Aaron Wells Family Association
Newsletter #24??????????????????????????????????????????????????????????June 1999
Aaron Wells and Ruth Wiggins
were married 31 July (bond), 3 August (minister’s return), 1790. Children:
Nathan, Elizabeth A., Rachel E., Drucilla & Ruama, Sarah “Sally?W., Nancy,
William W., Robert, John W., Ruth, Aaron, Mary “Polly? Daniel &
Uriah.?
REMINDER!
Wells Reunion
July 18, 1999
Sunday, 1:00 p.m.
North Central 4-H Center
Carlisle, Kentucky
Genealogist/Founder
Lucy Thompson
1917-1991
President
Jon Hagee
3021 Stanford Drive
Lexington, KY?40517
Day (606) 257-5833
Eve (606) 271-2918
jhagee@pop.uky.edu
www.webpub.com/jhagee/
Secretary/Treasurer
Betty Jo Wells
R. R. 2, Box 215
Mount Olivet, KY 41064
(606) 724-5696
Newsletter Editor
Patricia Roane Straube
6203 Rexford Court
Granite Bay, CA?95746
(916) 791-8534
straube@earthlink.net
1999 Reunion
Message
from the President
Greetings Wells cousins!
The summer weather has hit
early, but the Wells Reunion will be the same time and place as last year. And
it won't be the same without you!
Again, I encourage you to
bring your children and grandchildren. We're making a big effort to make the
reunion fun for everyone. You bring 'em and we'll entertain 'em.
If you've never visited the
4-H camp, it is a beautiful wooded site on the lakeshore. You can drive right
up to the front door. We're all set for the air conditioned building and
swimming pool and have access to the other facilities, boating, basketball,
softball, volleyball, forest trails, etc.
Please bring your
genealogical files with you as well as questions. We'll have a couple new folks
this year who are trying to connect their Wells ancestors to our family tree.
We continue to add folks to our lists that have contacted us through current members
and the Internet. Thank you for spreading the word about our family!
I'd like for us to make a
bigger effort to extend an invitation to families associated with the Wells.
Wiggins, Mitchell, Ward, Evans, Callon are a few. Also included are Harmon,
Barlow, Collins, Thomas, Rice, Young, Durrum, Rankin, Barnett, Burden, Curtis,
Overbey and McConnell. If you know anyone with these surnames, ask them to come
and see if they are related! These surnames can be found in our genealogy books
and on our new web page:
http://www.webpub.com/jhagee/wells.html
I just returned from the
first reunion of the descendants ofthe frontier settlers massacred and captured
at Ruddles Station in 1780. We have been doing a lot of research on this
lately. My Conway, Bridgewater, Sutton and Overbey branches were involved in
that. If you want to find out more, we have captives?names listed on our
Ruddles Station web site:
http://www.webpub.com/jhagee/ruddles.html
or call me at (606) 271-2918
and I'll check the list for you.
The Ruddles Station reunion
was a great success and plans are being made for June 24, 2000. This will be
the 220th anniversary of the capture of the fort. This year's gathering was in
Paris, KY.
Remember, bring your musical
instruments to the Wells Reunion. One hand clapping doesn't?make much of a joyful noise!
See you there!
Jon Hagee - President
Dear Cousins,
We hope to see many of you at
our annual reunion to be held at the 4-H Camp at Lake Carnico on July 18, 1999.
Please do not forget your
arts and crafts for our silent auction. This has been a very interesting part
of our meeting as many are eager to take home a treasure.
We thank those of you who
have sent donations to help us with publishing the newsletter.?Those who are unable to attend the reunion
but wish to make a donation for the support of the reunion and newsletter
should send it to me at?R. R. 2, Box
215, Mount Olivet, KY 41064. Our expenses this year have been for publishing
the newsletter and paying the rent for the 4-H facility. We now have $1236.01
in the treasury.
See you at the reunion!.
????????????????????????Respectfully
submitted,
????????????????????????Betty
Jo Wells
????????????????????????Secretary/Treasurer
Thanks to all those who
submitted information for this edition of the newsletter. Please remember to
send in any item you want to share with your Wells cousins. I try to include
several branches in each newsletter.
Thanks also to those of you
have submitted change of address forms when you move. If you would like to add
others to the mailing list or remove your own name, please let me know. We want
to make sure that this newsletter goes out to all those who truly want to
receive it.
?/span>
????????????????????????Patricia
Roane Straube
????????????????????????Newsletter
Editor
Nathan
Wells Death Record Found!
Like Edgar Allen Poe’s Purloined Letter, it was hiding in plain
sight in the Robertson County Death Records at the State Archives. Thanks to
Marilyn Wood Armstrong for finding it and sending it in.
September, 19, 1878 - Nathan
Wells - age 87 - widower - born in Mason County - no parents?names listed but
birthplaces of parents given as Virginia.
Mexican War Veteran
Mordecai Wells
Inspired by the article in
the last issue of the newsletter about the War of 1812 pension file of Nathan
Wells, Marilyn Wood Armstrong sent for the Mexican War pension file of her
ancestor, Mordecai Wells, son of William W. Wells and Mariah Collins. Included
was the widow's pension file for his wife, Elizabeth Ann Claypool, daughter of
John Claypool and Ruth Wiggins, and therefore a granddaughter of William
Wiggins and Elizabeth Ashcraft Wells. Here is their story as told through the
Old Wars IF 25 917 obtained from the National Archives.
Mordecai Wells enlisted as a
private at Flemingsburg, Kentucky sometime during September 1847 in Company B
of the 3rd Regiment of Kentucky Volunteers, commanded by Captain
Leander Cox.?He was discharged at
Louisville in July 1848. He was described as 21 years of age, 5 feet 113/4
inches in height, with gray eyes, auburn hair, fair complexion, by occupation a
carpenter, and that he was born near Blue Licks, County of Nicholas, State of
Kentucky. That after leaving the service he resided at Mt. Olivet until his
death on the 3rd day of November, A. D. 1901.
He was married March 21, 1852
in Nicholas Co., Kentucky by Rev. David Snodgrass to Elizabeth Ann Claypole
[sic]. She was born on the 7th day of August, 1833 in Nicholas
County, Kentucky. His children living at the time the family information form
was filled out on May 4, 1898 were: Sidney Caroline b. July 28, 1853, Ruth
Mariah b. June 6, 1855, Mary Jane b. January 6, 1859. Mordecai Preston b.
October 5, 1860, David Riley b. March 17, 1863, and Lydia Ann b. July 31, 1868.
His invalid pension commenced
11 October 1849 at the rate of eight dollars a month. That the disability for
which said pension was allowed was the
effects of measles and gun power [sic] causing
total blindness. He applied for an increase of his pension on 4 March 1867
in Vermilion County, Illinois. At that time he resided in State Line City. On
the 1st of May 1876 he was receiving $25.00 a month when he applied
for another increase in Robertson County, Kentucky.
Elizabeth filed for her
widow's pension November 22, 1901, based on Mordecai's pension certificate No.
4629. Witnesses to her declaration were Mordecai Throckmorton and Austin
McDowell.
Affixed were affidavits from
Dr. J .B. Wood, attending physician to the last illness of Mordecai Wells who
died at his home in Mt. Olivet, 3 November 1901 and. L. J. Kain, undertaker in
the firm of Kenton and Kabler,?who
buried him in the Mt. Olivet Cemetery on 4 November 1901. There were also three
affidavits to the marriage of Mordecai Wells and Elizabeth Ann Claypoole [sic]
since there is no public or church record
of said marriage. Elizabeth attests that according to her father's family
Bible, they were married on the 21st day of March 1852. Also
attesting to the marriage were Ruth Dotson and N. A. Cameron.
On the 2nd of
January, 1909, her son David Riley Wells applied for reimbursement of her final
expenses.?Elizabeth had fallen ill on
October 9, 1908 and was attended by Dr. W. S. Chandler of Mt. Olivet. She died
October 27, 1908 of Asthma and Lagrippe
[influenza] at the home of her son, M. P. Wells, in Mount Olivet where she was
buried. The physician's bill was $8.75., the undertaker’s bill was $45.00 and
the cemetery charge was $3.00.
The Family of
Mordecai and Elizabeth Ann (Claypool) Wells
David Riley Wells
Donald H. Claypool writes:
I was going through some old correspondence with a
John H. Claypoole (G-Grandson of George Washington Claypoole, brother of John
Claypool.). John H. was born 26 Sep 1913, in Robertson Co, KY.?He died 6 Oct 1988, in Elgin, IL. In his
letter, dated July 23, 1981, he told what he remembered of the Wells family. We
have most of this already, but it adds some color, so I am sending it along.
You will note he is off on some of his dates, but otherwise his memory was
pretty clear. John Claypool's younger brother, Julian, may still be living in
Mt Olivet.
[Dates in brackets come from
the Social Security Death Index and the Kentucky Vital Records Index.]
"First of all, I will
give some details regarding the Wells family namely, David Riley Wells. David
R. and Lilly Wells had two children. Their names were Mitchell and Miriam.
[These were the children of David Riley Wells?first wife, Mary Elizabeth Overbey,
but she had died 30 Jan 1913, before John H. Claypoole was born.]
'Uncle Dave', as the people
called him, was a preacher of sorts, but I am not sure where he was assigned. ?/span>He did construct a home for a Church, but I
don't recall there being any services conducted by him. He was an intellectual
and presided as a Judge in some of the local high school debates in 1931. I
believe he was a mail carrier from Mt Olivet during the Taft Administration.
Uncle Dave had a farm and is what one might call a gentleman Farmer. He married
again in his later life, but passed away in 1936.?
?/span>I recall Aunt Mary Jane Wells during the twenties.?I believe she had some difficulty hearing.
?/span>Mordecai Wells accomplished some kind of acrobat feat in a
performance on top of the Mt Olivet Courthouse. That individual I never knew.
[According to a 1932 newspaper clipping, it was Daniel Boone Wells, Mordecai’s
brother, who “climbed to the top of the cupola and mounting the big round ball
stood erect on his head, feet upward, on the ball, with his arms widely
extended. It was a perilous feat, and never known to have been accomplished by
anyone before in this State or any of the adjoining States”]
Mitchell Wells was a realtor.
My mother and father?(Omar & Ethel
Neal Claypoole) bought a farm from Simeon Wells in 1925. Mitchell was the agent
in this transaction, or the one who conducted the sale. Mitchell was also an
auctioner. Unfortunately, he passed away at an early age as he was only 42 in
1938. He had a very nice wife, three boys and one girl. One of the boys,
William, died in 1937. The other two boys lived around Cincinnati and Dayton,
Ohio.?Junior is the oldest, and David
the young one. I haven't seen either of them for about 33 years, and that was
when I saw Junior at Kohn Packing Co., in Cincinnati. [Mitchell Calmes Wells
Jr. died 18 Aug 1989.] I think David now lives in Dayton, Ohio.
Enola Elizabeth Wells
Mitchell has been a schoolteacher for many years.?She taught in the country schools and later went to Mt Olivet,
when all of the schools were consolidated. I haven't seen her since 1940. I believe
they had a restaurant in Mt. Olivet,too. Elizabeth's husband passed away in
1976. [Alton W. Mitchell was born 12 Mar 1914 and died 15 Sep 1976. Enola
Elizabeth?(Wells) Mitchell died 2 Nov
1992.]
Miriam Wells married Porter
Craig. She was a schoolteacher and is still living. I went to the school where
she was teaching. I liked her very much as a teacher.?Her husband was engaged in farming and the insurance business
before he passed away in 1978."
Lydia Anna Wells
In reviewing the information
in our database about the descendants of Mordecai and Elizabeth Ann (Claypool)
Wells, a serious discrepancy soon became evident. Their daughter, Lydia Anna
Wells, who married in 1895, was given as the grandmother of children born in 1883, 1889, and 1894. Fortunately,
Marilyn Wood Armstrong found an obituary for Lydia's husband, Daniel Oscar Day,
which, along with census records, sorted out this family. The following is the
correction for this family group:
102. Lydia Anna Wells b. 31-Jul-1868, Robertson Co., KY, m.
14-Oct-1895, in Robertson Co, KY, Daniel Oscar Day, b. 12- Mar-1872, Robertson
Co., KY, (son of William C. Day and Ruth Polley) d. 17-Jul-1943, Bracken Co.,
KY. Lydia died 31-Aug-1952, Bracken Co., KY.
????????Children:
?????i??Anna Lelias M. Day b. 8-Nov-1898, ??????/span>
?????????/span>Kentucky m.
Lovelle Jacobs b. 9-Aug-1903, d.
?????????/span>14-May-1978
in Bracken Co., KY. Anna d.
?????????/span>20-Aug-1986
in Bracken Co., KY.
???? ii?? Mordecai William Day b. abt 1901,
???????? Kentucky
???? iii??Paul Burnham Day b. 11-Nov-1907, Mt.
?????????/span>Olivet,
Robertson Co., KY, m. Elizabeth T.
?????????/span>___. He died
_-Aug- 1987, Cincinnati,
?????????/span>Hamilton Co.,
OH. buried: Brooksville
?????????/span>Cemetery,
Bracken Co., KY.
BROOKSVILLE MAN TAKEN BY
DEATH -
D.O.
Day Succumbed to Heart Trouble After Long Illness
Daniel Oscar Day, 71, beloved
husband of Mrs. Anna Day, and father of Burnham Day, local business man, Mrs.
Lovell Jacobs of Mason County, and M. William Day, newspaperman of Memphis,
Tennessee, died at his home in Frankfort street at noon Saturday after a
prolonged illness from heart trouble.?
All of the family and many relatives and friends were present for the
last rites, held at the residence at 2:30 P.M. Monday.?The Rev. Robert Mullikin, a former pastor of
Robertson county officiating. Interment was made in the K. of P. Cemetery,
Thompson, McCarty & Son, undertakers in charge of funeral arrangements. Mr.
Day, well known carpenter and highly esteemed citizen, was a native of
Robertson county.?He was born March 12,
1872, the son of the late William and Ruth Polley Day.?He moved to Brooksville many years ago and
for a time resided in Augusta, but returned here to spend the remainder of his
days. He united with the Christian church at Mt. Olivet, Ky., in 1895.?He was united in marriage to Lydia Anna
Wells on October 8, 1895, and to this union were born three children, all of
whom survive.?Mr. Day also leaves to
mourn his passing, two sisters, Mrs. H.G.?
Dye of Maysville, Mrs. Artie
Manning, and one brother, Mr. Hargis Day, both of Mt. Olivet.
UPDATE:
FAMILY OF
DANIEL WELLS
Back in February there was a
posting on the Nicholas?County, KY
message board at KYNICHOL-L@rootsweb.com of references to the Collins family
which included:
Info from Kentucky Historical
Society.
Oct 1833 Lucinda Collins to Daniel
Wells
Children:
1. Maria b. 24 Sep 1834, m. John H. Durham 25 Mar
??1857, d. 1 Jan 1885.
2. Amanda b. 4 Sep 1836, m. Henry Rankin, d. 26 Sep
??1883.
3. Uriah b. 4 May 1840, d. 3 Mar 1863.
4. Mary Elizabeth b. 24 Apr 1842 m. John Barnett.
5. Elias B. b. 16 Apr 1846 m. Elizabeth Kenton.
6. William H. b. 18 Mar 1848 m. Melissa Mulligan.
7. John Milton b. 4 Jan 1854 m. Sarah Fowle 31 Oct
??1878, d. 15 Aug 1912.
Daniel Wells d.
26 Dec 1883. Lucinda Collins Wells died
9 Jul 1858.?
Some of these spellings and
dates are different from what we have in the Heritage of Aaron Wells and Ruth Wiggins. It looks like this might
come from a Bible record, but I received no response from the person who posted
this message. Perhaps one of Daniel’s descendants can track down this item at
the Kentucky Historical Society. There are many other discrepancies as well,
but this seems a good starting point for further research.
Daniel Wells
The Heritage of Aaron Wells and Ruth Wiggins states that Daniel died in August of 1912. This is the date of the
death of his son, John Milton Wells. It seems more likely that Daniel died at
the age of 72 on 26 December 1883 rather than in 1912 at the age of 100.
Lucinda (Collins) Wells
The book gives an approximate
year of birth of 1811. The Nicholas County death records state that Lucinda Wells age 44, died July 8, 1858,
cause Pleurisy, daughter of E & S Collins. This would give an
approximate birth year of 1814.
Child #1, Mariah Wells
We have this child born about
1835 and married to a John W. Durren. Through correspondence with the wife of a
descendant of this couple, Beth Bowen, it appears that the surname should be
spelled Durrum. Here is her family group sheet:
Mariah Wells
b. 24 Sep 1834 in Nicholas
Co., KY.
d. 1 Jan 1885 in Nicholas
Co., KY.
m. 2 Mar 1857 in Nicholas
Co., KY.
Spouse: John Hildreth Durrum
b. Mar 1835 in (probably)
Bracken Co., KY.
Child:
1. Aquilla Hildreth Durrum
??b. 1 Feb 1857 in Nicholas Co. (now Robertson), KY
??d. 1 Dec 1931 in Carlisle, Nicholas Co., KY
??m. 17 Dec 1884
?
?/span>Spouse: Minerva Elizabeth
Bratton
?? b. 11 May 1864 in Robertson Co., KY
?? d. 26 May 1956 in Myers, Nicholas Co., KY
?? Father: James Bratton
?? Mother: Louisa E. Asbury
Child #3 Uriah Wells
His date of death raises the
possibility that he died in the Civil War.
Jon Hagee writes:
I found a Uriah Wells in
Company B, 9th KY Cavalry, U.S. He is listed as having died. Uriah Wells was a
private who enrolled on Aug. 10, 1862, was mustered in Aug. 22, 1862 at
Eminence, KY for a period of 1 year. He died on March 15, 1863 at Lebanon, KY.
Below him on the roster is?a Robert
Wells with the same stats except that he died on Feb. 20, 1863 at Hart Co., KY.
We’ve looked at the War of
1812 and the Mexican War. Now’s the time for all of you to start digging for
your Civil War ancestors.!
Child #4 Mary Elizabeth Wells
According to our information,
Mary Elizabeth married John E. Barnette 18 April 1867 in Nicholas County. The
on-line Ancestral File at www.familysearch.org
has a John E. Barnett b. 15
Jun 1843?in Robertson County [?] to
John M. Barnett and Hanna Mahathlema Mann. Hanna was the daughter of Jacob Mann
and Elizabeth Peyton. A John E. Barnett died 24 October 1924 in Robertson Co.,
age 81.?This information was submitted
by Richard Thomas Barnett, RD 10, Box 204N, York PA?17404.
ROBERTSON
COUNTY
BIRTH
RECORDS
Vital Statistics for
Robertson County at the Kentucky Archives in Frankfort:
January 24, 1874 - Albert Wells - Son of William H. Wells,
b. Nicholas County and Mary A. Allen, b. Hamilton County, Ohio [Our records
have the mother’s name as Mary Ann Harrison b. in Mason Co., KY]
May (no day), 1874 - Luther A. Wells - son of Daniel Wells
and Annie McGraw, both born in Nicholas County [p. 47 new data]
July 17, 1874 - Charles B. McConnell - Son of William
T. McConnell, b. Scott County and Sarah A. Wells, born in Nicholas County
[p.49]
September 27, 1874 - Matilda Rankins - daughter of Henry
Rankins and Amanda Wells, both born in Nicholas County [p. 45 new data]
November 22, 1874 - Alton Uriah Wells - Son of Aaron Wells
- b. Nicholas County, Kentucky and Elizabeth C. Deming, b. Oswego, N.Y. [p. 47
Our records show a birth date of November 5, 1874]?Also see the obituary in the next column.
December 2, 1874 - Mary Wells - Daughter of Wm. R. Wells
and Margaret W. Hill - both born in Nicholas County, Kentucky [p. 36 Our
records show a birth date of 3 July 1874]
December 2, 1874 - Jessie U. Wells - Daughter of James M.
Wells, b. Nicholas County and Celestine Watson, b. Mason County [Newsletter
Vol. 23, p. 7 Our records show a middle initial of W.]
April 4, 1875 - Rufus A. Wells - Son of Squire A.
Wells, b. Nicholas County and Mary R. Fields, born in Mason County?[p. 50]
July 10, 1875 - Fannie Overbey - Daughter of Oscar P.
Overbey and Maria E. Wells, both born in Nicholas County [p. 48 Our records
show no middle initial for Mariah (Wells) Overbey]
March 23, 1876 - John H. Wells - Son of Nathan E. Wells,
b. Nicholas County and Sarah A. Crockett, b. Bath County [ p. 51 Our records
show the mother’s name as Sarah Jane Crocket]
June 1, 1876 - Walter Wells - Son of Christopher C.
Wells and Angeline Overbey, both born in Nicholas County [p. 48]
February 17, 1878 - Nancy Henson - Daughter of Frank T. and
Ella F. Wells, both born in Bracken County [p. 50 Our records show her name as
Nannie K. Henson with no date of birth]
April 6, 1878 - Julia Wells - Daughter of Nathan Wells,
b. Nicholas County and Sarah M. Crockett, b. Bath County [p. 51 new data; our
records show the mother’s name as Sarah Jane
Crockett]
November 19, 1878 - No Name - Daughter of Oscar P. Overbey
and Maria S. Wells, both born in Nicholas County [p. 48 Our records show no
date of birth for Cora, Dora or Effie and no middle initial for Mariah (Wells)
Overbey]
? Heart Attack Brings
Death To Physician
? Dr. Alton U. Wells, 58 years old, widely known physician of
Robertson county, died at 5 o’clock Thurs. morning [23 Sep 1932] at his home in
Mt. Olivet. He had been ill since Tuesday when he suffered a heart attack.
? Born in Mt. Olivet of a family distinguished in the history of
Robertson county for generations, Dr. Wells was the son of Aaron and Elizabeth
Wells
? Dr. Wells was president of the Robertson County Improvement
Company, an organization responsible for the financing and erection of the
Deming High School in Mt. Olivet. He was also vice-president and a director of
the Farmers and Traders Bank in that community. He held membership in the Mt.
Olivet Chapter, No. 291, of Masons, and was a faithful member of the Methodist
Episcopal Church, South, and superintendent of its Sunday School.
? He is survived by his widow, Mrs. Muriel Wells, one son, J. C.
Wells, and two daughters, Misses Norma M. and Mary Elizabeth Wells of Mt.
Olivet, and two brothers, Irvine D. Wells and Osmer D. Wells, also of Mt. Olivet.
? Funeral services were held Saturday afternoon at 2 o’clock from
the Mt. Olivet M. E. Church with the Rev. W. H. Cardwell, pastor, officiating.
Burial was made in the Mt. Olivet cemetery.