I had always been interested in the Bell family for several reasons: one, my family seemed to have more contact  with my mother's side of the family in Scotland (Bayne) even though my father's family were in Ontario and Alberta.  Secondly, I can remember my father asking every Bell he met if they had a "Martin" name in the family.   It was not  until two years ago that I found how  the Martins were connected.

Around 1980 I began to delve into the history of the two families, Bayne and Bell. I began to meet cousins in  Scotland and Ontario. In the early 1990's a relative put me in contact with the Bells in Michigan. Shortly afterwards I   attended family reunions of my father's side in Brooklyn, Michigan, met many relatives and made many contacts.

Once I got on the internet I was able to fill in many blanks. Two years ago a member of the Thornton family  phoned me and we discovered we shared the same ggg grandmother. His input answered many questions that I  had.

I am now at the point of being able to make a Thomas Bell family Tree.