Individual Details

Place of birth said to be Lutesville, Bolinger MO but Bolinger Co wasn't formed until 1851; there were few people in Cape Girardeau as early as 1810. Census says both Elisabeth and Henry born in MO, but I doubt this!
1880 Census - sons Henry & Jacob both state their father was born in North Carolina, their mother born in Missouri [Elizabeth herself gives her birthplace as Missouri, 1819 and also gives North Carolina as the birthplace for the father of the two youngest, Sarah & Jesse.


I believe Henry and Elizabeth to be the parents of Minerva. There are 3 households in the 1860 census that seem to be all of the same family. Nathaniel Schell lives next door to Henry, age 21 with wife and small girl and the next household is Frederick age 19, Martha age 15 who was the new spouse of Frederick, and Minerva age 23. All of these people would fit very nicely in the birth order of this family and fill in some of the gaps in age. The name is often spelled Schell in the records. Here is the Census record:

1860 Census. Mountain Twp, P. O. Shells Mills, McDonald Co MO; p.43
Dwelling 293, entire family born in MO
Henry Shell, 50, Farmer, $10000 value of real property
Elizabeth 41
Henry, 19
Philip, 13
Jacob, 11
Mary, 9
Anna, 7
Elizabeth, 5
Lucinda, 3
Martha N., 1
Dwelling 294
Nathaniel Schell, 21, Farmer, $1000
Nancy, 18
Elizabeth, 2
Dwelling 295
Frederick, 19, Farmer, $200
Martha, 15 [Martha & Frederick checked for married within the year]
Manerva, 23


Bushwhacked during the Civil War. Buried in his yard.

History of McDonald County, Missouri by Judge J. A. Sturges, 1897, has several comments to make about Henry Schell. The family lived in Mountain Township. The voting place is at Schell’s mill, and the post office there is called Mountain. This is the principal trading point in the township, and considerable business is done there. In 1847 Henry Schell bought the mill and located there. His son Henry now owns the land. Mrs. Elizabeth Schell, widow of the elder Henry, is now 78 years old, and has a pretty vivid memory of the early days. Her father, Jacob Yocum, settled in Stone county in 1825. Henry Schell brought a Negro boy to this county with him. He afterwards sold him for $400 and deeded his land with the money.
HENRY SCHELL’S MONEY
Henry Schell, father of the several men of that name who now live in this county, was one of the oldest settlers of Mountain township. By his thrift and industry he had not only acquired a good farm, but had considerable money which he kept about the place. When the war came up he kept his money buried as a precaution against robbers which infested the county. The exact amount is not known, but is suspected to be something over $300. On July 11, 1863, Mr. Schell was killed by some Union scouts who were on a raid in this section of the state. He had never revealed to any one the place where the money was secreted. After the war was over the family felt that they would be safe in possession of it, and began to search for it. Every nook and corner of the premises and buildings was hunted over time and again. The garden was plowed several times and every particle of dirt examined, but years passed by without any return for their labor. Finally some of the money was found in an old stump, the amount not remembered. One day an arrangement had been made for all the interested parties to meet and continue the search. None came but Henry and Jessee Schell, two of the sons. They went to an old stable that was about rotted down and concluded to search there. On digging down by one of the logs they found two hundred and fifty odd dollars. Of the amount found $112 was in gold, the balance in silver. There is one package of fifty dollars that has never been found. Among the money found in the stable was a 1-frank piece, a 37 ½ cent piece and one counterfeit 50 cent piece. Phillip Schell still has these as keepsakes which he prizes very highly.


In 1870, Minerva is living with the widowed mother Elisabeth and Jacob, age 22, Anna 17, Elizabeth 15, Lucinda 14, Sarah 11 (Martha ?), Jessee 10.

Find A Grave Memorial# 33163060
There is a very long article about this family with links to siblings and children. Henry is believed to be buried on his homestead near Jacket, McDonald Co, MO.
Here is a poignant description of his burial:
Henry was only 53 years old at the time of his death. His body was placed under the bluff behind the home place. Grandma Rose guarded his body all through the night to protect it from animals. His oldest sons, Nat, Fred, Henry, Jr., and Philip were away serving in the confederate army so the women of the family and a neighbor woman (Van Zandt) buried him in the yard, a few steps from the Schell home. His grave was dug during the night, to avoid the possibility of more violence. They felt safer being hidden by the darkness. A large wooden meal box from the mill was used as a coffin. The war disrupted the normal funeral and burial rituals. Some years later, his youngest son, Jesse, born in 1862, became the owner of the old homestead. A farmer-blacksmith by trade, he built a wrought iron fence to protect the grave site. In 2009, the grave is still enclosed by the wrought iron fence. Henry's tombstone confirms his birth and death dates. The first verse of "How firm a foundation" is on the headstone: "How firm a foundation, ye saints of the Lord; is laid for your faith in his excellent word; what more can he say than to you he hath said; you who unto Jesus for refuge have fled."

Birth	15 Feb 1810
Marriage	17 Oct 1835	Greene County, Missouri - Elisabeth H. Yocum
Death	11 Jul 1863	McDonald County, Missouri

Spouse	Elisabeth H. Yocum (1819 - 1900)
Child	Manerva Schell (1836 - 1921)
Child	Nathaniel Schell (1839 - 1922)
Child	Frederick Schell (1840 - 1921)
Child	Henry Schell Jr. (1841 - 1928)
Child	Philip Schell (1846 - 1927)
Child	Jacob Schell (1849 - 1906)
Child	Mary Schell (1851 - 1945)
Child	Anna Schell (1854 - 1931)
Child	Elizabeth Schell (1855 - 1884)
Child	Lucinda Schell (1858 - 1940)
Child	Sarah Schell (1860 - 1938)
Child	Jesse Schell (1862 - 1946)

Father	Casper Schell Jr. (1772 - 1847)
Mother	Mary Frances Sophronia Mull (1778 - 1848)
Sibling	John Schell (1795 - 1853)
Sibling	David Schell (1796 - 1846)
Sibling	Fannie Schell (1798 - 1819)
Sibling	Casper Schell III (1800 - 1849)
Sibling	Anna Marie Schell (1801 - 1892)
Sibling	Barbara Schell (1804 - 1884)
Sibling	Daniel Schell (1806 - )
Sibling	Benjamin Schell (1808 - 1864)
Sibling	Frederick Schell (1812 - 1847)
Sibling	Catherina Schell (1814 - 1903)
Sibling	Phillip Schell (1816 - )
Sibling	Jesse Schell (1818 - )
Sibling	Sampson Schell (1819 - 1867)
Sibling	Fannie Schell (1823 - )