The Wells Family of Kentucky's Big Sandy Valley

THE WELLS FAMILY OF KENTUCKY’S BIG SANDY VALLEY

S.S. HORNET - 1779

John Britton Wells III

THE WELLS FAMILY OF KENTUCKY’S BIG SANDY VALLEY

“From Willesborough, England to Daniels Creek”

*****************

John Britton Wells III

and

The Historical Committee Wells Family Association, Inc.

Otter Bay Books, Inc. Baltimore, Maryland 2013 Revised 2020

Permission to reproduce in any form must be secured from the Wells Family Association, Inc.

Please direct all correspondence and book orders to: Wells Family Association, Inc. c/o John B. Wells III 216 Lake Ridge Dr. Newnan, GA 30263

Library of Congress Control Number 2013937158

Published for the Wells Family Association, Inc. by Otter Bay Books, LLC 3507 Newland Road Baltimore, MD 21218-2513

www.otter-bay-books.com

Printed in the United States of America

WELLS FAMILY REUNION, JOHNSON COUNTY, KENTUCKY – 1915

THIS BOOK IS DEDICATED TO MY PRECIOUS GRANDCHILDREN WHO I HOPE WILL GROW UP TO BE PIRATES THEMSELVES. AARRGGHH!!!

SOPHIE GRACE WELLS PHOEBE FAITH WELLS GATELY JACK WELLS CLAIRE BRITTON WELLS LYDIA DIANA WELLS

“The happiest moments of my life have been the few which I passed at home in the bosom of my family” ----Thomas Jefferson

CONTENTS

Preface………………………………………………………………….ix Prologue………………………………………………………………...xi Chapter One: Our Germanic and English Beginnings…………………..1 Chapter Two: Thomas Atte Welle of Willesborough…………………...3 Chapter Three: Godmersham and Boughton Aluph…………………...13 Chapter Four: To America……………………………………………..20 Chapter Five: Dr. Richard Wells of Dover, Delaware………………....23 Chapter Six: The Mystery of Richard Wells “III”………………..…....27 Chapter Seven: The Revolutionary War of “Uncle George” and Richard Wells “IV”……………………………………………....37 Chapter Eight: To Virginia and Beyond……………………………….44 Chapter Nine: The Legacy……………………………………………..46 Chapter Ten: Illustrations…………………………………………….115 Family Descendancy Chart (1452-1838)..….………………………...139 Blank Family Group Sheets……………….………………………….141

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PREFACE

I have lived in all sorts of places in my life, from New York City to Paris, France, and from Chapel Hill, North Carolina, to Newnan, Georgia. However, I grew up in the mountains of East Kentucky in the “heart” of Appalachia. My father’s family, the Wells family, has lived in Appalachia for over 230 years. Although the word “Appalachia” conjures images of poverty, floods, drugs and strip mines, there is a positive in those mountains that outweighs all the negatives. There is one thing we value more than any other aspect of our culture … and that is FAMILY! My wife, Terrie, is from South Central Kentucky. When I brought her to the mountains she was amazed at how many relatives I had and how I “claimed” so many very distant cousins. Often, I would introduce her to a kinsman with, “We’re cousins three or four different ways. We don’t know exactly how we’re related – we just are.” Half jokingly, I explained to my bride that I had to travel all the way to South Central Kentucky to find an unmarried woman who wasn’t related to me. Ironically, it turned out that we are related after all. Mountain people travel, you know! The Wells family identity has always been an important part of who I am. I am a “Wells” from Johnson County, Kentucky. My people have been high and mighty and low and humble. They have helped make East Kentucky a family oriented, nurturing place. The entire community helped me raise my children. If they got into trouble, a cousin or an aunt would let me know long before they came home. If there was ever an emergency, my boys had but to knock on the nearest door and identify themselves as my sons and help was on the way. Some experts argue that this kind of protective shell has debilitated our youth to the point that they cannot function outside of the mountains. I say the opposite is true. The security of growing up surrounded by family gave me a self-confidence and sense of place that is lacking in many parts of our country. Therefore, it is with a great deal of family pride that I present to you volume one of The Wells Family of Kentucky’s Big Sandy Valley. This book weaves the story of our Wells family’s early history, from Denmark to England to America. It follows the generations from 1452 A.D. through the grandchildren of our mountain pioneer ancestors, Richard and Susannah (Hutchison) Wells. Future volumes will trace our family’s journey to the present day. I urge you to personalize this history of your family by adding the details of your own lineage using the blank family genealogy group sheets

ix located at the end of the book. Be proud! God made you a “Wells” – some of His best work! There are hundreds of family members who deserve mention because of their efforts to preserve our family’s unique story. They came together to form the Wells Family Association, Inc. and made it possible for this book to be published. Special thanks are reserved for the members of the family history committee who have continued to collect and preserve our history. They are Louise McMonegal, Bobby Wells, Mary Walton, Patti Quallich, Kelly Johnson, Lou Sherburne, Rich Bonitz, Terry Strasser and the late Charles C. Wells. Without the editing skills of Louise McMonegal and Bobby Wells, and the photos collected by Patti Quallich, this book would not have been possible. The most important person in my life and my best friend is my wife Terrie Ann Barrier Wells. Her love and unending patience have made it possible for me to spend countless hours in libraries and archives in England and America. Finally, I want to thank my 8th great grandfather Richard Wells for having the courage to come to America and establish one of our nation’s finest families.

John Britton Wells III Newnan, Georgia January 25, 2020

PROLOGUE

In 2002, Orin Wells, founder of the Wells Family Research Association, initiated the Wells Family DNA Project. This study compared the Y- Chromosome DNA of over 300 males who carry the last name of “Wells.” Twelve members of our branch of the Wells family participated and confirmed that we descend from Zorobabel Wells and his father Richard. It was also found that our Wells branch, designated as family W003 for the study, is not related to either the General James Wells family of Baltimore, Maryland, or the family of Zachariah Wells of Southwest Virginia.1 This discovery provided the impetus for a renewed effort to discover our correct ancestry. For almost eighty years, the family had accepted the genealogical research accomplished in the 1920s by a grandson of our ancestors Richard and Susannah (Hutchison) Wells. His research contended that we were connected to both the families of General James Wells of Maryland and Zachariah Wells of Southwest Virginia. It was assumed that since the grandson of Richard Wells had access to so many of the older members of the family, his conclusions were correct. However, the results of the Wells Family DNA Project proved that he was wrong. Since then, family genealogists have worked tirelessly to document our family’s unique story. Because the new DNA results matched us with other well-documented descendants of Zorobabel Wells we were able to attempt research from both ends. Our ancestor Richard Wells was born in 1760 and our distant forebearer Zorobabel Wells of Virginia and Maryland was born about 1646. The research challenge was to close the 114 year gap between the two. From our ancestor Richard’s Revolutionary War pension record, we also knew that Richard’s uncle was Dr. George Wells of Georgia. It took years of searching, but we were finally able to connect Dr. George’s ancestry to the descendants of Zorobabel. Additionally, the will of Dr. George Wells included only two brothers, Thomas and Richard, who could have been the father of our ancestor Richard. Thomas, born after 1748, was too young to have been Richard’s father, leaving George’s brother Richard as the only possible father of our direct ancestor Richard. The further connection with England is the result of the efforts of eight professional English genealogists who searched the deeds, wills and birth records of every English county before finding the records of our family in Kent.

1 “Wells DNA Project,” Wells Family Research Association, Inc., P.O. Box 5427, Kent, Washington 98064-5427. xi

Two additional DNA studies revealed that our family’s DNA profile contains a distinctive Y-DNA subclade found mainly along the coast of Europe from the Netherlands to Denmark and common among the early inhabitants of Denmark and northern Germany.2 With the dissolution of the Roman Empire in the 5th century A.D., the fierce sea-faring tribe called Jutes from Denmark, along with some Angles, Saxons and Frisians from today’s northern Germany and the Netherlands, sailed across the North Sea to raid and eventually invade Great Britain, either displacing, absorbing, or destroying the native Celtic peoples there. While the other invading tribes settled farther to the North and West, the Jutes, from “Jutland” in Denmark, claimed what is now the County of Kent as their permanent home.3 Even today there is much surviving archeological evidence of their habitation.4 Since our Wells family traces its earliest documented ancestors to Kent and our DNA haplogroup was most common among the Jutes, it is likely that our pre-historic roots extend deep into the peat bogs and plains of western Denmark.5 The publication of this book is a direct result of the DNA testing and resultant genealogical research. With this book, the goal of the Wells Family Association, Inc. to disseminate the correct history of our Wells family has been realized. The following pages chronicle the real story of our Wells family’s journey “from Willesborough, England to Daniels Creek.”

PROLOGUE – ADDED 2020

The mystery surrounding the life of Richard Wells “III” has baffled family historians for over a century. The confusion has been compounded by fantastic tales invented by his descendants that told of kidnappings, abandonment and indentured servitude. When the Wells Family of Kentucky’s Big Sandy Valley was published in 2013, several theories about the life of Richard “III” were still in play. However, none of them explained his ultimate fate. Thanks to the excellent research accomplished by Terry Coyne Strasser, a Wells descendant, new clues have been uncovered that allowed us

2 “R-106-Y-DNA Project,” Geni, West Hollywood, California, 2013. 3 David K. Faux, “Y-DNA Haplogroup R-U152 in Britain: Proposed Link to the 5th Century Migration of the Angle and Jute Tribes from Jutland and Fyn, Denmark,” Seal Beach, California, 2008. 4 Venerable Saint Bede, The Ecclesiastical History of the English Nation, translated by John Smith, T. Bailey & T. Meighan, London, 1723. 5 rd Frank Stenton, Anglo-Saxon England, 3 Edition, Oxford University Press, Oxford, 1971. xii to explore a completely different avenue of investigation. Strasser found two nineteenth century accounts by family members from separate branches of the Wells family that described their forebearer Richard Wells III as a “sea captain.” On the heels of those discoveries, another account was found from Elizabeth Wells Hillman, the daughter of Richard Wells “IV” and granddaughter of Richard Wells “III,” stating that her grandfather “was a sea captain who lost his life during the [Revolutionary] war.” Sure enough, there was a Richard Wells who lived in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, who was a “sea captain” during the Revolutionary War. As more and more details were found about his military career, a new understanding of the odysseys of Richard “III” and his son Richard Wells “IV” began to emerge. First, historical records seemed to support the fact that Richard Wells “IV” was separated from his parents before 1779. Additionally, his father Richard Wells “III” was away at sea or in prison as a P.O.W. almost continually from April 1777 until his death in April of 1779. Richard Wells “III” likely left Philadelphia with his mother and later lived with his uncle George Wells. According to his Revolutionary War veteran’s pension, while in Georgia, Richard Wells “III” served for nine months as an orderly sergeant in the local militia. Since his father died in 1779 and his uncle George was killed in a duel the following year, there was no reason for Richard Wells “IV” to remain in Georgia after the British overran the colony in May 1780. The orphaned patriot veteran, along with many of his colleagues, removed to the safer confines of Southwest Virginia, where he married and started a family. Please accept the following update of the Wells Family of Kentucky’s Big Sandy Valley.

---- John Britton Wells III, 25 January 2020

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OUR GERMANIC AND ENGLISH BEGINNINGS

The County of Kent is located in the extreme southeastern corner of England. It borders the River Thames and the North Sea to the north and the English Channel to the south with France only 21 miles away. Because of its abundance of orchards and hop gardens, Kent is widely known as the “Garden of England." Distinctive hop-drying buildings called “oasts” are common throughout the county. In 51 BC, Julius Caesar described Kent as “Cantium,” although he did not record the inhabitants' name for themselves. His writings suggest localized groups of people whose chieftains were flattered by his description of them as “kings.” Writing of the Britons generally in his Commentarii de Bello Gallico, Caesar noted that, "... by far the most civilized are those who inhabit Cantium, the whole of which is a maritime region; and their manners differ little from those of the Gauls." Pottery studies indicate the county east of the River Medway was inhabited by “Belgic” peoples who were part of an economic and cultural region embracing southeast England and the lands across the English Channel. The “Belgae” were a population group that occupied part of Gaul in Roman times. Their area was bounded in the south by the rivers Seine and Marne, in the west by the sea, and in the east and north by the Rhine River. They claimed to be of German descent. Some tribes passed into Britain from about 100 BC onwards and settled in the southeast. The Belgae were subdued by Julius Caesar in 57 BC but continued to give trouble for the next thirty years. During the 5th century, East Kent became a kingdom of the Jutes and was known as “Cantis” or “Cent” from about 730 AD onward. The Frisians, Jutes, Saxons and Angles, warrior tribes from the western coast of Germany, the Netherlands and Denmark, populated Kent almost exclusively. A large percentage of the modern inhabitants of Kent are direct descendants of these Germanic invaders, including most probably our Wells family. By early medieval times the inhabitants of the county were known as the “Cantwara,” or “Kent people,” and regarded the city of Canterbury as their capital. In 597, Pope Gregory I appointed Augustine as the first Archbishop of Canterbury. In the previous year, Augustine had successfully converted Kent’s pagan King Aethelberht to Christianity. The Diocese of Canterbury became Britain's first Episcopal See and has since remained Britain's center of Christianity.

1 Kent’s modern motto “invicta,” meaning "undefeated" or “unconquered” harkens back to the continued defense of independence throughout the county’s history. Following the invasion of Britain by William the Conqueror in 1066, the Kent people's resistance against the Normans led to Kent's designation as a semi- autonomous County Palatine in 1067. Under the nominal rule of William the Conqueror's half-brother Odo of Bayeux, the county was granted similar powers to those granted in the areas bordering Wales and Scotland. Even today the male inhabitants of East Kent are known as “Men of Kent” to remind all of their unfaltering defiance against any who would take away their freedom. In 1803, William Wordsworth honored these brave Englishmen with a poem, “To The Men of Kent.”

VANGUARD of Liberty, ye men of Kent, Ye children of a Soil that doth advance Her haughty brow against the coast of France, Now is the time to prove your hardiment! To France be words of invitation sent! They from their fields can see the countenance Of your fierce war, may ken the glittering lance And hear you shouting forth your brave intent. Left single, in bold parley, ye, of yore, Did from the Norman win a gallant wreath; Confirmed the charters that were yours before;-- No parleying now! In Britain is one breath; We all are with you now from shore to shore:-- Ye men of Kent, 'tis victory or death!

In Kent, the family name of Wells evolved from the old Jutish word “vel” meaning “spring” or “well.” There were literally hundreds of these natural springs scattered throughout Kent, which provided local residents with their only sources of life-giving water. They were so important that our family’s progenitors identified themselves by some association with a well, adopting “At(te) Walle” or “At(te) Well(e)” later shortened to “Atwell” and “Wells,” as their family name.1 The first recorded spelling of the family name in Kent is that of Andrew “Atte Well” who witnessed a quitclaim dated March 25, 1270.2

1 Charles Wareing Bardsley, A Dictionary of English and Welsh Surnames with Special American Instances., Genealogical Publishing, Baltimore, MD, 1967. Originally published London, 1901, p. 800. 2 “Quitclaim of John Gregri to the Prior of Canterbury Cathedral, 25 March 1270,” Canterbury Cathedral Archives, #CCA-DCc-ChAnt/C/456.

2 II

THOMAS ATTE WELLE OF WILLESBOROUGH

The earliest known positively identified lineal ancestor of our branch of the Wells family was Thomas “Atte Welle,” or “At Well,” a yeoman farmer living at Willesborough, Kent in the 15th century. Today, Willesborough is a working class suburb of the city of Ashford, but in the 1400s it was a rural farming community. An early topographical survey described Willesborough as “a pretty hamlet of houses, some of them of good size ... pleasantly situated in a dry healthy country.”3 Thomas Atte Welle was a resident of Willesborough at least as early as 1452/3. On February 24th of that year, “Thomas Atte Welle of Willesborough” along with Thomas Gore transferred property to Guy Elys, John Chapman and Thomas Wodeforde.4 On February 6, 1462/3, Thomas sold his rights to a plot of land to William Michell, and on January 10, 1468/9, he witnessed a quitclaim from John Sprot to Thomas Cartere:5

[Grant of Land, Willesborough 24/25 February 1452/3]. “May all men, present and future, know that we, Thomas Gore and Thomas atte Welle of Willesborough, have devised, granted, and by this our present deed delivered, to Guy Elys, John Chapman and Thomas Wodeford, Two pieces of land and woodland, containing three acres of land and woodland, with their appurtenances, be it more or less, lying conjointly in the parish of Willesborough, Whereof one piece of land, with its appurtenances, contains two acres and a half of land, called Colsetyne, and there is one acre of woodland with ground called Hartygh, between the land of William Michell towards the east, the land of William Hermer and the land of the heirs of John Michell towards the south, the land belonging to the messuage of Sprotlond towards the west, and the land of the said Sprotlond and the feoffees of Nicholas Kyvet towards the north, Together with the roads and footpaths belonging to the said land, that is to say, beyond Hartegh Lane & Byrchet Lane, To have and to hold the aforesaid two pieces of land, with their appurtenances, to the aforenamed Guy, John and Thomas Wodeford, their heirs and assigns, for ever, Of the chief lords of that fee, by the services due and by right accustomed in respect thereof. In

3 Edward Hasted, The Topographical Survey of the County of Kent, Volume VIII, W. Bristow Printers, Canterbury, Kent, 1799, page 566. 4 “Phillipps Charters,” The John Rylands University Library, University of Manchester, Ref: PHC/480. 5 “Ibid,” Ref: PHC/489 & PHC/494.

3 witness whereof we have affixed our seals to this our present deed. Given at Willesborough on the feast of Saint Matthias the Apostle in the thirty first year of the reign of the sixth King Henry after the conquest of England [24/25 February 1452/3], These being witnesses; Robert Sprot, William Michell, William Hermer, William [surname covered], Thomas Chapman … [and many others].”

[Grant of Land, Willesborough, 6 February 1462/3] “May all men, present and future, know that I, Thomas atte Welle of Willesborough, have given, granted, and by this my present deed confirmed, to William Michell of the same, The moiety6 of one piece of land and woodland, with its appurtenances, called Seten, in Willesborough aforesaid, between the land of the said William Michell towards the north and east, and the land of the heirs of Peter Kyvet towards the south, and the land of the aforesaid heirs and the land lately Thomas Wodeford’s called Wyvelysberghestokkys [Willesborough Stocks] towards the west, To have and to hold the aforesaid moiety of the said piece of land and woodland, with its appurtenances, to the aforenamed William Michell, his heirs and assigns, for ever, Of the chief lords of the fee, by the services due to them and by right accustomed in respect thereof. And I, the aforesaid Thomas atte Welle and my heirs, and assigns, will warrant the moiety of the said piece of land and woodland, with its appurtenances, to the aforenamed William Michell, his heirs and assigns, against all men for ever. In witness whereof I have affixed my seal to this my present deed. Given at Willesborough aforesaid on the sixth day of the month of February in the second year of the reign of Edward IV of England [1462/3]. These being witnesses; Robert Sprot, Thomas Bakere, Thomas Wodeforde, Thomas Pieres, William atte Halle … [and many others].”

[Grant of Land, Willesborough, 10 January 1468/9] “May all men know by these presents that I, John Sprot senior of the parish of Willesborough, have remised, released, and, for me and my heirs for ever, utterly quitclaimed, to Thomas Cartere of Willesborough aforesaid, All the right and claim which I have, or in any way in the future am able to have, of and in one acre of land lying in Willesborough aforesaid, in the field called The Hoke, in the tenure of the Court of Conningbrook, with the lands of Thomas Gore towards the east, south and west, and the lands of John Vurdon towards the north, To have and to hold the aforesaid acre of land, with all its appurtenances, to the aforesaid Thomas Cartere, his heirs and assigns, for ever, Of the chief lords of that fee by the services formerly due to them and by right accustomed in respect thereof. And I, the aforesaid John, and my heirs, will

6 NOTE: “Moiety” in English law was defined as a portion other than a whole of property ownership.

4 warrant the aforesaid acre of land, with all its appurtenances, to the aforesaid Thomas Cartere, his heirs and his assigns, against all men, for ever. In witness whereof I have affixed my seal to this my present writing. Given at Willesborough aforesaid on the tenth day of the month of January in the eighth year of the reign of the Fourth King Edward after the conquest of England [1468/9], These being witnesses; John Gore, William Mychell[?], Thomas Gore, John Vurdon, Thomas att Welle … [and many others].”

These three grants suggest that Thomas Atte Welle was a prosperous landholder at a time when only a small minority of Englishmen owned land of any kind. The locations of his holdings can be approximated by the known locations of some of the surrounding properties. The parcels called “Colsetyne and “Hartygh” conveyed in the 1452/3 grant were located south and east of “Sprotlond” (Sprotlands), an estate included on area maps until the 1930s. Based on the location of “Sprotlond” it appears that “Colsetyne” and “Hartygh” were situated just south of Hythe Road in Willesborough, between Albemarle Road and Church Road near the present day Willesborough Cricket Club. The most significant transaction in terms of our family’s genealogical research occurred in 1462/3 when Thomas Attle Welle sold “the moiety in one piece of land and woodland … called Seten.” “Seten,” also spelled “Seaton,” was a small manor located on Pilgrim’s Way just north of the junction with the Wye Road in the present day village of Boughton Lees, just three miles north of Willesborough. As early as the year 1334, “Seten” was enfeoffed7 to William Atte Welle of Pett, Kent. Although no records survive that prove their exact relationship, the fact that our ancestor Thomas Atte Welle shared the same last name and owned the same property as William Atte Welle suggests a close, probably lineal, relationship. William Atte Welle was a minister of the English Roman Catholic Church and served several churches in Kent.8 In 1334, he was pastor of a tiny chapel at “Pette” near Charing. This chapel is now defunct, but ruins of the medieval building remain.9 William Atte Welle was still “chaplain” of Pett in 1337,10 but by

7 NOTE: “Enfeoffment” under the English feudal system was “a deed by which a person was given land in exchange for a pledge of service.” This mechanism was used to avoid restrictions on the passage of land title. 8 NOTE: Although banned by Pope Benedict VIII in 1018, it was very common for English Catholic priests to marry. It was not until the Council of Trent in 1563 that the practice ceased and true celibacy became accepted in the United Kingdom. 9 “Ruins of Chapel at Pett Place, Grade II Medieval Building,” English Heritage, Crown Copyright, 1967, & Colin Flight, “The Lost Church of Pett,” n.p., 2010, pages 1-3.

5 1361 he was serving as the vicar of the church at Hastingleigh, five miles northeast of Willesborough.11 On June 3, 1334, Thomas and Matilda de Alledone enfeoffed “William Atte Welle, parson of “the church at Pette,” with the manor of Bocton (Boughton) Aluph and “a moiety” of the manors of Seten and Easture.

“July 3 [1334] License for Thomas de Alledone and Matilda his wife to enfeoff William atte Welle, parson of the church of Pette, of the manor of Bocton Aluph and a moiety of Seten and Easture, co. Kent, said to be held in chief, and for him to re-grant the moiety of the manor of Easture to them and to the heirs of Matilda, and the manor of Bocton and moiety of Seten to them and the heirs of their bodies. In default of heirs these last are to remain as follows: two parts of the manor of Bocton, to the right heirs of Matilda, and the third part of the said manor, called “Le Bele Assise” and moiety of the manor of Seten, to the right heirs of Thomas.” 12

An earlier record dated by British archivists as from about the year 1290 indicates a continuing connection between Thomas “de Alledone” or “de Aledone” and a member of the Atte Welle family. “Robert atte Walle [Welle]” witnessed the 13th century land transfer and remains as the earliest known possible reference to our Wells family although his relationship is unknown.

“Thomas son of Gilbert de Aledone of Wye parish to Canterbury Cathedral Priory, land called 'Le Pende' in Brook tenement. Lying with the priory's land to west, and the land of Hugh Pukel and Stephen Pukel to east. Together with an annual payment of 3s 1d for various lands in Brook tenement, of which Hugh Pukel used to pay 6d, Stephen Pukel 6d, Reginald atte Broke 8d, Stephen Seleke 6d, Thomas Seleke and Adam Seleke 8d, Augustine Seleke 2d, and Adam le Vitele 1d. No date. [Date: statute of Quia Emptores and handwriting.] Witnesses: Richard Reymund; Thomas Reynaud; Robert atte Walle [Welle]; Richard de Cumbe;

10 L.F. Salzmann, editor, An Abstract of Feet of Fines for the County of Sussex, Volume 3, 1308-1509, Institute of Historical Research, 1916, pages 88-102, “Thomas de Aledon and Maud his wife v. William Atte Welle, chaplain.” 11 Mary Harwood, Kentish Village – Hastingleigh, Parochial Church Council, Hastingleigh, 1952. 12 Calendar of the Patent Rolls Preserved in the Public Record Office, Edward III, 1334-1338, Volume 18, Deputy Keeper of the Records, Her Majesty’s Stationary Office, London, 1895, page 3.

6 Walter the goldsmith, of Wye; John Guodith; Humphrey the baker; William Michel; Henry Besant; Peter son of John; Robert Salemon; William Wybert.”13

Our first “documented” lineal ancestor Thomas “Atte Welle” or “At Well” wrote his last will and testament on July 14, 1487. Although the will is in poor condition and is very hard to read, it does mention his wife Margaret and his son John who was under age 22 at the time.

“In the name of God, Amen, on the 20th day of the month of July in the one thousand four hundred and 87th year of our Lord, I, Thomas At Well, of Willesborough [Wevelisburgh], being of sound mind, make my will in this manner. First I bequeath my soul to almighty God, the Blessed Mary, and to all the saints, And my body to be buried in the churchyard of the aforesaid church. Item I bequeath to the high altar in the same place 4d. The residue, indeed, of all my goods not above bequeathed, I give and bequeath to Margaret my wife, which certain Margaret, together with John Amys of Challock [Chaloke], I make my executors. And I will that John Amys, Thomas Kempe, Thomas Coke and Edward Billam, my feoffees, should, after my death [pay] to the aforenamed Margaret one annual rent of 4s, to be received and held [to the use?] of John my son until he, the son, should come to his age of 22 years. And when the aforesaid John my son shall have come to the aforesaid age, then I will that my aforesaid feoffees or their heirs shall enfeoff the aforenamed John of and in all the aforesaid lands and tenements, with their appurtenances, To have and to hold, to him, his heirs and assigns, for ever, of the chief lords [of fee] etc. And if it should happen the aforenamed John to die before the aforesaid age without and heir of his body lawfully begotten … … then I will that all the aforesaid lands and tenements, with their appurtenances, should be sold by my executors, And out of the monies received therefrom, I will that the aforesaid Margaret my wife should have one moiety, and the other part to pay my debts … priest … in the church of Kennington [Kenyngton] and towards the repairs of the church, as by the discretion[?] of my executors may seem most [needful], for the health of my soul. Item I give and bequeath to the high altar of the church of Kennington 20d. Witnesses; Thomas Coke, T. Kempe, Edwardo Billam, William … [and many others].”14

13 “Thomas de Aledone to Canterbury Cathedral Priory,” “late 13th century,” CCA-DCc- ChAnt/B/275, Canterbury Cathedral Archives, Canterbury, Kent. 14 “Will of Thomas At Well of Willesborough,” written 20 July 1487, PRC17/5/396, Centre for Kentish Studies, Maidstone, Kent, England.

7 The “chief Lord of fee” in this case was probably Sir Thomas Kempe of Olantigh Manor who owned large estates at Godmersham, Hinxhill and Wye and was Sheriff of Kent in 1492. Kempe also served as one of the feoffees for Thomas “At Well.” The will also hinted at a close association with the village of Kennington. A bequest of 20d was made to the Kennington parish while only 4d was bequeathed to his home church at Willesborough. John “Atwell,” the son of Thomas “At Well,” was born at Willesborough some time after 1465 and was a carpenter by profession. His will dated November 20, 1536 mentions his wife Johane (Joan) and at least two sons, Richard and Robert.

“20 November 1536 John Atwell of Willesborough, carpenter, my body to be buried in the churchyard of Willesborough. I bequeath to the high altar of the same church for my tithes forgotten and negligently witheld 8d, to the ‘herse’ light of the same church 4d and to the torch light there 4d. To Johane my wife five kine and a cow calf, a coverlet of yellow and green and all such stuff of household as she brought to me at the time of our marriage and also all such stuff as has been renewed since we were married. And all the residue of all my brass and pewter I bequeath to Richard my son with all other implements concerning stuff of household immediately after my decease. To the said Richard two working oxen and two mares immediately after [sic]. All my tools belonging to my craft, a plough and ‘weane’ with all the instruments thereto belonging, which plough and weane with the said instruments I will my wife shall have the occupying until the feast of St.Michael the Archangel [25 September] next after my decease to her own use with all such implements as were left to my tenement when I came thereto. To Dyonys Taylor a platter. Moreover I will have at my burying 3 masses, also I will that my executors bestow at my month’s day in the church of Willesborough for my soul to the true value of 13s 4d in masses and dirges and in refreshing of poor people then there being present to pray for my soul and all Christian [souls]. And moreover I will that my executors shall distribute 20d [on] the said day to poor people of the said parish where is most needful for the wealth of my soul. I will my executor shall do at my year’s mind in the church of Willesborough three dirges and masses to the value of 2s beside other charges. The residue of my goods not bequeathed above, my debts, legacies and expenses paid, I will that Richard my son at his discretion shall dispose for the wealth of my soul, which Richard my son I ordain and make my sole executor to perform this my present testament and last will. The last will of John Atwell made the day and year abovesaid, I will my feoffees shall suffer the said Johane to have and take to her own use the issues and profits of all my lands and tenements with the appurtenances in Willesborough,

8 Kennington and Hinxhill to the feast of St.Michael the Archangel [25 September] next after my decease without strip or waste, bestowing within the same term 2s upon the reparations of the houses of my said tenements at her cost and charge and also paying all charges thereof due to the lord of the fee and at the end of the said term I will that my feoffees shall grant to the said Johane by deed for the term of her life an annuity of 10s a year going out of all my said lands and tenements with the appurtenances at the feast of the Annunciation of Our Lady and Saint Michael the Archangel to be paid by equal portions, with a clause of distress to be contained in the same deed for lack of payment of the same rent, also [I will to her] a chamber in my said tenement with fire and fleet and free coming and going to the said chamber and immediately after that grant so made I will that all my said lands and tenements with the appurtenances shall remain to Richard my son and his heirs and assigns for evermore, paying therefore to Robert my son £10 in form following, that is to say, 40s immediately after my decease and the other £8 to be paid in 4 years after the decease of Johane my wife by equal portions and if the said Robert decease without a man child before all the payments be made then I will that the money that is to be paid shall remain to Rychard my son ‘excepte to Katheryn 20s of the same money’. Witnesses: John Sprott, John Hall the elder, Wyllyam Hall.”15

Interestingly, the will of John “Atwell” left most of the estate including all the land to his oldest son Richard. The younger son Robert “I” received only £10. Whether this was the result of some enmity between Robert and his father is unknown. In spite of receiving no property from his father, Robert did acquire some land during his lifetime. In his will written on June 25, 1559, Robert described himself as a “yeoman,” one of a class of lesser freeholders, below the gentry. Robert was buried in the Willesborough churchyard on July 15, 1559, and his will was probated on November 14, 1560.16

“25 June 1 Elizabeth [1559] Robert Welles of Willesborough, yeoman, sick of body, my body to be buried in the churchyard of Willesborough. I bequeath to each of my sons John Welles and Robert Welles £10 apiece, £3 being paid to each of them already, 20s being in the hands of Rychard Braye and the other 40s in the hands of William Grene [Green] and 5 marks [£3 6s 8d] in the hands of Edmund Wade of Sevington, also £10 in the hands of George Haule [Hall] of Wye. I

15 “Will of John Atwell of Willesborough,” written 20 November 1536, PRC17/21/114, Centre for Kentish Studies, Maidstone, Kent, England. 16 St. Mary the Virgin Parish Register, Willesborough, Kent, Centre for Kentish Studies, Maidstone, Kent, England.

9 bequeath to Jude Fortune 20s and my son John Welles is to have the keeping of it until he be 12 years of age and then he to enjoy and take the profits thereof. I bequeath to my daughter Jone Welles 40s to be paid immediately after my decease by my executors. Also to her a flock bed, a bolster, a pillow, an undercloth and a coverlet and a pair of my best sheets, saving one sheet, also to her a white hanging with ‘frenche’ and my lesser chest. I bequeath to my daughter Anne my biggest chest. I bequeath to John Welles my son a table and a form and a pair of trestles and a salt stock and a ‘muster’ [mustard] quern. I bequeath to Robert Welles, my son, my cupboard. I bequeath to my daughter Elen Welles a pair of sheets and an undercloth and a bolster. I bequeath to my daughter Ane a pair of sheets. I bequeath to my son Robert Welles a pair of sheets, to my son John Welles a pair of sheets, to my daughter Jone Welles my best tablecloth. I make my sons John Welles and Robert Welles my executors and John Casbe to be my overseer. I bequeath to my executors 40s being in the hands of Rychard Hall of Willesborough. I bequeath to my executor for the performance of my will 7 nobles [noble - an English gold coin normally worth 6s 8d]. My will is that there should be bestowed at my burial 20s and at my month’s mind 20s and at my 12 months’ mind a mark [13s 4d] for my wife. Witnesses: John Bray and Rychard Welles of Sevington, Henry Watts and William Woddowor. Probate 14 November 1560 on the oaths of John Bray and Richard Welles to the executors named.”17

Robert “I’s” will also marked an important change in the family name that has been retained until the present day. In 1536 Robert was using the last name of “Atwell,” but by the time of his death in 1559 he had shortened it to “Welles” or “Wells.” Robert Wells “I” had at least two sons, John and Robert “II,” and three daughters, Anne, Elen and Jone.18 Although a yeoman by definition was a property owner, no land was mentioned in his will. His sons each received £10 plus some household items. However, the will of Richard Wells, the brother of Robert “I,” dated 1544, identified the location of Robert “I’s” property.

“9 August 1544 Rychard Welles of the parish of Willesborough, yeoman, my body to be buried within the churchyard of Willesborough. I will there be bestowed for the wealth of my soul in dirges, masses and to poor people and in alms [and] deeds

17 “Will of Robert Welles of Willesborough,” written 25 June 1559, proved 14 November 1560, PRC17/32/47, Centre for Kentish Studies, Maidstone, Kent, England. 18 NOTE: When the same name appears in multiple generations they will be identified with the addition of Roman numerals to avoid confusion.

10 of charity to the value of £5 within the space of 5 years. I will to Isabell my wife 2 kine and all my household stuff, being good to my children. I will to Joane Welles the elder, my daughter, at the day of her marriage 40s. I will to Margarete, my daughter, at her marriage 40s. I will to Joane, my daughter, the younger, at the day of her marriage 40s. I will that if any of them decease the one to be the others’ heir. I will that Isabell my wife shall have the occupying and advantage of all my house and lands for one year after my decease and 40s a year after for life out of my lands and goods. I will to Nycholas my son my house and my land except and reserved all my lands in Dengemarsh which I give to my brother Roberte Wells clearly without any charges forever. Also I will that my son Nycholas shall have my house and lands at 21 years of age and that my daughters’ marriage money shall arise out of my lands. Witnesses: Mr. Snothe, priest, Roger Fagge, William Hall the younger and Nycholas Bargar. Probate 10 December 1544 on the oaths of John Snothe, cleric, Roger Fagge and Nicholas Bargar to Isabell, the relict.” 19

As the name indicates, “Denge Marsh” was a flat, barren, swampy area located 17 miles south of Willesborough near the town of Lydd. Few people lived on the marsh for fear of malaria so the area was utilized primarily for grazing sheep. This land was so poor that Robert “I” had to be ranked at or near the bottom of the yeoman class. The will of Richard Wells also provides us with a more exact date that the family name changed from “Atwell” to “Wells.” Richard left his house and property to his young son Nicholas “Wells.” According to the local parish register, Nicholas was christened on July 14, 1538, at the Church of St. Mary the Virgin in Willesborough, but with the family name of “Atwell,” not “Wells” or “Welles.”20 Sometime between the birth of Nicholas in 1538 and the death of Richard in 1544, the family name was changed to its present spelling. Since the Willesborough parish registers date only from 1538, the birth dates of most of Robert “I’s” children are not recorded. Only the baptism of Robert’s son, Robert Wells “II,” is listed. He was christened on January 18, 1541.21 Also included is the burial of Robert “II’s” brother John on March 11, 1573.22

19 “Will of Richard Wells of Willesborough,” written 9 August 1544, proved 10 December 1544, PRC 17/23/199, Centre for Kentish Studies, Maidstone, Kent, England. 20 St. Mary the Virgin Parish Register, Willesborough, Kent, Centre for Kentish Studies, Maidstone, Kent, England. 21 St. Mary the Virgin Parish Register, Willesborough, Kent, Centre for Kentish Studies, Maidstone, Kent, England. 22 “Ibid.”

11 Possibly because he owned no land, Robert Wells “II” did not remain in Willesborough. He married 5 miles to the north in the parish of Wye to Joan Snell on June 13, 1570, and eventually settled in or near the village of Godmersham, 3 miles farther north.23 Before he died in 1573, Robert “II’s” brother John married at Willesborough on October 16, 1564, to Ann Austin.24 They had at least two children both of whom were christened at Willesborough, Thomas on March 28, 1570, and Robert “III” on November 19, 1570.25 As orphans under four years of age, Thomas and Robert “III” were sent to live in Godmersham as wards of their uncle Robert Wells “II.”

23 Church of Saints Gregory and Martin Parish Register, Wye, Kent, Centre for Kentish Studies, Maidstone, Kent, England. 24 Frank Watt Tyler, Tyler Index to Parish Registers, 1538-1874, AKA “Tyler Collections,” The Institute of Heraldic & Genealogical Studies, Canterbury, Kent,,n.d., page 5. 25 St. Mary the Virgin Parish Register, Willesborough, Kent, Centre for Kentish Studies, Maidstone, Kent, England (Original record lists “Rabort Wylls … christened 19 Nov 1570 … parent: John Wells”).

12 III

GODMERSHAM AND BOUGHTON ALUPH

An 18th century publication described Godmersham as located “in the beautiful Stour valley, a situation healthy and pleasant to the extreme, the river Stour glides through it from Ashford, in its course towards Canterbury…. The church, and vicarage, a neat dwelling, pleasantly situated, stand at a small distance from the village, on the left side of the road, with the ancient manor-house near the former, close to the bank of the river; the meadows in the vale are exceeding fertile, the uplands are chalk, with some gravel among them, the hills rise high on each side.”26 Godmersham is an ancient settlement first mentioned in 824 AD when King Beomulph of Mercia gave the village to the Archbishop of Canterbury. An early account noted that “the whole village which contains about twenty houses, belongs [to the local lord] excepting one house.”27 Godmersham had been a market town in the 16th and 17th centuries. Unlike today, the town was a bustling place bringing people from far and wide and sending inhabitants across miles to take on employment in other places. Eventually, the village became the property of Edward Knight, the brother of Jane Austen, the famous English novelist, whose novel Pride and Prejudice depicts characters and scenes from Godmersham.28 Little is known about Robert Wells “II” other than he was probably a tenant farmer living on one of the properties owned by Sir Thomas Kempe, the great grandson of Sir Thomas Kempe who served as feoffee for Thomas At Well(e), the great grandfather of Robert Wells “II.” Kempe owned Crundale Manor located 1.7 miles east of Godmersham as well as 23 acres in Godmersham itself. Kempe lived in a magnificent manor house due south of Crundale called “Olantigh,” which served as the seat of his holdings. Through inheritance from his mother Amy [Moyle] Kempe, the daughter of Sir Thomas Moyle, he also acquired several properties near the village of Boughton Aluph, Kent.29 In 1605, Sir Thomas Kempe

26 Alan Bignell, The Kent Village Book, Countryside Books, London, (n.d.) 27 Edward Hasted, The History and Topographical Survey of Kent, Volume 7, 1798, pages 368- 372. 28 Alan Bignell, The Kent Village Book, Countryside Books, London, (n.d.) 29 Charles L. Elton, The Tenures of Kent, James Parker and Co., London, 1867, pages 395-396; The History and Topographical Survey of Kent, Edward Hasted, Volume 7, 1798, pages 368- 372.

13 brought charges against Robert Wells “II.” The Orders of the Kent Court of Quarter Sessions for July 23, 1605, contains the following entry:

“Attachment awarded against Alexander Cooke, borsholder [constable] of Godmersham, to answer his contempt in not apprehending Robert Wells and allowing him to escape, having Sir Thomas Kempe’s warrant to bring him before him.”30

Apparently, Robert Wells “II” was never tried for his offence and Sir Thomas Kempe died in 1607 without any further action being taken. Robert Wells “II” died just two years later in 1609 and was buried in the Godmersham parish churchyard on May 25th of that year.31 Robert Wells “II” had at least two sons: Richard and Henry. Richard married in Godmersham to Mary Morris on October 18, 1608, and lived his entire life in the village. He was buried in the Godmersham churchyard on May 19, 1639. At his death he was described as a “householder,” a tenant of one of the houses in the village.32 Richard baptized four children at Godmersham: Mary on October 4, 1609, Henry on July 2, 1615, John on July 4, 1616 and Jane on July 6, 1617.33 Robert “II’s” son Henry settled at Westwell, Kent, where he married and fathered at least three children: John, Richard and Martha. Martha was christened at Westwell on February 27, 1613.34 Robert Wells “III” and Thomas Wells, the orphaned sons of John Wells and nephews of Robert Wells “II,” grew up as farm laborers alongside their uncle. Thomas married in Godmersham to Jane Chapman on June 30, 1611.35 Robert “III” married in the nearby village of Sheldwich to Mary Peniall(Penniall) on October 4, 1608.36 Robert “III’s” first daughter Mary was baptized at Godmersham on February 16, 1609/10.37

30 “Orders Made by the Justices At Quarter Sessions, 23 July 1605,” Kent Quarter Session Q/SR/5/m.6d 1605, Centre for Kentish Studies, Maidstone, Kent, England. 31 “St. Lawrence the Martyr Parish Register,” Godmersham, Kent, England, Canterbury Cathedral Archives, Canterbury, Kent, England. 32 “Ibid.” 33 “Ibid.” 34 “St. Mary the Virgin Parish Register,” Westwell, Kent, Centre for Kentish Studies, Maidstone, Kent, England. 35 “St. Lawrence the Martyr Parish Register,” op. cit. 36 “Sheldwich, Kent Marriages,” U3/186/1/1, Canterbury Cathedral Archives, Canterbury, Kent, England. 37 “St. Lawrence the Martyr Parish Register,” op. cit.

14 Following the death of his uncle in 1609, Robert Wells “III” moved his family a few miles to the south to the village of Boughton Aluph where seven of his thirteen children were christened between 1612 and 1629:

Mary Wells christened 2/16/1609/10 Godmersham Robert Wells “IV” christened 4/13/1612 Boughton Aluph died 1614 RICHARD WELLS christened 6/14/1618 Boughton Aluph Alice Wells christened 4/1/1621 Boughton Aluph died 1621/22 William Wells christened 6/15/1623/9 Boughton Aluph Jone Wells christened 4/16/1626 Boughton Aluph John Wells christened 4/16/1626 Boughton Aluph Sara Wells christened 2/1/1628/9 Godmersham Jane Wells christened 4/1629 Boughton Aluph38

At least two of his children died at Boughton Aluph. Robert “IV” was buried on May 30, 1614, and Alice was interred on March 1, 1621/2, both in the parish churchyard. Boughton Aluph is a small, rural parish located just 2.2 miles southwest of Godmersham. Originally called “Boltune,” the present name came from one of the village’s ancient owners, Aluphus de Bocton.39 Also living in Boughton Aluph was the family of Anthony Rasle (Rasell). Anthony Rasle (Rasell) married at Sheldwich to Constance Peniall (Penniall),” on October 18, 1608, just two weeks after Robert “III” and Mary Peniall were united.40 Constance was Mary’s sister. Members of the Rasle (Rasell) family continued to live in Boughton Aluph at least until the 19th century. Robert Wells “III” also lived for short periods with his 1st cousin Henry in the village of Westwell, no doubt also as a tenant farmer. Four of his children were baptized at the Church of St. Mary the Virgin in Westwell. His daughter Elizabeth was baptized on December 29, 1611, but died soon afterwards. His daughter Grace was christened on February 27, 1613, the same day that his brother Henry baptized

38 “All Saints Church Parish Register,” Boughton Aluph, Kent, Canterbury Cathedral Archives, Canterbury, Kent, England, “St. Lawrence The Martyr Parish Register,” Godmersham, Kent, England, Canterbury Cathedral Archives, Canterbury, Kent, England. 39 “All Saints Church Parish Register,” Boughton Aluph, Kent, Canterbury Cathedral Archives, Canterbury, Kent, England. 40 “Sheldwich, Kent Marriages,” U3/186/1/1, Canterbury Cathedral Archives, Canterbury, Kent, England. Report of Gillian Rickard, “Kent Genealogical, Historical and Biological Research,” Canterbury, England, 18 May 2011, “Marriage of Anthony Rasle.”

15 his daughter Martha. Another daughter, also named Elizabeth, was baptized on March 6, 1619, while a daughter Marie was christened on May 14, 1620.41

Elizabeth Wells christened 12/29/1611 Westwell died before 1619 Grace Wells christened 2/27/1613 Westwell Elizabeth Wells christened 3/6/1619 Westwell Marie Wells christened 5/14/1620 Westwell

The family of Henry Wells, the 1st cousin of Robert “III,” was able to break away from the bonds of tenantship by acquiring property of their own. When Henry’s son Richard Wells, “husbandman,” wrote his will at Westwell on January 17, 1657, he included “my house and land” along with a barn, a cow and three sheep.42 However, it seems that the family of Robert Wells “III” was not so fortunate. Located just 0.6 miles northeast of Boughton Aluph is Buckwell Manor, a large farm established in 1067 as a reward to Sir William de Arsick for his service to William the Conqueror. Originally centered by an expansive manor house, sometime prior to 1798 one wing was “pulled down” and the remainder converted into a farmhouse that still stands today as “Buckwell Farm.”43 According to the manor court records of Buckwell Manor, Robert Wells “III” was one of the manor’s tenant farmers. In 1634 he rented one acre of manor land and was fined in the same year for not cleaning a ditch near manor property called “Old Field” or “Old Megg’s Field.”44 On November 2, 1635, “Robert and Marye Wells” entered into a tenant agreement with Robert Moyle, Lord of Buckwell Manor, for four acres of “Old Field” for a yearly rent of 8s.45 It is probably not a coincidence that Sir Robert Moyle was a cousin of Amy Moyle, the mother of Sir Thomas Kempe, on whose property near Godmersham Robert Wells “II” lived some years earlier. “Olantigh,” the ancestral home of Sir Thomas Kempe adjoined the “Old Field” property on the east.

41 “Bishops Transcripts, Church of St. Mary the Virgin, Westwell, Kent, Canterbury Cathedral Archives, Canterbury, Kent, England. “St. Mary the Virgin Parish Register,” Westwell, Kent, Centre for Kentish Studies, Maidstone, Kent, England. 42 “Will of Richard Wells, son of Henry,” written 17 January 1657 at Westwell, Kent, probated 12 August 1659 at London, PROB 11/294, folio 156, National Archives, London. 43 Edward Hasted, The History and Topographical Survey of the County of Kent, Volume 7, 1798, pages 384-398. 44 “Plat of Buckwell Farm Estate, 1720,” in possession of Lucinda Thompson, owner of Buckwell Farm, Boughton Aluph, Kent, 2011. 45 “Transcriptions of Buckwell Manorial Records, Boughton Aluph, Kent,” various dates, Ann Marie Faussett Hesleden Family Collection, privately held, London, England.

16 The life of a tenant farmer in 17th century England was an unpleasant one to say the least. Farm work was a seven-day per week affair lasting from dawn to dusk, and all children were expected to do their parts with little time for school or play. On Buckwell Manor the tenants lived in modest brick houses, each accommodating three families. Robert Wells “III,” his wife and thirteen children lived in four small rooms with a total living space of no more than 400 square feet.46 The tenant houses were located several miles from the property rented by Robert Wells “III” and the other tenants, so primitive sleeping quarters were provided for the male tenants in the attic of Buckwell Manor. During a stay in the manor house, one of the family members carved the name “Wells” into the top of the 15th century living room mantel. It is still clearly visible. Based on the available records of the tenancy of the family at Buckwell Manor, it must have been inscribed sometime between 1610 and 1636. Next to the Wells graffiti is carved “Thomas Moyle ys the rygth honor[able],” although in different handwriting.47 Two of Robert Wells “III’s” children married at Godmersham. Mary married Edward Chapman there on June 2, 1634, while her brother John united with Prudence Hedg(e)cock on January 28, 1653/4.48 Robert “III’s” son William and his wife Johanna baptized their daughter Elizabeth at Boughton Aluph on October 11, 1663, and were included in the Hearth Tax for Godmersham, dated March 25, 1664.49 By 1667, William moved to Kennington, Kent, where he had three more children. Susan was baptized in November 1667. William was christened on September 5, 1669 and Robert on June 1, 1675. Less than three years later William died and was buried in the churchyard of St. Mary’s Church on May 20, 1678.50 The Buckwell Manor court record for November 2, 1635, included a peculiar entry for Robert “III’s” eldest surviving son Richard Wells. He was described as a “thief” who had “gone [or was taken] to Virginia.” The record was written in Latin and the word translated as “gone” was “absens,” leaving it unclear whether he left voluntarily or was transported by legal authorities. Richard could

46 Interview with Felicity Dockery, former owner of Buckwell Farm [Manor], July 29, 2011. 47 Interview with Lucy Thompson, owner of Buckwell Farm [Manor], June 21, 2012. 48 “St. Lawrence the Martyr Parish Register,” Godmersham, Kent, England, Canterbury Cathedral Archives, Canterbury, Kent. 49 “All Saints Church Parish Register,” Boughton Aluph, Kent, Canterbury Cathedral Archives, Canterbury, Kent, England and “Kent Hearth Tax Assessment, Lady Day 1664,” transcribed by Duncan Harrington, CKS: Q/RTh, “Boughton Aluph and Godmersham, Borough of Wilmunton, Boughton Aluph,” Centre for Kentish Studies, Maidstone, Kent, page 244. 50 “St. Mary’s Church Parish Register,” Kennington, Kent, Canterbury Cathedral Archives, Canterbury, Kent, England.

17 have stolen something very minor from Lord Moyle - possibly food or other property, but in 17th century England the penalty for petty theft was severe by today’s standards. Forced transportation to the colonies was not uncommon.

“2 Nov 11 Charles [1635] Court Baron Robert Moyle Gen etc held the day and year aforesaid there came ["the same" deleted] Robert Wells and his wife Marye received a tenement 4 acres of land called Old Field into their tenure to have etc. To pay etc 8s etc and upon the deceases of Robert and Marye themselves not to remain to Richard Wells their older son a thief gone [Latin: “absens”] [to] Virginia.”51

“Transportation to the colonies as an indentured servant served as punishment for both major and petty crimes in England and Ireland from the 17th century until well into the 19th century. A sentence could be for life or a specific period…. Similar to slaves, indentured servants could be bought and sold, could not marry without the permission of their owner, were subject to physical punishment, and saw their obligation to labor enforced by the courts…. Exile was an essential component and thought to be a major deterrent to crime. Transportation was also seen as a humane and productive alternative to execution, which would most likely have been the sentence for many if transportation had not been introduced …. The transportation of British citizens overseas can be traced back to the English Vagabonds act of 1597. During the reign of Henry VIII, it has been estimated that approximately 72,000 people were put to death for a variety of crimes…. One of the first references to a person being transported comes in 1607 when ‘an apprentice dyer was sent to Virginia' from Bridewell for running away with his master's goods.’”52 Whether by force or of his own volition, Richard Wells left Boughton Aluph and travelled some 50 miles north to the Thames River port of Gravesend, Kent, where he took the oath of fidelity to the crown and left English soil forever on July 24, 1635 on board the ship “Assurance.”53 Sadly, less than 13 months after Richard’s departure his father Robert Wells “III” died. He was buried in the churchyard of St. Leonard’s Church at Badlesmere, Kent, on August 14, 1636, less

51 “Transcriptions of Buckwell Manorial Records, Boughton Aluph, Kent,” various dates, Ann Marie Faussett Hesleden Family Collection, privately held, London, England. 52 Benjamin Balak and Jonathan M. Lave, “The Dismal Science of Punishment: The Legal- Economy of Convict Transportation to the American Colonies,” manuscript, 2002. 53 John Camden Hotten, Original Lists of Persons of Quality, 1600-1700, Genealogical Publishing Co., Baltimore, MD, 1986, page 113.

18 than two miles from the church where he married Mary Peniall (Penniall) in 1608.54 Also on board the “Assurance,” was twenty-three year old Thomas Spratt. It is likely that he was the same man from Boughton Aluph who was accused in manor court of trespass and harboring tresspassers on the very day that Richard Wells was described as a thief:

“2 Nov 11 Charles [1635] Court Baron Robert Moyle Gen etc held the day and year aforesaid there came Thomas Spratt junior to answer about a plea of trespass and to answer the lord for that he maintained and received several tresspassers in the lord’s wood.”55

54 “St. Leonard’s Church Parish Register,” Badlesmere, Kent, Canterbury Cathedral Archives, Canterbury, Kent, England. 55 “Transcriptions of Buckwell Manorial Records, Boughton Aluph, Kent,” various dates, Ann Marie Faussett Hesleden Family Collection, privately held, London, England.

19 IV

TO AMERICA

Seventeenth century America was the "great equalizer" for British immigrants. Although a wild, untamed wilderness full of hostile Indians and strange animals, Virginia's headright system offered immigrants free land provided they could pay passage to the colony. Little is known of Richard’s first decade in America. Perhaps he was working as an indentured servant as punishment for his misdeed in England. By 1645, he was living in York County, Virginia, where he was the guardian for the children of a widow named Ellinor Robinson. In 1646, Richard Wells was fined 200 pounds of tobacco by the York County Court “for not rendering [his] accounts, as guardian,” suggesting that he had married the widow.56 In 1647, Richard recorded a “deed of gift” of cattle to Ellinor’s children,57 but on August 24, 1648, he was ordered to provide her children a 2 ½ year old heifer to replace a calf lost several years previously.58 Based on these records, it appears that Richard married Ellinor Robinson about 1645. Soon after their marriage, the couple moved to Northumberland (now Westmoreland) County in the northern neck of Virginia. On August 1, 1653, Richard Wells patented 500 acres on the south side of Armeslies (Armsby’s) Creek59 and in 1658 added another 100 acres he named "Wells Point."60 In a deed dated December 15, 1657, “Richard Wells’ Plantation” was described as located in the “Nominy” (Nomini) community in Westmoreland County.61 He was by then prosperous enough to contract for a servant and pay for the transport of two additional immigrants in return for their headrights. It seems that at times Richard and Ellinor Wells flirted with the limits of local law. In 1645 Richard Wells was arrested “at suite [sic] of Edward Woodly.” The charges were later dropped, but in October 1646, he was ordered to pay Richard Townshend “127 lb tobacco, one pressing iron, one old cloath coate and

56 Lyon G. Tyler, “Abstracts of Marriage License Bonds,” William and Mary Quarterly, Volume 1, Number 1, July 1892. 57 “York Records, 1633-1794,” page 644, from Early Settlers of Alabama, by James E. Saunders, Baltimore, 1999, page 482. 58 York County, Virginia Order Book #2, page 399. 59 Nell Marion Nugent, Cavaliers and Pioneers, Richmond, VA, 1934, Volume I, page 228. 60 Virginia Land Patent Book #4, page 318, Virginia State Library, Richmond, Virginia. 61 “Deed from Ed Thomson to Richard Hawkins,” Virginia Colonial Abstracts, Beverly Fleet, Genealogical Publishing Co., Baltimore, 1988, Volume I, page 690.

20 one pare sheares” to satisfy a debt.62 On October 20, 1646, Richard Wells was found in contempt of court for not appearing to pay a fine.63 George Stephens filed a complaint against him in Westmoreland County in 1646, claiming that his indentured servant Ann Harrison “had contracted herself to one Mr. [Richard] Wells for two years to serve him,” contrary to her agreement with Stephens.64 On October 1, 1655, Thomas Hawkins appeared in court claiming that “Tho[mas] Youll forewarned[ed] the wife of Rich[ard] Wells for altering the mark of a heifer until she could prove her right.” Ellinor was quoted as replying that “she would alter it in dispight of him.”65 Finally, on June 21, 1656, in Westmoreland County Court, “John Rice, age 22 yeares or thereabouts saith that there came a hogg of Edward Thompson which he had bought of Ralph Elston to Richard Wells his doore and that Wells take his gun and shott at the said Thompson’s hogg and the hogg fell. Mrs. Wells called this deponent to stake him which he did. This deponent told Mrs. Wells that it was Edward Thompson’s hogg. She said she was sorry for it. Afterwards this deponent came to Rich. Wells his house held some discourse concerning the hogg. Mr. Wells desired the deponent not to speak of it for fear of bringing them into disgrace and trouble for it.”66 A Westmoreland County land patent for Henry Vincent dated October 3, 1664 referred to Richard Wells as "deceased."67 The record of his son’s emigration to Maryland put his death date as early as 1661. On April 25, 1661/2, Ralph Elstone, Sr. of Talbot County, Maryland, claimed a land grant for "transporting into this province in March" himself, his wife Ellinor, his son Ralph Elstone, Jr., and Elizabeth and Zorobabel Wells.68 “Ralph Elston” (Elstone) was a neighbor of Richard Wells in Virginia and was mentioned in the 1656 deposition of John Rice. There is no doubt that Ellinor was the widow of Richard Wells and that Zorobabel and Elizabeth were Richard's children. In 1682, Ralph Elstone, Sr. deeded land for "love for my son in law [stepson] Zorobabel Wells."69 Further proof of the relationship is provided in the assignment on September 27, 1667, of the Virginia

62 York County, Virginia Order Book #2, 1645-1649, page 55. 63 York County, Virginia Order Book #2, 1645-1649, page 184. 64 “Virginia Colonial Abstracts,” Volume I, Genealogical Publishing Co., Baltimore, 2000, page 649. 65 “Statement of Thomas Hawkins sworn in Westmoreland County Court 1 Oct 1655,” Virginia Colonial Abstracts, Beverly Fleet, Genealogical Publishing Co., Baltimore, 1988, Volume One, page 664. 66 John Frederick Dorman, Westmoreland County, VA Deeds, Wills, Patents, etc. 1653-1659, Washington, DC, 1970, page 105. 67 Nell Marion Nugent, Cavaliers and Pioneers, Richmond, VA, 1934, Volume I, page 492. 68 Gust Skordas, The Early Settlers of Maryland, Genealogical Publishing Co., Baltimore, 1986, page 495. 69 NOTE: In 17th Century England and America the term “son in law” referred to a “stepson.”

21 property patented by Richard Wells on August 1, 1653, to Richard's “son & heire Zerobabell [sic]."70 Based on the date of the assignment, Zorobabel Wells must have been born in York or Northumberland County, Virginia, at least by 1646 because he had to be “of age,” 21 years old, to claim his father’s land. After settling initially in Talbot County, Maryland, with his mother and stepfather, Zorobabel Wells struck out on his own in 1670, acquiring a small tobacco plantation in Durham County, Maryland (now Sussex County, Delaware). It was located on Fox Branch of Winlock Creek on the Delaware Bay which he named "Wells Point" after his father's plantation in Virginia. In about 1675, Zorobabel married Catherine Davenport of Talbot County, the daughter of Dr. Humphrey Davenport.71 By 1677, the couple moved back to Talbot County and later lived at "Welsh Ridge," a gift from Dr. Davenport. On March 28, 1682, he patented an additional 50 acres in Talbot County he named “Wells’ Outlet.”72 Zorobabel acquired several more tracts of land in Queen Anne’s County and by the time of his death in June 1696, he was considered to be quite well off. His will mentioned seven children, including four boys, Richard, Humphrey, Zorobabel, and John. To Richard and Humphrey he willed "two tracts of land joyning together called 'Bath' and 'Baths Addition' to be equally divided between them ...and each of them one horse and one cow and my working tools."73

70 Virginia Land Patent Book No. 6, page 19, Virginia State Library, Richmond, Virginia. 71 Talbot County Land Records, Liber 4, folio 18, Humphrey Davenport conveyed to his daughter Katherine Wells a moiety of Welsh Ridge, 500 acres. 72 Settlers of Maryland 1679-1700, Peter Wilson Coldham, Genealogical Publishing Co., Baltimore, 1995, page 183. 73 Talbot County, Maryland Will Book 7, page 146.

22 V

DR. RICHARD WELLS OF DOVER, DELAWARE

Of the four sons of Zorobabel Wells, it appears that only two, Richard and Humphrey, had male offspring. Apparently, their brothers John and Zorobabel died without heirs. Richard, born in Talbot County on February 13, 1677, took over the operation of "Bath" and "Baths Addition" plantations in Queen Anne’s County, Maryland, with his younger brother Humphrey.74 Richard Wells, "Senior," as he was called, added to his personal wealth by selling the inheritance of two of his deceased brothers. The sale of "Buckley" and "Thief Keep Out" plantations in 1699 and "Welsh Ridge" in 1706 netted enough money for Richard to establish a cooperage at "Bath's Addition." His marriage to Catherine ______produced at least eleven children. The births of most of the offspring were registered at St. Luke's Parish of the Church of England in Queen Anne’s County and included sons Davenport, Humphrey, William, John, Zorobabel and Richard Wells, Jr. Richard, Jr. was born in Queen Anne’s County, Maryland, about 1708.75 Richard Wells, “Senior” died on April 14, 1754, in Queen Anne’s County, but not before he deeded "all of his properties" to Richard, Jr. on August 31, 1753, "for love and affection and for better maintenance & livelihood of sd. Richard Wells [Jr.]." Although Richard Wells, Jr. inherited all of his father's land, he did not become a planter, but rather followed his great grandfather, Dr. Humphrey Davenport, into the medical profession. It is likely that he apprenticed to a local physician in Queen Anne’s County, Maryland. He married at St. Luke's Parish in Queen Anne’s County to Mary Holliday on August 12, 1735, and had at least four children by her.76 His daughter Sarah was born in Queen Anne’s County on September 16, 1738. Richard, the eldest son, was born prior to 1740, Rebecca about 1740, and George on March 23, 1743/4, all in Queen Anne’s County.77 Mary (Holliday) Wells, the mother of these children, died between 1746 and 1748 and some historians have speculated that the circumstances of her death inspired Richard Wells, Jr. to become a physician. In a land transfer from his father dated

74 Maryland Eastern Shore Vital Records 1648-1725, F. Edward Wright, Family Line Publications, Silver Spring, MD, 2nd Edition, 1982, page 49. 75 “St. Luke’s Episcopal Parish Register, Queen Anne’s County, Maryland,” Microfilm #539, Maryland Historical Society, Annapolis, Maryland. 76 Queen Anne’s County Maryland Marriage Register, Book One, page 41. 77 “St. Luke’s (Episcopal) Parish Register, Queen Anne’s County, Maryland,” Microfilm #539, Maryland Historical Society, Annapolis, Maryland.

23 1743 he is described as a "planter," but by 1748, after the death of his wife, he called himself a "practitioner of physic." Soon after Mary's death, Richard moved away from Queen Anne’s County, locating in Dover, Kent County, Delaware. On August 13, 1747, he purchased from Edward Kearny "all that messuage brick tenement & lot in the town of Dover on the west side of courthouse square [also called 'The Green']." With four children under twelve years of age in his care, it is not surprising that he remarried in short order. On July 28, 1748, in Dover, he united with Lydia Alford, the daughter of Thomas and Lydia Alford. Local records indicate that his medical business often took him to nearby Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Surviving letters and business transactions suggest that he spent considerable time in that city. In addition, on December 6, 1759, his daughter Rebecca married Charles Coxe in Philadelphia's Christ Church and she became a resident of the city. It is thought that Rebecca’s older brother Richard also lived in Philadelphia for a time. George Wells, Dr. Richard's youngest son by Mary Holliday, remained in Dover and learned the medical profession from his father. However, later records reveal that he also received medical training from an unnamed doctor in Queen Anne’s County, Maryland, and was taught the mercantile trade by Thomas Smith in Philadelphia. George also purchased a commission in the Delaware Militia and served as a 15-year-old ensign during the Fort Duquesne Campaign under General Forbes in 1758.78 Dover tax lists for 1764 and 1765 show him as a resident, living either with or near his father. In January 1767, George received a refund for taxes mistakenly charged to him in 1764, but he was not taxed as a resident in that year. Although Dr. Richard Wells, Jr. was a prominent physician who often gave his services to the poor at no charge, his death caused a scandal within the family. The doctor's will, probated on May 20, 1767, left his entire estate to one Catherine Buckmaster and her four children, all of whom had the last name of Buckmaster, but the middle name of Wells. It appears that Catherine Buckmaster was either an as yet unknown daughter of Dr. Richard Wells, Jr. or possibly the doctor's mistress and that the children were his illegitimate offspring.79 The second explanation seems the most plausible, since no provision was made in the estate for any of his legitimate children, nor for his second wife Lydia. Lydia and Dr. Richard had at

78 “Deposition of Charles Cox Esqr. of Philadelphia, PA,” Chowan County, NC Civil Actions 024.325.13, 11 March 1769. 79 “Will of Richard Wells, proved February 1767,” Kent County, Delaware, Register of Wills, Liber L, folios 29-30, Delaware Division of Historical and Cultural Affairs, Hall of Records, Dover, Delaware.

24 least one young son, Thomas, born about 1755, who was provided for only through a trust set up by Lydia's parents. The death of their father and his unusual will scattered the rest of the children. Although Thomas Wells did receive some support from the trust set up by his Alford grandparents, he disappeared from Delaware records by 1772. Dr. George Wells left Dover in 1766. He lived for several months with his brother-in-law Charles Coxe in Philadelphia, but by July 30, 1766, was a resident of Chowan County, North Carolina. On February 3, 1767, he received a license to marry Marion Boyd, the daughter of William and Mariam Boyd.80 For unknown reasons, Dr. George Wells filed his last will and testament on May 3, 1767, in which he named his brother Richard Wells “III” and half-brother Thomas as his heirs. He willed to his “Brother Richard my Silver Hilted Sword and Tamahawk [sic].” To his “Younger Brother, by Father’s side, Thomas Wells, [he gave] all my Medicinal Books.”81 In 1769, he was sued by Rev. Daniel Earl who claimed that George was not a real physician, but rather a silversmith. It seems that George had allowed one of Rev. Earl's slaves to die of "distemper" after a dose of "a drachm of opium and an ounce of rhubarb" and the Reverend wanted revenge. George won the case, but noted in a counter-complaint that his reputation as a physician was damaged because of the suit. On March 20, 1770, eleven year old orphan Michell(e) Bush was placed in the care of Dr. George until she turned eighteen. However, it appears that the bond was never completed, because on September 21, 1770, she was reassigned to Micajah Bunch. In the same year, George and his wife were included in the Chowan County tax list owning two female slaves, Bess and Violett. The list showed no children in the household. George seems to have had financial difficulties in North Carolina. In October 1770, he received a judgment for £600 against Richard Bond for unpaid debts, but in April 1771, he was forced to default in two other cases where he was the defendant. It appears that George left North Carolina about this time. Shortly before September 1771 he re-surfaced in Georgia. No doubt, he was fleeing his financial problems. He also may have been escaping an unhappy marriage. The will of William Boyd, his wife Marion's father, written on February 15, 1775, indicated that George and Marion were still legally married in 1775, but that George was absent. The available records suggest that George deserted her. In the will, William Boyd left one-third of his estate and a yearly stipend to his daughter, Marion

80 “Marriage bond of George Wells to Marion Boyd, 3d February 1767,” Chowan County Vertical File, North Carolina State Archives, Raleigh, North Carolina. 81 “Will of George Wells, 3 May 1767, proved 20 September 1784,” Chowan County, North Carolina Will Book A, page 172.

25 Wells, "during the absence of her husband Geo Wells and while they have no connection." On February 25, 1778, Boyd added an angrily worded stipulation that "any parts [of Marion's inheritance] shall not be subject to the interference, intermeddling [sic] order or control of the said George Wells." As late as February 4, 1780, a codicil to the will confirmed that the estrangement continued.

26 VI

THE MYSTERY OF RICHARD WELLS “III” – added 2020

“Researching your family tree is a project that is never finished. There will always be one more person, one more branch of the family to discover.” --- Brian Lawson, The Isle of Man Family History Society

Certainly, the above quote is true in the case of the Wells family of Kentucky’s Big Sandy Valley. When the history of the family was published in 2013, the fate of the enigmatic Richard Wells “III” was unknown. However, new research has uncovered the fascinating saga of our direct ancestor … and an American hero. The mystery has been solved. The following pages chronicle his story.

Richard Wells “III,” the son of Dr. Richard Wells and Mary Holliday, was born in Queen Anne’s County, Maryland, about the year 1736. Initially, the mystery concerning Richard Wells “III” involved his connection to his son Richard Wells “IV.” In a letter dated 4 March 1887, Rev. Marion T. Burris claimed that George Wells, the son of Richard Wells “IV,” recounted that his father was kidnapped by his Uncle George Wells. He also suggested that the name of the father of Richard “IV” “I think was Humphrey Wells … for Richard Wells [IV] was always wanting his children to name some of their descendants Humphrey Wells.”82 However, no documented confirmation of Humphrey Wells as the father Richard Wells “IV” has been found. The available facts pointed to Richard Wells “III.” At least five of the grandsons of Richard Wells “IV” stated that Richard Wells “III” was their great grandfather. Family historian and genealogist M.L.K. Wells, the son of William Green Wells and the grandson of Richard Wells “IV,” was unequivocal in his assertion that Richard “IV’s” father was Richard “III.” M.L.K. put forth several theories about the family’s English origins, but all of them were based on the conclusion that Richard “III” was the father of Richard Wells “IV.” In the biographical sketch of George Wells, the son of Richard Wells “IV,” by Rev. Marion T. Burris, even George Wells seemed unsure of the identity of his grandfather noting that the name “I think was Humphrey Wells.” In a subsequent letter dated 18 March 1888, Rev. Burris changed his earlier contention and stated

82 C. Mitchel Hall, Jenny Wiley Country, Volume II, (Kingsport, TN, Kingsport Press, 1972), page 604.

27 that the father of Richard Wells “IV” “was also [named] Richard Wells.”83 Finally, the will of Dr. George Wells, the uncle of Richard “IV,” written in 1767, mentioned only two brothers of “Uncle” George – his younger half-brother Thomas and his older brother Richard “III.” Thomas, born after 1748, was too young to have been Richard “IV’s” father, leaving Richard Wells “III” as the only possible father of Richard Wells “IV.”84 Although many records concerning Dr. George Wells have been found, little was known about George’s brother, Richard Wells “III.” He lived in Philadelphia at least from 1760 until 1772, but then dropped out of sight. On 2 May 1768, Richard Wells “III” and his half-brother Thomas witnessed the will of William Paxton in Philadelphia along with their brother-in-law Charles Coxe. However, when the will of Jane Paxton, William’s sister, was proved on 30 November 1772, it was noted that both Wells brothers were “now absent out of this province.”85 Available historical evidence indicates that Richard “III” married a woman named Mildred Buckmaster and had three sons: Humphrey Wells, born about 1758, Richard Wells “IV,” born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, on 11 February 1760, and George Davenport Wells, born about 1770.86 It appears that Mildred and Richard Wells “III” separated soon after George’s birth. By 1772, Mildred had remarried to a man named Lott and was living in St. George’s [St. John’s] Parish in Georgia. On 6 November of 1772, her former brother-in-law Dr. George Wells “of the parish of St. George [St. John] in the province of Georgia Physician for and in consideration of the love good will and affection which I have and do bear unto Mrs. Mildred Lott of the aforesaid parish” gifted her a Negro boy named Andrew, two horses, silverware, household furniture and books.87 Based on the language used in the deed of gift it seems that the relationship between Dr. George Wells and his sister-in-law continued to be of a positive nature, indicating that Richard Wells “III” might have been the reason for the failure of their marriage.

83 “Letter from Rev. Marion T. Burris to Sarah Agnes Burris Black,” 18 March 1888. 84 C. Mitchel Hall, Jenny Wiley Country, vol. 2, (Kingsport, TN, Kingsport Press, 1972), pages 604-606. 85 “Will Books N, O, P & Q, Abstracts of Philadelphia Wills, 1764-1784,” Collections of the Genealogical Society of Pennsylvania, vol. 4, (Philadelphia, 1893). 86 “Letter from Rev. Marion T. Burris to Sarah Agnes Burris Black,” 18 March 1888. (Marion T. Burris was the husband of Agnes Athega Spears, the granddaughter of Richard Wells “IV”); “Interview with Jesse Richardson Wells” (son of Humphrey and Molly Uptgroves Wells), 3 September 1896, Rutherford County, North Carolina, Tennessee State Archives, Nashville, Tennessee; “Revolutionary War Pension Application of Richard Wells – W.6437,” National Archives, Washington, D.C. 87 “Georgia Colonial Records, Miscellaneous Bonds,” Book Y-1, pages 103-104 and Book KK- 1, page 110, Microfilm Drawer 40, Box 36, Georgia Department of Archives & History, Morrow, Georgia. Note: Differences in the two copies of the record are shown in brackets.

28 Additionally, the types of gifts suggest that Dr. Wells was helping Mildred Lott set up her own independent household. In any event, by 1782 she had married yet again, this time to a man by the name of “Leith.”88 Regrettably, the children of Mildred and Richard Wells “III” suffered most from the breakup of their marriage. All three sons, Humphrey, Richard “IV” and George were separated, never to reunite. According to a rambling and rather disjointed interview with Humphrey’s son Jesse Richardson Wells in 1896, Humphrey ran away from home “to keep from going with his uncle as a bound boy.” After serving in the Maryland Militia during the Revolutionary War, Humphrey Wells married Molly Uptegraves and settled in Rutherford County, North Carolina, where he died in 1824.89 The youngest son, George D. (Davenport?) Wells, is thought to have been left with Coxe relatives in New Jersey. He first appeared in New Jersey records in 1792 as a member of the 90 Hunterdon County Militia. George was married to Mary Hull in 1797 and died in New Jersey after 15 March 1834. According to his Revolutionary War Pension application, sometime prior to January 1779, the second son, Richard Wells “IV,” left Philadelphia and “removed to Augusta in Georgia with Dr. [George] Wells his 91 uncle.” How Richard Wells “IV” came to live with his Uncle George has been the source of family speculation for generations. One account claimed that Dr. George Wells kidnapped his young nephew Richard because he had no children of his own. Another contended that Richard was sold into bondage by his mother after the death of his father, while yet another declared that Richard was legally adopted by his Uncle George. In spite of these differing accounts, it is certain that Richard Wells “IV” did not join his uncle until he was at least twelve years of age. Dr. George Wells moved to Georgia from Chowan County, North Carolina, in 1771. In April of 1772, he applied for a land grant in what is now Burke County, Georgia, and listed his family as consisting of only four slaves. No other adults or children were listed in the household. If his nephew Richard Wells had been with him at that time, he would have been included in his family since the size of the land grant

88 Elizabeth H. Taylor, “Contributed Lott Material for Georgia Quarterlies,” Lott Family Newsletter, no. 1 (1983), pages 67, 127 & 128. 89 “Interview with Jesse Richardson Wells,” Rutherford County, North Carolina, 3 September 1896,” Tennessee State Archives, Nashville, Tennessee. 90 Hiram E. Deats, compiler, “The Hunterdon County New Jersey Militia 1792” (Flemington, New Jersey, 1936) page 26. 91 “Revolutionary War Pension Application of Richard Wells – W.6437,” National Archives, Washington, D.C.

29 depended on the number of people in the household.92 Since Richard’s mother, Mildred, was also a resident of Georgia by November 1772, it is likely that Richard “IV” lived initially with her in St. George’s or St. John’s Parish. Richard’s grandson and family historian M.L.K. Wells stated that Richard Wells “IV” did not join his uncle until he was “about eighteen years old.”93 It seems logical that this was the time that Richard Wells “IV” “removed to Augusta in Georgia with Dr. Wells his uncle.” However, the mystery of his father Richard Wells “III” remained unsolved. What happened to the elder Richard? He did not simply vanish into thin air. The elder Richard, the father of Richard Wells “IV,” comes to the surface when three other contemporaneous Richards are discounted on the evidence. During the 1760s and 1770s, there appeared to be only four adult residents of Philadelphia by the name of Richard Wells who could have been the father of Richard Wells “IV.” The first Richard was a native of England and a Quaker who married Rachel Hill. He became a wealthy merchant and lived in Philadelphia until his death in 1801. He and Rachel had a son named Richard born on 10 June 1760, but who died ten days later. Since Richard Wells “IV” was born on 11 February 1760, this Richard could not have been his father. The second Richard was a river pilot at least from September 1775 until his death in February 1777. He married a woman named Jane and had a son named Richard Wells who was born on 3 May 1761. Based on the birth dates of his son Richard and Richard Wells “IV,” the second Richard could not have been the father. The third Richard married Martha Currey at Swedes’ Church in Philadelphia on 15 February 1770 and christened a son Henry on 21 February 1773. The third Richard was too young to have been the father of Richard Wells “IV.” The fourth Richard Wells was a mariner about whom little was known ... until now. Fortunately, the answer to the family mystery was documented in plain sight. Three additional descriptions of the father of Richard Wells “IV” surfaced during the past six years of research. The first was a biographical sketch of William Mobley Wells of Oskaloosa, Iowa, the son of Andrew Wells and grandson of Richard Wells “IV.” Originally published in 1879, this account stated that the paternal great-grandfather of William Mobley Wells “was a sea captain.”94 Also in Iowa, John P. Wells, the grandson of George Davenport Wells, noted that his

92 Mary B. Warren & Jack M. Jones, abstractors, Georgia Governor and Council Journals, 1772- 1773 (Heritage Papers, Athens, Georgia, 2004) page 24. 93 C. Mitchel Hall, Jenny Wiley Country (Kingsport Press, Kingsport, Tennessee, 1972) vol.2, pages 604-606. 94 The United States Biographical Dictionary and Portrait Gallery of Eminent and Self-made Men – Iowa Volume (American Biographical Publishing Company, Chicago and New York, 1878) page 326.

30 great-grandfather [Richard Wells III] “was a sea captain.”95 Far removed from Iowa, the recollections of Rev. John Wesley Hillman were recorded at Nickelsville, Virginia, in 1905. Hillman described his mother Elizabeth Wells Hillman, the daughter of Richard Wells “IV,” stating that “her [paternal] grandfather was a sea captain who lost his life during the [Revolutionary] war and was buried at sea.”96 The Naval records of the American Revolutionary War contain extensive documentation for Richard Wells as a privateer and ship’s captain. His service commenced prior to 8 May 1777, when he was recorded as “Capt. Richard Wells - Prize Master” of the captured British schooner “Industry.” The British ship had been taken near Jamaica by the “St. Louis,” a Georgia privateer operating out of Charleston, South Carolina, and captained by Samuel Spencer. Richard Wells was a junior officer on the “St. Louis” prior to his assignment as master of the “Industry” and was, no doubt, serving on the “St. Louis” eight days earlier on 30 April 1777 when the “St. Louis” captured the British sloop “Fairnborough” off Orange Bay, Jamaica. John Charlton, captain of the “Fairnborough” described the “St. Louis” as “mounting Eight Carriage Guns ten Swivels and having about thirty five men.” Captain Charlton noted further that “on the Day following the Capture of this Deponents Vessell a Brig from the Bay of Honduras Charles Anderson Master belonging to Liverpool was also taken by the said Privateer off Saint Anns Bay and the next morning a Long Boat was also taken by the said Privateer off Dry Harbour.”97 Samuel Spencer, the captain of the privateer “St. Louis,” was born in Connecticut in 1749, but was living in the port town of Sunbury in St. John’s Parish in Georgia by 1776 where he married to Mary Love Yates. Spencer was a mariner by trade, bringing settlers and supplies from New England to the Georgia frontier. A fierce patriot, in the first year of the Revolutionary War Captain Spencer sailed out of Sunbury on board his schooner "Bullahoe" as a privateer. According to Georgia colonial records, “the Bullahoe made a number of successful cruises & fought some smart actions.”98 Charles C. Jones, Jr., author of The Dead Towns of Georgia, noted that “Captain [Spencer] … and others owning private

95 Past and Present of Jasper County, Iowa (B.F. Bowden Company, Indianapolis, Indiana, 1912) page 1235. 96 Belva Marshall Counts, Recollections of Rev. John Wesley Hillman, M.E. Church South, 15 January 1905 (Coeburn, Virginia, 1905). 97 Michael J. Crawford, editor, Naval Documents of the American Revolution, (Naval Historical Center, Department of the Navy, Washington, D.C., 1996), vol. 10, page 547. 98 Lilla Hawes, editor, “Collections of the Georgia Historical Society, Miscellaneous Papers of James Jackson,” Georgia Historical Quarterly, (Georgia Historical Society, Savannah, Georgia, 1953) vol. 37, page 67.

31 armed vessels, made frequent voyages along the coast, capturing parties who were engaged in collecting provisions for the British troops in Savannah and transporting them through the inland passage, removing the property of the Whigs from the down-trodden districts, and occasionally executing vengeance upon the crews of such craft as were known to be employed upon missions of arson, robbery, and murder.”99 By April 1777, Samuel Spencer commanded a new and larger ship, the “St. Louis,” and regularly patrolled the Caribbean Sea against British shipping. It is likely that Richard Wells “IV” served with Captain Spencer from the beginning of the war. When Richard Wells left Philadelphia and his wife Mildred in 1772, he, too, settled in Georgia. “The Georgia Gazette” for 30 August 1775, contained an advertisement for “Clocks & watches made and repaired in Sunbury at the shortest notice by Richard Wells.”100 Sunbury was founded in 1758 by members of the Congregationalist movement from Dorchester, South Carolina. By 1773, the town had over 1,000 residents. In that year, the town was visited by the famed naturalist William Bartram who wrote about his visit: “There are about one hundred houses in the town neatly built of wood frame having pleasant Piasas [piazzas?] around them. The inhabitants are genteel and wealthy, either Merchants or Planters from the Country who resort here in the Summer and Autumn to partake of the Salubrious Sea Breeze, Bathing & sporting on the Sea Islands.”101 The people of Sunbury were early supporters of the cause of American independence and they paid dearly for it. The British occupied Sunbury in both 1778 and 1779, even using it as a stockade to hold American prisoners of war. Most of the residents fled the British occupation and by the end of the Revolution, Sunbury was literally a ghost town. Fortunately, Richard Wells “IV” was at sea serving with Captain Samuel Spencer during the occupation. As a junior officer he was tasked with guiding enemy ships captured by the “St. Louis,” such as the HMS “Industry,” to the safety of American held ports. Wells commanded the “Industry” from Jamaica to Havana, Cuba, arriving there on 6 June 1777.102 Spanish Naval Captain Rafael de la Luz noted that “on the 7th and 8th of this month … the schooner ‘Industry,’ Captain Richard

99 Jones, Charles C., Jr., The Dead Towns of Georgia (Morning News Steam Printing House, Savannah, Georgia, 1878) page 202. 100 “Georgia Gazette Savannah, Georgia, 30 August 1775” (Microfilm drawer 21, Box 75, Georgia Archives, Morrow, Georgia) page 3, column 2. 101 William Bartrum, Travels through North and South Carolina, Georgia, East and West Florida (James and Johnson, Philadelphia, 1791) pages 5-10. 102 William James Morgan, editor Naval Documents of the American Revolution, (Naval Historical Center, Department of the Navy, Washington, D.C., 1986) vol. 9, page 160.

32 Wells … anchored in the harbour of this Port [Havana, Cuba] in need of Water, Firewood, Bread, and other supplies ... their destination, Philadelphia.”103 As a “privateer,” Richard Wells belonged to a little-known group of brave mariners who served the American cause during the Revolutionary War. Privateers “were essentially pirates with official American government protection in order to pursue less than legal goals in wealth, dominance and control of the seas.” Being a privateer was only legal in relation to the countries for which one had papers or “letters of marque.” Though obligated to share their “booty” with the American government, they were considered as criminals by the British. “Captain” Richard Wells did not hold the military rank of captain at the beginning of the war. “A sea captain, ship's captain, captain or master was a high-grade licensed mariner who held ultimate command and responsibility of a merchant or military vessel. The captain was responsible for the safe and efficient operation of the ship and its people and cargo, including its seaworthiness, safety and security, cargo operations, navigation, crew management, and legal compliance.” The official military rank was that of any officer from ensign to admiral, but as the senior officer of a vessel he was referred to as the “captain” of the ship.104 The importance of American privateers to the revolutionary cause cannot be overstated. While the patriot armies were being defeated on land the privateers kept the British at bay for over five years. In 1777, there were only 34 ships in the Continental Navy while 73 privateering vessels plied the waters off America’s coast. By 1781, 445 privateers patrolled the coast along with only 9 regular Navy craft. By the war’s end, American privateers, including Richard Wells, captured over 2,200 British vessels.105 “By The end of the war, it is estimated that the total damage to British shipping by American privateers was about $18 million, or just over $302 million in today’s dollars.”106 On 17 June 1777, Captain Richard Wells docked the captured HMS “Industry” at Charles Town (Charleston), South Carolina.107 Unable to return to Captain Spencer and the “St. Louis,” Wells remained in Charleston where he was formally commissioned with the rank of 2nd Lieutenant in South Carolina’s Navy on 1 November 1777.108 Lt. Wells along with Capt. James Pyne were assigned to

103 Ibid, page 111. 104 “Definition of Sea Captain,” Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia, www.wikipedia.com. 105 Edgars McClay A History of American Privateers (Appleton & Co., London and New York, 1895) page iv. 106 “American Privateers,” National Geographic Magazine (Washington, D.C., 2 August 2015). 107 William James Morgan, editor Naval Documents of the American Revolution (Naval Historical Center, Department of the Navy, Washington, D.C., 1986) vol. 9, page 111. 108 A.S. Salley, Jr., editor “Journal of Commissioners of the Navy of South Carolina” (The Historical Commission of South Carolina, Columbia, South Carolina, 1912) page 105.

33 the South Carolina schooner “Comet” with orders to prepare to intercept British shipping in the Caribbean Sea.

Commissioning of 2nd Lieutenant Richard Wells

Naval historian Joe Ross published a rare account of one of the Comet’s raids: “On 3 November 1777, following orders from the Commissioners of the South Carolina Navy Board, Captain [James] Pyne and the 16-gun brig Comet sailed from Charleston with her compliment of 85 men [including 2nd Lieutenant Richard Wells]. By early December, Pyne and the brig Comet were cruising in the Caribbean Sea. A letter from Montego Bay dated 10 January 1778 published later in a London newspaper reported, ‘By Capt. Jacks, who arrived a few days ago from the Grand Caimanas (Caymans), we are informed, that the crew of the Comet privateer, James Pine (Pyne), Commander, belonging to Charles-Town (Charleston) landed on the west end of that Island the 14th of December, and plundered the inhabitants, both men, women, and children, of all their cloaths and furniture, not leaving them so much as a plate, knife, or fork, &c. killed their live stock of all kinds; carried off two Negroes, four puncheons of rum, three casks of wine, some barrels of flour, cordage, block, &c.’”109 Just eight days after the raid, on 22 December 1777, the “Comet” encountered and fought the 20-gun HM frigate “Daphne” under the command of Captain St. John Chinnery. The engagement took place near the Isle of Pines off the west coast of Cuba. The “Comet” was captured and “her officers and men were initially carried into Pensacola, Florida, from whence Captain Pyne [and Lieutenant Richard Wells were] sent to New York as prisoners[s] while … [the] … crew was distributed among several vessels in the Royal Navy.”110 It appears that the “Comet” and her crew had been pressed into federal [Continental] service because a report of the capture in the “London Gazette” noted that the ship was owned by “The [Continental] Congress.”111

109 Joe Ross, “James Pyne, Lieutenant, The History and People of the Continental Navy” (posted 2 May 2015, www.continentalnavy.com/archives/2015/james-pyne-lieutenant/); William Bell Clark, editor Naval Documents of the American Revolution (Naval Historical Center, Department of the Navy, Washington, D.C., 1964-2005) vol. 11, pages 93-94. 110 Ibid. 111 “The London Gazette, 24 November 1778” (London, England, 1778) no.11929, page 1.

34 Captain Pyne and Lieutenant Wells spent over ten months on one of the notorious British prison ships anchored off Wallabout Bay near the modern location of the Brooklyn Naval Yard. In 1775, several aging British vessels had been converted to prison ships and were known for their inhumane living conditions. Twentieth century historians have compared them to the German concentration camps during World War II. Some 11,000 prisoners died aboard the prison ships over the course of the war, most from disease or malnutrition. As many as 1,100 were imprisoned at a time in a single ship designed for 400 sailors, crammed below decks where there was no natural light or fresh air and few provisions for the sick and hungry. Brutal mistreatment by the British guards became common. Edward G. Burrows, in his book “Forgotten Patriots: The Untold Story of American Prisoners during the Revolutionary War,” noted that “50 to 70 percent of all prison ship captives died.” On 30 July 1778, a “Mr. Farrow,” an escaped American prisoner from New York, informed the South Carolina Navy Board that “Capt. Pines and his Lieut. Are still confined there as prisoners.” The Board suggested that two British officers confined as prisoners of war at St. Augustine “be Exchanged for the above Mentioned Officers.”112 Apparently, the exchange was made and on 6 November 1778, the South Carolina Navy Board reported that “some time past, Captn. James Pyne and Lieut. Wells Late of the Brigg Comet – returned to Charles Town from their Captivity.”113 On 30 November 1778, the Commissioners of the South Carolina Navy addressed a letter to Captain Pyne ordering “that you do with all possible Dispatch get the Brigg Hornet Completely Fitted and Manned to proceed on Cruize.”114 Richard Wells, now a 1st Lieutenant, was transferred to the “Hornet” along with Captain Pyne. On 11 February 1779, “The Clerk was Ordered to pay Lieut. Richd Wells, Lieut. Of the Hornet his wages to the 10th Inst.} £432.”115 The Navy Board issued further orders to Captain Pyne on 28 February 1779: “The State Brigg Hornet … being now Completely fitted, well Manned, and having a full Quantity of Provisions and Stores, and now ready to proceed on a Cruize …

112 Michael J. Crawford, editor Naval Documents of the American Revolution (Naval Historical Center, Department of the Navy, Washington, D.C., 2019) vol. 13, page 597. 113 A.S. Salley, Jr., editor, Journal of Commissioners of the Navy of South Carolina (The Historical Commission of South Carolina, Columbia, South Carolina, 1912) page 198-199. 114 Ibid, page 209. 115 Ibid, page 239.

35 that you do Embrace the first favourable Opportunity to proceed to Sea … Close a Long the Coast, as far to the Southward as Tybee, and as far to the Northward as Cape Fear … during which time you are by every means in your power, Endeavour to Take, Sink Burn, or Destroy, any of the Vessel or goods belonging to the King of Great Britain … and to treat all prisoners with Humanity and Tenderness.”116 As the “Hornet” left Charleston harbor the flag of South Carolina’s Navy flew proudly from her stern. Described as having seven red and six blue alternating horizontal stripes, the banner was emblazoned with an uncoiled rattlesnake and the motto “Don’t Tread On Me” across the second red stripe from the top.117 In a letter dated 9 October 1778, Benjamin Franklin and John Adams called it “a rattlesnake, in the middle of the 13 stripes.”118 Initially, the Hornet’s cruise went very well, but ultimately ended badly. “In March, 1779, … the [British ship] Prince of Wales, Askridge, of twelve guns, fought the Hornet until three of her guns were dismounted and four of her men wounded; only one being wounded on board the Hornet…. In the next month, they were not so successful…. The Hornet was captured [again] by the [British frigate] Daphne, of twenty guns, and carried into Savannah. The officers and men of the Hornet were well treated and landed, on parole, on the [South] Carolina side of the river, where they effected an exchange of fifty-three Americans for an equal number of English prisoners.”119 However, it appears that at least one officer of the Hornet was not so “well- treated.” On Friday, 30 April 1779, the “South Carolina and American General Gazette” published the following notice: “Death.] Of a short illness, Mr.____ Wells, late first lieutenant of the State brig Hornet.”120 It is likely that Richard Wells succumbed to malnutrition, ill-treatment, lack of proper medical attention or communicable disease contracted during his time as a prisoner of war. Finally, the long-forgotten story of Captain Richard Wells, AKA Richard Wells “III,” appears to have been uncovered and his descendants are now able to honor the memory of this American patriot and hero.

116 Ibid, page 251. 117 George Henry Preble, History of the American Flag (Joel Munsell Printing, Albany, New York, 1872). 118 “Letter from Benjamin Franklin and John Adams to the Ambassador of the King of the Two Sicilies, October 9, 1778,” Charles Francis Adams, The Works of John Adams, (Little, Brown & Co., Boston, 1852) vol.7. 119 Joseph Johnson, Traditions and Reminiscences chiefly of the American Revolution in the South (Walker & James, Charleston, South Carolina, 1851) pages 122-123. 120 The South Carolina Historical and Genealogical Magazine (The South Carolina Genealogical Society, Charleston, South Carolina, 1916) vol.17, no.4, page 154.

36 VII

THE REVOLUTIONARY WAR OF “UNCLE GEORGE” AND RICHARD WELLS “IV”

The Revolutionary War pension application of Richard Wells “IV” indicates that he remained in Georgia until the year 1780, when he was forced to flee because the state was overrun by Tories. Georgia histories reveal that Georgia was occupied by Tory forces in May of 1780. Richard's uncle, Dr. George Wells, remains the family's most colorful and controversial historical figure. Prof. Edward Cashin of Augusta (Georgia) College called him "a major figure in that faction of revolutionary politics which had so much to do with the democratization of Georgia." However, Cashin also noted that Wells possessed an "overbearing disposition" and it was claimed by his enemies that he was "governed by jealousy, inordinate ambition, and a desire for power and place." Dr. George Wells arrived in Georgia sometime between April 1771, the date he defaulted in two debt cases in Chowan County, North Carolina, and September 1771, when he applied for a grant of 50 acres of land in St. George's Parish. At that time, George noted that he had been a resident of the province "for some time." By 1774, he had achieved considerable success in his principal calling, "the practice of medicine in Augusta" and increased his land holdings to over 1,000 acres. Dr. Wells also attained a position of distinction among his neighbors. In that year, he led a group of "upcountry" citizens in opposition to pronouncements made by a group of coastal merchants. Politically, Georgia had divided into two factions, low country Tory aristocrats who espoused cooperation with the British verses upcountry, western "radicals" who favored more democratic and anti-British policies. Although at first a Tory, by 1776 George Wells had been elected colonel of the Richmond militia district, appointed as a justice of the peace and delegate to the Provincial Congress, and was recognized as a leader of the "radicals." In 1777, one of the defensive strongholds on the Ogeechee River in Wilkes County was named “Wells Fort” in his honor.121 His rise to prominence could be considered as meteoric, since he was only 33 years old and had been a resident of Georgia for less than six years.

121 Robert S. Davis, Jr., Georgia Citizens and Soldiers of the American Revolution, Southern Historical Press, Easley, South Carolina, 1979, page 165. (Note: The site of Wells Fort is located on the east side of the Ogeechee River just southeast of what is today the junction of Interstate 20 and Georgia Highway 22 near Crawfordville, Georgia.)

37 The political rivalry between the two sections of the Georgia colony grew increasingly bitter as the months passed and George Wells provided part of the fuel for the hatred to build. A warrant for his arrest was issued in 1776 by the Savannah Council of Safety, which complained that in his position as militia leader, Colonel Wells refused to share the "powder and ball" in his care with the coastal militia units. News of the signing of the Declaration of Independence and the resulting call for a constitutional convention for the now independent state of Georgia provided another venue for division to intensify. The delegates to the convention were almost evenly divided between the conservatives and the upcountry radicals. George Wells was a member of the convention and was one of the most outspoken critics of the conservatives. His eloquence and aggressiveness was so highly regarded by his western colleagues that he was chosen to represent them on the committee responsible for the final draft of the constitution. His leadership resulted in a constitution that the conservatives roundly criticized as "so very Democratical" and contained such distasteful provisions as a plural executive and virtual universal suffrage. The constitution was such a bitter pill to the conservatives that several duels between the leaders of the political factions followed its adoption. Dr. George Wells served as second for the Governor of Georgia, Button Gwinnett, but, on May 19, 1776, the Governor died of wounds suffered at the hand of Gen. Lachlan McIntosh, a low country political leader. Wells was also the target of several threats. Although an "Inhabitant and practitioner of Phisick in the Town of Augusta" in Richmond County, Wells was elected to the first state assembly as a representative of Wilkes County, a clear violation of his own constitution. He flaunted this fact in the faces of his opponents, daring them to take any action against him. Several coastal leaders described Dr. Wells as their "bete noire" (black beast). Nevertheless, on August 5, 1777, he signed the Georgia Declaration of Independence from Wilkes County and was commissioned Colonial of the 4th Battalion of Wilkes County Militia on August 20th.122 During all of the political maneuverings the Georgians still had to worry about the ever present threat of invasion by the British. The attack came at Savannah in December 1778. Although the Wilkes County Militia was not present, Colonel George Wells did serve in the city's defense as a volunteer in Col. George Walton's Chatham Militia. He was captured and placed on the British prison ship "H.M.S. Whitby" just prior to the city's capitulation on December 29th.123 The

122 Ross Arnold and Hank Burnham, Georgia Revolutionary Soldiers and Sailors, Patriots and Pioneers, Georgia Society Sons of the American Revolution, New Papyrus Co., Athens, GA, 2001, Volume 2, page 274 . 123 Edward J. Cashin, “The Famous Colonel Wells: Factionalism in Revolutionary Georgia,” Georgia Historical Quarterly, #58 (Supplemental, 1974), pages 144-145.

38 subsequent occupation of Augusta by the British displaced Wells and his radical followers from control of state government. In his absence, he and his allies were replaced by a new governing council dominated by conservatives. Soon afterwards Wells was released from British custody and went on the offensive immediately. He claimed that the new council was unconstitutional and dominated by "traitors and tories". Charges flew back and forth and the council brought unspecified charges against Wells that the body claimed were "of a very heinous nature."124 Once again the British interrupted the political battle with a renewed siege of Savannah. While many of the council members were in the beleaguered coastal city, Wells and his friends succeeded in establishing another new government in Augusta. New elections were held in November 1779 and although Wells himself was not elected, "the Governor and Council formed the habit of meeting at Wells' lodging in Augusta [at the southeast corner of what is today 5th and Ellis streets]." Confirming his obvious leadership role, the new "radical" council chose Dr. George Wells as its President on January 7, 1780. On February 5, 1780, when Governor Richard Howley resigned to take a vacant seat in Congress, the Council elevated Wells to "assume the duties of Governor." He had finally achieved the height of his ambition, the principal seat in the state.125 The political factionalism in Georgia also proved to be the undoing of Governor Wells. On February 15, 1780, just days after being sworn in as Georgia's Governor, George Wells was slain in a duel with a conservative political rival, General James Jackson. Jackson, in spite of being shot through both knees by Wells, fatally wounded the new governor, thus ending the controversial doctor's political career. His death also marked a watershed for the upcountry radicals. Soon after the killing, British troops moved through upper Georgia forcing the council to vacate Augusta. The city and radical control of the state were not restored until the summer of 1781. On February 17, 1780, the council adjourned to attend the governor's funeral, but also recognized one "Dr. Humphrey Wells, Esq." as administrator of Wells' estate since he "had no chance to settle his affairs."126 According to his Revolutionary War pension application, it appears that Richard Wells “IV,” the nephew of Dr. George Wells, left Georgia at his uncle's death. In later years, he stated that he left his militia discharge papers with his

124 “Ibid.,” page 147. 125 “Ibid.,” page 151 126 The Revolutionary Records of the State of Georgia, 1778-1785, Volume II, Allen D. Candler, editor, Franklin-Turner Co., Atlanta, GA, 1908, page 221-222.

39 uncle prior to his departure for Virginia. For this reason he was not involved in the settlement of his uncle's estate.127 Called "a kinsman" in Georgia records, Dr. Humphrey Wells “III” assumed administration of the late governor's estate as his closest local relative. Dr. Humphrey Wells was very close to Dr. George Wells even though they were only second cousins. Dr. Humphrey Wells was the grandson of Humphrey Wells, Sr., who was the brother of Richard Wells, Sr., the grandfather of Dr. George Wells. The men were approximately the same age and possibly studied medicine together under George's father, Dr. Richard Wells, Jr. So close was the bond between the two branches of the family that when Dr. Humphrey Wells “III” left Queen Anne’s County, Maryland, in 1761, he gave his power of attorney to Dr. Richard Wells, Jr.

RICHARD WELLS(1618-c.1661) married Ellinor Robinson | ZOROBABEL WELLS(c.1646-1696) married Catherine Davenport ______|______| | RICHARD WELLS SR HUMPHREY WELLS SR (1677-1754) (1680-1750) married Catherine ______married Elizabeth Spry | | RICHARD WELLS JR HUMPHREY WELLS JR (c.1708-1767) (1712-1749) married Mary Holliday married Sibella Elbert |______| | | | GEORGE WELLS RICHARD WELLS III HUMPHREY WELLS III (1743-1780) (c.1736-1779) (1736-1782) married Mildred _____ married Abigail Lindsey | | RICHARD WELLS IV HUMPHREY WELLS IV (1760-1838) (1758-1784) married married Susannah Hutchison ______Appling

127 “Revolutionary War Pension Application of Richard Wells – W.6437,” National Archives, Washington, D.C.

40 After spending a few years in Frederick and Hampshire counties in Virginia, Dr. Humphrey Wells “III” followed his 2nd cousin Dr. George Wells to Augusta, Georgia, sometime before August 1772. In 1773, Dr. George Wells sold 100 acres of land in Richmond County to Dr. Humphrey and formed at least one business partnership with his cousin. He was also active in politics. One of the council members who voted to elect Dr. George Wells as governor was none other than Dr. Humphrey Wells, and after George's death Humphrey succeeded him in the governor's chair. Dr. Humphrey Wells “III” died in 1782 and the administration of the estate of George Wells was assumed by his son, Dr. Humphrey Wells “IV”, also known as “Humphrey, Junior.” On July 23, 1784, the sheriff sold part of George's property to Archibald Bell and Nathaniel Perry, and another 700 acres was sold to Seaborn Jones on December 9, 1785.128 In later years, Richard Wells “IV,” Dr. George's nephew, asserted that Dr. Wells left a will naming him as his sole "heir-at-law." In 1857, two of Richard's sons went to Augusta to investigate and claimed to have found documentation to that effect and that a "Mr. Jones" was listed as the estate's administrator. All efforts to locate the will have been unsuccessful, but it is an interesting coincidence that the some of the estate of Dr. George Wells was purchased by a man named Seaborn "Jones."129 Richard Wells “IV,” the son of Richard “III” and nephew of Dr. George Wells, was at least fifteen years old when he first lived with his uncle. Dr. George stated in 1772 that his family consisted of only four slaves at that point and Richard was working as a watch repairman in Sunbury as late as 1775.130 Richard lived with Dr. George Wells for less than four years before being drafted into the militia in January 1779. According to his pension application, Richard was living in either Augusta or Washington, Georgia, in that year, which means that he was probably residing on his uncle's plantations in Wilkes County. His uncle must have provided him with an education because Richard could read and write. Even in 1834, at age 74, his signature was strong and clear indicating some formal schooling. Nothing in Richard's later life suggests that his

128 Kris Reynolds, “Major Skinner and the Skinner House,” “Richmond County History,” Volume 10, Number 1, Winter, 1978, Richmond County Historical Society, Augusta, Georgia, 1978, pages 5-13. 129 C. Mitchel Hall, Jenny Wiley Country, Kingsport Press, Kingport, TN, 1972, Volume II, page 604. 130 Robert S. Davis, Jr. and Rev. Silas Lucas, Jr. compilers, The Families of Burke County, 1755- 1855, Southern Historical Press, Easley, South Carolina, 1981, page 141; “Georgia Gazette,” Savannah, GA, August 23, 1775, page 3, column 2, Georgia Department of Archives & History, Drawer 21, Box 75, advertisement “Clocks and Watches made and Repaired., in Sunbury … by RICHARD WELLS.”

41 uncle George trained him for the medical profession. Rather, Richard seems to have been more interested in agriculture and probably assisted in the management of his uncle's Wilkes County properties. In January 1779, just after his uncle's capture by the British, Richard was drafted for a six months term into Captain Paine's Company of the Wilkes County Militia. To meet the impending invasion of Georgia by British regulars and their Tory allies, the company marched down the Savannah River to join General Lincoln's forces around the city of Savannah. After their return to Augusta, Richard Wells “IV” was "made a non commissioned officer." No doubt because of his education, he was appointed orderly sergeant for the company with the responsibility of completing morning reports. Most of the company's service in Augusta was spent building breastworks to protect the city, but after only a few weeks the men were moved into South Carolina to meet a large Tory force on the Edisto River. After a fierce assault, the Tories fled, but not before eight of their number were taken prisoner. The next action proved to be less successful for Wells and his company. "He was in a battle at Stono Landing [South Carolina] that was a hard fought battle but the Americans suffered most and lost between one hundred and two hundred men.” His company reported "three among the dead." On the heels of the defeat, the remainder of the company was marched to the banks of the Edisto River where Orderly Sergeant Richard Wells was discharged in July 1779. Richard Wells returned to Augusta where he was reunited with his Uncle George who had been released from British custody by June 23rd. His reunion with his uncle was short because events in Georgia were occurring at a rapid pace. In September 1779, Richard was again drafted for service with the Richmond County Militia, under a Captain Loury (Lowry) and Colonel Harris for a three months term. Most of the militia companies from the Augusta area marched to Savannah, Georgia, in hopes "to take Savanner from the tories and the british who were in possession of it.... The whole army attacked the british ... but was defeated, the millitia was the cause as it was then said, in this Battle several hundred men got killed."131 After the Battle of Savannah, Richard's company engaged several small bands of Tories, but eventually returned to Augusta where Richard was discharged once more in December 1779. The winter of 1779-1780 must have been an exciting time for young Richard Wells “IV.” In November, his uncle led the Liberty (or Country) Party to victory in the state elections and the governor and council met regularly at the Wells home in Augusta. While staying with his uncle, Richard was a witness

131 “Revolutionary War Pension Application of Richard Wells – W.6437,” National Archives, Washington, D.C.

42 to some of the historic events that shaped the present state of Georgia. However, the violent political factionalism on the Georgia frontier made life dangerous as well. When Gov. George Wells was killed in a duel on February 15, 1780, Richard Wells, no doubt fearing for his own life, left Georgia forever. Although his pension deposition states that Richard moved to Washington County, Virginia, in 1780, because "the Tories had overrun all the state of Georgia and he with many more was compelled to fly and leave Georgia," no specific departure date is given. Since Dr. Humphrey Wells was appointed administrator of Uncle George Wells' estate immediately after his death, Richard must have left Georgia in a hurry, just days before or after the duel.

43 VIII

TO VIRGINIA AND BEYOND

Richard Wells arrived in Virginia with few possessions. His hasty departure from Augusta left him little time to gather together either money or belongings. Almost destitute, he re-entered the American military service in May 1780, this time as a volunteer "Indian spy" in a Virginia militia company commanded by a Captain Snoddy and Lt. Robinson. In 1834, Richard recalled that "he marched to the frontiers forthwith. The country through which he marched was the country now comprising Scott, Lee, Russell counties, he spied too over the Cumberland Mountain that divides the State of Kentucky from Virginia into Kentucky frequently and followed the Indians down the Kentucky River and on [the Big] Sandy [River]. Also up these rivers the Indians had trails from the Ohio [River]... The company of spies would divide and three and four go together ... and some Indians were killed, this country lies high and for its latitude in which it is situated is exceedingly cold, on the spires of the mountain, during the month of May, also June, July, August, September, October, November, and December he remained on the frontiers and the winter became so intolerable seveir [severe], that the spies were compled [compelled] to return to settlements and forts until winter broke, they was near on Christmas 1780.... In March or perhaps Febry the spies resumed their duty on the frontier. There he continually spied until his time expired on May 1781."132 After his term of service was finished, Richard remained in Washington County, eventually finding employment as a laborer on the farm of Peter Hutchison, Sr. "on Copper Creek Ridge on the Clinch River" in what was later Russell County and is now Scott County, Virginia. Peter Hutchison acquired this property in 1781, but it was not until 1795 that Richard's name appeared in the tax list of Russell County, Virginia, In that year he was listed as a farm laborer for Peter Hutchison, Sr., near the present community of Dungannon. On September 18, 1797, Richard married Susannah Hutchison, the eighteen year old daughter of his employer. Russell County records confirm that Richard Wells never owned any property of his own in Virginia. One of the few records of his residence in Russell County was a mention in the County Court Order Book for October 1797. In that month "Richard Wells and Robert Casteel [Castle] were ... impressed [as deputy sheriffs] for securing Hamlet Patterson in the Jail of the County accused of a felony." He and his father-in-law, Peter Hutchison, also

132 “Ibid.”

44 signed the petition to form the new County of Scott from Russell and Washington counties in 1809.133 The first member of the family to settle in Kentucky was George Wells, the son of Richard and Susannah. Born on March 22, 1800, he was twenty-five years old when he followed his Uncle John Porter to Daniel's Creek in the present Johnson County. On October 3, 1826, he signed as a witness to the marriage between Elizabeth Porter and Jonathan Webb. Richard Wells and the rest of the family moved to Kentucky prior to the U.S. Census of 1830, and settled on part of Porter's land on Daniel's Creek. It was not until September 4, 1836, that Richard Wells received his own grant of 50 acres "on the Dog Fork of Daniel's Creek."134 This is the only recorded property Richard ever owned. On February 20, 1834, Richard Wells applied for a Revolutionary War pension, but received the benefits for only four years. He died on March 18, 1838, and is buried on a small hill overlooking Dog Fork of Daniel's Creek. His grave is located just to the north of Kentucky Route #3, approximately one mile from the junction with Kentucky Route #1102, on the Ashley Butcher farm. It is marked with a Revolutionary War veteran's marker provided by the U.S. Veterans Administration.

133 Anne Roberts Albert & Ethel Evans Albert, Russell County, Virginia Personal Property and Land Tax Lists 1787 Through 1800, 1802, 1810 and Legislative Petitions, privately printed, (n.d.). 134 Johnson County, Kentucky Deed Book D, page 51, Johnson County Court Clerk, Paintsville, Kentucky.

45 IX

THE LEGACY

Richard and Susannah (Hutchison) Wells had eleven children:

(A)Andrew Wells born 07/11/1799 Dungannon, Russell Co., VA died 01/21/1828 Washington Co., VA married Mary Mobley ------(B)George Eireland Wells born 03/22/1800 Dungannon, Russell Co., VA died 12/14/1887 Johnson Co., KY married (?) Sally Young (1) Elizabeth Delong Gaines (2) Nancy Butcher ------(C)Moses Wells born 04/13/1804 Dungannon, Russell Co., VA died 09/16/1878 Johnson Co., KY married Margaret Hillman ------(D)Elizabeth Wells born 08/30/1807 Dungannon, Russell Co., VA died 08/13/1885 Scott Co., VA married John Hillman ------(E)Simon Peter Wells born 10/09/1810 Dungannon, Russell Co., VA died 02/09/1884 Greenup Co., KY married Mary Hager ------(F)Rosanna Wells born c.1811 Dungannon, Russell Co., VA died c.1878 Johnson Co., KY married John Spencer Spears ------(G)John Preston Wells born 1815 Dungannon, Scott County, VA died 1880 Lawrence County, OH married Nancy Ann Webb ------(H)Martha Nancy Wells born c.1816 Dungannon, Scott County, VA died 1843 Floyd County, KY married William Webb ------

46 (I)William Green Wells born 1818 Dungannon, Scott County, VA died 1887 Johnson County, KY married Mary Butcher ------(J)Agnes Hutchison Wells born 12/07/1820 Dungannon, Scott County, VA died 12/08/1908 Johnson County, KY married Samuel Lewis Auxier ------(K)Mary Wells born 03/14/1823 Scott Co., VA died 03/21/1911 Johnson County, KY married William Butcher

Children and grandchildren of Richard and Susannah Hutchison Wells:

(A)ANDREW WELLS was born in Russell County, Virginia, on July 11, 1799, the first child of Richard and Susannah (Hutchison) Wells. He married in 1818 in what is now Scott County, Virginia, to Mary Mobley, born December 17, 1800, in Washington County, Virginia, the daughter of William and Elizabeth (Viney) Mobley. Little is known about the life of Andrew Wells other than he moved to Washington County from Scott County soon after his marriage and lived on a farm owned by his father-in-law. On September 14, 1827, William Mobley deeded the farm “on which Andrew Wells at present resides on the waters of the north fork of Holston River,” 110 acres known as the McGowan place, to Andrew’s wife Mary. On the same day Mobley transferred to Joseph White “in trust for the benefit of Mary Wells & heirs the following property: one brown mare, one set of smith’s tools, seven head of horned cattle [and] forty hogs.” Andrew Wells died suddenly on January 21, 1828, and is buried in the Grubb Cemetery, Rich Valley, Washington County, Virginia. After Andrew’s death, Mary Mobley Wells and her children moved to Floyd County, Kentucky, where they lived with Andrew’s father, Richard, for two years before moving to Indiana and, eventually, to Jefferson County, Iowa, by 1845. She married her second husband, Henry Hite, on December 23, 1831, and had six children by him. She died in Brookville, Iowa, on March 13, 1890, and is buried in the Gantz Cemetery in Jefferson County, Iowa. Andrew and Mary (Mobley) Wells had three children:

(A-1) “INFANT” WELLS, died in infancy.

47 (A-2) RUFUS MORGAN WELLS was born in Washington County, Virginia, on November 21, 1823. He was named for Rufus Morgan, an early pioneer of Southwest Virginia and East Tennessee and a founder of Knoxville, Tennessee. After the death of his father, he moved to Jefferson County, Iowa, with his mother, settling there in 1845. On August 1, 1849, he married Mary Ann Groves, born on Sept. 30, 1833 in Harrison County, Indiana, the daughter of Andrew and Catherine Groves. Rufus Morgan Wells, called “Morgan,” purchased a large farm in the Locust Grove community in Jefferson County. He was both a farmer and carpenter for the rest of his life. Rufus Morgan Wells died on February 15, 1897, and Mary Groves Wells followed him on November 18, 1903. Both are buried in the Gantz Cemetery in Jefferson County. Morgan and Mary Wells had ten children, two of whom died in infancy:

(A-2-A) LAURA ANN WELLS born Jan. 19, 1850, died May 7, 1932, m. William Gantz (A-2-B) ALLA ETHELDA WELLS born Oct. 1, 1851, died March 16, 1925, m. John Hartman (A-2-C) WILLIAM HENRY WELLS born Dec. 7, 1853, died Jan. 1927, m. Jeanette Gillette (A-2-D) WALTER LAGRANT WELLS born Oct. 1, 1855, died March 31, 1920, m1. Ellen Alverson, m2. Lucy Myers (A-2-E) HENRYETTA WELLS born Dec. 2, 1857, died about 1950 (A-2-F) FRANK DEVIAT WELLS born March 28, 1860, died March 24, 1929, m. Frances Walton (A-2-G) EMMA VIOLA WELLS born March 26, 1862, died 1940, m. John Gillette (A-2-H) ANGELINE WELLS born Sept. 19, 1864, died June 22, 1940, m. William Major (A-2-I) KATY WELLS born Sept. 14, 1866 (A-2-J) JAMES WELLS born Dec. 10, 1868, died Aug. 4, 1946, m. Nora Sidoreus

(A-3) WILLIAM MOBLEY WELLS was born in Washington County, Virginia, on June 8, 1825. After the death of his father, he moved to Jefferson County, Iowa, with his mother, settling there in 1845. By 1850, he had moved to Oskaloosa in Mahaska County, Iowa, where he purchased a small drug store with his share of his inheritance from his father. He married Elvira Hogin who was born in 1830 in Indiana. While operating the drug store, he studied medicine and by 1870 he listed his occupation variously as

48 “Physician” and “Doctor.” His business thrived and by 1870 his real estate holdings were valued at $18,000 and his personal property was worth $17,000. He was also very active in his community. In 1858, he co-founded the city’s first cemetery, now known as Forest Cemetery. He also assumed leadership positions in the Masonic fraternity, serving as treasurer of Triluminar Lodge #18, A.F & A.M., and Grand Treasurer of the Iowa Royal Arch Masons. William Mobley Wells died in 1887 and is buried in the Forest Cemetery in Oskaloosa, Iowa. William and Elvira Wells had seven children:

(A-3-A) LEONA WELLS born April 1854, died 1935, m. Edward Easton (A-3-B) JAMES A. WELLS born and died 1856 (A-3-C) CHARLES L. WELLS born 1858, died 1912, m. Lou B. ______(A-3-D) MARY E. WELLS born 1859 (A-3-E) WILLIAM ANDREW WELLS born Aug. 30, 1861, died Oct. 4, 1927, m. Mae Louise Buxton (A-3-F) EDWARD MORGAN WELLS born June 8, 1864, died July 8, 1929 (A-3-G) LEONARD HOGIN WELLS born June 5, 1868, died 1933, m. Elizabeth ______

(B) GEORGE EIRELAND WELLS, the second son of Richard and Susannah (Hutchison) Wells, was born at Dungannon in Russell (now Scott) County, Virginia, on March 22, 1800. He was named for his uncle and adopted grandfather Dr. George Wells. Family tradition has it that his usual middle name, “Eireland,” honored his mother’s family. The Hutchison family is thought to have come to America from Northern Ireland. “Eire” is the ancient Gaelic word for Ireland. In 1827, George became the first member of our Wells family to settle permanently in Kentucky, following his aunt Martha (Patsy) Hutchison and her husband John Walker Porter who in 1816 received a land grant for 160 acres on John’s Creek in Floyd County. Soon after his arrival George became involved with a woman named Sally Young, purportedly a native of England. Their child, George Washington “Wash” Wells, was born in Floyd County on August 4, 1828. There are two family traditions about the birth. The first claims that George married Sally Young, but she died in 1829, leaving George as a single father. However, no documentation has been found to substantiate this tradition. The other family story relates that Sally and George never married and that soon after the birth of “Wash,” Sally Young appeared at George’s front door with her young son and said, “Here

49 George Wells is your son.” Then, she turned and walked away. Whatever the truth might be, little “Wash” was living with George in the household of George’s father Richard by the 1830 census of Floyd County. It is documented that George married on September 29, 1831, to Elizabeth (Delong) Gaines, the widow of Noble Gaines. By 1837, George acquired 270 acres of farmland on the Dog Fork of Daniels Creek. His neighbors on all sides were his father Richard and brothers John, Peter and William. The others owned little or no property, but George’s farm was valued at $625. He was also appointed road surveyor from the mouth of Daniels Creek to the Lawrence County border. By 1843 his holdings had increased to 350 acres, all on Dog and Oak Log forks of Daniels Creek in the newly formed Johnson County. The 1850 U.S. Census included George, eight children and real estate valued at $800. Apparently, George was a man of the soil because none of his children expect Francis Marion and Jemima attended school within the year. Everyone helped on the farm. Suddenly, in 1852, Elizabeth Gaines Wells died and left George to manage eight children on his own. Less than 12 months later, the 53 year old widower married Nancy Butcher, on May 19, 1853, one day after her fifteenth birthday. Nancy was the daughter of Jacob and Arta (Dotson) Butcher and the sister of Mary Butcher, the wife of George’s brother William Green Wells. By Nancy, George had an additional twelve children. The last, Theodore Garrett Wells, was born on May 4, 1880, less than two months after George’s 80th birthday. For unknown reasons, just prior to the War Between the States, George decided to move his family to new, vacant farmlands in northwestern Arkansas. But, because he was a staunch Unionist and member of the Republican Party, when Arkansas seceded from the Union, he cancelled his plans. Ironically, five of his sons served in the War Between the States, three for the North and two for the South. George Wells died on his farm on Daniels Creek on December 14, 1887. Rev. M. T. Burris described George Wells in a letter to a Lawrence County, Kentucky, newspaper, dated January 28, 1888. “George Wells was once in good circumstances. Gave his children a good start. He came to Johnson County sixty years ago. He was a man of a fine natural mind, full of fun and anecdote, had great muscular strength, a more kind-hearted man did not live. Late in life he joined the Methodist Church, and tried hard to live Christian. I naturally loved the man.”

Child of George Eireland Wells and Sally Young:

(B-1)GEORGE WASHINGTON “WASH” WELLS was born in Floyd County, Kentucky, on August 4, 1828. According to his death certificate, his

50 mother was Sally Young, a native of England.135 He was left in his father’s care prior to the 1830 Floyd County census and was raised by his father George and his stepmother Elizabeth (Delong) Gaines. “Wash” married on October 8, 1851, in Floyd County, Kentucky, to Araminta E. Clark. The couple settled on Daniels Creek where they maintained a 350 acre farm. The 1870 census listed real estate worth $700 and personal property valued at $490. Like his father, he was an ardent Unionist. During the War Between the States, “Wash” served a short time as a private in Co. C of Johnson County’s Unionist 65th Militia from May 21 until June 21, 1864. He went so far as to name one of his sons William Tecumseh Sherman Wells in honor of the controversial Union general. George Washington Wells died on March 12, 1913. He and Araminta Wells had seven children.

(B-1-A) MARY JANE WELLS born Oct. 9, 1852, died 1894, m. John Wesley Burchett (B-1-B) RENA MARGARET WELLS born March 21, 1857, died 1888 (B-1-C) ALEXANDER MORGAN WELLS born Nov. 28, 1858, died Feb. 1937, m. Mary “Polly” Sue Peery (B-1-D) LAURA BELLE WELLS born June 20, 1861, died Sept. 27, 1959, m. James Russell Wells (B-1-E) JOHN KING WELLS born 1866/7, died July 20, 1942 (B-1-F) WILLIAM TECUMSEH SHERMAN WELLS born May 8, 1873, died Oct. 17, 1909 (B-1-G) CLARA CORA WELLS born Oct. 7, 1874, died Jan. 25, 1948, m. Joseph Meade

Children of George Eireland Wells and Elizabeth (Delong) Gaines:

(B-2) JAMES W. WELLS was born on Daniels Creek in Floyd County, Kentucky, on March 3, 1831. He married in Johnson County, Kentucky, on October 14, 1853, to Emaritta Collins. He was a farmer with over 800 acres of land valued at $300 in 1870. At the time of the War Between the States, James went against his father and brothers and joined the Confederate Army along with his uncle William Green Wells. He served briefly in Company E of the 5th Kentucky Infantry, C.S.A. before joining Wells’ Company of

135 NOTE: The paternity of George Eireland Wells has been confirmed by the results of a DNA test of a great grandson of George Washington “Wash” Wells – Sample #245, Family W003, “Wells Family Special DNA Project,” Wells Family Research Association, Inc., c/o Orin Wells, P.O. Box 5427, Kent, Washington 98064-5427.

51 May’s 10th Kentucky Cavalry, C.S.A. in 1863. He fought in the battles of Mt. Sterling and Cynthiana, Kentucky, under the command of Gen. John Hunt Morgan and at Saltville, Virginia. Early in 1865, his company was merged with Company K of the 13th Georgia Cavalry, C.S.A. His regiment disbanded at Christiansburg, Virginia, on April 12, 1865, after learning of Lee’s surrender at Appomattox. Wells returned home where he was indicted for “horse stealing” in Floyd County on June 9, 1865. No resolution to the case was ever recorded and it appears to have been one of the hundreds of war related “revenge” cases filed in East Kentucky just after the war ended. James W. and Emaritta parented twelve children. He died on Daniels Creek in 1905 and is buried in the Collins-Wells Cemetery.

(B-2-A) MARTHA JANE WELLS born Sept. 6, 1854, died July 7, 1901, m. Isom Austin (B-2-B) FRANCIS MARION WELLS born November 9, 1855, died March 21, 1916, m. Nancy Minerva Hannah (B-2-C) JOHN WESLEY WELLS born c.1857, died Feb. 7, 1950, m. Caroline Austin (B-2-D) GEORGE W. WELLS born March 25, 1859, died April 28, 1930 (B-2-E) GENERAL LAFAYETTE “LAFE” WELLS born Sept. 10, 1861, died April 28, 1930, m. Arminta Elizabeth Wells, daughter of William Green Wells and Mary A. Cary. (B-2-F) HIRAM BROWNLOW WELLS born Sept. 12, 1865, died Feb. 7, 1950, m. Cynthia Ann Collins (B-2-G) ALEXANDER L. ”ALEX” WELLS born March 27, 1867, died March 22, 1951, m. Angeline Spears (B-2-H) DAVID W. “WALKER” WELLS born June 27, 1869, died Nov. 8, 1954, m. Mary Branham (B-2-I) WILLIAM LEWIS WELLS born May 8, 1873, died Oct. 7, 1909, m. Laura Emma Ella Spears, daughter of George W. Spears and Matilda Clark (B-2-J) SAMUEL JEFFERSON WELLS born May 21, 1876, died July 28, 1928, m. Cynthia Spriggs (B-2-K) MARGARET LOUISE WELLS born Aug. 1, 1878, died before 1910, m. James Henry Burke (B-2-L) AGNES WELLS born Feb. 16, 1883, died Jan. 17, 1961, m. Martin Wells, son of Moses Wells and Mary Delong

52 (B-3) JEMIMA E. WELLS, the oldest daughter of George Eireland Wells and Elizabeth (Delong) Gaines, was born on Daniels Creek in Floyd County, Kentucky, either in 1835 (tombstone) or 1837 (1850 U.S. census). She married her first cousin, William Harvey Spears, the son of John Spencer and Rosanna (Wells) Spears, on January 23, 1851. William Harvey Spears was a farmer. By the 1860 census, his real estate was valued at $450. Sometime after the birth of their daughter “Sach” in 1864, the family moved to Boyd County, Kentucky. It is thought that the move was as the result of animosity between the pro-Confederate Spears family and the Unionist George Eireland Wells family. Four of William Harvey Spears’ brothers served in the Confederate Army, while two joined the Union. Jemima E. Wells Spears died on December 19, 1867, a short time after the family moved to Boyd County. She is buried in the Spears Cemetery on Laura Creek near Catlettsburg, KY.

(B-3-A) HARRIETT (HENRIETTA) ANN SPEARS born March 6, 1852, died May 3, 1853 (B-3-B) WILEY MILTON SPEARS born 1854, m1. Susan Allen, m2. Lucinda Bush (B-3-C) ARAMINTA MISSOURI SPEARS born Sept. 26, 1855, died Nov. 30, 1929, m1. Samuel Jesse Collins, m2. David Y. Evans (B-3-D) LUCRETIA “LECRETTA” SPEARS born Oct. 30, 1857 (B-3-E) SARAH E. SPEARS born April 1860 (B-3-F) DAVID MARION SPEARS born Feb. 27, 1862, died Oct. 16, 1934, m. Sarah Ann Quillin (B-3-G) SACHOUBY “SACH” SPEARS born April 29, 1864, died Sept. 20, 1913, m. James Wiley Collins

(B-4) MARTHA A. WELLS, the second daughter of George Eireland Wells and Elizabeth (Delong) Gaines, was born on March 31, 1837, at Odds in what is now Johnson County, Kentucky. She married on December 7, 1855, to Alexander Webb. The couple lived on a small farm in Floyd County where, according to the 1860 U.S. census, she worked alongside her husband as a “laborer.” In that census their land was valued at $600. After her husband died in 1899, Martha lived with her son Kenzie Webb on Johns Creek until her death on Oct. 14, 1916.

(B-4-A) NANCY JANE WEBB born Dec. 9, 1856, died May 17, 1935, m. Charles L. Rice (B-4-B) JONAS WALKER WEBB born July 10, 1858, died 1860

53 (B-4-C) NELSON WEBB born about Aug. 1861, died 1907, m. Julia Allen (B-4-D) ALICE MARTHA WEBB born 1862, died young (B-4-E) GENOA E. WEBB born May 1863, m. George Hillman (B-4-F) SARAH ANGELINE WEBB born Dec. 15, 1865, died Dec. 12, 1939, m. Samuel Newberry Hopson (B-4-G) CORDELIA WEBB born Jan. 1867, died May 1904, m. Elijah Hobson (B-4-H) KENZIE B. M. WEBB born July 3, 1872, died Sept. 7, 1949, m. Anna Akers (B-4-I) LULA ALICE WEBB born Nov. 30, 1876, died April 19, 1947, m. Dr. Isaac Marion Burke

(B-5) FRANCIS MARION WELLS was born about 1839 in Floyd County, Kentucky. He is listed in the 1850 census of Johnson County, Kentucky, as “Marion Wells,” but disappeared from local records after that date.

(B-6) HIRAM BROWNLOW WELLS was born on March 1, 1840, in Floyd County, Kentucky, and married about 1860 to Arkansas Canady, a native of Virginia. A devout Union man during the War Between the States, he enlisted in Company A of the 39th Kentucky Infantry, U.S.A. on October 29, 1863. He fought in the battles of Cynthiana and Mount Sterling, Kentucky, and Saltville and Marion, Virginia. He was honorably discharged on September 15, 1865. The veteran lived on Johns Creek in Johnson County, Kentucky, until 1878 when he moved his family to Baxter County, Arkansas, in search of good farmland. After 1884, he moved again, this time to Neosho County, Kansas, where he worked as a farm laborer and “fruit picker.” On March 1, 1924, he was admitted to the U.S. National Home for Disabled Volunteer Soldiers at Leavenworth, Kansas, suffering from arteriosclerosis. Upon admission, he was described as having a fair complexion, blue eyes, gray hair, unable to read and write. His residence was 810 N. Evergreen Street, Chanute, Kansas. Hiram died at the Soldiers Home on March 9, 1926, and was buried in the Elmwood Cemetery, Chanute, Kansas. Hiram and Arkansas Wells had ten children, of which nine have been identified.

(B-6-A) FRANCIS MARION WELLS born & died 1862 in KY (B-6-B) ANDREW JACKSON WELLS born March 8, 1864 Lawrence Co., KY, died 1952 Kansas, m1. Margaret Williamson, m2. Mary M. Wooten

54 (B-6-C) MARY BELLE WELLS born April 19, 1866 Floyd Co., KY, died Oct. 21, 1951, m. Thomas Marshall (B-6-D) ALLEN S. WELLS born about 1868 Floyd Co., KY, died 1900, m. Lori Miller (B-6-E) DAVID MCCLELLAND WELLS born 1872 Floyd Co., KY, died Dec. 31, 1955, m1. Millie ______, m2. Georgia Blackwood (B-6-F) HIRAM BROWNLOW WELLS born Feb. 20, 1874 Floyd Co., KY, died Feb. 9, 1954, m. Effie Jackson (B-6-G) ELIJAH WELLS born April 16, 1877 Floyd Co., KY, died Sept. 28, 1966, m. Alta Howe (B-6-H) WILLIAM LEWIS WELLS born May 22, 1880 Baxter Co., AR, died 1953, m1. Zena Miller, m2. Wilma Brown (B-6-I) LENORA J. WELLS born Jan. 24, 1883 Baxter Co., AR, died March 17, 1974, m. Clarence Franklin

(B-7) DAVID CROCKETT WELLS was born on March 25, 1843 in what is now Johnson County, Kentucky. He married Julia Catherine Peery and settled on Daniels Creek. At the beginning of the War Between the States, he was a strong Democrat and advocate of secession. He joined the Confederate Army as a private in Company K of the 5th Kentucky Infantry, C.S.A. on December 14, 1861, at Middle Creek in Floyd County, Kentucky. He fought in the Battle of Middle Creek, Kentucky, and took part in the Perryville Campaign in the fall of 1862. David was discharged when his regiment was disbanded on October 20, 1862, at Hazel Green, Kentucky. Ironically, he became a Unionist late in the war and joined the Republican Party. By the 1870 census his farm was valued at $1,000, a higher value than most of his neighbors. David Crockett Wells died on July 14, 1916.

(B-7-A) SARAH ELIZABETH WELLS born in May 1864 in Johnson Co., KY, died Feb. 9, 1950, m. Alfred Crider (B-7-B) REBECCA WELLS born Sept. 9, 1866, died Aug. 31, 1898, m. Wallace Collins, son of Christopher Collins and Cynthia Spears (B-7-C) DAVID MARION WELLS born April 1869, m. Susan Elizabeth Hall (B-7-D) DULCENA WELLS born July 17, 1874, died Nov. 14, 1941, m. William Witten (B-7-E) MARTHA L. WELLS born 1875, died March 7, 1909, m. Galen Alvis Picklesimer (B-7-F) ALEXANDER GIBSON WELLS born 1876 (B-7-G) MARY JANE WELLS born Dec. 21, 1879, died Feb. 8,

55 1959, m. Samuel Epperson Welch (B-7-H) ROSE WELLS born April 17, 1881, died June 16, 1973, m. Kay Patrick (B-7-I) LULA WELLS born May 1882, died Sept. 30, 1892 (B-7-J) WILLIAM WELLS born May 1882, died Nov. 15, 1887 (B-7-K) GEORGE IRELAND WELLS born Jan. 15, 1885, died Aug. 17, 1961, m1. Maude Meek, m2. Maude Auxier, m3. Willa Alma Hyden (B-7-L) LUCY D. WELLS born Sept. 30, 1887, died Nov. 13, 1973, m. Alonzo Lon Hall

(B-8) ALLEN SCOTT WELLS, the youngest son of George Eireland Wells and Elizabeth (Delong) Gaines, was born on December 8, 1845, in Johnson County, Kentucky. He married on January 19, 1866, to Susan Angeline Collins and was a farmer on Johns Creek in Johnson County and Dick’s Creek in Floyd County, Kentucky. Like his father, he was a strong supporter of the Union during the War Between the States, serving in the 65th Kentucky Union Militia for one month against Gen. John Hunt Morgan from May 21, 1864, through June 21, 1864. His military record described him as 5’ 8” tall with black eyes, dark hair and a fair complexion. He died on September 25, 1920, and is buried in the Auxier Relocation Cemetery in Floyd County, Kentucky.

(B-8-A) WILLIAM RILEY WELLS born Oct. 11, 1867, died Oct. 25, 1949, m. Louvata Jane Crider (B-8-B) JAMES HIRAM WELLS born Dec. 24, 1869, died Feb. 4, 1948, m. Emalie Lou Goble (B-8-C) SOFIA A. WELLS born Feb. 1873, died Dec. 22, 1855, m. George W. Williams (B-8-D) “BILLY” M. WELLS born Jan. 28, 1875, died Jan. 28, 1875 (B-8-E) ELIJAH BROWN WELLS born Mar. 12, 1876, died Oct. 25, 1943, m. Effie Burchett (B-8-F) WALLACE WINFIELD WELLS born Nov. 4, 1878, died Oct. 22, 1964, m. Sally Burchett (B-8-G) KENZIE B. WELLS born Nov. 1881, died Sept. 6, 1925, m1. Rosa Hatfield, m2. Nellie Setser (B-8-H) MARTHA ANN WELLS born March 16, 1884, died Dec. 12, 1957, m. Thomas Robertson (B-8-I) ALTA MAGNOLIA WELLS born Aug. 27, 1887, died Jan. 16, 1908, m. William James McGuire

Children of George Eireland Wells and Nancy Butcher:

(B-9) ALBERT GREEN WELLS born March 18, 1854 on Daniels Creek, Johnson County, Kentucky. Before 1880 he moved to Hager Shoals in Floyd County, Kentucky, where he entered the timber business. By 1910, he opened a dry goods store at the mouth of Johns Creek. Albert, called “Green,” was married three times. He had seven children by his first wife, Nancy Lucinda Hopson, who he married on June 22, 1876. His second wife, Martha R. Hopson, married “Green” on Feb. 5, 1900. Married on August 31, 1908, his third wife, Ella Reed, had only one child. Albert Green Wells died at Auxier on May 3, 1917.

Children of Albert Green Wells and Nancy Lucinda Hopson:

(B-9-A) ALPHONSO WELLS born Aug. 1878, died 1907, m. Nettie Music (B-9-B) WILLIAM SETH WELLS born Nov. 1880, died March 26, 1942, m. Rosa Collins (B-9-C) MAUDE A. “MISSY” WELLS born Jan. 1882, died Feb. 2, 1966 (B-9-D) ELSWORTH “BUNK” WELLS born June 29, 1884, died Jan. 26, 1958, m. Burley Pearl Litteral (B-9-E) SHERMAN M. WELLS born Sept. 1886, died May 6, 1930, m. Berta G. Hatcher (B-9-F) MILLARD WELLS born April 8, 1887, died Aug. 2, 1954 (B-9-G) JESSIE WELLS born Jan. 1893, died Sept. 27, 1939, m. Solomon Bingham

Children of Albert Green Wells and Martha R. Hopson:

(B-9-H) UNKNOWN FEMALE WELLS born Feb. 23, 1901

Children of Albert Green Wells and Ella A. Reed:

(B-9-I) ALBERT WELLS born Jan. 2, 1910, died Dec. 24, 1995

(B-10) JEFFERSON BENTON “BENT” WELLS was born on April 7, 1855, in Johnson County, Kentucky. He was a merchant by profession and married late in life on March 11, 1918, to Dollie Harrington. He died on

57 October 19, 1929, after being struck by a train. His death certificate indicated that he died from a “fractured rib which punctured lung.”

(B-11) LEWIS W. WELLS was born on March 14, 1857, on Daniels Creek, Johnson County, Kentucky. He was a farmer and rented land on Dick’s Creek in Floyd County, Kentucky. Lewis married on July 31, 1879, to Margaret Jane Hopson. He died on Jan. 8, 1934, while living with his son George.

(B-11-A) WILLIAM F. WELLS born Dec. 23, 1879, died after 1930 (B-11-B) MARY MARGARET WELLS born May 30, 1881, died May 28, 1944, m. Elliott Webb (B-11-C) SARAH ANN “SALLY” WELLS born Aug. 17, 1882, died Jan. 11, 1972, m. William Armpster Burchett (B-11-D) STELLA WELLS born July 20, 1884, died 1907 (B-11-E) BOSIER H. WELLS born April 13, 1886, died Oct. 26, 1963, m. Bessie Burchett (B-11-F) EVAN WELLS born June 5, 1888, died June 27, 1935, m1. Ruth Privett, m2. Rosa Hall, m3. Alka (Boyd) Griffith (B-11-G) GEORGE WASHINGTON WELLS born Aug. 20, 1891, died June 28, 1954, m. Cora Belle Goble, daughter of James S. Goble and Florence Wells (B-11-H) JOHN SHERMAN WELLS born Aug. 20, 1891, died Dec. 3, 1940, m. Emma Goble, daughter of James S. Goble and Florence Wells (B-11-I) SAMUEL LEWIS WELLS born Sept. 23, 1893, died Jan. 20, 1971 m. Marsha Litteral (B-11-J) CURTIS WELLS born Feb. 22, 1896, died March 26, 1978, m. Josephine Hunter

(B-12) CYNTHIA “LOUANNE” SUSANNA WELLS was born about 1859, on Daniels Creek in Johnson County, Kentucky, and married Stephen Ward on May 28, 1880. Stephen was a coal miner and lived at Magnolia in Mingo County, West Virginia, and Whitehouse in Johnson County, Kentucky. He died about 1904. “Louanne” died in 1930 and is buried in the Auxier Relocation Cemetery in Floyd County, Kentucky.

(B-12-A) LAFAYETTE “LAFE” WARD born May 1880, died Oct. 18, 1962, m1. Jennie ______, m2. Elva Collins, m3. Katherine Dotson

58 (B-12-B) DAVID WINFIELD WARD born Oct. 1881, m. Bertha ______(B-12-C) R.H. WARD born May 1886 (B-12-D) VIRGIE WARD born June 1887, m. Bert H. Moore (B-12-E) BENJAMIN WARD born Oct. 1890, m. Mary Alice ______(B-12-F) MARY WARD born April 1893 (B-12-G) GEORGE WARD born March 1895 (B-12-H) NOAH WARD born Sept. 1897, m. Oma Mullett (B-12-I) CYNTHIA WARD born 1899, died Nov. 24, 1984, m1. Steve Smith, m2. Lewis Alexander (B-12-J) ANN WARD (B-12-K) BUD WARD

(B-13) ______WELLS was born in 1861 and lived only two months. According to the death certificate, the child died of a “sore throat.”

(B-14) WILLIAM SCOTT WELLS was born in May 1864, at Odds on Daniels Creek in Johnson County, Kentucky. He married in 1890 to Martha Jane Sturgill Porter and moved to Hager Shoals in Floyd County, Kentucky. He was a farmer and logger and drowned in 1910 while floating a raft of logs down the Big Sandy River.

(B-14-A) GARLAND WELLS born Sept. 13, 1892 (B-14-B) LULA WELLS born April 1895, died Oct. 2, 1974, m. Elbert Sturgill (B-14-C) EVA WELLS born Feb. 1897 (B-14-D) GEORGE WELLS born Jan. 1900 (B-14-E) HOMER WELLS born March 23, 1903, died May 9, 1938, m. Gladys Hunter (B-14-F) SYLVIA ALICE WELLS born April 23, 1905, died Oct. 6, 1988, m. ______McDermott

(B-15) NOAH WELLS was born in March 1866, on Daniels Creek in Johnson County, Kentucky. He married Minerva Louise Butcher and moved his family to the mouth of Johns Creek in Floyd County where Noah worked as a farm laborer while his sons became coal miners. He died in Floyd County on July 4, 1938.

59 (B-15-A) WILLIAM O. BRADLEY “BILLY” WELLS born Aug. 25, 1895, died Feb. 21, 1969 (B-15-B) SALLY WELLS born Feb. 7, 1897, died May 13, 1993, m. Andrew Jackson Hall (B-15-C) MELVIN WELLS born about 1901, died April 2, 1967, m. Ola Hatfield (B-15-D) NANCY WELLS born Feb. 19, 1904, died April 1979, m. Calep P. Wells, son of Hiram Brownlow Wells & Cynthia Collins (B-15-E) VERNA WELLS born Aug. 10, 1907, died Mar. 31, 1996, m. James Knox Polk Auxier (B-15-F) BERTA WELLS born June 10, 1909, died Oct. 23, 1998, m. Ed Adkins (B-15-G) JOSEPHINE WELLS born April 9, 1912, m. Ernest Robinson (B-15-H) BEATRICE WELLS born Feb. 8, 1914, died Jan. 3, 1998, m. John Fitch (B-15-I) BEECHER WELLS born 1916 (B-15-J) EDWARD WELLS born April 22, 1918, died Aug. 21, 1995, m. Eula Mae Fannin (B-15-K) ORVILLE WELLS born Oct. 8, 1921, died Feb. 4, 1980, m. Ruby Selvage

(B-16) CORDELIA WELLS was born in March 1867 on Daniels Creek in Johnson County, Kentucky. In 1885, she married Jacob “Jake” P. Birchfield AKA “Birchwell.” Eventually, the couple moved to the new coal town of Van Lear where “Jake” worked as a farmer and farm laborer. After he died in 1912, Cordelia moved to Pike County, Kentucky, where she died on October 26, 1928. The couple had nine children who adopted variations of the last name “BIRCHFIELD,” including “BIRCHWELL” and “BURCHELL.” To avoid confusion, the last name of “BIRCHFIELD” is used in the following list of the children of Cordelia and Jake Birchfield.

(B-16-A) NANCY BIRCHFIELD born Sept. 1, 1885, died June 1, 1917, m. Ronald Burns Setser (B-16-B) UNKNOWN BIRCHFIELD born 1888 (B-16-C) MINTA BIRCHFIELD born Dec. 14, 1890, died June 25, 1938, m. Proctor Newton Collins, son of Wallace Newton Collins and Rebecca Wells (B-16-D) MELVIN BIRCHFIELD born April 20, 1892

60 (B-16-E) ALBERT BIRCHFIELD born May 4, 1894, m. Dova B. Rowe (B-16-F) WILLIAM MCKINLEY BIRCHFIELD born March 28, 1895, died Jan. 6, 1994, m. Clara Burke (B-16-G) HOBERT BIRCHFIELD born July 1897, m. Della Wells (B-16-H) ANGIE BIRCHFIELD born March 11, 1902, died July 24, 1993, m. David Campbell Collins (B-16-I) JONAH BIRCHFIELD born about 1904 (B-16-J) PROCTOR BIRCHFIELD born May 20, 1907, d. Sept. 17, 1977, m. Mintie Carter

(B-17) ARMINTA MARILYN WELLS was born in May 1869 in Johnson County, Kentucky. She married in 1889 to John Walker Porter. She died in Floyd County, Kentucky, on July 14, 1937, and was buried in the Auxier Relocation Cemetery in Floyd County.

(B-17-A) NANCY MARGARET PORTER born Oct. 18, 1890, died Feb. 4, 1969, m. David Wallace Collins (B-17-B) NOAH MALCOLM PORTER born Oct. 27, 1891, died May 31, 1971, m1. Alta Sherman, m2. Louise Ellen Dotson (B-17-C) BEVERLY LEE PORTER born Sept. 1893, died Oct. 25, 1937, m. Golda Shortridge (B-17-D) GEORGE DEWEY PORTER born May 1, 1899, died Aug. 13, 1974, m. Cora May Lackey (B-17-E) THEODORE ROOSEVELT PORTER born June 10, 1903, died Sept. 9, 1972, m. Thelma Honeycutt (B-17-F) GORDON WALLEN PORTER born March 7, 1906, died Sept. 1979, m. Mary Vadie Sluss (B-17-G) DELMER HOWARD PORTER born Feb. 25, 1914, died Sept. 1971, m. Rena Irene Music

(B-18) JOHN L. WELLS was born on August 8, 1871, on Daniels Creek in Johnson County, Kentucky. He married three times, first, to Malinda Hall, secondly, to Victoria J. Hatfield, and, lastly, to Arminta McCloud. Sometime after 1920, he moved to Boyd County, Kentucky, where he worked variously as a carpenter, contractor and painter until his death on August 10, 1949.

Children of John L. Wells and Malinda Hall:

(B-18-A) FRANK N. WELLS born Jan. 2, 1894, died May 17, 1966, Private, U.S. Army, W.W. I, m. Nora Johnson

Children of John L. Wells and Victoria J. Hatfield:

(B-18-B) LYDIA WELLS born Sept. 1, 1900, died Aug. 28, 1941, m. Lawrence Winger (B-18-C) WILLIE LOU WELLS born Feb. 28, 1902, m. Arthur Blackburn

Children of John L. Wells and Arminta McCloud:

(B-18-D) GLADYS WELLS born March 14, 1904, died Sept. 19, 1949, m. Chester Lewis Kazee (B-18-E) ALKA WELLS born May 9, 1905, died March 2, 1961, m. James Leonard Galloway (B-18-F) RICHARD SCOTT WELLS born April 2, 1909, died July 17, 1976, m. Mamie Barnhill (B-18-G) JOHN P. WELLS born Dec. 23, 1913, died Aug. 6, 1987, m. Ruth M. Justice (B-18-H) GEORGIA LEE WELLS born June 20, 1917, died June 23, 1917 (B-18-I) LOUISE WELLS born April 6, 1919, died April 30, 1981, m. John Marshall Layne (B-18-J) JUANITA WELLS born Oct. 28, 1923, died Sept. 26, 2000, m. William D. Kershner

(B-19) MARGARET L. WELLS was born in September 1875 on Daniels Creek in Johnson County, Kentucky. She married Henry N. Butcher, the son of Lewis Butcher, on April 17, 1893, and lived on Dicks Creek in Floyd County, Kentucky. Margaret died about 1903.

(B-19-A) LOULIE BUTCHER born April 1893/4 (B-19-B) MINTA BUTCHER born April 22, 1894, died Dec. 16, 1968, m. Millard Hobson (B-19-C) MARY BUTCHER born June 1898 (B-19-D) LINDSAY BUTCHER born Aug. 12, 1900, died Oct. 9, 1975, m. Mary Mollett

62 (B-20) THEODORE GARRETT WELLS, the youngest child of George Eireland Wells and Nancy Butcher, was born on May 4, 1878, when his father was 78 years old. He married on October 7, 1907, to Emma McCloud. He moved his family to Boyd County, Kentucky, after 1910 where he became a house carpenter and truck farmer. During the Roosevelt administration he was employed by the Works Progress Administration. By 1940, he had risen to the position of road foreman. Theodore Wells died on December 5, 1963 in Boyd County.

(B-20-A) ORVILLE KENNIS WELLS born Aug. 21, 1908, died Dec. 16, 1980, m. Mary Evelyn Helton (B-20-B) LESTER LEE WELLS born Jan. 23, 1911, died Feb. 26, 1989, m. Bertha Barber (B-20-C) BERNITA WELLS born Jan. 1, 1914, died Nov. 6, 1918 (B-20-D) KENNETH VINCEL WELLS born July 16, 1916, died Sept. 26, 1986, m Hazel Irene Menshouse (B-20-E) HAROLD CECIL WELLS born Aug. 29, 1919, died Oct. 20, 1991 (B-20-F) MARY ELIZABETH WELLS born Dec. 27, 1921, died Nov. 24, 2008, m. Con Carol Ferguson (B-20-G) PAUL VERNON WELLS born Aug. 10, 1925, died May 7, 1926 (B-20-H) THEODORE EDWIN WELLS born Jan. 7, 1929, died Feb. 5, 2005, m. Mary Martha Price. He was a 5th Sgt., U.S. Army during World War II and the Korean War

(C)MOSES WELLS was born on April 13, 1804, at Dungannon in Russell County, Virginia. He married on Nov. 20, 1824, in Scott County, Virginia, to Margaret Elizabeth Hillman. She was the sister of John Hillman who married Elizabeth Wells, the sister of Moses Wells. In 1827, Moses moved to Oak Log Fork of Daniels Creek in what is now Johnson County, Kentucky, following his brother George and his parents. By 1837, he owned 50 acres of bottom land on Daniels Creek next to his father’s farm. Between 1843 and 1854, he received additional grants of 200 acres on Greasy Creek and Oak Log Fork. By 1860, the value of his property had risen to $1,500. After that date, he began giving land to his children. By 1870, his remaining land was valued at just $400. Moses died on September 16, 1878, followed by his wife Margaret just one month later on October 26, 1878. Both were buried in unmarked graves in the Clark Cemetery on Daniels Creek in Johnson County, Kentucky.

63 (C-1) WILLIAM GREEN WELLS was born in April 1827/8 in Floyd County, Kentucky. He married to Mary Ann Cary and owned a small farm of 100 acres on Daniels Creek. In 1860, his land was valued at $250. During the War Between the States, in June 1864 he served one month as a private in Company C of the 65th Kentucky Union Militia and was described as “6 feet tall with dark hair & skin and gray eyes.” He died in Johnson County, Kentucky, on an unknown date sometime after 1900.

(C-1-A) MARGARET WELLS born about 1851, d. 1950, m. John Phelps (C-1-B) LOUISA ORPHY WELLS born Oct. 16, 1852, m1. James R. Dixon, m2. Andrew Jackson Goble (C-1-C) ARMINTA ELIZABETH WELLS born April 27 1860, died March 11, 1940, m. General Lafayette “Lafe” Wells, son of James W. Wells and Emeretta Collins (C-1-D) MARY WELLS born April 1861, died May 1861

(C-2) JOHN WESLEY WELLS was born on June 29, 1829, in Floyd County, Kentucky. In 1853, he married to Sarah Jane Flannery. The couple moved to the Newfoundland precinct in Morgan County, Kentucky (now Elliott County) prior to the 1860 census and purchased a small farm valued at $250. During the War Between the States, he enlisted in the Confederate Army as a private in Capt. Field’s Company of Kentucky Partisan Rangers. He served under Gen. John Hunt Morgan and was promoted to 1st Sergeant. He was mustered out of the service on March 13, 1863, but transferred to Company D of the 10th KY Confederate Cavalry. He was discharged at Christiansburg, Virginia, on April 12, 1865, but was captured in Pike County, Kentucky, on May 25, 1865, as a “paroled soldier.” He returned to Elliott County, Kentucky, where he farmed until his death on February 6, 1902. He was buried in the Wagoner/Cox Cemetery on Route 7 near Newfoundland, Kentucky.

(C-2-A) WILLIAM N. WELLS, born June 1854, died Oct. 8, 1854 (C-2-B) MELVIN WELLS, born Dec. 5, 1855/6, died March 2, 1945, m. Ellen Holbrook (C-2-C) ALAN BRECKINRIDGE WELLS, born Sept. 13, 1859, died April 13, 1928, m. Minta Viars (C-2-D) MISSOURI ANGELINE WELLS, born Jan. 12, 1862, died Jan. 17, 1931, m. Benjamin Franklin Holbrook

64 (C-2-E) JOHN L. WELLS, born Jan. 12, 1863, died Feb. 26, 1934, m. Margaret F. Roe (C-2-F) MARY ELIZABETH WELLS, born April 21, 1866, died Jan. 10, 1942, m. John Kegley (C-2-G) MOSES S. WELLS, born Nov. 1869, died May 25, 1959, m. Mary Belle Whisman (C-2-H) MARTHA A. WELLS, born 1871, died after 1900, m. Land Mays (C-2-I) JASPER N. WELLS, born Aug. 8, 1874, died Feb. 23, 1959, m1. Nancy J. Scaggs, m2. Minnie Whitt (C-2-J) SARAH J. WELLS, born 1878, died 1965, m. Millard Scott Hall

(C-3) LOUISA JANE WELLS was born June 6, 1830, in Floyd County, Kentucky. She married Garrett Deweese Arrowood, a native of Yancey County, North Carolina, on October 23, 1848. During the War Between the States, Garrett served in the Confederate Army as a private in Company E of the 5th Kentucky Infantry. He enlisted in November 1861 and fought in the battles of Middle Creek, Kentucky, and Princeton, Virginia. He was mustered out of the service at Hazel Green, Kentucky, on October 20, 1862. Later, he joined a band of independent Confederate raiders and was charged by Union authorities with being a “freebooter” and “guerrilla.” Possibly because of these charges, sometime prior to 1865, he moved his family to Meeker County, Minnesota, where he became a farmer. Louisa died on October 11, 1911, and Garrett died on April 30, 1906.

(C-3-A) JAMES MORGAN ARROWOOD, born Nov. 19, 1849, died Feb. 25, 1922, m1. Rachel Ann Cunningham, m2. Delila Price (C-3-B) MOSES BARTLEY ARROWOOD, born Aug. 19, 1851, died Dec. 20, 1901, m. Sarah Ann Waller (C-3-C) JOHN WESLEY ARROWOOD, born Sept. 15, 1853, died Sept. 26, 1853 (C-3-D) MARGARET ELIZABETH ARROWOOD, born Sept. 21, 1854, died Aug. 11, 1933, m1. Almond Crowell, m2. William Cary (C-3-E) MARY JANE ARROWOOD, born Jan. 3, 1857, died May 27, 1922, m. Charles Streeter (C-3-F) MARTHA CALADONA ARROWOOD, born about Dec. 13, 1859, died Oct. 3, 1929, m. Edward J. Russell (C-3-G) WILLIAM MORRIS ARROWOOD, born Feb. 19, 1861, died May 12, 1932, m. Leena Newman

65 (C-3-H) NANCY MINTA ARROWOOD, born Sept. 27, 1862, died Oct. 1863 (C-3-I) DANIEL JACKSON ARROWOOD, born Oct. 30, 1864, died Nov. 13, 1896, m. Liezah Castle (C-3-J) SARAH MONTANA ARROWOOD, born March 11, 1867, died Feb. 10, 1942, m1. Peter Lee Gardner, m2. Edmond Russell (C-3-K) LAURA BELLE ARROWOOD, born May 15, 1870, died April 25, 1934, m. Charles G. Moberg (C-3-L) ALEXANDER GRANVILLE ARROWOOD, born Oct. 20, 1871, died March 5, 1932, m. Clara P. Egan (C-3-M) MINNIE CORDELIA ARROWOOD, born Feb. 20, 1874, died Sept. 4, 1967, m. John Skeen/Skeans

(C-4) HENRY CLAY WELLS was born about 1833 in Floyd County, Kentucky. He married Mary Elizabeth Peery in 1857 and they had 7 children. Henry was drafted into Company C of the 65th Kentucky Union Militia on May 21, 1864 and was mustered out on June 21, 1864. After the war, Henry built a mill on Daniels Creek and developed a logging business in addition to farming. Henry died in February 1900 and Mary died March 18, 1917.

(C-4-A) JAMES RUSSELL WELLS, born Sept. 15, 1859, died Oct. 2, 1905, m. Laura Belle Wells (C-4-B) CALIFORNIA WELLS, born Sept. 3, 1861, died Jan. 7, 1944, m. Solomon McGuire (C-4-C) LOWE BRECKINRIDGE WELLS born Aug. 24, 1864, died May 30, 1943, m. Margaret Setser (C-4-D) FLORENCE ELIZABETH WELLS, born Sept. 25, 1869, died Nov. 18, 1964, m. William Riley Harris (C-4-E) JOHN WELLS, born Oct. 25, 1872, m. Millie Burchett (C-4-F) DOLLY WELLS, born March 17, 1875 (C-4-G) SARAH WELLS, born April 5, 1879, died March 27, 1911, m. James Auxier Richmond

(C-5) JULIANN P. WELLS was born on February 22, 1837 in Floyd County, Kentucky. She married Aaron “Thompson” Coates on December 6, 1853, and they had two children. They lived in Pike County, Kentucky. During the War Between the States, Thompson served as a private in the 7th Battalion of Confederate Cavalry. A family story tells of how he sneaked

66 through Union lines to visit his newborn son in 1862 who he named in honor of Gen. Thomas “Stonewall” Jackson. Juliann died on December 16, 1910.

(C-5-A) MARY ELIZABETH COATES, born Aug. 6, 1855, died Sept. 10, 1946, m. William Oliver Butler Ratliff (C-5-B) THOMAS JACKSON COATES born March 17, 1862, March 17, 1928, m. Della Meyers

(C-6) CHARLES MORGAN WELLS was born in March 1838 in Floyd County, Kentucky. He married Susannah Dingus on Feb. 4, 1863 in Scott Co., Virginia. During the War Between the States, Charles Morgan served as a private in Captain Baldwin’s Battalion of Virginia Confederate Partisan Rangers until he moved back to Kentucky in 1863. He transferred to Company A of the 10th Kentucky Confederate Cavalry and later finished his service in Company K of the 13th Georgia Cavalry. Charles Morgan died on January 1, 1914 and Susannah died on November 4, 1912.

(C-6-A) MISSOURI JANE WELLS, born Sept. 1865, died Oct. 20, 1948, m. Rosecrans Delong (C-6-B) HENRY LOGAN WELLS, born Jan. 26, 1866, died July 1, 1950, m. Martha Magdalene Brown (C-6-C) MARY (MARGARET) L. WELLS, born Sept. 30, 1869, died May 26, 1965, m. Isaac T. Goble (C-6-D) FLORENCE WELLS born Dec. 2, 1873, died Aug. 2, 1942, m. James Sheridan Goble (C-6-E) WILLIAM A. WELLS, born Sept. 9, 1876, died Oct. 19, 1876 (C-6-F) GEORGE MOSES WELLS, born April 7, 1878, died Oct. 25, 1953, m. Cora Lee Honeycutt (C-6-G) DORA BELLE WELLS, born Oct. 1881, died Feb. 1975, m. Melvin Monroe Smith (C-6-H) ANNA LEE WELLS, born Sept. 1883/5, died 1925, m. Albert Dotson (C-6-I) WILLIAM WELLS, born Sept. 1891

(C-7) NANCY ELIZABETH WELLS was born on November 26, 1841, in Floyd County, Kentucky. She married William Henry Arrowood on April 21, 1859. They lived in Johnson County until after the 1870 US census and moved to Meeker County, Minnesota, where they were listed in the 1875 Minnesota census. William Henry Arrowood was the brother of Garrett

67 Deweese Arrowood who married Louisa Jane Wells, the sister of Nancy Elizabeth Wells. William purchased a small farm near Dassel in Meeker County, Minnesota, and became a Christian minister. Nancy died on November 14, 1907 and William died January 5, 1916.

(C-7-A) JOHN YANCY ARROWOOD born July 25, 1860, died Oct. 24, 1940, m1. Mary Porter, m2. Jennie Stafford (C-7-B) JAMES MOSES ARROWOOD born April 3, 1862, died May 9, 1939, m. Eva Josephine Hoskins (C-7-C) C. COLUMBUS CLAUSELL ARROWOOD born March 19, 1864, died Aug. 6, 1946, m. Ida May Freeman (C-7-D) WILLIAM MARTIN ARROWOOD born Oct. 21, 1865, died Dec. 3, 1865 (C-7-E) MARGARET E. ARROWOOD born March 18, 1867, died Nov. 3, 1936, m1. Alexander Jack Waller, m2. B.C. Coffer (C-7-F) BAXTER PIERCE ARROWOOD born Jan. 6, 1869, died May 27, 1940, m1. Daisy Flora Bower, m2. Maude Fasolt (C-7-G) ELKANAH JOHNSON KANE ARROWOOD born Oct. 4, 1871, died 1947, m. Alta F. Snell (C-7-H) HENRY HARRISON ARROWOOD born Nov. 23, 1873, died Feb. 26, 1930, m. Anna Nordstom (C-7-I) MARY GERTRUDE ARROWOOD born Sept. 14, 1875, died Feb. 10, 1963, m. Frank L. Lloyd (C-7-J) FLORENCE VANDALINE ARROWOOD born Dec. 28, 1878, m. Harry Leaberry (C-7-K) ERNEST VIRGIL ARROWOOD born Dec. 27, 1882, died June 10, 1955, m. Alta W. Talbert

(C-8) ARMINTA WELLS was born in January 1845 in Johnson County, Kentucky. She married Henry Logan Porter on January 2, 1865. They lived in the Johnson and Floyd counties where Henry operated a small farm and logging business. Arminta died on April 21, 1891, and Henry died in 1912.

(C-8-A) MARGARET J. PORTER born Jan. 1866, died 1938, m. Colonel Calvin Cline (C-8-B) ANNA LAURA PORTER born Oct. 1867, died 1902, m. E. L. Cline (C-8-C) AMANDA MARYLAND PORTER Aug. 15, 1871, died Dec. 23, 1937, m. Thomas M. Peery

68 (C-8-D) HENRY LOGAN PORTER born Oct. 18, 1875, m. Myrtle Clark (C-8-E) SAMUEL PORTER born about 1881, m. Dora Leslie (C-8-F) GRACIE PORTER born Dec. 1885, m. Isaac Napoleon Derossett

(D) ELIZABETH WELLS was born on August 30, 1807, at Dungannon in Russell Co., Virginia. She married on August 27, 1824, in Scott County, Virginia, to John Hillman. In 1827, when the rest of her family moved to Kentucky, she remained behind with her husband. John Hillman was a well-known farmer and orchardist in Southwest Virginia. In addition to agriculture, he was a carpenter, wheelwright and cabinet maker. He was reputed to have made more than 700 spinning wheels that were sold throughout the upper South. John Hillman died on September 3, 1871, and Elizabeth followed him on August 13, 1885. Both were buried in the Hillman Cemetery in Scott County, Virginia.

(D-1) MEL “THOMAS” HILLMAN was born in Scott County, Virginia, on October 16, 1825. He married on January 8, 1852, in Scott County to Regency J. Ramey. Thomas was a farmer with land valued at only $150 in 1870. The family moved to the Crackers Neck region of Elliott County, Kentucky, after 1882, and purchased a larger farm. Mel Thomas Hillman died in Elliott County, Kentucky, sometime after 1900.

(D-1-A) JAMES HENDERSON HILLMAN born Feb. 8, 1853, died June 30, 1936, m. Lottie Ratliff (D-1-B) JOHN HILLMAN born 1854, died 1870 (D-1-C) GEORGE WASHINGTON HILLMAN born Sept. 12, 1857, died Sept. 9, 1903, m. Genoa Webb (D-1-D) ANDREW JACKSON HILLMAN born July 2, 1859, died Sept. 14, 1936, m. Nancy Belle Flannery (D-1-E) MARY E. HILLMAN born 1861 (D-1-F) WILLIAM HOUSTON HILLMAN born July 1, 1862, died 1918, m. Martha Jane Hall (D-1-G) MELINDA AGNES HILLMAN born June 13, 1867, m. Ezra Mark Wolfe (D-1-H) SARAH J. HILLMAN born 1869, died 1920, m. Henry Hopkins Dingus (D-1-I) JENETTA HILLMAN born June 1878, died 1920 (D-1-J) LUCY LENORE HILLMAN born April 1, 1882, died Feb. 17, 1967, m. Noah Richard Kegley

(D-2) GEORGE WASHINGTON HILLMAN was born on Sept. 8, 1827, in Scott County, Virginia. He married to Mary Elizabeth Osborne on January 30, 1851. During the War Between the States he served as a private in Company A of the 22nd Virginia Confederate Cavalry and Company B of the 1st Virginia State Line. George owned a large farm in the Floyd precinct in Scott County. In 1870, his land was valued at $1,500. In 1908, he received a Confederate pension totaling $36 per year, but died just six years later in Scott County on August 17, 1914.

(D-2-A) HARRIETT HILLMAN born about 1857 (D-2-B) JONATHAN W. HILLMAN born 1860, m. Nancy M. Semones (D-2-C) MARTHA JANE HILLMAN born 1865, m1. Arnulis R. Nickels, m2. Joseph Osborne (D-2-D) MARY E. HILLMAN born 1870, m. John Morgan Honeycutt (D-2-E) WILLIAM P. HILLMAN born Feb. 1876, m. Emily ______

(D-3) JAMES MONROE HILLMAN was born in Scott County, Virginia, on July 16, 1831. He married twice, first, on September 30, 1852, to Nancy Elizabeth Stallard. Elizabeth died on February 1, 1868, and James married secondly in 1870 to Mary Ann Carrico. During the War Between the States he served in Capt. Vandeventer’s Battalion of Virginia Confederate Cavalry. After the war, they lived on a farm valued at $800 near Guest Station in Wise Co., Virginia. On September 23, 1880, he was appointed postmaster at Dwina in Wise County. James died on September 15, 1883 and was buried in the Hamm Cemetery in Wise County, Virginia.

Children of James Monroe Hillman and Nancy Elizabeth Stallard:

(D-3-A) MARTHA JANE HILLMAN born Oct. 7, 1853, died Dec. 25, 1939, m. Samuel Lafayette Carrico (D-3-B) NANCY ELIZABETH HILLMAN born June 2, 1856, died June 17, 1928, m. John Wesley Carrico (D-3-C) JOHN WESLEY HILLMAN born Aug. 22, 1857, died Aug. 28, 1906, m. Susannah J. Elam (D-3-D) JAMES MONROE HILLMAN, JR born April 29, 1860, died Aug. 20, 1948, m. Martha Catherine Edwards

70 (D-3-E) BENJAMIN FRANKLIN HILLMAN born Aug. 2, 1862, died July 10, 1927, m. Nancy Susannah Greear (D-3-F) THOMAS BENTON HILLMAN born May 11, 1865, died 1950, m. Mary Eliza Carrico

Children of James Monroe Hillman and Mary Ann Carrico:

(D-3-G) WILLIAM RICHMOND HILLMAN born Oct. 1, 1871, died Nov. 21, 1911, m. Mary E. Kilgore (D-3-H) LUTHER MELVIN HILLMAN born Oct. 11, 1877, died March 23, 1948, m. Lana Margaret Bise (D-3-I) SARAH ARLENA HILLMAN born March 30, 1878, died July 23, 1883 (D-3-J) MARY AMNEY T. HILLMAN born July 1883, m. Burt Whitlock

(D-4) SUSANNAH HILLMAN was born on November 27, 1832, in Scott County, Virginia. She married Isaac Osborne on November 10, 1850, in Scott County. Isaac Osborne served in the Scott County Confederate Militia during the War Between the States. Susannah died in 1863.

(D-4-A) LUCINDA OSBORNE born 1852, m. George Elam (D-4-B) LEMUEL G. OSBORNE born Jan. 26, 1855, died March 3, 1933, m. Margaret Ellen Osborne (D-4-C) THOMAS J. OSBORNE born Nov. 2, 1858, died 1925, m. Mary ______(D-4-D) EMMETT L. OSBORNE born 1860, died 1957, m. Margaret Ellen Honeycutt (D-4-E) BENJAMIN FLOYD OSBORNE born Sept. 8, 1863, m. Helen Frazier

(D-5) JOHN WESLEY HILLMAN was born on January 24, 1835, in Scott County, Virginia. He married Margaret McConnell on February 13, 1855, in Scott County. John served as Sergeant of Company A of the 22nd Virginia Confederate Cavalry and 1st Lieutenant of Company A of the 7th Battalion Confederate Cavalry during the War Between the States. He was captured in Pike County, Kentucky, on April 15, 1863, and sent to Camp Chase, Ohio, as a prisoner of war. After the war he became a farmer and Methodist minister. He died on January 15, 1910.

71 (D-5-A) HENDERSON KEDRICK HILLMAN born Oct. 24, 1855, died May 7, 1938, m1. Mary G. Fraley, m2. Mary Ella Edwards, m3. Tabitha Ellen Wampler (D-5-B) WILLIAM LAFAYETTE HILLMAN born Nov. 1, 1857, died Feb. 13, 1945, m. Phoebe B. Frazier (D-5-C) MAZILPHY O. HILLMAN born 1859, died Feb. 1924 (D-5-D) WORLEY HILLMAN born Nov. 1861, died March 24, 1943, m. Mary C. Castle (D-5-E) DRUCILLA HILLMAN born Nov. 1, 1863, died Aug. 8, 1924, m. Lawrence Floyd Frazier (D-5-F) SAMUEL PATRICK HILLMAN born April 12, 1866, died Sept. 9, 1939, m. Nancy Carolyn Edwards (D-5-G) ELIZABETH NANCY HILLMAN born Dec. 14, 1868, died June 4, 1901, m. Nathan Buchanan Wampler (D-5-H) FLEMING CRUMLEY HILLMAN born March 24, 1871, died May 24, 1858, m. Susan F. Davidson

(D-6) MARGARET E. HILLMAN was born on January 27, 1827, in Scott County, Virginia. She married John D. Osborne on September 22, 1859.

(D-6-A) JULIE OSBORNE born Aug. 31, 1860, died 1940, m. Henry Clay Osborne (D-6-B) MONROE JACKSON OSBORNE born Nov. 14, 1861, died Sept. 11, 1953, m. Barilla Annette Salling (D-6-C) MARY E. OSBORNE born about 1865, died Jan. 11, 1920 (D-6-D) JEMIMA “MIMA” ALVERTIE OSBORNE born Dec. 20, 1866, died Nov. 21, 1918, m. William Taylor Nash (D-6-E) HELEN VERDIE OSBORNE born April 11, 1869, died May 20, 1854, m. Levi Calvin Owens (D-6-F) EMMA (EMILY) JANE OSBORNE born July 1873, m. John Henry Riner (D-6-G) CHLOE OSBORNE born about 1875 (D-6-H) SIMON PETER OSBORNE born May 14, 1877

(D-7) WILLIAM MARTIN HILLMAN was born on June 14, 1839, in Scott County, Virginia. He married Hulda L. Dingus on March 17, 1857. William served as a private in Company A of the 22nd Virginia Confederate Cavalry and as Sergeant of Company E of the 48th Virginia Confederate Infantry during the War Between the States. He fought in the Battle of Gettysburg

72 under the command of Gen. Robert E. Lee. After the war he became a Methodist minister. He died on September 3, 1896.

(D-7-A) HENRY PEAY HILLMAN born March 10, 1860, died July 28, 1937, m. Mary S. Kilgore (D-7-B) JOHN MORROW HILLMAN born March 10, 1863, died March 14, 1938, m. Ella Martha Broadwater (D-7-C) LUCY E. HILLMAN born May 24, 1865, died Sept. 23, 1939, m1. Wade Castle, m2. Milton Dickenson (D-7-D) EMILY J. HILLMAN born 1867, died Jan. 17, 1942, m. David Dean (D-7-E) HOUSTON F. HILLMAN born March 11, 1872, died Jan. 17, 1942, m1. Margaret Sands, m2. Margaret Laverne Vicars (D-7-F) SALLIE O. HILLMAN born June 22, 1876, died Dec. 25, 1956, m. William W. Bond (D-7-G) WILLIAM BASCOM HILLMAN born April 7, 1880, died Feb. 2, 1958, m. Mary Vicars

(D-8) ELIZABETH HILLMAN was born in Scott County, Virginia, on March 6, 1842. She died in Scott County on July 15, 1842.

(D-9) LUCY A. HILLMAN was born on May 26, 1843, in Scott County, Virginia. She married William J. Culbertson on December 21, 1865. They had no children. Lucy died in 1932.

(D-10) ISAAC FORTNER “DEE” HILLMAN was born in Scott County, Virginia, on October 19, 1845. He married first to Nellie Emily Johnson on October 20, 1870, in Russell County, Virginia. He married secondly to M. Belle Dickenson on April 3, 1902. Isaac died on October 16, 1925, in Scott County, Virginia.

Children of Isaac Fortner Hillman and Nellie Emily Johnson:

(D-10-A) WILLIAM LEWIS HILLMAN born Sept. 26, 1871, died Aug. 17, 1934, m. Ida Lee Salyer (D-10-B) JOHN WESLEY HILLMAN born April 20, 1873, died July 2, 1923, m. Sabra Caroline Dingus (D-10-C) ELIZABETH HILLMAN born 1875, m. Topsy Fields (D-10-D) SARAH EMILY HILLMAN born Feb. 18, 1876, died June 12, 1949, m. William Larkin Dingus

73 (D-10-E) LUCY E. HILLMAN born 1879 (D-10-F) VERDIE HILLMAN born 1882 (D-10-G) NELLIE RHODA HILLMAN born May 1885 (D-10-H) ROY WALTON HILLMAN born May 18, 1888, died March 1, 1974, m. Bonnie Belle Marshall D-10-I) LUMMIA HILLMAN born Sept. 17, 1892, died April 18, 1966, m. Arthur Thomas Sexton

Child of Isaac Fortner Hillman and M. Belle Dickenson:

(D-10-J) BARNETT LEE HILLMAN born Dec. 19, 1903, died 1989, m. Lenora Nell Nuckles

(D-11) HENDERSON HENSLEY HILLMAN was born on February 17, 1848, in Scott County, Virginia. He married Martha Tabitha McCarty on March 7, 1876, in Wise County, Virginia. Henderson died in Wise County on January 22, 1938.

(D-11-A) EMORY L. HILLMAN born 1877 (D-11-B) ALPHA HILLMAN born Aug. 1879, m. Greenberry Adkins (D-11-C) WILLIAM JEPTHA HILLMAN born Aug. 10, 1882, m. Katherine O. Osborne (D-11-D) ELEANOR HILLMAN born Aug. 1885 (D-11-E) EDGAR HILLMAN born Aug. 1888, died 1917 (D-11-F) MALGARY HILLMAN born Sept. 1891 (D-11-G) REBECCA L. HILLMAN born Nov. 22, 1893, died April 29, 1974, m. Lennie Ernest Lee Gillenwater

(D-12) EMILY HILLMAN was born on February 17, 1848, in Scott County, Virginia. She married John T. Jessee on January 15, 1868, in Scott County, Virginia. Emily died on August 21, 1915.

(D-12-A) MARY A. JESSEE born about 1869 (D-12-B) JOHN H. JESSEE born about 1871, died Dec. 12, 1887 (D-12-C) WILLIAM D. JESSEE born about 1873, died 1949, m. Bertha Buchanan (D-12-D) LOUETTA JESSEE born Feb. 1886, died 1966, m. Joseph Washington Addington

74 (D-13) SARAH J. HILLMAN was born on March 30, 1850, in Scott County, Virginia. She died on July 20, 1863, in Scott County.

(D-14) MARY ALVERDA HILLMAN was born in Scott County, Virginia, on March 2, 1852. She married George H. Cox on July 27, 1871, in Blountville, Tennessee.

(E) SIMON PETER WELLS, the fifth child of Richard and Susannah (Hutchison) Wells, was born at Dungannon in Russell County, Virginia, on October 9, 1810. He came to Kentucky with his parents and married in Floyd County on April 3, 1833, to Mary Hager, the daughter of James and Susanna (Porter) Hager. While the other sons and daughter of Richard and Susannah (Hutchison) Wells settled in close proximity to their parents, Simon Peter, called “Peter” or “Pete,” found work as a farm laborer for the Auxier family. Sometime before 1840, he followed members of the Auxier family to Greenup County, Kentucky, where he lived for the rest of his life. He lived near the Hunnewell Iron Furnace in Greenup County where at least three of his sons found employment. Peter Wells never acquired land of his own. In the 1850 census he listed his personal worth as only $300, a figure that remained unchanged through 1880. Peter Wells died on Feb. 9, 1884, and was buried in the Oak Grove Cemetery at Danleyton, Kentucky. His wife Mary moved to Boyd County to live with one of her sons. She died there on June 18, 1905.

Children of Simon Peter and Mary (Hager) Wells:

(E-1) AMANDA WELLS was born in Floyd County, KY, on February 9, 1833. She moved to Greenup Co., Kentucky, where she married Samuel Rouse on January 21, 1852. Samuel was a farmer and received a grant for 120 acres in Boyd County, Kentucky in 1865. During the War Between the States, he served in the Union Army, enlisting at Louisa, Kentucky, on February 29, 1864 as a private in Company A of the 14th Kentucky Infantry. Samuel was mustered out on September 15, 1865. Samuel died in 1880 and Amanda followed on November 23, 1881.

(E-1-A) LAVINDA ROUSE born Nov. 9, 1852 (E-1-B) MIRIAM ROUSE born Feb. 10, 1854 (E-1-C) SARAH JANE ROUSE born May 7, 1856, died July 28, 1924, m. Ewell W. Handley (E-1-D) MARTHA ROUSE born Nov. 24, 1857, died July 27, 1947, m. Payton Newman (E-1-E) MARIA ROUSE born about 1862

75 (E-1-F) ALEXANDER ROUSE born 1864 (E-1-G) JAMES ROUSE born about 1865 (E-1-H) GEORGE ROUSE born about 1868, died June 27, 1947, m. Catherine Bluebaum (E-1-I) MARGARET ROUSE born about 1868 (E-1-J) MARY ROUSE born about 1872 (E-1-K) EMMA ROUSE born May 1874, died Nov. 19, 1960, m. Samuel Osburn (E-1-L) AMANDA ROUSE born about 1878, died 1908/10, m. Noah H. Wellman

(E-2) ANDREW C. JACKSON WELLS was born in Floyd County, Kentucky, about 1834/6. He moved with his family to Greenup County, Kentucky. He married in Greenup County in 1858 to Rebecca Howell and had two sons, John, born in 1859, and James, born in 1860. Three earlier children, Anna, Henry and William, were born to Andrew and Rebecca prior to their marriage. Although determined to stay neutral at the beginning of the War Between the States, he finally cast his lot with the Union on August 13, 1864, when he joined the 170th Ohio Infantry. He served with General U.S. Grant during his final push against Richmond, Virginia, and was discharged on June 26, 1865. After the war he returned to Greenup County and worked as a farm laborer and a stone mason. He married for the second time on April 27, 1869, to Martha Gibson. On August 18, 1891, he was admitted to the U.S. National Home for Disabled Soldiers at Dayton, Ohio, suffering from “disabled vision & disease.” While he was a patient at the Home he married for a third time on November 26, 1902, to Luella “Lucinda” Cox. He died a short time later on April 6, 1905, and was buried in the Dayton National Cemetery in Dayton, Ohio. (E-2-A) ANNA WELLS born about 1851 (E-2-B) HENRY WELLS born about 1854 (E-2-C) WILLIAM WELLS born about 1857 (E-2-D) JOHN N. WELLS born June 28, 1859, died June 20, 1903, m. Elizabeth Hammes (E-2-E) JAMES E. WELLS born after 1860, died Jan. 19, 1922, m1. Alice Ann Reeder, m2. Lettia ______

(E-3) ELIZABETH WELLS was born in Floyd County, Kentucky, on September 23, 1836. She married to Pleasant L. Craft in September 1859. Pleasant Craft ran a general store in Greenup County on Indian Road/Bellefonte Road, across from Advance Methodist Church. During the

76 War Between the States, he was an ardent supporter of the Confederacy even though Greenup County was a Union stronghold. He went so far as to name one of his sons “William Green Craft” in honor of Elizabeth’s uncle William Green Wells who served as a captain in the Confederate Army. Elizabeth Wells Craft died of leukemia in 1896.

(E-3-A) BENJAMIN F. CRAFT born Sept. 22, 1860, died Dec. 21, 1937, m1. Emaline Jones, m2. Alpha Gillespie (E-3-B) AMANDA JANE CRAFT born about 1864, died 1939, m. John Clark (E-3-C) WILLIAM GREEN CRAFT born April 1865, died May 19, 1950, m. Adeline Jones (E-3-D) SIMON PETER CRAFT born Sept. 29, 1866, died Jan. 23, 1939, m. Susan Canterbury (E-3-E) JOHN CRAFT born Oct. 1869 (E-3-F) ELIZA BELLE CRAFT born Aug. 29, 1873, died Oct. 5, 1962, m. Ralph Riggs (E-3-G) DAVID NORRIS CRAFT born 1874 (E-3-H) GEORGE WASHINGTON CRAFT born Aug. 13, 1875, died after 1930, m. Fannie Taylor (E-3-I) CLARA ANICE CRAFT born Nov. 1879. Died Dec. 22, 1924, m. Guy Arthur Robbins

(E-4) MARTHA ANN WELLS was born about 1841 in Greenup County, Kentucky. She married David P. Morgan, a farm laborer, on January 3, 1860. David served in the Union Army during the War Between the States as a private in Company H of the 10th Kentucky Cavalry. His service was entirely in East Kentucky protecting the mountains against Confederate raiding parties. He mustered out of the service at Maysville, Kentucky, on September 17, 1863. After the war, he received a soldier’s pension. According to census records, David P. Morgan never owned land of his own, but worked on farms in Greenup and Carter counties. He died in 1906 and Martha collected a veteran’s widow’s pension until her death in 1908.

(E-4-A) MARY ANN MORGAN born April 10, 1862 (E-4-B) FANNIE MORGAN born April 10, 1870 (E-4-C) SARAH A. MORGAN born Oct. 14, 1873, m. Jacob Miller (E-4-D) IDA MORGAN born May 4, 1875, died Nov. 1, 1961, m1. Frank Leslie Morgan, m2. Herman ______, m.3. Sidney Hensley

77 (E-4-E) LOUISA MORGAN born Sept. 15, 1878, died 1956, m. Earle Jacobs (E-4-F) LAWRENCE MORGAN born 1881, m1. Minnie Jordan, m2. Sarah Ains (E-4-G) KATIE MORGAN born April 8, 1884, m. Perry G. Hannah (E-4-H) WILLIAM MORGAN born Sept. 25, 1886, died July 26, 1963, m. Nina M. Owen (E-4-I) ELIZABETH MORGAN born Feb. 14, 1891, died April 18, 1917

(E-5) GEORGE WILLIAM WELLS was born about 1844 in Greenup County, Kentucky. He married to Louisa Brown on July 2, 1868, and settled near Catlettsburg in Boyd County, Kentucky. He worked as a farm laborer, but did not own property of his own. He died in Boyd County about 1877.

(E-5-A) WILLIAM H. WELLS born 1869, died 1937 (E-5-B) JOHN WELLS born Sept. 1870 (E-5-C) ROBERT WELLS born Feb. 13, 1872, died April 14, 1958. m. Lucy J. Porter (E-5-D) JOSEPH WELLS born 1873, died 1937 (E-5-E) DAVID EMORY WELLS born Dec. 17, 1874, died Dec. 9, 1964, m. Viola E. Conn (E-5-F) GEORGIA ANN WELLS born Oct. 3, 1876, died Sept. 1940, m. Swinfield Wells

(E-6) ALBERT G. WELLS was born about 1847 in Greenup County, Kentucky. He died before 1860 in Greenup Co., Kentucky.

(E-7) WILLIAM COMMODORE PERRY WELLS was born on October 3, 1849, in Greenup County, Kentucky. He married to Rebecca Ann Litteral on March 11, 1873. In 1870, he worked as an iron ore miner for the Hunnewell Iron Furnace, but by 1880 he was living in Elliott County where he went to work for the Chesapeake & Ohio Railroad. By 1900, he was a “section boss” for the railroad. “Perry,” as he was called, died on June 25, 1909, and was buried in the Fultz-Hicks Cemetery in Ashland, Kentucky.

(E-7-A) JAMES G. WELLS born March 17, 1874, died June 14, 1898 (E-7-B) EDWARD EMERSON WELLS born May 29, 1875, died Jan. 16, 1923, m1. Martha Ellen Hicks, m2. Hanna Donta (E-7-C) RICHARD MACK WELLS born Feb. 3, 1877, died Sept. 21,

78 1956, m1. Annie Cooper m2. Clara Kezee (ancestor of actor Johnny Depp) (E-7-D) JONATHAN ALLEN WELLS born May 17, 1879, died Sept. 26, 1953, m. Minnie Belle Howard (E-7-E) ELLIS WELLS born March 1, 1880, died Jan. 8, 1886 (E-7-F) CURTIS WELLS born Feb. 28, 1882, died Nov. 7, 1883 (E-7-G) CHARLES CAMPBELL WELLS born April 26, 1884, died Jan. 10, 1944, m. Minnie Meade (E-7-H) LAURA WELLS born April 26, 1884, died May 1, 1926, m. Frederick Fowler (E-7-I) CLARA BELLE WELLS born Jan. 26, 1888, died March 20, 1946, m. Noah Fowler (E-7-J) OLLIE WELLS born April 19, 1889, died Aug. 3, 1982, m1. Willard Cleveland Lawson, m2. William Luke (E-7-K) WILLIAM PERRY WELLS born April 24, 1891, died Dec. 26, 1981, m. Fannie Rose Howard (E-7-L) OLIVER CLARENCE WELLS born Oct. 6, 1894, died May 27, 1959, m. Emma Thornbury

(E-8) SAMUEL C. WELLS was born in Greenup County, Kentucky, about 1853. At age 16 he went to work as an iron ore miner for the Hunnewell Iron Furnace in Greenup County, Kentucky. He married Marie Jane “Jennie” Craft on April 13, 1876 and by 1880 was working as a “coal digger.” Later, he moved to Scioto County, Ohio, where he died on January 11, 1922. He was buried in the Ashland Cemetery.

(E-8-A) CLARENCE LEVI WELLS born April 26, 1878, died Aug. 28, 1913, m. Maggie B. Wood (E-8-B) ROBERT GLENMORE “GLEN R.” WELLS, born Dec. 6, 1879, died Oct. 8, 1927, m. Bessie Sweet. He was a veteran of the Spanish-American War (E-8-C) MYRTLE MAE WELLS born March 1883, died June 17, 1965, m1. William Frank, m2. Charles Harry Brinkley (E-8-D) EVERETT WILEY WELLS born March 1886, died Nov. 28, 1929, m. Stella Burns

(E-9) RICHARD MACDONALD WELLS was born about 1855 in Greenup County, Kentucky. By age 13 he was working for the Hunnewell Iron Furnace in Greenup County as an “iron ore miner.” The 1880 census lists

79 him as “crippled” with a spinal injury and living at home. It is assumed that he died soon after the census.

(E-10) MARY ANN WELLS was born in Greenup County, Kentucky, on December 3, 1857. She married Hamilton Colegrove on August 30, 1877. The couple made their home in Boyd County, Kentucky, while Hamilton worked both as a farmer and coal miner. He died in a mining accident on October 12, 1904, at the Snake Hollow Mine #207 near Nelsonville, Ohio. Mary Ann died on July 4, 1933, and was buried at Carbon Hill near Nelsonville, Ohio.

(E-10-A) SARAH ELIZABETH COLEGROVE born Nov. 24, 1878, died Oct. 29, 1953, m. Frederick Glenmore Horn (E-10-B) DELPHIA COALGROVE born Dec. 16, 1880, died July 27, 1881 (E-10-C) GEORGE CORUME E. COLEGROVE born May 1882, died April 7, 1955, m. Virginia B. Hickley (E-10-D) COMMODORE PERRY COLEGROVE born March 19, 1886, died April 11, 1966, m1. Florence Payne, m2. Verna Zelma Hutchins (E-10-E) FORREST ROSE COLEGROVE born May 26, 1888, died April 1, 1960, m. Grant Horn (E-10-F) ELIZA BELLE COLEGROVE born March 28, 1890, died July 16, 1967, m1. Luke Murphy, m2. Ed Bateman (E-10-G) DAISY JANE COLEGROVE born Jan. 18, 1893, died Oct. 13, 1966, m. John Kesterson (E-10-H) LESTER EARL COLEGROVE born Sept. 3, 1895, died Dec. 30, 1957, m. Ethel Blanche Barber (E-10-I) JOSEPHINE COLEGROVE born June 6, 1897, died 1928, m. Lafe Willson (E-10-J) EMALINE “EMMA” COLEGROVE born July 1899, died after Nov. 23, 1975, m. James Amos Cleveland

(F) ROSANNA WELLS was born about 1811 at Dungannon in Russell County, Virginia. She married in Floyd County, Kentucky, on Nov. 13, 1828, to John Spencer Spears, the son of Thomas Spears, an early East Kentucky pioneer. John Spencer Spears owned a small farm consisting of 150 acres located on Daniels Creek. He died before January 1845 in Johnson County, Kentucky, leaving Rosanna alone to raise eleven children. Rosanna also cared for her widowed mother, Susannah Hutchison Wells, for over twenty years. During the War

80 Between the States, the family split with one son serving in the Union Army and five sons fighting for the Confederacy. Two of her sons died while in the service. Rosanna died in 1878 in Johnson County, Kentucky.

(F-1) WILLIAM HARVEY SPEARS was born on July 21, 1828, in Floyd County, Kentucky. He married to Jemima E. Wells on January 23, 1851, in Johnson County, Kentucky, and secondly on January 2, 1868, to Louisa Jennie Malloy. William Harvey moved to Boyd County, Kentucky, before 1870 where he farmed on Bural Fork until his death on November 3, 1910.

Children of William Harvey and Jemima E. (Wells) Spears:

(F-1-A) HENRY SPEARS born March 6, 1852, died May 3, 1853 (F-1-B) HARRIETT (HENRIETTA) ANN SPEARS born March 6, 1852 (F-1-C) WILEY MILTON SPEARS born 1854, m1. Susan Allen, m2. Lucinda Bush (F-1-D) ARAMINTA MISSOURI SPEARS born Sept. 26, 1855, died Nov. 30, 1929, m1. Samuel Jesse Collins, m2. David Y. Evans (F-1-E) LUCRETIA “LECRETTA” R. SPEARS born Oct. 30, 1857 (F-1-F) SARAH E. SPEARS born April 1860, died June 17, 1925 (F-1-G) DAVID MARION SPEARS born Feb. 27, 1862, died Oct. 16, 1934, m. Sarah Ann Quillen (F-1-H) SACHOUBY “SACH” SPEARS born April 29, 1864, died Sept. 20, 1913, m. James Wiley Collins

Children of William Harvey and Louisa Jennie Malloy:

(F-1-I) LAURA SPEARS born June 28, 1869, died about 1941, m. ______Price (F-1-J) MARY E. SPEARS born Oct. 14, 1872, died April 10, 1922, m. ______Custer (F-1-K) JENNIE SPEARS born March 16, 1874, died Feb. 2, 1959, m. Val Lyeinhart (F-1-L) DOLLY SPEARS born about 1876 (F-1-M) THOMAS JEFFERSON SPEARS born Feb. 3, 1878, died Aug. 9, 1947, m. Sarah Ellis (F-1-N) JOHN WESLEY SPEARS born March 2, 1881, died Feb. 3, 1964, m. Mary Alice Mitchell

81 (F-1-O) ADA SPEARS born April 9, 1883, d. Feb. 19, 1975, m. ______Katz (F-1-P) MAUDE SPEARS born Nov. 5, 1886, died Jan. 20, 1971, m. Edward Holley (F-1-Q) CORA SPEARS born Nov. 1887, died Nov. 1955 (F-1-R) WILLIAM HARVEY SPEARS born Jan. 25, 1888, died May 1971, m. Winnine Lee Davis (F-1-S) PEARL SPEARS born July 1890, died Sept. 16, 1960, m. Beecher Brown (F-1-T) MARIE “COO” SPEARS born June 4, 1893, died April 1983, m. Corneulas Callihan

(F-2) MORGAN SPEARS was born in Floyd County, Kentucky in 1830. He married Sarah Robinson on January 23, 1861. Less than eleven months later he enlisted in Company K of the 14th Kentucky Union Infantry at Louisa, Kentucky. At his enlistment he was described as age 30, 5’ 10” tall, with black hair, gray eyes and fair skin. He fought in several major battles in the command of Gen. William Tecumseh Sherman, but died of disease at Chattanooga, Tennessee, in August 1864. His wife remarried to William Greer soon after his death.

(F-2-A) ALEXANDER MORGAN SPEARS born 1862, m. Margaret L. Burk (F-2-B) MARY JENNIE SPEARS born 1864

(F-3) WILEY SPEARS was born in Floyd County, Kentucky, in 1831. He married to Elizabeth Ann Crider on December 11, 1854. While his closest brother Morgan Spears joined the Union Army in 1861, Wiley joined the Confederate Army. Enlisting in Co. D of the 10th Kentucky Confederate Cavalry, he served primarily in the hills of East Kentucky and southwestern Virginia. He was captured in Floyd County, Kentucky on April 15, 1863, and taken as a prisoner of war to Camp Chase Prison at Columbus, Ohio. He contracted measles while in prison and died on May 30, 1863 in the prison hospital. He was buried in the Camp Chase Cemetery. His grave marker mistakenly lists his name as “Thomas W. Spears.”

(F-3-A) SAMUEL SPEARS born 1855, died Jan. 1859 of the “croup” (F-3-B) ALAFAIRE SPEARS born April 12, 1856, died Aug. 26, 1913, m. James Jervis (F-3-C) FRANCIS MARION SPEARS born Jan. 22, 1858, m.

82 Elizabeth Jervis (F-3-D) JANE SPEARS born 1860 (F-3-E) ELIJAH SPEARS born Jan. 12, 1860 (death certificate) or April 1863 (census), died Nov. 22, 1931, m. Mary Catherine Jervis

(F-4) SUSANNAH SPEARS was born in January 1833 in Floyd County, Kentucky. She married on May 16, 1853, to John J. Robinson. After the War Between the States, the couple moved to Meeker County, Minnesota, where they operated a large farm. In their later years, they moved to Carbondale, North Dakota. Susannah died in Donnybrook, North Dakota on Sept. 16, 1914.

(F-4-A) GARLAND GREEN ROBINSON born Sept. 22, 1854, died Aug. 4, 1922, m. Florence Emory (F-4-B) WINFIELD SCOTT ROBINSON born Sept. 16, 1855, died Aug. 24, 1857 (F-4-C) SARAH CORDELIA J. ROBINSON born June 18, 1857, m1. Isaac Shupe, m2. Dennis A. Hoyt (F-4-D) HENRY BASCOM ROBINSON born Dec. 17, 1858, died Feb. 1878, Kingston, MN (F-4-E) ROSA EVELINE ROBINSON born 1861 (F-4-F) WILLIAM M. ROBINSON born Feb. 1863, m. Elizabeth Mackereth (F-4-G) JOHN CRITTENDEN ROBINSON born 1867, m1. Mary B. ______, m2. Katherine Mabel Bowen (F-4-H) NATHANIEL ROBINSON born about 1870, died June 15, 1888 (F-4-I) ETTA V. ROBINSON born 1871, m. Bailey E. Mayhew (F-4-J) EDWARD ROBINSON born 1873

(F-5) AGNES ATHEGA SPEARS was born on May 6, 1834 in Floyd County, Kentucky. She married on July 22, 1854, to Rev. Marion Tevis Burris, a well-known minister and historian. He died on Nov. 27, 1904. “Agnes,” as she was known, died in Pike County, Kentucky, on Oct. 25, 1904.

(F-5-A) SARAH AGNES BURRIS born July 12, 1855, died March 20, 1922, m. John Oliver Black (F-5-B) ROSABELLE VIRGINIA BURRIS born Nov. 4, 1857, died May 10, 1928, m. Marion Hatten

83 (F-5-C) JOHN TEVIS BURRIS born Oct. 24, 1859, died March 1920, m. Margaret Kendrick (F-5-D) GEORGE THOMAS BURRIS born Sept. 3, 1862, died Jan. 29, 1949, m. Laura Kendrick (F-5-E) WILLIAM STAUNTON BURRIS born Aug. 10, 1864, died April 28, 1956, m. Etta Chapman (F-5-F) MARY LOUISE BURRIS born July 8, 1867, died March 2, 1921, m. Frank Black (F-5-G) ROBERT FOX BURRIS born Feb. 22, 1870, died Dec. 19, 1962, m1. Nellie M. Gates, m2. Elfa Hitchcock (F-5-H) MARCUS LINDSAY BURRIS born March 9, 1872, died May 26, 1934, m. Estella Boyles (F-5-I) MAUDE MILLER BURRIS born Jan. 22, 1874, died April 19, 1957, m. William O’Neal Stidham (F-5-J) ADA OLIVE BURRIS born Oct. 3, 1876, m. Thomas Durward Hurt

(F-6) RUTHIE (RUTHA) JANE SPEARS was born on July 11, 1836, in Floyd County, Kentucky. She married in Johnson County, Kentucky, on Oct. 3, 1856, to John P. McGuire of Floyd County, Kentucky. During the War Between the States, John P. McGuire enlisted in Company F of the 5th Kentucky Confederate Infantry at Prestonsburg, KY, on October 21, 1861. He fought at the battles of Middle Creek, Kentucky, and Princeton, Virginia, and later transferred to Company D of the 10th Kentucky Confederate Cavalry. He was killed in Pike County during the Blackburn/Jackson Feud in 1864 during a confrontation with Unionist guerillas. Ruthie Jane remarried on August 15, 1865, to John Fraley. She died in Floyd County, Kentucky, on March 1, 1923.

Children of John P. and Ruthie Jane (Spears) McGuire:

(F-6-A) MINTA M. MCGUIRE born 1857, m. Jim Romans (F-6-B) ROSA M. MCQUIRE born 1858, m. Ezekiel Damron (F-6-C) WILLIAM T. MCGUIRE born 1860 (F-6-D) SARAH MCGUIRE born 1863, m. Bornie Foley

Children of John and Ruthie Jane (Spears) Fraley:

(F-6-E) JAMES C. FRALEY born 1866, m. Julia Johnson (F-6-F) WALLACE W. FRALEY born 1868, m. Jeanette Castle

84 (F-6-G) LAURA B. FRALEY born 1869, died Aug. 27, 1928, m. Garland Hurt (F-6-H) JOSEPH LEWIS FRALEY born May 1874, died March 15, 1942, m. Mary Johnson

(F-7) WALLACE WELLS SPEARS was born on December 5, 1837, in Floyd County, Kentucky. He married Mary Robinson on November 17, 1859. During the War Between the States, he was forced to join the local Union militia, but deserted after a few weeks. Subsequently, he served as a private in Wells’ Company of the 10th Confederate Cavalry commanded by his uncle William Green Wells. He was indicted for horse stealing in Johnson County, Kentucky, on May 9, 1865, but the charge was dismissed on June 4, 1866, when it was determined that the incident was war related and he was acting as “a regular Confederate soldier.” Wallace Spears died from “erysipelas” in 1870.

(F-7-A) GREENVILLE G. SPEARS born 1860 (F-7-B) MARY FRANCIS SPEARS born Dec. 17, 1861, died Jan. 1, 1923, m. George W. Jarvis (F-7-C) GEORGE MORGAN SPEARS born Jan. 1865, died July 9, 1953, m. Ella Catherine Keith (F-7-D) ROSA EVALINE SPEARS born 1866 (F-7-E) THOMAS L. SPEARS born 1867, m. Ruth Spears (F-7-F) FLORENCE SPEARS born Dec. 1869

(F-8) JOHN WESLEY SPEARS was born on either December 5, 1839 or April 3, 1840 in Floyd County, Kentucky. He married first on November 30, 1867, to Adeline Robertson (Robinson). She died childless prior to 1870. He remarried on December 5, 1872, to Arena (Irene) Hannah. John Wesley was a farmer and managed his mother’s farm on Johns Creek until her death. He died on May 3, 1918.

(F-8-A) SUSAN ANGELINE SPEARS born Nov. 4, 1875, died Feb. 2, 1942, m. Alexander Wells (F-8-B) ALEXANDER MARTIN SPEARS born Feb. 6, 1876, died June 12, 1956, m1. Molly Martin, m2. Bertha Cumbo (F-8-C) MELINDA ETTA SPEARS born 1877, died Aug. 22, 1955, m. Robert H. Spears (F-8-D) JOHN WALKER SPEARS born Sept. 8, 1878, died Dec. 30, 1950, m. Eliza Ann McGuire

85 (F-8-E) WALTER SPEARS born Dec. 25, 1888, died July 7, 1973, m. Fanny Goble

(F-9) THOMAS JEFFERSON SPEARS was born about 1840 in Floyd County, Kentucky. He married twice, first, to Sarah Ellis and, secondly, to Mary D. Music on November 17, 1859. During the War Between the States, he enlisted in the Confederate Army at Pikeville on September 1, 1862, as a private in Company D of the 10th KY Confederate Cavalry. He was identified during a raid in Pike County in the fall of 1864 and surrendered at Charleston, WV on April 28, 1865.

(F-10) GEORGE WASHINGTON SPEARS was born in Floyd County, Kentucky, on December 15, 1842 or Jan. 15, 1843. During the War Between the States, he joined the Confederate Army on October 28, 1861, as a private in Company E of the 5th Kentucky Infantry. He fought in the battles of Middle Creek, Kentucky, and Princeton, Virginia. He was discharged on October 20, 1862 at Hazel Green, Kentucky. He re-enlisted on June 1, 1863, in Scott County, Virginia, in Company K of the 25th Virginia Cavalry. He was captured in Johnson County and took the oath at Louisa, Kentucky, in May 1864. He rejoined the Confederate Army in Wells’ Company of the 10th Kentucky Cavalry and served until the end of the war. On May 9, 1865, he was indicted for stealing horses during the war, but the charge was dismissed on June 4, 1866. He married Matilda Clark in 1865 and settled on a small farm at Odds in Johnson County, Kentucky. He died on July 30, 1883.

(F-10-A) MARY ALVERTA SPEARS born Jan. 1866, died Oct. 18, 1909, m. Rev. William Perry Collins (F-10-B) ALEXANDER MORGAN SPEARS born May 21, 1867, died April 6, 1953, m. Mary Ann Rosa “Dump” Clark (F-10-C) JOHN TAYLOR SPEARS born Sept. 17, 1869, died Aug. 1, 1948, m. Leona Lee Clark (F-10-D) HANSFORD WINFIELD SPEARS born Nov. 2, 1871, died June 17, 1938, m. Rachel Victoria Collinsworth (F-10-E) LAURA EMMA ELLA SPEARS born May 12, 1874, died Jan. 29, 1939, m. William Lewis Wells (F-10-F) GEORGE KELLY SPEARS born Dec. 15, 1878, died April 25, 1957, m. Julia Clark

(F-11) MOSES SPEARS was born on November 4, 1844 in Johnson County, Kentucky. At the beginning of the War Between the States he was

86 only 16 years old, but lied about his age and enlisted in the Confederate Army on October 28, 1861, at Prestonsburg, Kentucky, as a private in Company E of the 5th KY Infantry. At his enlistment he was described as 5’ 9” tall with dark hair, dark skin and blue eyes. He fought in the battles of Middle Creek, Kentucky, and Princeton, Virginia, and was discharged at Hazel Green, Kentucky, on October 20, 1862. He re-enlisted in Wells’ Company of the 10th Kentucky Cavalry. He was captured in Morgan County on May 8, 1863, but was exchanged and was present during a skirmish in Pike County, Kentucky, on September 1, 1864. He surrendered and took the oath on April 29, 1865. After the war, he married Sarah C. Crider and moved to Elliott County, Kentucky, where he worked as a farm laborer. By 1900 he lived in Lawrence County, Ohio, where he was employed as an iron ore miner. About 1910, he moved to Greenup County, Kentucky. He received Kentucky Confederate Pension #3347 until his death on April 25, 1922. He is buried in the Foster Cemetery at York in Greenup County.

(F-11-A) JOHN MORGAN SPEARS born 1866, died Dec. 7, 1954, m. Hettie M. Hamilton (F-11-B) WILLIAM WESLEY SPEARS born 1867, m. Lucy Hamilton (F-11-C) SARAH ROSANNA SPEARS born Nov. 1869, died Jan. 24, 1970, m1. Charles Adkins, m2. George W. Maxie (Maxil?) (F-11-D) MARY J. SPEARS born Dec. 30, 1871, died Dec. 5, 1911, m. Elliott Hamilton (F-11-E) ANDREW JACKSON SPEARS born April 5, 1875, died Dec. 7, 1954, m. Sarah Leota Adkins (F-11-F) THOMAS J. SPEARS born Sept. 1882, m. Mary Lewis

(G) JOHN PRESTON WELLS was born in Scott County, Virginia, on March 14, 1815. In 1836 and 1838, he received land grants of 144 acres on Oak Log Fork of Daniels Creek in Johnson County, Kentucky. He added an additional 132 acres on Daniels Creek through grants in 1854 and 1857. He married in Floyd County, Kentucky, on December 4, 1839, to Nancy Ann Webb. Being a staunch Democrat and “Southron,” when the War Between the States began, he joined the Confederate Army, enlisting in Company H of the 5th Kentucky Infantry at Prestonsburg, Kentucky, on December 28, 1861. He fought in the Battle of Middle Creek, Kentucky, and was discharged at Hazel Green, Kentucky on October 20, 1862. Rather than return home, he re-enlisted as a private in Company K of the 13th Kentucky Cavalry and served under Gen. John Hunt Morgan as one of his “raiders.” During the last months of the war, John Wells and fellow Confederate

87 William M. Baldridge took part in a raid on the stores of Joseph Borders and Jeff Meek, both strong Union men. On June 1, 1865, Wells was indicted by the Johnson County Circuit Court. However, fearing for his safety, John Wells had already left the County and moved to Lawrence County, Ohio, where he surrendered and took the oath of allegiance to the United States. He also sold his farm in Johnson County, Kentucky, and purchased 96 acres in Lawrence County from Thomas Betts and John Earles. When a formal request for extradition was sent to the Governor of Ohio to have Wells brought back to Kentucky, the governor responded that “the war is now over and should be buried with the dead.” The Ironton, Ohio, newspaper picked up on the story, but got some of the facts wrong. The paper claimed that the “Rebel authorities” in Johnson County were trying to prosecute a “highly respected, honest Union man.” Just the opposite was the case. Finally, in March 1868, a posse from Johnson County crossed into Ohio under cover of night and dragged John Wells from his home. He was taken to Paintsville where he was placed in jail. After a protest was lodged by Ohio authorities, Wells was allowed to return to his Ohio home. He died at his farm in the Windsor Township in Lawrence County, Ohio, in 1880 (date on tombstone) and was buried in the Perkins Ridge Cemetery.

(G-1) ALEXANDER GIBSON WELLS was born in Floyd County, Kentucky, in 1842. He married in Lawrence County, Ohio, to Adeline Jane Miller on December 23, 1869, and lived next to his father in Windsor Township. Adeline died in 1883 and Alexander remarried to Dora Lyons. The couple divorced before 1900 and Alexander moved to Fayette County, West Virginia, where he rented a small farm.

Children of Alexander G. and Adeline Jane (Miller) Wells:

(G-1-A) ARMINTA “MINTY” WELLS born 1871 (G-1-B) WALTER C. WELLS born March 9, 1873, died 1943, m. Alice Faulkner (G-1-C) JOHN WELLS born 1875 (G-1-D) SARAH WELLS born Sept. 6, 1877 (G-1-E) CECIL C. WELLS born April 1, 1879, died about 1905, m. Hattie Dorsey (G-1-F) MAGGIE WELLS born May 1, 1881 (G-1-G) G. A. WELLS born Jan. 31, 1883

Children of Alexander G. and Dora (Lyons) Wells:

88 (G-1-H) MELISSA WELLS born April 1890 (G-1-I) HENRY H. WELLS born July 1891

(G-2) WILLIAM WELLS was born in Johnson County, Kentucky in 1847 and died in Johnson County on October 30, 1854.

(G-3) PETER FRANCIS WELLS was born in Johnson County, Kentucky, on July 8, 1849. He married Susannah Faulkner in Lawrence County, Ohio. He died on March 25, 1877.

(G-3-A) JOHN W. WELLS born Nov. 17, 1873, died Dec. 6, 1873 (G-3-B) BIRTIE WELLS born April 19, 1875

(G-4) JULIA ANN WELLS was born in 1853 in Johnson County, Kentucky, and married in Lawrence County, Ohio, to Climpson McClain (McClane). By 1900, the family moved to Huntington, West Virginia, to be closer to her son John C. McClain who was a student at the school for the deaf.

(G-4-A) JOHN C. MCCLAIN born 1878 (G-4-B) CARL S. MCCLAIN born Aug. 23, 1879 (G-4-C) KENSTON MCCLAIN born 1885

(G-5) MARTHA “LIZZIE” WELLS was born on March 20, 1857, in Johnson County, Kentucky. She married Boyd Thompson and is buried in an unmarked grave in the Perkins Ridge Cemetery, Lawrence County, Ohio.

(G-5-A) ETHA THOMPSON born 1879

(G-6) MARGARET WELLS was born in Johnson County, Kentucky, on March 18, 1859, she married in Lawrence County, Ohio, to James Pinkerton.

(G-7) MELISSA WELLS was born in Johnson County, Kentucky, in 1862.

(G-8) EDWARD WELLS was born in 1865 in Lawrence County, Ohio. He married Katie Gruber(?).

(H) MARTHA NANCY WELLS was born in 1816 in Scott County, Virginia. She came to Kentucky with her parents and married on March 1, 1836 in Floyd County, Kentucky, to William Webb. The couple managed a farm of 350 acres

89 located on Johns Creek and Daniels Creek. Martha Nancy died in Floyd County in 1842.

(H-1) JULIANN WEBB was born in Floyd County, Kentucky in 1837. She married on February 25, 1858, in Morgan County to Josiah Conn. The couple lived in Morgan, Elliott and Carter counties where Josiah was a farmer. During the last days of the War Between the States, Josiah Conn joined the Union Army, enlisting on March 10, 1865. He saw action against Confederate guerillas in East Kentucky and was wounded in the leg. He was mustered out of service on December 10, 1865.

(H-1-A) GEORGE CONN born Jan. 1858, died March 1858 (H-1-B) HENRY C. CONN born 1859, m. Lusana ______(H-1-C) SAMUEL CONN born May 20, 1861, died Dec. 2, 1940, m. Elizabeth Fraley (H-1-D) MINTA SUSAN CONN born about 1864, m. Drinkard Fraley (H-1-E) JESSE/GEORGE W. CONN born June 1866, died June 12, 1926, m. Mary Elizabeth Stephens (H-1-F) ELUSTER CONN born March 13, 1869, died March 3, 1932, m. Minnie Thomas (H-1-G) FRANCIS MARION CONN born about 1873 (H-1-H) CYNTHIA A. CONN born July 14, 1874 (H-1-I) WILLIAM L. CONN born about 1877 (H-1-K) LULA CONN born Feb. 1880

(H-2) CYNTHIA WEBB was born in Floyd County, Kentucky in May 1839. She married Abel Franklin in 1862 and lived at Thealka in Johnson County, Kentucky. Cynthia died on May 10, 1915.

(H-2-A) SARAH MALISSA FRANKLIN born 1863, m. Joseph Hurt (H-2-B) MARGARET FRANKLIN born Jan. 1, 1865, died Aug. 13, 1946, m. William E. Porter (H-2-C) QUEEN VICTORIA FRANKLIN born 1867, died Nov. 21, 1919, m. James Hunt (H-2-D) JOHN H. FRANKLIN born about 1868, died Nov. 2, 1939 (H-2-E) ORPHA JANE FRANKLIN born 1870, died May 26, 1921, m. John E. Music (H-2-F) MCDONALD FRANKLIN born Sept. 15, 1874, died July 30, 1953, m. Minerva Sammons

90 (H-2-G) MARTHA MINERVA FRANKLIN born Nov. 29, 1874, died June 21, 1963, m. Isaac Delong (H-2-H) MAHALA ELIZABETH FRANKLIN born 1876, m. Albert Grimsley (H-2-I) WILLIAM JAMES FRANKLIN born Aug. 27, 1877, died Jan. 26, 1955, m. Ellen Sammons

(H-3) WILLIAM WEBB was born about 1841 in Floyd County, Kentucky.

(I) WILLIAM GREEN WELLS was born at Dungannon, in Scott County, Virginia, in 1818. He was given the middle name of "Green" in honor of Susannah Hutchison's mother, Nancy (Green) Hutchison, who was the daughter of Lewis Green, Sr. William lived with his parents in their little cabin on Daniel's Creek until his father's death. At that point he took over his father's small farm and a trading business the two had established just before Richard's death. On January 15, 1839, William married Mary Butcher, the daughter of Jacob Butcher. On November 2, 1842, he mortgaged all of his possessions including "One Bay Horse about seven years old, One Bay Mare with one eye, 1 two year old filley, 2 Cows and Calves, 40 head of hogs and the land on which I live containing about One Hundred Fifty Acres" to J. P. Martin & Co. for $144.59 in order to purchase merchandise for his store. As the only store on Daniel's Creek, the risk paid off. By 1846, his holdings had increased to 800 acres and one lot in the town of Paintsville, an estate valued for taxes at $905.00. Beginning in 1854, he took advantage of the Kentucky state grants program to acquire thousands of acres of "vacant" land in what are now Johnson, Floyd, and Martin counties. By 1857, he controlled 6,050 acres on the waters of Daniel's Creek, Greasy Creek, and Rockcastle Creek. For unknown reasons, on March 26, 1857, he traded his lands on Oak Log Fork of Daniel's Creek for 1,235 acres on the right fork of the middle fork of Greasy Creek and moved his family across the mountain to what is now Boons Camp. Wells built a new two-story log house at the junction of "middle fork" and "main Greasy" and located his store nearby. Over the next decade he added another 2,000 acres and his farm quickly became the focal point of the Greasy Creek area. In addition to being a merchant and farmer, Wells became a minister in the Methodist Episcopal Church South, a lieutenant in the local militia, a constable and a country doctor. He performed over one hundred marriages between 1852 and 1875. Kozee's Early Families of Eastern and Southern Kentucky noted that "religion and service in the name of Christ was the passion of his life. The home of Dr. Wells and the generous hospitality of his wife were the boon and comfort of the traveling Methodist ministry of those early days." The Big Sandy Valley, published by William Ely in 1887, described him as "a prominent man in the ministry, and ... also a physician.

91 He is well known in the Upper Valley, and his talent is highly appreciated, both at home and abroad." About 1855, Wells and two of his sons began a successful mule trading business. At least twice per year, large numbers of young mules were driven to Newnan, GA, where they were sold to cotton planters. In 1858, the Newnan newspaper announced the formation of a partnership "Dent & Wells Co. - Mule Traders, offering the finest old Kentucky stock." In 1860, William Green Wells purchased a 20-year-old slave named John who managed his trading business when Wells was back home in Kentucky. By 1870, John adopted the last name of Wells. His descendants continued to live in Coweta County at least until the 1920s. Politically, Dr. Wells was a staunch Democrat and was a vocal supporter of the Southern Democrat John C. Breckinridge in the Presidential election of 1860. During the War Between the States, he cast his lot with the Confederacy. Traveling to Cedar Bluff, Virginia, he enlisted on November 21, 1861, as a private in Company E of the 54th Virginia Infantry. Wells later affiliated with Company E of the 5th Kentucky Infantry and fought in the Battle of Middle Creek, but was captured in Morgan County, Kentucky, on November 7, 1862. He was taken by his captors to Camp Chase at Columbus, Ohio, where he was held as a prisoner of war until exchanged on November 3, 1863. Upon his return to Johnson County, he formed his own "partisan ranger" company called the Greasy Creek Guards. During the summer of 1864, this company was transferred to Smith's Battalion of Virginia Cavalry and Wells was commissioned as a captain. Although attached to Smith's command, the company continued to act as an independent command carrying out raids against Unionists in Johnson, Floyd and Lawrence counties. One raid during the fall of 1864 resulted in a postwar lawsuit. John Howes of Paintsville claimed that Captain Wells "whilst in the company of a military body ... in arms against the Government of the United States did take four head of horses and other property." By October 1864, Wells and his men were a part of Trimble's 10th Kentucky Cavalry. Wells commanded a company of the 10th until January 1865 when his men were transferred to the 13th Georgia Cavalry. Taking command of Company K of the 13th Georgia, Wells and some of his men were detached for duty in Georgia in February 1865. For two weeks in February, Capt. Wells was a patient in a Confederate hospital at Newnan, Georgia, suffering from "diarrhea." He returned to duty late in February and led his command back to Virginia. He remained with the Georgia regiment until the unit disbanded near Christiansburg, Virginia, on April 12, 1865. Upon his return to Kentucky, his men were forced from their homes by occupying Union soldiers. They returned to the field until forced to surrender at Charleston, West Virginia, on June 12, 1865, over two months after Lee's surrender at Appomattox. The war exacted a terrific toll on Wells and his family. His store was closed by Union troops and much of his property was either sold in order to supply his men or confiscated. In 1866, his

92 property included less than 1700 acres of land, one hog, and 10 cattle. In spite of these setbacks, Wells reopened the store and continued the practice of medicine and the "propagation of the gospel." He also re-established his mule business in Georgia, although postwar conditions in that state made trading far less lucrative than in the years before the War. His passion for the issues surrounding the war did not diminish. A Union sympathizer from nearby Cassville, West Virginia, reported that "on March 19h [1866] Capt. Willie Wells of Johnson co." confronted him "hurrahing for Jeff Davis, defying everybody" and "abused me as a d____d Abolitionist." His views did not alter his respected position in the community. In 1872, he was appointed as one of three commissioners to select a county seat for the new county of Martin. It was his suggestion that placed the seat at its current location of Inez, Kentucky. In 1870, he reorganized his mule trading company along with a group of wartime friends from Coweta County, Georgia. During Reconstruction, the Deep South suffered from a severe shortage of farm animals, a need Capt. Wells was all too happy to fulfill. For almost ten years, Wells drove hundreds of Kentucky mules to market at Newnan, Moreland and Senoia, Georgia. Capt. Wells became so prominent that the main street in the Coweta County town of Senoia was renamed “Wells Street.” As his age advanced and health problems increased, William Green Wells moved to Paintsville, KY. On April 17, 1883, he purchased "a house and lot on the southeast corner of Cross and Back streets leading from the Methodist Church to the tanyard." While in Paintsville he assisted with the organization of the Johnson County Battalion of the East Kentucky Confederate Veterans Society and served as an officer until his death. Possibly sensing his end, Wells sold his Paintsville home to his son John P. Wells on April 30, 1886, and moved back to his farm on Greasy Creek where he died less than a year later. Initially, he was buried in the old Ward Cemetery at Offutt, but later the grave was moved to the J.B. Wells Cemetery on Depot Road in Paintsville.

(I-1) RICHARD MARION WELLS was born at Odds on Daniels Creek in Floyd County, Kentucky, on November 13, 1839. In June 1864, he was forced by local authorities to join the Unionist militia. After one month he deserted and joined Thompson’s Company of Patton’s Battalion of Kentucky Confederate Partisan Rangers. Later he joined his father’s company of the 10th Kentucky Confederate Cavalry. In December 1864, he and the rest of the company were transferred to Company K of the 13th Georgia Cavalry. He fought under Gen. John Hunt Morgan and did not surrender until he took the oath of allegiance at Paintsville on May 3, 1865. On Feb. 13, 1869, he married Susannah Meek and opened a general store at Whitehouse in Johnson Co., KY. Prior to his marriage to Susannah Meek, he

93 had a child, Martin Van Buren Dials, by Polly Dials. Late in life he moved back to Greasy Creek and died there on September 25, 1907. He was buried in the Ward Cemetery at Offutt, Kentucky.

Child of Richard Marion Wells and Polly Dials:

(I-1-A) MARTIN VAN BUREN DIALS born Nov. 1866, died Feb. 3, 1939, m1. Mary McCoy, m2. Josephine Morrison, m3. Lou Vicey Blackburn

Children of Richard Marion Wells and Susannah Meek:

(I-1-B) RICHARD MARION WELLS born Jan. 8, 1866, died 1935, m. Mary Elizabeth Ward (I-1-C) WILLIAM GREEN WELLS born July 12, 1869, died July 15, 1937, m1. Mollie Buskirk, m2. Emma Burgess (I-1-D) MELISSA JANE WELLS born Nov. 3, 1873, died Feb. 13, 1946, m. George Akers (I-1-E) MARY ELIZABETH “DOLLIE” WELLS born 1874, died 1893

(I-2) AARON WELLS was born in 1841, at Odds on Daniels Creek in Floyd County, Kentucky. He married twice, first, on July 10, 1861, to Lucinda Ward, and, secondly, on March 27, 1884, to Melvina Porter. During the War Between the States, he was forced to join the local Union militia. He deserted and joined the Confederate Army as a private in Thompson’s Company of Kentucky Partisan Rangers. He later joined his father’s company in the 10th Kentucky Cavalry and, finally, Company K of the 13th Georgia Cavalry. He fought in the battles of Saltville and Gladesville, Virginia, and surrendered at Louisa, Kentucky, on May 11, 1865. He was described in military records as 5’ 10” tall with blue eyes, light hair and fair skin. After the war, he settled on a small farm on Lick Branch. By 1870, his farm was valued at $400. He also became a local minister of the Methodist Church. In 1887, he founded Wells Chapel Methodist Church at Boonscamp and served as its first pastor. The church was named in his honor. Aaron Wells died in 1906/11 and was buried in the Old Ward Cemetery at Offutt.

Children of Aaron Wells and Lucinda Ward:

94 (I-2-A) MARCINA WELLS born April 25, 1862, died March 10, 1936, m1. John C. “Bud” Hinkle, m2. Martin Boyd (I-2-B) MARY WELLS born Jan. 1866, died April 14, 1917, m. Aley Williamson (I-2-C) JANE “JENNIE” WELLS born Jan. 18, 1869, died June 13, 1941, m1. Pleasant Bannister Crum, m2. Henry Birch Hewlett (I-2-D) CATHERINE WELLS born March 2, 1873, died Sept. 17, 1943, m1. Greenville Ward, m2. Woodson Joseph (I-2-E) SUSANNAH WELLS born July 10, 1875, died Dec. 15, 1969, m. Martin Monroe Nesbitt

Children of Aaron Wells and Melvina Porter:

(I-2-F) ALLIE WELLS born Feb. 11, 1885, died Feb. 2, 1955, m1. Lafe Walters, m2. Henry M. Butcher, son of Mary Wells and William Butcher (I-2-G) GEORGE WELLS born Aug. 28, 1888, died Feb. 26, 1991, m. Angie Sammons. He was a veteran of World War I (I-2-H) VIOLA WELLS born 1890, died Nov. 26, 1918, m. Marion Delong (I-2-I) MADONNA WELLS born Dec. 25, 1892, died March 25, 1923, m. John Johnson (I-2-J) CANADA WELLS born Feb. 25, 1893, died Dec. 5, 1957 (I-2-K) EMMA WELLS born 1897, m1. Arnold Branham, m2. ______Wells (I-2-L) GREENVILLE WELLS born May 6, 1898, died Aug. 29, 1936, m. Mary Sammons

(I-3) MOSES WELLS, the twin brother of Aaron Wells, was born in Floyd County, Kentucky, in 1841. He lived in Martin County and Floyd County where he married Violet Porter in September 1861. Violet died about 1895 and Moses married second in 1896 to a widow, Arminta “Minty” Bevins Clark. He had three children by Minty Bevins Clark. He also had one child by Mary Delong of Johnson County and one by Pricey Mollett of Martin County. In addition to farming, Moses operated his farm as a “poor house,” taking in paupers in return for a moderate stipend from the county. During the War Between the States, he served as an Orderly Sergeant in Wells’ Co. of the 10th Kentucky Confederate Cavalry and Co. K of the 13th Georgia Cavalry. He fought alongside his father in the battles of Saltville and Gladesville, Virginia, and served in the command of Gen. John Hunt

95 Morgan. His company disbanded on April 12, 1865, at Christiansburg, Virginia. Moses died near the old Wells homestead on Daniels Creek in Johnson County, Kentucky, on July 1, 1914, and was buried near his twin brother Aaron in the Old Ward Cemetery at Offutt, Kentucky.

Child of Moses Wells and Mary Delong:

(I-3-A) MARTIN WELLS born Oct. 26, 1877, he was a detective with the U.S. Army and was killed by a family member of an army deserter on Dec. 23, 1919, m1. Martha Hopson, m2. Agnes Wells, m3.Dollie (Ellie) Boyd, m4. Ann Hibbets

Child of Moses Wells and Pricey Mollett:

(I-3-B) WILLARD WELLS born Dec. 23, 1883, died May 21, 1968, m. Melissa Jane “Jennie” Wells, daughter of Richard Marion Wells, Jr. and Mary Elizabeth Ward

Children of Moses Wells and Arminta Bevins Clark:

(I-3-C) ERIE HOBERT WELLS born Jan. 7, 1897, died Oct. 17, 1954, m. Abigail Grace Richmond (I-3-D) WILLIAM MCKINLEY WELLS born Jan. 7, 1897, died Jan. 7, 1897 (I-3-E) JETTA S. WELLS born June 1, 1898, died 1876 (I-3-F) ANNA GOLDA WELLS born Feb. 17, 1902, died Dec. 20, 2000, m. Orville Emmitt Stevens

(I-4) WILLIAM ALLEN WELLS was born in Johnson County, Kentucky, on August 11, 1844. During the War Between the States, he was forced into the local Unionist militia, but deserted and joined Company H of the 34th Battalion Virginia Confederate Cavalry. He served primarily in Southwest Virginia and fought in the battles of Gladesville and Saltville. His unit disbanded near Christiansburg, Virginia, on April 12, 1865. While in the military he was described as 5’ 11” tall with dark eyes, hair and skin. After the war he returned to Johnson County, Kentucky, where he married on February 8, 1866, to Mary Elizabeth Hicks, the daughter of Isaac Hicks. By 1870, he acquired a small farm valued at $400. By 1880, the family moved into the log home of his father-in-law Isaac Hicks. William Allen Wells died

96 on September 20, 1913, and was buried in the Wells-Hicks Cemetery at Boonscamp, KY.

(I-4-A) WILLIAM GREEN WELLS born Feb. 22, 1867, died Nov. 6, 1911, m1. Molly Mars, m2. Melvina “Malvie” Penix (I-4-B) ISAAC SEYMORE WELLS born Jan. 22, 1869, died Nov. 4, 1940, m. Mary Dutton (I-4-C) JENNIE LEE WELLS born Oct. 19, 1870, died June 8, 1896, m. Charles Davis (I-4-D) CHARLES JEFFERSON WELLS born Dec. 18, 1872, died Dec. 21, 1950, m. Victoria Pack (I-4-E) MOSES AARON WELLS born March 17, 1874, died Jan. 1, 1940, m1. Ellen Walters, m2. Ella O’Boyle (I-4-F) MARY MELISSA WELLS born April 9, 1876, died March 9, 1958, m. George Chad Perry (I-4-G) SARAH WELLS born April 4, 1878, died April 9, 1933, m. Ulysses G. Welch (I-4-H) JACOB ALLEN WELLS born May 5, 1880, died Feb. 22, 1947, m. Lillian James (I-4-I) LOUISA ELIZABETH WELLS born May 22, 1883, died Oct. 10, 1971, m. George Walters (I-4-J) RICHARD GROVER WELLS born Jan. 31, 1885, died April 2, 1965, m. Vina Arrowood (I-4-K) JOHN LINZIE WELLS born 1887, died April 20, 1969, m. Theodosia Long (I-4-L) GERMAN CYRUS “GUS” WELLS born Dec. 5, 1890, died Aug. 12, 1955, m. Cora Blair (I-4-M) ELDRIDGE DAVIS WELLS born Dec. 4, 1891, died Oct. 30, 1949, m. May Price

(I-5) SUSANNAH WELLS was born at Odds in Johnson County, Kentucky, on January 29, 1845/6. She married on October 10, 1867, to Samuel Clark. Samuel Clark was a Union soldier during the War Between the States. He enlisted on August 29, 1863, as a private in Company A of the 14th Kentucky Infantry and served under Gen. William Tecumseh Sherman in the Atlanta campaign. After the war, he worked as a farm laborer for Henry C. Wells on Daniels Creek. By 1880, he acquired part of the original Wells homestead on Oak Log Fork of Daniels Creek. Susannah died at the old homestead on April 16, 1913.

97 (I-5-A) MARY ANN ROSA “DUMP” CLARK born Nov. 12, 1868, died March 29, 1937, m. Alexander Morgan Spears (I-5-B) MORGAN CLARK born July 10, 1871, died Nov. 16, 1952, m. Margie Hopson (I-5-C) ELIZABETH ANN “BETTY” CLARK born March 8, 1873, died April 10, 1947, m. Charles Logan Hibbitts (I-5-D) LEONA LEE CLARK born April 16, 1874, died May 31, 1948, m. John Taylor Spears (I-5-E) POLLY CLARK born Sept. 8, 1876, died Dec. 26, 1876 (I-5-F) UNOKA CLARK born Oct. 21, 1877, died Feb. 15, 1970, m. Samuel Buchanan Richmond (I-5-G) LEATHEN CLARK born about 1879 (I-5-H) JOHN LOGAN “COOGE” CLARK born Nov. 6, 1882, died Oct. 28, 1948, m. Margaret Wells (I-5-I) JAMES BLAINE CLARK born May 5, 1884, died Feb. 11, 1952, m. Lutie Exer Delong (I-5-J) DELLA CLARK born April 11, 1885, died Feb. 20, 1959, m1. Garfield Robinson, m2. Arthur Salyers (I-5-K) JULIA CLARK born Oct. 5, 1887, died Dec. 6, 1972, m. George Kelly Spears (I-5-L) EMSY “PETE” CLARK born Aug. 7, 1890, died 1948, m. Sarah Richardson

(I-6) MARCUS LINDSEY KING WELLS, known as M.L.K. or “Uncle King,” was born on December 5, 1848, in Johnson County, Kentucky. On April 23, 1863, at age fourteen he enlisted in the Confederate Army as a private in Company D of the 10th Kentucky Cavalry. However, due to his young age, he was discharged on July 11, 1863. Disillusioned, he switched sides and joined the Union Army on Sept. 18, 1863, enlisting in Company C of the 45th Kentucky Infantry. While in the service he sustained a flesh wound, but was fortunate never to have fought against his father and brothers in the Confederate Army. M.L.K. was discharged on June 1, 1864, but remained active in the Grand Army of the Republic for the rest of his life. After the war he married on August 6, 1867, to Exer Meek, and settled on Greasy Creek near to his brothers and father. After teaching school for two terms, M.L.K. was elected magistrate and later served as deputy county clerk. Unlike the rest of his family, he became very active in Johnson County Republican politics. He also operated a general store at Offutt and Boonscamp as well as serving as postmaster for both places. In later years,

98 he assisted John C.C. Mayo in acquiring property for coal mines. A devout Methodist, he was a member of Wells Chapel Methodist Church. His passion throughout his life was family history. He wrote several articles dealing with the Wells genealogy and organized the Wells reunion in 1915. In 1916, he retired and moved to Paintsville where he died on July 6, 1927. He was buried in the Wells-Buckingham Cemetery in Paintsville. M.L.K. Wells had nine children with Exer Meek and one child with Ellen Baldridge.

(I-6-A) SALLIE WELLS born Sept. 1, 1868, died March 19, 1927, m. John P. Delong (I-6-B) WILLIAM GREEN WELLS born Feb. 13, 1871, died Aug. 12, 1961, m1. Wilda Austin, m2. Mary Mae Meek (I-6-C) PAULINA WELLS born Nov. 19, 1872, died March 28, 1958, m. Martin L. Robinson (I-6-D) SHADRACK WELLS born Jan. 19, 1877, died March 26, 1944, m. Amanda Ward (I-6-E) JOHN PRESTON WELLS born Dec. 25, 1878, died Aug. 19, 1935, m1. Exer Stambaugh, m2. Mary Julia Donta, m3. Mary Dollarhide (I-6-F) MARCUS LINDSEY “LEN” WELLS born Jan. 23, 1881, died March 2, 1970, m. Vicie Hinkle, daughter of John B. Hinkle and Marcina Wells (I-6-G) EDWARD “EDMOND” R. WELLS born March 3, 1883, died May 19, 1967, m. Nora Gose (I-6-H) ZEPHANIAH L. WELLS born Nov. 9, 1890, died Oct. 25, 1946, m. Grace Hicks (I-6-I) GOLDIE WELLS born Feb. 1893, died May 2, 1973, m. Scott Preston Duncan

Child of Marcus Lindsey King Wells and Ellen Baldridge:

(I-6-J) SAMUEL JEFFERSON WELLS born June 22, 1889, died Dec. 19, 1969, m1. Vicie Goble, m2 Sophie Whitaker, m3. Goldie Childers

(I-7) SARAH ELIZABETH WELLS was born at Odds in Johnson County, Kentucky, on December 17, 1849 or June 18, 1850. She married first to Solomon Porter on January 30, 1868, and, secondly, to Eli Hinkle of Martin County on July 2, 1874. Eli was a farmer whose father, John P. Hinkle, had the distinction of serving honorably for both sides during the War Between

99 the States. He served as assistant surgeon for the 5th Kentucky Confederate Infantry and as a private in the 39th KY Union Infantry, receiving honorable discharges from both. Eli Hinkle died in 1895, leaving Sarah Elizabeth to care for her family and the farm by herself. She died on March 1, 1923.

Child of Sarah Elizabeth Wells and Solomon Porter:

(I-7-A) BENJAMIN WELLS PORTER born August 18, 1870, died Nov. 13, 1948, m. Francis Dixie Taylor.

Children of Sarah Elizabeth Wells and Eli Hinkle:

(I-7-B) MARY HINKLE born 1872 (I-7-C) HENRY W. HINKLE born July 14, 1875 (I-7-D) JULIA PERNOLA HINKLE born June 25, 1877, died Feb. 15, 1952, m. Wesley Colfax Lewis (I-7-E) ELIZABETH HINKLE born Oct. 4, 1879, died June 25, 1964, M1. Jesse Estepp, m2. John Thomas Stevenson, m3. James J. Deaton (I-7-F) JACOB GREEN HINKLE born Jan. 4, 1881, died Sept. 23, 1941, m1. Jessie Blanche Cox, m2. Bessie ______(I-7-G) JOHN P. HINKLE born 1883, died March 28, 1952, m. Ella May West (I-7-H) LYDIA HINKLE born May 1885 (I-7-I) WALTER B. HINKLE born Feb. 27, 1888, died March 17, 1952, m. Elsie M. West

(I-8) NANCY JANE WELLS was born in 1852 at Odds on Daniels Creek in Johnson County, Kentucky. She married on April 6, 1871, to James H. Mollett. However, by 1880, she was living with her parents at Boonscamp without her husband. Nancy Jane died in 1912 in Paintsville, Kentucky.

(I-8-A) MARY SUZANNE MOLLETT born July 25, 1874, died April 30, 1964, m. Ulysses Walters (I-8-B) JULIA MOLLETT born 1877

(I-9) JOHN PRESTON WELLS was born on April 3, 1854, at Odds on Daniels Creek in Johnson County, Kentucky. He married on April 16, 1884, to Julia Alice Howes Buckingham, the widow of Andrew Jackson Buckingham. John P. Wells became one of the most respected men in Eastern Kentucky. Starting as a farmer on Greasy Creek, he served a short

100 stint as a school teacher before studying law under James Stewart. He was admitted to the Kentucky Bar on November 1, 1877, specializing in real estate law. As such he assisted John C.C. Mayo in acquiring land for the coal industry. He also served as a special judge in various counties in East Kentucky. A strong Democrat in politics, he represented Johnson and Floyd counties in the Kentucky Legislature in 1883. In 1884, he was the official representative for Johnson County to the Southern Exposition in New Orleans. A co-founder of Paintsville Bank & Trust Co., he also served as a trustee of Sandy Valley Seminary (Mayo Technical College) and Mayo Memorial Methodist Church. John P. Wells died on March 14, 1918, and was buried in the Wells-Buckingham Cemetery in Paintsville.

(I-9-A) JIMISON KENDRICK WELLS born Nov. 14, 1885, died Feb. 19, 1926, m. Ruth Long (I-9-B) VIRGINIA LEE WELLS born Jan. 3, 1887, died Dec. 25. 1971, m. Volney S. Taylor. (I-9-C) WALTER SCOTT WELLS born Aug. 5, 1888, died Oct. 14, 1918, m. Elizabeth Archer (I-9-D) HUBERT L. WELLS born Feb. 12, 1890, died April 21, 1974, m. Mollie Curtis Pigg (I-9-E) GENEVA MARGARET WELLS born Dec. 20, 1894, died Sept. 24, 1985, m. Vincent D. Splane, Sr. (I-9-F) BYRON JOSEPH WELLS born Oct. 28, 1897, died March 2, 1958, m. Sophia Meek

(I-10) CHARLES JEFFERSON WELLS was born at Odds on Daniel's Creek in Johnson County, Kentucky, on March 19, 1856. Accompanying his father into the Confederate service, Charles Jefferson, called "Jeffy,” is recognized as one of the youngest soldiers ever to see service during the War Between the States. He was listed on the “roll of musicians” for “Williams’ (5th) Kentucky Regiment” dated December 31, 1861, as “C.J. Wells, 2nd fife.” His status was listed as “absent with leave” and signed by W.B. Lykins, 1st musician. He served as a fifer for Company E of the 5th Kentucky Infantry and finished the war as a private in Company K of the 13th Georgia Cavalry. Between 1878 and 1882, his father deeded him 350 acres of land on "Lick Branch," a small tributary of Greasy Creek near his father's home. On August 18, 1877, Charles Jefferson married Margaret Jane Arrowood, a native of Yancey County, North Carolina, who moved to Kentucky with her parents to escape the rigors of Reconstruction. Charles built a small log dwelling for the couple near the mouth of the left fork of Lick Branch and it

101 was there that both of their sons were born. Charles Jefferson Wells entered the timber business even before his marriage. By 1883, most of his 350 acres on Lick Branch had been cleared. Typically, Wells hauled the logs to the Big Sandy River by mule team and then floated them down river to market at Catlettsburg. On November 12, 1883, he purchased 15 additional acres at "Ward City" (now Offutt) which included a store originally operated by C.C. Price. Wells continued in the timber business, but also ran the store and served the community as a “country doctor.” On December 19, 1883, he was appointed Ward City's postmaster. This proved to be a most lucrative position since every resident of Ward City (Offutt) had to visit Wells' store to receive their mail. Additionally, Charles assisted in his father's mule trading business in Coweta County, Georgia, often spending several months at a time driving mules to Newnan, Moreland and Senoia, Georgia. Tragically, on July 6, 1883, his young wife Margaret Jane died of typhoid fever, leaving Charles with two young boys. On January 3, 1884, Charles married in Martin County, Kentucky, to Levisa Hinkle, the sister of Charles' brother-in-law, Eli Hinkle. He brought his new wife back to Johnson County, but her stay with the family was brief. While floating logs down river to Catlettsburg, Charles contracted pneumonia and died on July 9, 1884. His grave is located in the J.B. Wells Cemetery in Paintsville. Soon after his death, Levisa left the two orphaned boys with their grandmother, Mary (Butcher) Wells, and returned to Martin County where she later remarried to J.C. Newberry.

(I-10-A) JACOB GREEN WELLS born Oct. 25, 1878, died March 24, 1968, m1. Leotia Preston, m2. Audrey Mae Reed (I-10-B) JOHN BRITTON WELLS born Oct. 22, 1880, died Feb. 23, 1958, m. Jennie Ward.

(I-11) JACOB GREEN WELLS was born at Odds on Daniels Creek in Johnson County, Kentucky, on February 5, 1857. He married twice, first, to Harriett E. Arrowood on February 8, 1883. She died in 1888, and he remarried to Mary Jane Fields on September 23, 1888. Jacob was a farmer and merchant at Whitehouse and Boonscamp in Johnson County. He died on January 13, 1911.

(I-11-A) LORA LEE WELLS born Jan. 1891, died June 6, 1916 (I-11-B) JULIA MINTA WELLS born March 1893, m. Harrison Meek

102 (I-11-C) ERNEST JACOB WELLS born Nov. 1893/4, died Feb. 1953, m. Grace Craig (I-11-D) LOUISA JANE WELLS born Aug. 19, 1896, died Jan. 4, 1980, m1. Virgil Wells, son of WILLIAM GREEN WELLS (I-1-C), m2. Luther Harmon (I-11-E) HERBERT DENNIS WELLS born May 9, 1898, died June 17, 1974, m. Ella Davis (I-11-F) WILFRED NOLAN WELLS born March 3, 1900, died Jan. 13, 1952, m. Ruby Pelphrey (I-11-G) MARY ETHEL WELLS born about 1903, m. Ernest Pack (I-11-H) CHARLES HALE WELLS

(I-12) MARY WELLS born Oct. 1860, died March 1861, buried in the Old Ward Cemetery at Offutt, Kentucky.

(I-13) JULIA ANN WELLS was born in 1863 in Johnson County, Kentucky. She died in 1875 and was buried in the Old Ward Cemetery at Offutt, Kentucky.

(J) AGNES HUTCHISON WELLS was born at Dungannon in Scott County, Virginia, on December 7, 1820. She moved to Kentucky with her family and married on May 2, 1838, to 50 year old Samuel Lewis Auxier, Jr. Samuel was a prominent farmer with large landholdings of over 3,000 acres in the Blockhouse Bottom area of Johnson County, Kentucky. He was one of the first school commissioners of Floyd Co. and also served as a county magistrate. A strong Democrat in politics, he was a supporter of the Confederacy during the War Between the States. “Aunt Aggie,” as Agnes was called, was known for her kind heart, always ready to help the needy. She married 2nd on July 26, 1894, to Franklin Williamson. Agnes died on December 8, 1908, and was buried in the Auxier family cemetery at Blockhouse Bottom.

(J-1) MARGARET LOUISE AUXIER was born at Blockhouse Bottom in what is now Johnson County, Kentucky, on February 11, 1839. She married on May 2, 1855, to Lorenzo Dow Chambers, a cattleman and farmer from Logan County, West Virginia, who met Margaret during a buying trip to East Kentucky. Chambers served as Captain of Co. A of the 5th Virginia State Line (Infantry) and assistant quartermaster in the Confederate Army during the War Between the States. After the war, he served several terms in the West Virginia House of Delegates. Margaret Auxier Chambers died on February 26, 1916, at Rum Run in Logan County, West Virginia.

103

(J-1-A) SAMUEL EDWARD CHAMBERS born June 29, 1856, died March 23, 1936, m. Sarah Alice Cook (J-1-B) MAHULDA ANNA CHAMBERS born 1858, died Nov. 20, 1894, m. George R. Hinchman (J-1-C) AUGUSTA CHAMBERS born Sept. 17, 1859, m. Smith Butcher (J-1-D) JAMES L. CHAMBERS born July 18, 1861, died March 24, 1940, m. Alice Sarah Mitchell (J-1-E) GENEVA CHAMBERS born Aug. 25, 1863, died Jan. 8, 1903, m1. Lonzo Cartwright, m2. George Butcher (J-1-F) FLOYD B. CHAMBERS born July 11, 1865, died Jan. 6, 1867 (J-1-G) LOUISA CHAMBERS born Sept. 26, 1869, died Aug. 29, 1938, m. Rush Scaggs (J-1-H) OTIS R. CHAMBERS born Oct. 7, 1869, died March 17, 1912 (J-1-I) AGNES CHAMBERS born June 2, 1872 (J-1-J) GAYLEN CHAMBERS born Sept. 27, 1874, died July 3, 1890 (J-1-K) CHARLIE CHAMBERS born Nov. 21, 1877, died March 26, 1919 (J-1-L) CORA ELIZABETH CHAMBERS born Oct. 8, 1879, died Oct. 21, 1959 (J-1-M) LORENZO DOW CHAMBERS born Dec. 12, 1881, died Feb. 15, 1959, m1. Lura D. Dingess, m2. Pearl Miller. (J-1-N) WORLAND CHAMBERS (J-1-O) NANCY CHAMBERS (J-1-P) CRAYTON CHAMBERS

(J-2) ELIJAH BROWN AUXIER was born at Blockhouse Bottom in what is now Johnson County, Kentucky, on November 20, 1840. He married on April 30, 1863, to Anna Margaret Richmond, a native of Paisley, Scotland. Elijah, called “Uncle Lige,” was a farmer and merchant at Auxier in Floyd County, Kentucky. He was known for his “Rust Coat” apples and watermelons. He died on February 17, 1910 at Auxier.

(J-2-A) MARGARET LOUISE AUXIER born March 5, 1863/4, died Jan. 6, 1935, m. Thomas Reuben May (J-2-B) JAMES WINDFIELD AUXIER born Nov. 22, 1865, died

104 Aug. 1, 1938, m. Martha Ann “Duck” Stafford (J-2-C) ANNA LAURA AUXIER born Jan. 11, 1867/8, died Feb. 11, 1948, m. Beverly Clark May (J-2-D) SAMUEL B. “BUCK” AUXIER born Feb. 18, 1869/70, died Feb. 10/11, 1914, m1. Laura Greer, m2. Anna B. Stratton (J-2-E) JOHN AUXIER born 1871 (J-2-F) SARAH AGNES AUXIER born July 7, 1872, died Dec. 3, 1966, m. Alexander M. Spradlin (J-2-G) DORA BELLE AUXIER born May 9, 1874/5, died Feb. 1/4, 1912, m. John Powers May (J-2-H) ELIJAH AUXIER born March 13, 1878 (J-2-I) CHARLES RICHMOND AUXIER born March 20, 1880, died Oct. 26, 1925, m. Matilda Belle Hall

(J-3) WILLIAM LEWIS AUXIER was born on Oct. 2, 1842, at Blockhouse Bottom in what is now Johnson County, Kentucky. During the War Between the States, he was forced to join the 65th Union Militia on May 21, 1864, but deserted on May 30th. He avoided capture by Union authorities and joined a Confederate “partisan ranger” company in Pike County. After the war he married to Louisa Ford on July 25, 1866. He died on April 13, 1900, and was buried at Blockhouse Bottom.

(J-3-A) LUCY AGNES AUXIER born June 2, 1867, died Aug. 16, 1938, m. William Lee Hatcher (J-3-B) WILLIAM PIERCE AUXIER born Aug. 18, 1868, died Oct. 14, 1895 (J-3-C) LIZZIE LYNN AUXIER born June 25, 1881, died June 14, 1884 (J-3-D) ANNA LEE AUXIER born June 25, 1881, died May 21, 1930, m. ______Meade (J-3-E) EVA MORA AUXIER born Jan. 29, 1886, died Jan. 28, 1964, m. Edward T. Wharton

(J-4) JAMES KNOX POLK AUXIER was born at Blockhouse Bottom in Johnson County, Kentucky, on March 5, 1845. He was a farmer whose house was located at the lower end of Blockhouse Bottom and became a local landmark. During the War Between the States, he served as a private in Co. E of the 5th Kentucky Confederate Infantry. He enlisted at Camp Hager in Johnson Co. on December 29, 1861, and fought in the Battle of Middle

105 Creek, Kentucky. “Polk” married on January 7, 1868, to Susannah Emaline Spradlin. He died at Blockhouse Bottom on April 2, 1926.

(J-4-A) AGNES MASOLETE AUXIER born Oct. 26, 1868, died May 10, 1920 (J-4-B) ANNA MARGARET AUXIER born Feb. 23, 1870, died April 5, 1926 (J-4-C) MILTON SAMUEL AUXIER born Jan. 18, 1872, died July 4, 1934, m. Anna Hope Musick (J-4-D) WILLIAM JAMISON AUXIER born April 6, 1873, died Aug. 21, 1904, m. Angeline Spradlin (J-4-E) MARVIN BRUCE AUXIER born April 22, 1875, died Sept. 26, 1875 (J-4-F) RICHARD FARON LEE “DICK” AUXIER born July 1, 1876, died March 27, 1936, m. Lavada Musick (J-4-G) SARAH ELLEN AUXIER born May 22, 1881, died Sept. 22, 1885 (J-4-H) ROBERT CHAMBERS AUXIER born Feb. 26, 1883, died July 13, 1958

(J-5) SUSAN ANGELINE AUXIER was born at Blockhouse Bottom in Johnson County, Kentucky, on March 12, 1847. She married on May 16, 1864, to John Richmond, a native of Scotland. The couple ran a flour mill and general store on Johns Creek. They were also known as accomplished musicians, often playing with their children as a group. Susan Angeline died on August 9, 1890.

(J-5-A) MARGARET AUXIER RICHMOND born Aug. 1, 1865, died Jan. 6, 1944, m. John L. Hager (J-5-B) JAMES AUXIER RICHMOND born Feb. 13, 1867, died Aug. 11, 1931, m1. Sarah Wells, m2. Julia Sturgill (J-5-C) SAMUEL BUCHANAN RICHMOND born Oct. 9, 1870, died Sept. 15, 1907, m. Unoka Clark (J-5-D) JOHN D. RICHMOND born Oct. 9, 1870, m. Anna Elliott (J-5-E) ELIJAH BROWN RICHMOND born March 31, 1873, died April 29, 1944, m. Zora Webb (J-5-F) HENRY BASCOM RICHMOND born Oct. 5, 1875, died May 11, 1943, m. Lula Porter (J-5-G) WILLIAM RICHARD RICHMOND born Aug. 7, 1878, died July 26, 1945, m. Alice Joseph

106 (J-5-H) LULA GRACE RICHMOND born Sept. 9, 1881, died Oct. 20, 1949, m. Scott Preston (J-5-I) ANNA LAURA RICHMOND born April 25, 1884, died Feb. 28, 1959, m. Willie C. Sherman

(J-6) NANCY JANE AUXIER was born at Blockhouse Bottom in Johnson County, Kentucky, on February 27, 1849. She died in 1850.

(K) MARY WELLS was born at Dungannon in Scott County, Virginia, on March 14, 1815 (death certificate) or 1823 (census). She married on February 1, 1845, to William Butcher, the son of Jacob and Arta (Dotson) Butcher and the grandson of William Butcher, AKA “Metzger.” His great grandfather was Georg Valentin Metzer, a native of Mainzweiler, Saarland (Germany). On February 3, 1851, William Butcher was granted 100 acres on Road Fork Branch in Johnson County, landed valued at $400 by 1870. During the War Between the States, Butcher tried to remain neutral until he was forced to serve one month’s service in Co. C of the 65th Kentucky Militia from May 21st thru June 21, 1864. Ironically, his service was to protect Johnson County during a raid by Confederate Gen. John Hunt Morgan’s raiders. William Butcher’s brother-in-law William Green Wells commanded a company in Morgan’s command. At his enrollment in the militia, Butcher was described as 5’ 10” tall with blue eyes, fair skin and sandy hair. William Butcher died in 1897. Mary Wells Butcher lived until March 21, 1911, when she died from “acute lumbar pneumonia.” She was buried in the Butcher Cemetery at Williamsport, Kentucky.

(K-1) AMANDA M. (WELLS) BUTCHER was born about 1840 in Johnson County, Kentucky. She married to John Mollett, but died in 1876. Amanda was born prior to the marriage of Mary Wells to William Butcher. There is a possibility that she was not the daughter of William Butcher.

(K-1-A) MARY ANN MOLLETT born Jan. 7, 1865, died Nov. 17, 1944, m. Dixie Lee Penix (K-1-B) WILLIAM TECUMSEH MOLLETT born Nov. 6, 1866, died May 27, 1938, m1. Mary Spriggs, m2. Mary A. (Music) Sammons (K-1-C) SUSANNAH MOLLETT born about 1869, died Sept. 9, 1958, m. George McGinnis (K-1-D) ELIJAH MOLLETT born Jan. 27, 1872, died May 21, 1939, m. Emma Cline

107 (K-1-E) JALINA ELIZABETH MOLLETT born Dec. 3, 1874, died May 29, 1965, m. Nimrod Sturgill (K-1-F) AMANDA MELVINA MOLLETT born about 1876, m. Alec Martin Ward

(K-2) LEWIS BUTCHER was born on March 20, 1846, in Johnson County, Kentucky. He married Sarah Hyden on October 10, 1869. He settled on Johns Creek in Johnson County where he owned a small farm. He died on May 25, 1942, suffering from “chronic nephritis.”

(K-2-A) WILLIAM L. BUTCHER born June 24, 1870, died Feb. 1898 (K-2-B) HENRY N. BUTCHER born May 1872, died about 1903, m. Margaret L. Wells, daughter of George E. and Nancy Butcher Wells (K-2-C) HIRAM BROWNLOW BUTCHER born May 17, 1875, died Jan. 29, 1944, m. Emma Meek (K-2-D) HARMON BUTCHER born May 1877 (K-2-E) MINERVA LOUISE BUTCHER born Aug. 1, 1878, died Oct. 8, 1952, m. Noah Wells, son of George E. and Nancy Butcher Wells (K-2-F) LEONA BUTCHER born Oct. 1884, died Oct. 10, 1976 (K-2-G) MARY C. BUTCHER born May 1890, died April 10, 1973, m. Nevard Hapson (K-2-H) LAURA BUTCHER born May 1891, died Feb. 1952

(K-3) SIMON PETER BUTCHER was born on April 1, 1847 in Johnson County, Kentucky. He married Clarinda Webb on June 25, 1873. He lived on Johns Creek in Johnson County next to his brother Lewis. He died on November 20, 1932.

(K-3-A) NANCY MARTELIA BUTCHER born June 7, 1874, died Feb. 21, 1957, m. Albert Dollarhide (K-3-B) THOMAS HENSLEY BUTCHER born June 11, 1876, died April 7, 1967, m1. Arminta Hanna, m2. Pearl Bowling (K-3-C) MARY MAGDALENE BUTCHER born Nov. 23, 1878, died Sept. 20, 1966, m. William A. Music (K-3-D) JUDIA BEATRICE BUTCHER born April 27, 1881, died Nov. 15, 1966, m. Robert Banks

108 (K-3-E) AMANDA MARTELLA BUTCHER born Oct. 17, 1883, died Dec. 18, 1934, m. Alexander Webb (ancestor of singers Loretta Lynn and Crystal Gayle) (K-3-F) WILLIAM BUTCHER born June 1885, died April 24, 1970, m. Amanda Blanton (K-3-G) JOHN W. BUTCHER born Oct. 14, 1889, died Oct. 16, 1949, m. Tishie Castle (K-3-H) MELVIN BUTCHER born April 30, 1893, died April 8, 1964, m. Ida Bowling

(K-4) MARCUS L. BUTCHER was born on July 14, 1850 in Johnson County, Kentucky. He married Jemima Meek on October 15, 1874, and died on March 17, 1932 of “pneumonia and heart dropsy.”

(K-4-A) VALENTINE BUTCHER born Oct. 5, 1875, m. Florence Isabella Baldridge (K-4-B) JACOB BUTCHER born Jan. 27, 1877, died 1941, m. Sarah Ludema Perkey (K-4-C) JOHN WILLIAM GARFIELD BUTCHER born May 3, 1880, died Dec. 11, 1970, m. Julia Mollett (K-4-D) BALLARD BUTCHER born March 2, 1881, died May 25, 1942, m. Laura Deboard (K-4-E) ROSA L. BUTCHER born Feb. 2, 1884, died Feb. 15, 1938, M1. Marion Workman, m2. Lewis Stafford (K-4-F) THOMAS BUTCHER born March 10, 1886, died Jan. 18, 1957, m. Starlee Meek (K-4-G) SAMUEL BURTON “SON” BUTCHER born Sept. 22, 1888, died Nov. 13, 1971, m. Marcella Deboard (K-4-H) ______BUTCHER, died Sept. 1889 (K-4-I) BERTHA M. BUTCHER born April 8, 1890, died April 23, 1993, m. Samuel Hatcher (K-4-J) IRA BUTCHER born June 1893, died Aug. 20, 1940, m1. Sarah Amba Meek, m2. Sandy “Susie” Conley (K-4-K) WILLIE LEE BUTCHER born April 27, 1895, died May 17, 1962, m. Martha Litton (K-4-L) JAMES G. BUTCHER born Jan. 1899, died Dec. 11, 1970, m. Bathenia Ward

(K-5) MARGARET BUTCHER was born in 1851 in Johnson County, Kentucky, and died on October 10, 1859.

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(K-6) LOUISE CATHERINE BUTCHER was born in Johnson County, Kentucky, on February 2, 1855. She died on October 1, 1859.

(K-7) GEORGE W. BUTCHER was born about 1852 in Johnson County, Kentucky. He married first to Melissa Sturgill about 1878. Melissa died before 1900 and George remarried to a widow, Arminta (Delong) Meek about 1903. About 1909, George moved his family to Washita County, Oklahoma, where he managed a small farm, but the family moved back to Johnson and Martin counties after only a few years. George W. Butcher died in 1920 in Johnson County, Kentucky.

Children of George W. Butcher and Melissa Sturgill:

(K-7-A) AGNES BUTCHER born 1879 (K-7-B) GEORGE W. BUTCHER born July 25, 1884, died Jan. 2, 1968, m. Hessie Haney (K-7-C) RICHARD BUTCHER born May 7, 1886, died May 26, 1962, m. Mary Haney (K-7-D) LAURA BELL BUTCHER born June 17, 1888, died Dec. 23, 1934, m. Martin Goble (K-7-E) IDA BUTCHER born July 1893, m. James Colbert Conley

Children of George W. Butcher and Arminta (Delong) Meek:

(K-7-E) JOHN C. BUTCHER born March 7, 1904, died Oct. 27, 1924, m. Susan Irene Adkins (K-7-F) MOLLIE BUTCHER born Dec. 23, 1905, died July 14, 1999, m1. Elon W. Teakell, m2. Marvin Sasser (K-7-G) THURMAN “BUDDY” BUTCHER born March 27, 1907, died Oct. 24, 1980, m. Oriole Cline (K-7-H) HUGH ODELL BUTCHER born April 29, 1910, died Oct. 18, 1958, m. Ada Jones

(K-8) HENRY M. BUTCHER was born on March 6 or 10, 1856/8, in Johnson County, Kentucky. He married 1st on May 25, 1880, to Agnes “Allie” Gertrude Lawrence. The couple operated a small general store at Williamsport, Kentucky. He married 2nd to Allie Wells, daughter of Aaron Wells and Melvina Porter. He died on February 9, 1933.

110 (K-8-A) SARAH “SALLY” BUTCHER born May 8, 1883, died Dec. 24, 1948, m. Jessie K. Price (K-8-B) JOHN KING BUTCHER born May 23, 1886, died Jan. 8, 1965, m. Wilda Ward (K-8-C) MARY ESSIE BUTCHER born Feb. 14, 1889, died May 25, 1954, m. William Marion Fannin (K-8-D) ELLA MAE BUTCHER born Dec. 13, 1891, died May 8, 1965, m. John Jacob VanHoose (K-8-E) LEWIS BEECHER BUTCHER born Jan. 13, 1895, died March 31, 1966, m. Ollie Williams (K-8-F) WILBUR W. BUTCHER born March 23, 1897, died Oct. 15, 1959, m. Addie Price (K-8-G) EDNA BUTCHER born April 2, 1899, died July 3, 1987, m. Frank Ward (K-8-H) PEARL BEATRICE BUTCHER born March 6, 1902, died Jan. 1, 1931, m. Walter Leedy

(K-9) JAMES STEWART BUTCHER was born in Johnson County, Kentucky, in 1859.

(K-10) JOHN WELLS BUTCHER was born on May 12, 1860 at Odds in Johnson County, Kentucky. He married twice, first on September 18, 1881, to Julia “Juda” Davis. After her death, he married Rachel Elizabeth Phelps on October 15, 1904. John Wells Butcher was a farmer and coal miner. He died on October 1, 1948, and was buried in the Butcher Cemetery at Williamsport, Kentucky.

Children of John Wells Butcher and Julia Davis:

(K-10-A) JEFF BUTCHER born July 28, 1882, died June 6, 1962, m1. Maude Phelps, m2. Alka Meek (K-10-B) ALICE BUTCHER born May 12, 1887, died Oct. 27, 1918, m1. Jesse Daniels, m2. James Perry (K-10-C) ATLEY BUTCHER born July 19, 1893, died Aug. 20, 1964, m. Mary Sammons. He was a veteran of World War I (K-10-D) GRACIE BUTCHER born Sept. 12, 1899, died April 16, 1973, m. Earl Marcum

Children of John Wells Butcher and Rachel Elizabeth Phelps:

111 (K-10-E) HERSCHEL GEORGE BUTCHER born Sept. 18, 1905, died Nov. 19, 1969, m. Lorena Roberts (K-10-F) GLEN STANLEY BUTCHER born July 23, 1906, died April 26, 1971, m. Mae White Conley (K-10-G) MAXINE BUTCHER born Sept. 11, 1910, died Jan. 21, 1996, m1. Arnold Higgins, m2. ______Taylor, m3. ______Shelley (K-10-H) WILLIAM ANDREW BUTCHER born Sept. 19, 1915, died Dec. 6, 1988

(K-11) RICHARD E. BUTCHER was born in Johnson County, Kentucky, in May 1862. He married first to Sarah Cunningham about 1883 and later to Rachel E. ______. Richard managed a small farm and general store at Meally, Kentucky. After living for a short time in Greenup County, Kentucky, in the 1920s, he returned to Johnson County where he died of “coronary thrombosis” on April 18, 1939. Richard had no children.

(K-12) SUSAN BUTCHER was born in May 1865 in Johnson County, Kentucky. She married on September 16, 1880, to Aaron Meek, a farmer who lived at Boonscamp on Greasy Creek in Johnson County, Kentucky. Susan was a lifelong member of the United Baptist Church. She died on June 27, 1935, of heart disease and chronic nephritis. She was buried in the Meek Cemetery at Boonscamp.

(K-12-A) LYDIA MEEK born 1881, died March 8, 1940, m. Clinton Meek (K-12-B) DAVIS MEEK born Sept. 22, 1883, died June 7, 1965, m. Maude Seagraves (K-12-C) ANDREW JACKSON MEEK born Sept. 22, 1883, died Nov. 13, 1975, m. Jeanette Ward (K-12-D) ISAAC MEEK born April 6, 1885, died July 3, 1977, m. Elizabeth Thompson (K-12-E) JOHN MEEK born March 17, 1888, died May 29, 1965, m. Arminta Borders (K-12-F) LEONA MEEK born March 6, 1889, died Dec. 17, 1951, m. Albert Fitch (K-12-G) HENRY MEEK born March 1894, died Nov. 19, 1977, m. Virginia Phillips (K-12-H) MARY MAY MEEK born May 11, 1895, died Sept. 10, 1975, m. William G. Wells, son of M.L.K. Wells and Exer Meek

112 (K-12-I) JENNIE MEEK born July 17, 1897, died Feb. 14, 1969, m. Burl Spriggs (K-12-J) JAMES MEEK born Sept. 1897 (K-12-K) THEODORE MEEK born Feb. 28, 1900, died April 14, 1977, m. Lillie May Castle (K-12-L) FLEMING MEEK born Feb. 6, 1902, died Aug. 25, 1990, m. Myrtle Daniels (K-12-M) JOHN WILLIS MEEK born June 5, 1904, died Nov. 5, 1991, m. Mollie Delong

(K-13) MARY ANN BUTCHER was born in Johnson County, Kentucky, in January 1869. She married on September 16, 1894 to John C. Breckinridge Ward. The couple lived at Inez in Martin County, Kentucky, where they ran a hotel. She died in Martin County on December 13, 1936.

(K-13-A) DONNIE WARD born March 1896, died July 18, 1901 (K-13-B) BESSIE WARD born July 1898, died July 19, 1901

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114 X

ILLUSTRATIONS

The County of Kent, located in the southeastern corner of England, is bordered by the Thames River to the North and the English Channel to the East and South.

Most sites associated with the Wells family are located within a seven mile radius of the city of Ashford.

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Jutes from Denmark conquered Kent about 600 A.D.

Route taken by the Jutes from Denmark to Kent about 600 A.D.

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Description of the Kentish village of “Welle” (now Westwell) from the Domesday Book dated 1086 A.D.

Early map of Kent showing Charing, Pett (Pet), Westwell (West Well), Boughton Aluph (Bocto Aluph), Buckwell (Bucwel), Wye, Olantigh (Ollantigh), Godmersham (Gudmersham), Ashford (Ashforde) and Willesborough (Wil Les Berow)

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Pett Place

Ruins of the chapel at Pett Place built about 1100 A.D.

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Deed from Thomas Atte Welle of Willesborough dated 1452 A.D.

Saint Mary the Virgin Church, Willesborough, Kent

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Willesborough church, burial place of Thomas Atte Welle (died 1487), John Atwell (died 1536), Robert Wells (died 1559) and John Wells (died 1573).

St. Lawrence the Martyr Church, Godmersham, Kent

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All Saints Church, Boughton Aluph, Kent

Font at Boughton Aluph Church where Richard Wells was baptized in 1618

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Buckwell Farm (Manor), Boughton Aluph, Kent

15th century mantel at Buckwell Farm (Manor) with Wells graffiti

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Wells graffiti (ca.1610-1636) Wells graffiti enhanced

St. Leonard’s Church, Badlesmere, Kent, burial place of Robert Wells “III” (died 1636)

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“Clocks and Watches made and repaired, in Sunbury, at the shortest notice, by RICHARD WELLS, N.B. Orders from the country will be carefully attended to.” “Georgia Gazette,” Savannah, Georgia, 30 August 1775

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Richard Wells (1760-1838) grave Richard Wells old tombstone

Graves of Susannah Hutchison Andrew Wells grave (#A) Wells, Rosanna Wells Spears (#F) and Moses Wells (#C)

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Rufus Morgan Wells grave (#A-2) William Mobley Wells grave (#A-3)

George Eireland Wells (#B) George “Wash” Wells (#B-1)

James W. Wells grave (#B-2) Jemima E. Wells Spears grave (#B-3)

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Hiram Brownlow Wells grave (#B-6) David Crocket Wells grave (#B-7)

Allen Scott Wells (#B-8) Lewis W. Wells (#B-11)

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Cynthia Wells Ward (#B-12) Arminta Wells Porter (#B-17)

John L. Wells grave (#B-18) Theodore Garrett Wells (#B-20)

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John Wesley Wells (#C-2) Louisa Jane Wells Arrowood (#C-3)

Charles Morgan Wells grave (#C-6) Nancy Elizabeth Wells Arrowood (#C-7)

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James Monroe Hillman grave (#D-3) John Wesley Hillman grave (#D-5)

Simon Peter Wells grave (#E) Elizabeth Wells Craft (#E-3)

William Commodore Perry Wells grave (#E-7) Mary A. Wells Coalgrove (#E-10)

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Wiley Spears grave (#F-3) Agnes Athega Spears Burris (#F-5)

George Washington Spears (#F-10) Moses Spears grave (#F-11)

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John Preston Wells grave (#G) William Green Wells (#I)

William Green Wells grave (#I) Richard Marion Wells grave (#I-1)

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Aaron Wells (#I-2) Aaron Wells headstone (#I-2)

Moses Wells (#I-3) Moses Wells grave (#I-3)

William Allen Wells (#I-4) Susannah Wells Clark (#I-5)

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M.L.K. Wells (#I-6) John Preston Wells (#I-9)

Charles Jefferson Wells (#I-10) Charles Jefferson Wells grave (#I-10)

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Agnes Hutchison Wells Auxier (#J) Margaret Louise Auxier Chambers (#J-1)

Elijah Brown Auxier (#J-2) William Lewis Auxier (#J-3)

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James Knox Polk Auxier (#J-4) Susan Angeline Auxier Richmond (#J-5)

Mary Wells Butcher (#K) Lewis Butcher (#K-2)

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Simon Peter Butcher (#K-3) Marcus L. Butcher (#K-4)

John Wells Butcher (#K-10) Richard E. Butcher (#K-11)

Susan Butcher Meek (#K-12) Mary Ann Butcher Ward (#K-13)

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138 WELLS FAMILY CHART

THOMAS ATTE WELLE Born before 1430 Living 1452 at Willesborough, Kent Married Margaret ______Died 1487 at Willesborough, Kent | JOHN ATTE WELLE (ATWELL) Born after 1465 at Willesborough, Kent Married Johane ______Died 1536 at Willesborough, Kent ______|______| | RICHARD (ATWELL) WELLS ROBERT (ATWELL) WELLS Married Isabell ______Married ______Died 1544 at Willesborough Died 1559 at Willesborough ______|______| | | | | JONE WELLS ROBERT WELLS ELEN WELLS ANNE WELLS JOHN WELLS Born 1541 Born before 1540 at Willesborough at Willesborough Married 1570 to Joan Snell at Wye Married Ann Austen Died 1609 at Godmersham, Kent Died 1573 Willesborough ______| | | ROBERT WELLS THOMAS WELLS Christened 1570 Christened 1570 at Willesborough at Willesborough Married Mary Peniall Married Jane Chapman 1608 at Sheldwich, Kent 1611 at Godmersham Buried 1636 at Badlesmere, Kent ______|______| | | | | | | | | ROBERT ELIZABETH RICHARD GRACE MARY ELIZABETH MARIE ALICE | WELLS WELLS WELLS WELLS WELLS WELLS WELLS WELLS | Born 1612 Born 1618 | at Boughton Aluph at Boughton Aluph, Kent | Died 1614 Married Ellinor Robinson | at Boughton Aluph Died about 1661 in Virginia | | ______| | | | | | | | WILLIAM JONE SARAH JOHN JANE | WELLS WELLS WELLS WELLS WELLS | Born 1623/9 Born 1626 | at Boughton Aluph Boughton Aluph | Married Johanna______Married ______| Died 1678 Prudence | | at Kennington, Kent Hedgcock ELIZABETH ZOROBABEL at Godmersham WELLS WELLS Born about 1646 in Northumberland Co.,Virginia Married Catherine Davenport Died 1696 Talbot Co., Maryland 139

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Please add your family’s information here:

Family Group Sheet Husband’s Name: Born: Where: Married: Where: Died: Where: Father: Mother: Wife’s Name: Born: Where: Died: Where: Father: Mother:

Children: (in order of birth) #1 Name: Spouse: Born: Where: Married: Where: Died: Where: #2 Name: Spouse: Born: Where: Married: Where: Died: Where: #3 Name: Spouse: Born: Where: Married: Where: Died: Where: #4 Name: Spouse: Born: Where: Married: Where: Died: Where: #5 Name: Spouse: Born: Where: Married: Where: Died: Where: #6 Name: Spouse: Born: Where: Married: Where: Died: Where: #7 Name: Spouse: Born: Where: Married: Where: Died: Where:

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Family Group Sheet Husband’s Name: Born: Where: Married: Where: Died: Where: Father: Mother: Wife’s Name: Born: Where: Died: Where: Father: Mother:

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Family Group Sheet Husband’s Name: Born: Where: Married: Where: Died: Where: Father: Mother: Wife’s Name: Born: Where: Died: Where: Father: Mother:

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Family Group Sheet Husband’s Name: Born: Where: Married: Where: Died: Where: Father: Mother: Wife’s Name: Born: Where: Died: Where: Father: Mother:

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