A general introduction to Bell and his life appeared in a previous issue (‘That Honest and Intelligent Traveller’, History Scotland, May/ June 2005), but this article aims to look at some other aspects of Bell’s life that have since come to light. First, though, for new readers, a brief summary of Bell’s career.
Born in 1691, John Bell was the son of Reverend Patrick Bell, former Church of Scotland minister at Port of Menteith. Patrick Bell had been removed from the pulpit in 1689 for refusing to take the oath of allegiance to William and Mary, thus revealing his Jacobite sympathies. In 1685 he had inherited the estate of Antermony, near Kirkintilloch. John Bell grew up at Antermony and studied medicine at Glasgow University.
He left Scotland in 1714 for Russia, the St Petersburg of Peter the Great. His father’s Jacobite connections probably helped introduce Bell to the Englishspeaking community in Russia. In vol 23.2 of (), Susanne Moreton’s article ‘Sir Henry Stirling’ made clear how active the Jacobites were in trying to win Peter the Great’s support for their cause. Susanne’s article also mentioned Robert Erskine (or ‘Areskine’), Peter the Great’s physician, and it was he who welcomed Bell
