Methuen’s Joe Bella makes an exciting civil war discovery
Posted by Common on Dec 13, 2009 in Profile • No comments
METHUEN — A recent trip to Gettysburg, Pa. led to an incredible discovery for Joe Bella. During that trip, he obtained an old photo of a Civil War soldier from Lawrence that he had tried to buy on eBay five years ago.
“I just happened to ask the guy behind the counter whether he had any Lawrence photos,” said Bella, 63, of Methuen, secretary of the Lawrence Civil War Memorial Guard. “When I saw the photo, I almost fell on the floor. I didn’t know who the soldier was, but recognized the face right away.”
A copy of a Dec. 5, 1910 obituary for Col. William Sharrock was already among the exhibits Bella had collected on 2,200 Lawrence soldiers. But until he saw the photo in Gettysburg, he didn’t know that it was a photo of Sharrock that he was outbid for on eBay back in April of 2004
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