Ozias Wells

Ozias Wells was born on 15 May 1796 in Northampton, Fulton County, New York.^1–4

He lived in Sullivan, Madison, New York, United States in 1820.⁷

He  purchased rights to gypsum and plaister in the undivided sixth part of all the gypsum or plaister that can be discovered as found on the whole or any part of all that certain piece or parcel of land consisting of thirty acres and being the north part of the second fifty acre lot in this subdivision of lot number forty in said town of Sullivan on 9 Jul 1825 in Madison, New York, United States.¹¹

Ozias lived in Madison, Madison, New York, United States before 1830.^13–14

He was aa delegate to Anti-Mason Convention in 1830.¹⁵

After 1830 he worked for an uncle digging a canal near  Princeton, Mercer, New Jersey, United States.¹⁴

Ozias died on 5 Aug 1832 at the age of 36 in Princeton, Mercer, New Jersey, United States.^{1–2,4,14,17–18}

He was buried in 1832 at Princeton Baptist Church Cemetery in Penns Neck, Mercer, New Jersey, United States.¹

Ozias Wells and Mary Kennedy were married on 18 Mar 1818 in Sullivan, Madison, New York, United States.^2,4,18–19

Mary Kennedy, daughter of John Kennedy and Anna Barnes, was born on 21 Feb 1799 in Halfmoon, Saratoga, New York, United States.^{2,4,14,18,20–21}

She lived in Calhoun, Michigan, United States in 1837.^14,17

She lived in Calhoun, Michigan, United States in Jul 1840.²²

Mary lived in Clarendon, Calhoun, Michigan, United States on 21 Oct 1850.²³

She lived in Clarendon, Calhoun, Michigan, United States on 9 Oct 1860.

She lived in Clarendon Township, Calhoun, Michigan, United States on 9 Aug 1870.²⁴

Mary  resided in 1873 in Chester Township, Eaton County, Michigan.²⁵

She was a member of the Methodist Episcopal Church.¹⁴

She lived in Kalamo Township, Eaton, Michigan, United States on 18 Jun 1880.²⁶

Mary died on 23 Mar 1885 at the age of 86 in Kalamo, Eaton, Michigan, United States.^{2,4,14,20–21,27}

She was buried in 1885 at Kaloma Cem. in Eaton, Michigan, United States.²¹

Mary and Ozias were the parents of six children:

• On 27 Mar 1819, a child named Benjamin Franklin Wells was born in Sullivan, Madison, New York, United States.^5–6
• On 26 Feb 1821, a child named Thurston Kennedy Wells was born in Sullivan, Madison, New York, United States.⁸
• On 9 Jan 1823, a child named William Wallice Wells was born in Sullivan, Madison, New York, United States.⁹
• On 6 Mar 1825, a child named Hannah Anne Wells was born in Sullivan, Madison, New York, United States.¹⁰
• On 14 Jan 1827, a child named Mary Jane Wells was born in Sullivan, Madison, New York, United States.¹²
• On 8 May 1831, a child named Nancy Phidila Wells was born in Sullivan, Madison, New York, United States.¹⁶

ENDNOTES:

1. Find a Grave, database and images, Find a Grave (www.findagrave.com : viewed online November 2016), memorial for Ozias Wells (1795-1832), Find a Grave Memorial no. #144143986, created by GSNJ Tombstone Hounds, citing Princeton Baptist Church Cemetry, Penns Neck, Mercer County, New Jersey;, Ozias Wells.

2. Crawford Family Papers; privately held by Marcia Philbrick, , Seneca, Kansas, 2016. Wells Family Bible. copy obtained from Doris Ryan, daughter of Cecile Mentzer Beine.

3. Valerie Radee, (Albion, Michigan) to Marcia Philbrick, letter, 28 October 2003; Wells Family Correspondence, privately held by Marcia Philbrick. , 2022. Wells Family Group Sheets – with documentation.

4. Doris Ryan, , Descendants of Ozias Wells and Mary Kennedy; supplied by Ryan, , created before 2010. Marcia Philbrick 2010.

5. Michigan, Deaths and Burials, 1800-1995. Benj F Wells, 25 Dec 1891 database, FamilySearch http://www.familysearch.org : viewed online 5 October 2020.

6. Find a Grave, database and images, Find a Grave (www.findagrave.com : viewed online 16 December 2020), memorial for Benjamin Franklin Wells (1819-1891), Find a Grave Memorial no. 3155335683, created by BluMoKitty, citing Hillside Cemetery, Kalamo, Eaton County, Michigan; accompanying photograph by miran, Benjamin Franklin Wells.

7. 1820 U.S. Census, Madison County, New York, population schedule, Sullivan, Madison County, New York Image 11 of 11, Horiah Wells; digital image, Ancestry.com (www.ancestry.com : viewed online July 2017)

8. Find a Grave, database and images, Find a Grave (www.findagrave.com : viewed online September 2016), memorial for Thurston Kennedy Wells (1821-1893), Find a Grave Memorial no. #55747283, created by J. Geoghan, citing Yates Center Cemetery, Yates Center, Woodson County, Kansas; accompanying photograph by RisingSun, Thurston Kennedy Wells.

9. “Michigan, Death Records, 1897-1929,” database, Ancestry.com (www.ancestry.com : viewed online October 2017), William Wallace Wells.

10. Smith John E., Editor, Our County and Its People, a Descriptive and Biographical Record of Madison County, New York (N.p.: Boston History Company, Publishers, 1899), page 96; digital images, FamilySearch.org, http://www.familysearch.org Film 934838 Item 1 : viewed online 12 June 2022.

11. New York, Madison County. Deed records, 1806-1900.  Film #404305 DGS 711997. Ozias Wells, 9 Jul 1825 Vol AE: page 281; digitized images, FamilySearch http://www.familysearch.org : viewed online 21 July 2022.

12. “Michigan, Death Records 1867-1952,” database, Ancestry.com (www.ancestry.com : viewed online October 2017), Mary Jane Humeston.

13. 1830 U.S. Census, Madison County, New York, population schedule, Sullivan, Madison County, New York, page 402 Image 29 of 52, Ozias Wells; digital image, Ancestry.com (www.ancestry.com : viewed online July 2017)

14. , Portrait and Biographical Album of Barry and Eaton Counties, Michigan (Chicago: Chapman Bros., 1891), p. 278-279; digital images, Archive.org, http://www.archive.org viewed online 22 June 2022.

15. Tuttle, William, Names and Sketches of the Pioneer Settlers of Madison County, New York (Interlaken, NY: Heart of the Lakes Publishing, ), p. 272.

16. “Michigan, Death Records 1867-1952,” database Waney P Doolittle.

17. Durant, Samuel W., History of Ingham and Eaton County Michigan (: , 1880), p. 492 (Doc. #: Wells.MI.016).

18. Valerie Radee, (Albion, Michigan) to Marcia Philbrick, letter, [RecordDate]; Wells Family Correspondence, privately held by Marcia Philbrick. , 2022. [Details].

19. U.S. and International Marriage Records, 1560-1900 database, Ancestry.com (https://www.ancestry.com/search/collections/7836/). Yates Publishing. U.S. and International Marriage Records, 1560-1900 : viewed online 22 July 2022.

20. Valerie Radee, (Albion, Michigan) to Marcia Philbrick, letter, 2003; Wells Family Correspondence, privately held by Marcia Philbrick. , 2022. Michigan records; family group sheets.

21. Find a Grave, database and images, Find a Grave (www.findagrave.com : viewed online October 2017), memorial for Mary Kennedy Wells (1799-1885), Find a Grave Memorial no. #155336266, created by BluMoKitty, citing Hillside Cemetery, Kalamo, Eaton County, MIchigan; accompanying photograph by miran, Mary Kennedy Wells.

22. 1840 U.S. Census, Calhoun County Michigan, Clarendon, Calhoun County, Michigan, image 7 of 8, Mary Wells; digital images,  (: viewed online 22 July 2022).

23. 1850 U.S. Census, Calhoun County Michigan, population schedule, Clarendon Township, Calhoun County, Michigan, image 12 of 16, family 199, Mary Wells; digital image, Ancestry.com (www.ancestry.com : viewed online 27 June 2022); NARA microfilm publication M432.

24. 1870 U.S. Census, Calhoun County, Michigan, population schedule, Calhoun County, Michigan, page 8 Image 8 of 30, family 67, James Doolittle; digital images, FamilySearch (www.familysearch.org : viewed online 21 May 2022)

25. Halsey, Drouscella Perry, Index of Landowners of Eaton County Michigan, 1873 (: , 1992), page 6, 92 (Doc. #: Wells.MI.010).

26. 1880 U.S. Census, Eaton County Michigan, population schedule, Kalamo Township, Eaton County, Michigan, enumeration district (ED) ED 74, page 26, household 296, Benjamin F. Wells; digial images, Ancestry.com (www.ancestry.com : viewed online July 2017); NARA microfilm publicaiton T9.

27. Photograph, Tombstone, West Clarendon Cemetery, Calhoun County, Michigan read by Valerie Radee, 1995, Kaloma Twp. Cemetery, Eaton Co., MI.

Benjamin F. Wells

When I first started researching my family history, the Internet did not exist. Thus, my research depended on sources available at the Kansas State Historical Society, letter writing or travel. Since my tree has deep Kansas roots, the historical society’s collection of Kansas census and newspaper records were of a great help. For my earlier generations, the book collection at the historical society provided a wealth of information.

Many of those books were county histories or mug books. While that collection of books still exists in Topeka, Internet resources such as Archive.org bring those same books into my home. One of those books, Portrait and Biographical Album of Barry and Eaton Counties, Michigan, contains an excellent biography of one of my Wells cousins, Benjamin F. Wells.

Benjamin F. Wells is a practical and
enterprising farmer residing on section 2
in Kalamo Township, Eaton County, and
is the eldest in a family of seven children.
His father, Ozias, and mother, Mary (Kennedy)
Wells were natives of the State of New York. The
grandfather, Green Wells, died in Orleans County,
N. Y .. at the advanced age of eighty-eight years.
The father was a farmer in Madison County, N. Y ..
where he engaged in agricultural pursuit, for some
years and then removed to Princeton, N. J., where
he worked for an uncle as overseer in the digging
of the canal. The mother was born at Half Moon,
Saratoga County, N, Y. Her father, John Kennedy,

also engaged in farming in Madison County. The
mother of our subject resided in New York State
until 1837, when she came to Michigan and spent
the rest of her days among her children and died at
the home of our subject, March 20, 1885, being at
that time over eighty-six years old. She was a
member of the Methodist Episcopal Church, and
was the mother of seven children, namely: B. F.;
Thurston, living at Yates Center, Kan.; William,
a resident of Albion Township, Calhoun County,
Mich.; Mrs. Ann Perry, a resident of Madison
County, N. Y.; Mrs. Jane Hummeston, who died at
Vermontville, this county; Mrs. Lucinda Hall,
residing at Chittenango, Madison County, N.Y.,
and Mrs. Nancy Doolittle, residing in Clarendon,
Calhoun County.
Our subject was born in Chittenango, Madison
County, N. Y., March 27, 1819, and· was reared on
a farm. He attended the district school through
the winter season and worked on the home farm
during the summer. He remained at home after
his father’s death and in company with his brother
ran the farm. Two of the brothers made their
home with uncles in Orleans County. The mother
finally sold her share and came to Michigan in

She purchased about one hundred and
twenty acres of land, it being just as the Indians
had left it. Our subject was induced to come to
Michigan to make a home and came by canal to
Buffalo, and thence to Toledo by the steamer, “New
England,” an by rail to Adrian, accomplishing the
rest of the journey by stage. He then engaged in
work for an uncle. The first summer and fall he
built a log house and moved in to it December 8,

The land surrounding this cabin abounded
in deer, wild turkeys and game of all kinds. He
then began breaking ground, having brought a
plow from New York. He used an ox-team that
he purchased in Adrian to draw the plow. After
working and clearing up this land until I 840, he
returned to New York, and remained in Madison
County for two years. At the end of that time he
returned to Clarendon Township and purchased
one hundred and sixty acres. In 1860 he traded
this tract of land for one hundred and sixty acres
on section 2. This property was but partly im-
­proved. He moved his family there by team and

page 279

has since steadily continued in the work of improv-·
ing the estate.
On this farm the land is all tillable with no waste
such as swamps would occasion. Over five ares
is spread a fruitful orchard, and each year good
crops of grain, wheat, etc. are raised. Mr. Wells
raises a good grade of cattle and stock and has
a fine flock of Merino sheep. His farm is situ-
ated three miles from Vermonotville. In 1874 Mr.
Wells erected a handsome brick house and has since
built two barns, one 40×70 and the other 40×36
feet in dimensions. Besides many natural springs
on this farm there is a windmill and tank that
furnishes water for the cattle.

Mr. Wells has been twice married, the first time
to Miss Ann M. Benham, in 1838. Mrs. Wells
was born in Hopewell, Ontario County, N.Y. Her
father, Lewis Benham, was one of the early settlers
in Clarendon Township, this State, where he re-
sided until his death, which occurred in Albion
Mich., May 25, 1886. By this marriage Mr. Wells
has four children: Alice, wife of M. G. Parker,
residing in Jackson, this State; George F., a farmer
in Roxana Township, living on a farm containing
forty acres; Clark E., married, residing at Vermont-
ville, and the owner of a farm of one hundred
acres; and Perry B., married to Tina Boyd, and
residing in Vermontville on a large and fertile farm
containing one hundred acres. Our subject was a
second time married at Peterboro, Madison County,
N.Y., March 26, 1857, to Miss Melissa R. Hamil-
­ton. Mrs. Wells was born in Nelson, Madison
County, N. Y., and is the daughter of John Ham-
­ilton, a farmer of that county. She is the mother
of two children-Clinton K. and Clayton H., twins,
the first residing at home and the second in Chau-
­tauqua County, Kan., where he is engaged in agri-
­cultural pursuits.

Mr. Wells, the gentleman of whom we write, has
filled many prominent positions in the county,
holding the office or Commissioner of Highways
for fifteen years, Justice of the Peace twelve years,
Supervisor five years, and School Director and
Pathmaster for several years. He has also served
on different committees in county work. Socially,
he is connected with some of the prominent orders,
holding high positions in each. He is member of

the Free and Accepted Masons at Vermontville, the
Royal Arch Masons at Charlotte, and the Knights
Templar at the same place. In politics, Mr. Wells
votes the Republican ticket and in 1854 served as
a delegate to one of the conventions. Three of his
sons are members of the two Masonic orders to
which the father belongs. Mrs. Wells is one of
the consistent working members of the Methodist
episcopal Church. Mr. Wells is unusually well
informed, and his public spirit and enterprise cor-
respond with his intelligence. He has always labored
earnestly to promote the cause of education and to
advance the agricultural interests in his township.
His farm of one hundred and sixty acres is one of
the finest in the township, and his home is supplied
with all the comforts of life and made cheerful and
attractive by the good taste of himself and his esti-
mable wife. His social qualities are such as to
render him extremely popular, especially among
his brother Masons and he is looked upon as a man
whose future promises to be very useful.

Anna Wells

If you have been doing genealogy research for some time, I’m guessing that you are like me in that you have used the county histories to locate biographies of a family member. These histories provide a wealth of clues about the life of an individual. They often provide information about the spouse and children of the person. If one is lucky, they might also provide information about the parents and in-laws.

For me, those biographies have been about the men in the area. Thus, I was surprised to find a biography of a woman, Anna H. Wells, wife of George Talbot Perry. While this biography could easily have been written with George Perry as the focus, it begins with information about Anna and her family before including information about George.

Perry, nee Anna H. Wells, p.o. Chittenango, N.Y., born March 6, 1825, eldest daughter of Ozias and Mary (Kennedy) Wells, a prominent family in years gone by. Both the Wells and Kennedy families came from New England. The Wells family trace their descent back to Elder John White, who came from England and landed in Boston on ship “Lyon,” September 16, 1632. They are also closely related to the well-known Thurston and Green families, so prominent in Revolutionary days. December 24, 1848, Anna H. Wells married St. George Talbot Perry. he was the fourth in direct line to bear the name. His mother was Amanda Herkimer, grand-

Smith John E., Editor, Our County and Its People, a Descriptive and Biographical Record of Madison County, New York (N.p.: Boston History Company, Publishers, 1899), page 96; digital images, FamilySearch.org, http://www.familysearch.org Film 934838 Item 1 : viewed online 12 June 2022.

page 97
daughter of Capt. George Herkimer, who fought with his brother, Gen. Nicholas Herkimer, in the noted battle of Oriskany. The Perrys came from England and settled in Rhode Island some time in the year 1600. To George T. and Anna H. Perry were born three children: Hattie Simms, now the wife of Hon. R. C. Briggs, resident of Rome, N.Y.; Georgia Talbot, now the wife of Charlse S. Button of Chittenango; Edward Sims, named in honor of good old Deacon Sims whose wife was cousin of Mrs. Perry, and in whose family much of her childhood was spent; he died January 31, 1864, aged four years. Mr. Perry in early life was associated in business with the late Alfred Bellamy in Chittenango. For over twenty years he was engaged in business in New York city where his abilities commanded the highest salaries. He was a conspicuous example of a self-made man and won the respect and friendship of a very large circle of friends. In politics he was a steadfast Republican. He was an active member of Strong Place Baptist Church, Brooklyn, NY. His death occurred November 15, 1865. Since then Mrs. Perry has made her home in Chittenango.

Smith John E., Editor, Our County and Its People, a Descriptive and Biographical Record of Madison County, New York (N.p.: Boston History Company, Publishers, 1899), page 96; digital images, FamilySearch.org, http://www.familysearch.org Film 934838 Item 1 : viewed online 12 June 2022.