EVA BELL NEAL:

Eva Bell was born on September 19, 1888, the daughter of Amanda Jennie Lee Bell (1866-1950) and Andrew Jackson Bell (-1906). She is believed to have been the first African American girl born in the Selby Avenue neighborhood of St. Paul. Her parents were married in Chicago on December 27, 1886. They soon moved to St. Paul, where her father set up a barber shop.

Eva Bell's first marriage was to a man name Harry White and they had one son, Harry, Jr. (1907-1966). In June, 1912 she married Thomas A. Neal (1882-1947). He also had a barber shop in St. Paul and was a veteran of the Spanish-American War. The Neals had one son, Thomas Andrew Neal (born 1916), and one daughter, Albreta Eillen Neal Murray (born 1922).

Eva Bell Neal was active in the Democratic Party, St. James African Methodist Episcopal Church (St. Paul), and the Women's Auxiliary No. 12 of the United Spanish War Veterans.

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This collection consists of photocopies of newspaper clippings and correspondence concerning the life of Eva Bell Neal and some other members of her family. The first folder consists of a photocopy of the handwritten copy of Eva Bell Neal's autobiography written in March, 1972. Also included is a typed transcript and a two-page introduction by MHS staff member David Taylor. A folder of correspondence and clippings follows. Among the correspondents are St. Paul mayor William Mahoney, Eleanor Roosevelt, and Shirley (Mrs. W. E. B.) Dubois. Shirley Dubois was a cousin of Eva Bell Neal. The family file contains photocopies of correspondence of Neal's mother (1881-1886), her mother's 1941 autobiography, and obituaries of her father and her second husband. Clippings relating to the musical career of her sister (Albreta Corrine Bell King) also are included.

Other files in the collection relate to W. E. B. Dubois, Franklin Delano Roosevelt, the St. James African Methodist Episcopal Church of St. Paul, and the Charles Young Camp No. 29 and Women's Auxiliary No. 12 of the United Spanish War Veterans. The Roosevelt file contains a tribute by Mary McLeod Bethune, Director of Negro Affairs, National Youth Administration (October 26, 1936), and an article entitled "Why the Colored Citizens Should Help Re-elect President Roosevelt, November 5, 1940."

The St. James African Methodist Episcopal Church file contains copies of their church bulletin, The Helper (1970-1925), as well as programs and clippings. A brief history of the church is found in this file.

The United Spanish War Veterans file contains a biographical article on Colonel Charles Young, the third African American to graduate from West Point, and some scattered minutes and programs of the Charles Young Camp No. 29 and Women's Auxiliary No. 12 of the United Spanish War Veterans.

The miscellaneous folder contains an Adelphai Club Program (1962-1963) and clippings concerning testimonial dinners involving the Frederick Douglass centenary (1917), Hallie Q. Brown (1930, and Cecil E. Newman (October 1943).

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Availability:

The collection is open for research use.

Preferred Citation:

[Indicate the cited item and/or series here]. Eva Bell Neal Papers. Minnesota Historical Society.

See the Chicago Manual of Style for additional examples.

Accession Information:

Accession number: 11,685

Processing Information:

Processed by: Richard Arpi, December 1991.

Catalog ID number: 990017300110104294

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A tape recording and typed transcript of an oral history interview (1971) with Neal are located in the Minnesota Historical Society's sound and visual collections.

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This collection is indexed under the following headings in the catalog of the Minnesota Historical Society. Researchers desiring materials about related topics, persons or places should search the catalog using these headings.

Topics:

African American families -- Minnesota -- Saint Paul.

African American women -- Minnesota -- Saint Paul.

African Americans -- Minnesota -- Saint Paul.

Persons:

Bell, Amanda Jennie Lee, 1866-1950, author.

Du Bois, W. E. B. (William Edward Burghardt), 1868-1963.

Roosevelt, Eleanor, 1884-1962, author.

Roosevelt, Franklin D. (Franklin Delano), 1882-1945.

Organizations:

St. James African Methodist Episcopal Church (Saint Paul, Minn.)

United Spanish War Veterans. Women's Auxiliary No. 12 (Saint Paul, Minn.)

Places:

Saint Paul (Minn.)

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