Born in Glendale, Ohio outside of Cincinnati, Bell moved to Toledo after marrying Miss Marie Suydam of Toledo. The Suydam family was involved in several success local businesses, including Milburn Wagon Company. Bell established Secor & Bell, a well-respected Toledo stock brokerage firm, with his friend Jay Secor in 1898. After Secor's death in 1921, the firm reorganized as Bell & Beckwith. 

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Bell was actively involved in the Toledo community during WWI as a leader of the Liberty Loan, Red Cross and YMCA programs. He also served as president of Toledo Hospital. His home on the Maumee River, known as Maribell was a showcase of unparalleled beauty.

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His Woodlawn monument includes the first line of an 18th century hymn called, On the Death of a Child, by Anne Steele. It reads: "Life is a span—a fleeting hour."