The Jesse W. Fell Family in Stone
Jesse Weldon Fell was a prominent figure in the Bloomington-Normal area. Born in New Garden, Chester, Pennsylvania on 10 November 1808, he set out in search of the West in 1828. By the Spring of 1833, he was the first lawyer in Bloomington, with an office located downtown. Jesse is credited with co-founding the Bloomington Observer in 1837 (Bloomington's first newspaper), as well as establishing a normal school, Illinois State Normal University (n.k.a. Illinois State Univeristy). He is essentially known as the father of the Town of Normal, which grew up around the university. Jesse kept company with the likes of Abraham Lincoln, David Davis, Adlai Stevenson, and James Allin.
Jesse married Hester Vernon BROWN on 26 January 1838. Together, they had eight children: Henry, William, Eliza, Clara, Flora, Alice, Rachel, and Fannie. Jesse died 25 Feb 1887. Jesse, Hester, and their children are all buried together in the Fell-Davis lot at Evergreen Cemetery in Bloomington.
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