John W. Bell was born around 1824 in Clarke County, Alabama. By 1850, he was working as a farmer in Clarke County, and he owned $2,000 of real estate. He married Nancy C. Robinson on October 20, 1851, and they had at least six children: Emma, born around 1853; Minnie, born around 1854; Clara, born around 1856; Anna, born around 1859; Dixie, born around 1860; and John, born around 1863. By 1860, he owned $3,000 of real estate and $8,000 of personal property, including at least six enslaved laborers. He enlisted in the Confederate army in April 1862 and mustered in as a captain in Company H of the 32nd Alabama Infantry. He died in Cassville, Georgia, on February 14, 1864.