | F | 89 | Massachusetts |
She passed away 30 Jul 1937 in Santa Barbara, Santa Barbara, California and is buried in Mountain View Cemetery and Mausoleum in Altadena, California.[7][8][9]
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M > Macomber | R > Reynolds > Arabella Loomis (Macomber) Reynolds
Categories: Nurses, United States Civil War | Shelburne Falls, Massachusetts | American Red Cross | Illinois, Physicians | California, Physicians | Santa Barbara, California | Mountain View Cemetery and Mausoleum, Altadena, California