William Nathaniel Bell (1817-1887) and his wife, Sarah Ann (Peter) Bell (1819-1856), were members of the pioneering Denny Party, helping to establish the settlement that became Seattle in 1852, and settling in what was then north of downtown in "Belltown." Virginia and Olive streets are named for two of Bell's daughters, and Stewart Street honors Olive's husband, Joseph H. Stewart. In 1856 William took an ailing Sarah to California, where she died later that year. William returned to Seattle in 1870, and found that his property had become valuable. He began dealing in real estate and investments, and remained in Seattle with his second wife, Sarah's sister, Lucy (Peter) Gamble (b. 1823), until his death.

The plat map pictured here shows the Supplemental Plat of Block 27, added to Bell & Denny's First Addition to the City of Seattle. The map describes the land, defined as the block surrounded by Battery Street and Bell Street, and Front Street (now First Avenue) and Second Street (now Second Avenue). The property was added to Mr. Bell's donation claim granted by the U. S. Government, and gives the city the right to public use of the alley on the property. The map is signed by notary public Edgar Bryan as well as Mayor Thomas Taylor Minor (1844-1889). William Bell died about two months before this document was submitted to the City Council, so it is signed by Lucy Bell and the executors of their estate, William's son Austin Americus Bell (1854-1889), and fellow pioneer David Thomas Denny (1832-1903).

Caption information source: "Bell, William Nathaniel (1817-1887)," by Junius Rochester, HistoryLink.org Essay 2015.