Notes:
1. From John Shell File, Kentucky Historical Society, quoting from the Lexington Ledger, (n.d.)
2. Caudill, p. 10. For full treatment of the effect of coal and timber industries on eastern
Kentucky, see Chapters VI, VII of Caudill’s “Night Comes to the Cumberlands.”
3. “Shell claimed to have been born September 2, 1788. A more likely date is sometime between 1805 and 1810.”
4. Brewer, p. 201.
5 Ibid., p. 201.
6 Ibid., p. 202.
JOHN SHELL: Family Tree
The source of the following information is a FamilySearch Family Tree, on a site that provides users with free family tree templates. The tree for John Shell and his ancestors is extensive, reaching back to the 1700s.
John Shell (1809-1922) married Elizabeth Nance (sic, Nantz) (1821-1912) on October 19, 1944, in Harlan, KY. Their 14 children were:
- Mary Ann “Polly” Shell – married Ely Huff
- William Coldiron Shell – married Elizabeth Hoskins
- Andrew Jackson Shell
- Mae Shell
- Nicholas Shell – married Dallia French
- Sarah Shell – married Reuben Elijah Chappell
- John Pace Martin Shell – married Araminta Farley
- Martha Jane Shell – married Elihu Garrison
- Nancy Shell
- Elizabeth Shell – married William E. Griffith
- Abijah B. Shell – married Lucinda Shepherd
- Silas Benton Shell – married Nancy Duff
- James McClenon Shell – married Mary York
- Emily Shell
Old John Shell’s parents were Samuel Schell (sic, Shell) and Mary Ann (Fry) Schell of North Carolina. He had two siblings, Elizabeth Shell Young and Solomon Shell. Elizabeth Shell’s parents were Clement C. Nance (sic, Nantz) and Polly (Hail) Nance, of Franklin, VA.
**********
The birth date for Old John Shell varied greatly in the sources consulted for this biography. Besides the 1809 date in the Family Search family tree and the 1805-1810 date range in the biographical sketch above, an article in the Lexington Herald, dated April 11, 1920, concludes that “Official census records indicate John Shell’s age was 97 or 98 years in 1916,” showing that he was born c. 1818 or 1819.
Appropriately, John Shell’s gravestone indicates his birth date as “Unknown” and his death date as July 5, 1922. Elizabeth (Nantz) Shell’s gravestone displays her birth date as January 14, 1821, and date of death as November 14, 1912, when she was 91 years of age. Both are buried at the Shell Burial Ground in Chappell (Leslie County), KY.
|
Title |
John Shell |
|
Alt. Title |
Old John Shell ; Uncle John Shell ; Old Uncle Johnny Shell ; |
|
Identifier |
https://pinemountainsettlement.net/?page_id=69194 |
|
Creator |
Pine Mountain Settlement School, Pine Mountain, KY. |
|
Alt. Creator |
Ann Angel Eberhardt ; Helen Hayes Wykle ; |
|
Subject Keyword |
John Shell, Old John Shell, Oldest Man in the World, Sam Shell, Elizabeth (Betsey) Nantz, Little Laurel Creek, Leslie County, Chappell family, H.M. Lewis, John Shell house, National Register of Historic Places Nomination Form, Gloria Mills, John D. Shell, gunsmith, millwright, merchant, bee-keeper, herb-collector, ginseng, Greasy Creek, Chappell KY, water mills, Sam Creech, John Caldwell |
|
Subject LCSH |
Shell, John, — c. 1805-1922. |
|
Date |
2022-05-17 aae |
|
Publisher |
Pine Mountain Settlement School, Pine Mountain, KY. |
|
Contributor |
n/a |
|
Type |
Collections ; text ; image ; |
|
Format |
Original and copies of documents and correspondence in file folders in filing cabinet. |
|
Source |
Series 09: BIOGRAPHY – Community |
|
Language |
English |
|
Relation |
Is related to: Pine Mountain Settlement School Collections, Series 09: BIOGRAPHY . |
|
Coverage Temporal |
c. 1805-1922 |
|
Coverage Spatial |
Pine Mountain, KY ; Harlan County, KY ; Leslie County, KY ; Chappell, KY ; |
|
Rights |
Any display, publication, or public use must credit the Pine Mountain Settlement School. Copyright retained by the creators of certain items in the collection, or their descendants, as stipulated by United States copyright law. |
|
Donor |
n/a |
|
Description |
Core documents, correspondence, writings, and administrative papers of Old John Shell ; clippings, photographs, books by or about Old John Shell ; |
|
Acquisition |
n/d |
|
Citation |
“[Identification of Item],” [Collection Name] [Series Number, if applicable]. Pine Mountain Settlement School Institutional Papers. Pine Mountain Settlement School, Pine Mountain, KY. |
|
Processed By |
Helen Hayes Wykle ; Ann Angel Eberhardt ; |
|
Last Updated |
|
|
Sources |
“Elizabeth Nantz Shell.” Find A Grave. Burial, Chappell, Leslie, Kentucky, United States of America, Shell Burial Ground; citing record ID 180189675. (https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/180189675/elizabeth-shell : accessed 15 May 2022) Internet resource. “Find a Grave, database and images (https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/180190183/john-shell : accessed 17 May 2022), memorial page for John “Old Uncle Johnny” Shell (May 1788–5 Jul 1922), Find a Grave Memorial ID 180190183, citing Shell Burial Ground, Chappell, Leslie County, Kentucky, USA ; Maintained by Cora L Richardson (contributor 48824391) “Kentucky, Vital Record Indexes, 1911-1999,” database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:QKHB-NQKS : accessed 15 May 2022), John Shell, 05 Jul 1922; citing Death, Leslie, Kentucky, United States, Kentucky Department for Libraries and Archives, Frankfort. “United States Census, 1860,” database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:33S7-9B9J-WJ4?cc=1473181&wc=7QXT-GKX%3A1589426984%2C1589428035%2C1589422206 : accessed 15 May 2022), Kentucky > Harlan > Not Stated > image 91 of 133; from “1860 U.S. Federal Census – Population,” database, Fold3.com (http://www.fold3.com : n.d.); citing NARA microfilm publication M653 (Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, n.d.). Internet resource. “United States, GenealogyBank Historical Newspaper Obituaries, 1815-2011”, database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:Q53X-CJPV : accessed 15 May 2022), John Shell, 1922. Internet resource. |
Return To: BIOGRAPHY – A-Z
See Also:
ALICE COBB STORIES: John Shell in NOTES 1927
JOHN D. SHELL Community – Biography
JOHN SHELL (Old John Shell) Community – Biography
LOCAL HISTORY SCRAPBOOK John Shell “Oldest Man in the World”
Pine Mountain Settlement School
Series 09: BIOGRAPHY
John Shell (c. 18??-1922)
“The Oldest Man in the World”
Elizabeth (Nantz) Shell (1821-1912)
Old John Shell, once (incorrectly) known as the “Oldest Man in the World.” [mccullough_II_53_084]
JOHN SHELL (Old John Shell) Community
TAGS: John Shell, Old John Shell, Oldest Man in the World, Shell Family, Sam Shell, Elizabeth (Betsey) Nantz, Little Laurel Creek, Leslie County, Chappell family, H.M. Lewis, John Shell Cabin, National Register of Historic Places Nomination Form, Gloria Mills, John D. Shell, gunsmith, millwright, merchant, bee-keeper, herb-collector, ginseng, Greasy Creek KY, water mills, Sam Creech, John Caldwell
JOHN SHELL: Biography by Gloria Mills
John Shell, once falsely known as “The Oldest Man in the World,” is not to be confused with John Dixon Shell who married Mary “Aunt Sis” Elizabeth (Nolan) Shell (1848-1927), daughter of John and Mary (Noe) Nolan. The two John Shells are easily confused. The Old John Shell claimed to be born in 1788 but a definitive article was written that debunked the myth and placed his birth around 1818-1919. (This date varies in other sources, including the following biographical sketch by Gloria Mills.) He married Betsey Nantz [“Aunt Bets” (?)]. The couple had at least 10 children. and possibly as many as 14.
The National Register of Historic Places Inventory Nomination Form for the John Shell Cabin contains a biographical sketch written by Gloria Mills for Old John Shell. She gathered the biographical information when the Shell house was placed in nomination for the National Register of Historic Places in 1975. The following biographical information is quoted from Gloria Mills when the nomination was submitted in 1975.
As a child John Shell came with his father Sam Shell to Kentucky in the early 1800s from
North Carolina, although he is said to have been born in Tennessee.[3] His father first settled in Bell County, later moving to Harlan. While traveling around eastern Kentucky, he built water mills and operated a mill himself with son John’s help at Port Fork in Baxter, Kentucky.[4]
After his marriage to Betsey Nantz, Shell moved to a one-room log house on the Little Laurel Creek in Leslie County. They moved only once after this, down the creek about a mile to Greasy Creek on land originally patented by a family named Chappell. Ownership later passed to H.M. Lewis, who sold it to the Shells. The Chappell house was better constructed than their previous home and by necessity was much larger to accommodate the Shells’ ten children. Nearby on Greasy Creek, Shell set up his own water mill the first, it is said, in Leslie County. [5]
Mill-wright was not Shell’s only occupation. In true mountaineer fashion, he was a man of many trades a merchant, beekeeper, gunsmith, wood-carver, and herb collector. Once or twice a month he rode muleback to Jonesville, Virginia, where he peddled honey, ginseng, wooden vessels that he carved, and other wares.[6]
In his old age Shell was cared for by Sam Creech and Creech’s nephew John Caldwell. Shell had lost ownership of the cabin and approximately 300 acres of land in a judgment against him for selling timber he did not own. Creech and Caldwell bought the property with the provision Shell be permitted to remain at the cabin until his death. He died in 1922.
Notes:
1. From John Shell File, Kentucky Historical Society, quoting from the Lexington Ledger, (n.d.)
2. Caudill, p. 10. For full treatment of the effect of coal and timber industries on eastern
Kentucky, see Chapters VI, VII of Caudill’s “Night Comes to the Cumberlands.”
3. “Shell claimed to have been born September 2, 1788. A more likely date is sometime between 1805 and 1810.”
4. Brewer, p. 201.
5 Ibid., p. 201.
6 Ibid., p. 202.
JOHN SHELL: Family Tree
The source of the following information is a FamilySearch Family Tree, on a site that provides users with free family tree templates. The tree for John Shell and his ancestors is extensive, reaching back to the 1700s.
John Shell (1809-1922) married Elizabeth Nance (sic, Nantz) (1821-1912) on October 19, 1944, in Harlan, KY. Their 14 children were:
- Mary Ann “Polly” Shell – married Ely Huff
- William Coldiron Shell – married Elizabeth Hoskins
- Andrew Jackson Shell
- Mae Shell
- Nicholas Shell – married Dallia French
- Sarah Shell – married Reuben Elijah Chappell
- John Pace Martin Shell – married Araminta Farley
- Martha Jane Shell – married Elihu Garrison
- Nancy Shell
- Elizabeth Shell – married William E. Griffith
- Abijah B. Shell – married Lucinda Shepherd
- Silas Benton Shell – married Nancy Duff
- James McClenon Shell – married Mary York
- Emily Shell
Old John Shell’s parents were Samuel Schell (sic, Shell) and Mary Ann (Fry) Schell of North Carolina. He had two siblings, Elizabeth Shell Young and Solomon Shell. Elizabeth Shell’s parents were Clement C. Nance (sic, Nantz) and Polly (Hail) Nance, of Franklin, VA.
**********
The birth date for Old John Shell varied greatly in the sources consulted for this biography. Besides the 1809 date in the Family Search family tree and the 1805-1810 date range in the biographical sketch above, an article in the Lexington Herald, dated April 11, 1920, concludes that “Official census records indicate John Shell’s age was 97 or 98 years in 1916,” showing that he was born c. 1818 or 1819.
Appropriately, John Shell’s gravestone indicates his birth date as “Unknown” and his death date as July 5, 1922. Elizabeth (Nantz) Shell’s gravestone displays her birth date as January 14, 1821, and date of death as November 14, 1912, when she was 91 years of age. Both are buried at the Shell Burial Ground in Chappell (Leslie County), KY.
|
Title |
John Shell |
|
Alt. Title |
Old John Shell ; Uncle John Shell ; Old Uncle Johnny Shell ; |
|
Identifier |
https://pinemountainsettlement.net/?page_id=69194 |
|
Creator |
Pine Mountain Settlement School, Pine Mountain, KY. |
|
Alt. Creator |
Ann Angel Eberhardt ; Helen Hayes Wykle ; |
|
Subject Keyword |
John Shell, Old John Shell, Oldest Man in the World, Sam Shell, Elizabeth (Betsey) Nantz, Little Laurel Creek, Leslie County, Chappell family, H.M. Lewis, John Shell house, National Register of Historic Places Nomination Form, Gloria Mills, John D. Shell, gunsmith, millwright, merchant, bee-keeper, herb-collector, ginseng, Greasy Creek, Chappell KY, water mills, Sam Creech, John Caldwell |
|
Subject LCSH |
Shell, John, — c. 1805-1922. |
|
Date |
2022-05-17 aae |
|
Publisher |
Pine Mountain Settlement School, Pine Mountain, KY. |
|
Contributor |
n/a |
|
Type |
Collections ; text ; image ; |
|
Format |
Original and copies of documents and correspondence in file folders in filing cabinet. |
|
Source |
Series 09: BIOGRAPHY – Community |
|
Language |
English |
|
Relation |
Is related to: Pine Mountain Settlement School Collections, Series 09: BIOGRAPHY . |
|
Coverage Temporal |
c. 1805-1922 |
|
Coverage Spatial |
Pine Mountain, KY ; Harlan County, KY ; Leslie County, KY ; Chappell, KY ; |
|
Rights |
Any display, publication, or public use must credit the Pine Mountain Settlement School. Copyright retained by the creators of certain items in the collection, or their descendants, as stipulated by United States copyright law. |
|
Donor |
n/a |
|
Description |
Core documents, correspondence, writings, and administrative papers of Old John Shell ; clippings, photographs, books by or about Old John Shell ; |
|
Acquisition |
n/d |
|
Citation |
“[Identification of Item],” [Collection Name] [Series Number, if applicable]. Pine Mountain Settlement School Institutional Papers. Pine Mountain Settlement School, Pine Mountain, KY. |
|
Processed By |
Helen Hayes Wykle ; Ann Angel Eberhardt ; |
|
Last Updated |
|
|
Sources |
“Elizabeth Nantz Shell.” Find A Grave. Burial, Chappell, Leslie, Kentucky, United States of America, Shell Burial Ground; citing record ID 180189675. (https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/180189675/elizabeth-shell : accessed 15 May 2022) Internet resource. “Find a Grave, database and images (https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/180190183/john-shell : accessed 17 May 2022), memorial page for John “Old Uncle Johnny” Shell (May 1788–5 Jul 1922), Find a Grave Memorial ID 180190183, citing Shell Burial Ground, Chappell, Leslie County, Kentucky, USA ; Maintained by Cora L Richardson (contributor 48824391) “Kentucky, Vital Record Indexes, 1911-1999,” database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:QKHB-NQKS : accessed 15 May 2022), John Shell, 05 Jul 1922; citing Death, Leslie, Kentucky, United States, Kentucky Department for Libraries and Archives, Frankfort. “United States Census, 1860,” database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:33S7-9B9J-WJ4?cc=1473181&wc=7QXT-GKX%3A1589426984%2C1589428035%2C1589422206 : accessed 15 May 2022), Kentucky > Harlan > Not Stated > image 91 of 133; from “1860 U.S. Federal Census – Population,” database, Fold3.com (http://www.fold3.com : n.d.); citing NARA microfilm publication M653 (Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, n.d.). Internet resource. “United States, GenealogyBank Historical Newspaper Obituaries, 1815-2011”, database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:Q53X-CJPV : accessed 15 May 2022), John Shell, 1922. Internet resource. |
Return To: BIOGRAPHY – A-Z
See Also:
ALICE COBB STORIES: John Shell in NOTES 1927
JOHN D. SHELL Community – Biography
JOHN SHELL (Old John Shell) Community – Biography
LOCAL HISTORY SCRAPBOOK John Shell “Oldest Man in the World”
