| Notes |
- RESEARCH_NOTES:
1. The book "History of Washington County, New York," reprinted 1979 by Heart of the Lakes Publishing, Interlaken, NY, copy in public library of Cambridge Village, Washington Co., NY:
A. Pp. 252-253: "Edmund Wells was descended from an English stock. His father, Thomas Wells, was born in Dudley, Worcestershire, England, in 1694, and came to America in 1712, and settled in Saybrook, Conn. where he was united in marriage with Elizabeth Merrill, in May, 1720. Edmund Wells, one of the original propietors of the Cambridge patent, was born in Saybrook, 19 Feb 1721. In 1773 he removed with his family from Hebron, Conn., and settled in what is now the town of Cambridge, on the farm now owned and occupied by Thomas Cornell. He is the only one of the patentees who came to live upon the patent. His children were John Howell Wells, lived and died in Connecticut, Edmund Wells, Jr., born in 1746; graduated at Yale College, Sept. 14, 1768; came with the family in 1773. He was a prominent man in the town. He died on the homestead, 26 Sep 1826, aged 80 years. Mary Wells, married Walter Raleigh, and lived and died in Cambridge. Henry Wells, died young. James Wells, was a lieutenant of dragoons in the Continental service. he died at Croton River, Sept. 23, 1701 [date looks wrong - porb. 1781], aged 30 years. Sarah, married Joseph Peters, and lived and died in Cambridge. Austin, lived and died on his farm in White Creek, Dec. 8, 1849.
Captain Daniel Wells was born in Hebron, Conn., in 1754; in April, 1776, enlisted and joined the army then stationed on Long Island under the immediate command of General Washington. He held the rank of orderly-sergeant, and was selected as the bearer of a dispatch from General Washington to General Sullivan, containing sealed orders apprising him of the intended retreat. The duties were discharged with promptness amidst darkness and storm. Sergeant Wells' term of enlistment having expired while in the army was at White Plains, he received his discharge, and returned to Hebron, Conn., where he stood as a minute man. In 1779 he removed with his family to Cambridge and settled on the farm now owned by William Curtis. Here he lived with the companion of his youth for more than half a century, and was blessed with a family of sixteen children. He died May 6, 1840, aged 86 years. He was a man of stong mind. Respected by his fellow-citizens, he had been honored with various posts of office, both civil and miltary, which he filled with fidelity.
Descendants of the Wells family are yet living in this and the adjoining towns."
B. P. 32: "The same year [1761], on the 21st of July, the governor and council of New York granted a patent for 55,000 acres, situated north of the Hoosic patent, and comprising the central part of the present towns Cambridge and White Creek, under the name of Cambridge patent. The patentees were Edmund Wells, Isaac Swyer, Jacob Lansing, William Smith, Alexander Colden, Goldsborow Banyar, and others."
C. P. 252: "Cambridge embraces a part of the Hoosick patent, which was granted on both sides of that stream in 1688, the principal portion being in Renssalaer county. About 4,000 acres are included in Cambridge. The remainder of the town was a part of the Cambridge patent, granted in 1761 to Isaac Sawyer, Edmund Wells, Jacob Lansing, Wm. Smith, Alexander Colden, Goldsboro Bangor, and others, on condition that immediate settlements be made. The tract included 31,500 acres, north of the Hoosick patent and extending up the valley, which took the name of the patent. To induce settlements on this land, the patentees gave 100 acres to each of the first 30 families who would become actual settlers. The names which are now known of the first settlers are... These came on the lands in 1761-63. Other early settlers in the vicinity were... Austin Wells, Edwin Wells... The names of other early settlers are given in the record of those who were disturbed in possession of their lands by reason of the Revolution, and which for a time were exempted from quitrents on that account. They were ... Wm. Cooper... Many who had taken up lots previous to the Revolution left them during that period some from fear of disturbance by Tories and Indians, who were prowling about the country for plunder..."
D. Pp. 255-256: Listed in various offices as follows:
a. May 1774: Edward [Edmund?] Wells, one of three road supervisors of the middle division.
b. May 1776: Joseph Wells, poundmaster; Phineas Whiteside, committee man.
c. Apr 1777: Edmund Wells, Jr., treasurer and town clerk; Joseph Wells, overseer of poor and road commissioner; Edmund Wells, overseer of roads; William Cooper, road commissioner.
d. 1783: "A pound was directed to be located on the east side of the road by Captain Edmnd Wells' house, Captain Joseph Wells to build it, and Captain Edmund Wells to be poundmaster. Stocks [for confining people?] were also voted. They were to be built by Joseph Wells near the pound.
e. Mar. 14, 1791: Edmund Wells, moderator of special meeting. Phineas Whiteside, appointed part of special committee dealing with Cambridge being annexed by Washington county.
g. 13 Feb 1813: "Austin Wells manumits his slave woman named Hannah."
2. The book "Old Cambridge (1788-1988) - A collection of historical essays histories commemorating the 200th anniversary of the forming of the Old Cambridge District, 1788," copy in the Village of Cambridge public library:
A. "Edmund Welles, d. 1805, b. Mary Howell of South Hampton, L.I. Eight ch. including Daniel. Edmund was captain in the old French War and was one of the original propietors of Cambridge Township. Moved from Hebron, Conn. in 1780 to Cambridge. Edmund was the only patentee out of more than fifty who became a settler."
B "Daniel Welles, b. 1754 in Hebron, Conn., m. Hannah Lathrope 2/15/1776. In 1779 he removed with his family to Cambridge and settled on the farm owned by Mr. Bovee. Here they lived for more than half a century and were blessed with a family of sixteen children."
3. The book "Old Cambridge District," 1941, by Amos DeLany Moscrip in behalf of DAR, copy in the Cambridge public library, pp. 39-40: "Lists Edmund and Joseph Wells as licensees to purchase part of the Cadwallader Colden Patent. Colden's patent for Cambridge dated 23 Jul 1761 is found in Vol. 13, of "Patents in the State Land Bureau," p. 395, and is addressed to George III, King of England. The author also notes that many of the grantees for this patent came from Hebron, Connecticut. Due to the continuance of the French and Indian War with great fluctuations in the economic life of the colonies, many subsequently transferred their rights to a small group of men including Edmund and Joseph Wells.
4. The book "An Introduction to Historic Resources in Washington County, N.Y., 1976," prepared by the Washington County Planning Department, copy in the Cambridge Public Library, pp. 25-26: "Although the Cambridge Patent specified dozens of grantees, the considered judgment of one early investigator was that actual land ownership was in the hands of but six persons: Alexander Colden, William Smith, G. Banyar, Isaac Sawyer, E. Wells, and Jacob Lansing, the latter three being grantees. A later historian disputes any implication of impropriety in this turn of events... The establishment of farms now began in earnest. Under the leadership of the Wells family, newcomers took up residence along the Owl Kill in the years 1761, 1762, and 1763. Most of thse people were said to have come form Colrain, Mass. with others coming from Hebron, Conn... 1766 saw the Whiteside family (from Lancaster, PA, earlier from County Tyrone, Ireland) establishing homes in the southwestern section of Cambridge. Phineas Whiteside had been in the area in 1764 when he accompanied the Rev. John Cuthbertson, a Presbyterian clergyman dedicated to serving people in remote areas ranging from the Connecticut to the Ohio, and from Maryland north to Cambridge, New York and Colrain, Mass. The relatively peaceful settlement which began in thse three centers of population was soon to be interrupted by the revolutionary war. Locally, the 16th Albany Militia Regiment was organized to meet military requirements."
The book has a photo on p. 26 of the "Whiteside Church, 1800-01 - begun with a bequest of the widow of Phineas Whiteside; altered several times beginning as early as 1825."
"...Two family churches were established early, the Whiteside Churhc whose pulpit was usually filled by Presbyterians, and the King Methodist Episcopal Churdh organized by Hezekiah King, great-granfather of Grandma Moses."
Pp. 28-29 have a map of Cambridge with a key to major landmarks including the following key notes:
37: Edmund Wells House [just south of the Village of Cambridgeon the west side of the Stage Road, above Duell Hollow Road]
38: Austin Wells House [just south of the Village of Cambridgeon the west side of the Stage Road, above Duell Hollow Road just below Ed. Wells]
42: Whiteside Church [just south of the Village of West Cambridge]
43: Whiteside Family House
5. FHL book 929.273 W462c "History and Genealogy of the Wells Family. Some Ancestors and Descendants of Thomas Wells of Saybrook and Hebron, Connecticut, who had come from Dudley, Worcestershire, England in 1712. Supplementing: "The History and Genealogy of the Wells Family" by Philip L. Cobb, 1897"; compiled by John. L. Cobb, 1999, pp. 9-12:
"Edmund. The eldest, born at Saybrook, CT, 8 or 9 Feb. 1720/21, Saybrook vi. rec.: L2: 269, went with family on move to Hebron, CT 1725, living there until 1780, when removed to Cambridge, Washington Co., New York. He is supposed to have married at Southampton, Suffolk Co., L.I., NY, 12 May 1743 to Mary HOWELL, who seems to have been daughter of Ezekiel and Mary (ROGERS) H. of Southampton, NY ("Colonial Fams. of NY, L.I. & CT," by H.F. Seversmith, vol. III 1948: 1, 407-9, 405; will of Matthew HOWELL, liber. 7:560; list (table): "Anc. and Desc. of John Howell Wells of Gilead par., Tolland Co., CT," in archives of Suffolk Co., L.I., NY Hist. Soc., Riverhead, NY, Dec. 5, 1975), reportedly born in Southampton 14 Feb. 1718 and died 2 Jan. 1776 aged 50 years. Edmund Wells died at Cambridge, NY, 1 June 1805 aged 84 years.
Edmund Wells, carpenter and farmer, was elected town supervisor of Cambridge in 1778, was a captain in the "old French war", and was one of the original proprietors of Cambridge town. "Patent of 61,000 acres of land July 23, 1761: George III, to Isaac SAWYER, John R. BLEECKER, Abraham Jacob LANSING, Edmund Wells, Joseph Wells (brother, or perhaps uncle to Edmund Wells, apparently stayed in England where m. 3 Sept. 1707, Oldswinford, Worcs., to Ma(r)gery TREVER), Thomas Wells (his father), Samuel Gilbert, Daniel INGHAM, Eliphalet House, Thomas Gilbert, and some 50 others (including my ancestor Elijah LOTHROP)." "This tract extended from Rensselaerwick at Albany, to Lake George, NY. The Patent was granted and accepted before the Revolution, and the same company had it afterwards confirmed by the legislature of the state of New York. That part of this Patent was known as the towns of Cambridge, White Creek, and Jackson, is still inhabited by a large number of the Wells family, the immediate descendants of the above patentees, all enterprising and respectable in their habits and standing" ("WELLES Family," by A. Welles 1876, 97-8, 162-4). Edmund Wells is said to have been the only one of the patentees who came to live on the land. He thus became, in a way, a manorial lord of a vast estate. The land was, however, only valuable as settlers occupied it and brought it under the plow; to induce men to occupy it, farms were sold or leased for nominal consideration. It is traditional that the rent of one of these farms was "a bushel of corn and two fat barnyard fowls." The tenant would come with his large family of children in a great sleigh every New Year's Day to pay his rent. Coming from a distance, he would, of course, be asked to take dinner, and with his hungry sleigh-load of children, would eat many times over the value of "a bushel or corn and two fat barnyard fowls". Thus it is that the Wellss, while enjoying the reputation of being the first family in the town, were actually no richer than their humble neighbors. As these new year dinners became rather expensive and troublesome, free deeds were given to the tenants from motives of economy. Edmund Wells had nine children all born in Hebron, CT:
i John Howell, b. 12 Feb. 1744/5
ii Edmund, b. 30 Aug. 1746
iii Mary Howell, b. 16 May 1748, Hebron, CT vi. rec.: 1: 149; m. Sept. 1776 to Esq. James Walter RALEIGH, ROWLEY?, ROLLO?, s. of John and Mary (Phelps) R. of Hebron, CT, his 1st wife.
iv Henry, b. 25 Mar. 1750; d. 30 Mar. 1763 age 12 yrs., Hebron, CT
v James, b. 14 Apr. 1752; was a lieut. of dragoons, Continental service in the Revolutionary War; died 23 Sept. 1781 age 30 yrs., at the Croton River, Westchester Co., NY, buried at Crompond (Crump Pond) (Mohansic Park), Westchester Co., NY; the inventory for administration by John H. Wells, of Lieut. James Wells's estate was made 3 Feb. 1784 by Samuel Gilbert, Jorden POST, and Bateman Wells (E. Haddam, CT pro. dist. court rec'd: vol. 5;170; it was exhibited and distributors were appointed (those above), 7 Dec. 1784: vol. 5:151.
vi Daniel, b. 7 Nov. 1754
vii David
viii Sarah, b. 28 Feb. 1757, Hebron, CT vi. rec.:2: 256; m. Oct. 1718, Hebron, Tolland Co., CT, to Joseph PeterS, s. of ?Joseph and Deborah (BIRCHARD) P. of Chatham and Hebron, CT, tavernkeeper; he d. 1796 age 40 yrs. at ?Cambridge, NY; she d. 3 Aug. 1793 at Cambridge, Washington Co., NY; children PeterS: Joseph, blacksmith; Sarah, m. Matthew GIBSON; James, m. Lydia BEEBE, dau.; Ruel B.; tavern; rem..; Erie Co., NY.
ix Austin b. 14 Feb 1759.
References: "Abstracts of Wills/of/Washington Co NY 1788-1825," by G. A. Barber, 1937, 1993:23 Edmund Wells of Cambridge, dated Jan. 7, 1800; probated July 1, 1805 mentions sons: John Edmund, Daniel, children of my daughter Molly wife of Walter Raleigh, children of my daughter Sarah wife of Joseph Peters dec'd. Executors: sons: Edmund, Daniel, Austin, brother Joseph. Witnesses; Lauchlin Wright, James Niles, Gerrit Wendell signed "X". Codicil to the above will: 18 Apr. 1804: James Wells son of the Edmund (Jr.) to receive his father's bequest, and to become an executor of Edmund (Sr.) in his place (from George W. Roger's typed copy of the Edmund Wells (Sr.) probate, 24 Mar. 1995); "Descendants of Edward Howell, 1584-1655," by E.H. Rose, 2nd ed. rev, and prep. by David Paris, 1985:90: concerns g.s. of Mary wf. of Ezekiel Howell shared with grandson Henry Wells, in Gilead cem. Hebron, CT; Concerning PeterS fam.: correspondence with Mr. George W. Rogers, PO Box 111, Fairview Village, PA 19409-0111, May. 24, 1995."
6. TAG 46:180-183: "The Wells (Welles) Family of Hebron, CT. and Cambridge, N.Y.," by John G. Hunt:
"Writing in September 1848, Dr. Asa Fitch, tireless biographer of Washington County, New York, recorded the account furnished him by Austin Wells of Cambridge, N.Y., at that time, as follows:
"Grandfather Thomas Wells came from Dudley in Worcestershire, England, to Saybrook, Connecticut, in 1712. He there married a Miss Merrill and had three children."
In 1898, however, there appeared a variant version, titled "A History of the Ancestors and Descendants of John Howell Welles." In that it was said that Thomas Welles, born at Dudley, England, in 1694, came to America in 1712, marrying Elizabeth Merrill at Saybrook, Conn.; died in 1760 at Hebron in the same colony, having had seven sons. See also Wm. H. Cutter, "Genealogical and Family History of the State of Connecticut" (1911), 4:1905...
As before noted, the accounts of the Wells family printed in 1898 and 1911 claimed that Thomas1 Wells, who died in 1760 at Hebron, Conn., had seven sons. On the other hand, his will, dated there in 1745 and proved there in June 1760, names wife Elizabeth and three sons only, Edmund, Thomas and Joseph. The question therefore arises as to whether this progenitor had lost four sons before drawing up his will in 1745, or whether he had given their portions before that date.
It is not practicable to list the numerous descendants of the last testator, for they are scattered far and wide. A fair list of the descendants of Joseph2 and of Edmund2 appears in the Asa Fitch Manuscript History of Washington County, N.Y., a copy of which is in the hands of the historian of said county. The family of Thomas2 Wells is discussed in J. R. Coles' "History of Tolland County, Conn." (New York 1888), 339..."
DEATH:
1. The book "Abstracts of Wills of Washington County, New York: 1788-1825," by Gertrude A. Barber: "Edmund Wells of Cambridge, dated 7 Jan 1800, probated 1 Jul 1805. Mentions:
Sons: John, Edmund, Daniel
Children of my daughter Molly, wife of Walter Raleigh.
Children of my daughter Sarah, wife of Joseph Peters, decd.
Executors: sons Edmund, Daniel, Austin, brother Joseph.
Witnesses: Lamhlin Wright, James Niles, Gerrit Wendell, signed 'X'."
BURIAL:
1. The book "Cemetery Records, the Town of Cambridge, Washington Co., NY," 2003, comp. by Historical Data Services, 14 Clark St., Glen Falls, NY, 12804, www. hdsgenealogy.com, copy available in the Cambridge public library. For Old Turnpike Cemetery, with over 50 Wells including: Edmund Wells, Esq., d. 1 Jun 1805, Sec. C, row 12,, in his 85th y, m. Wealthy Ann ___.
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Chris & Julie Petersen's Genealogy
1721 - 1805 (84 years)