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To: ZachariahWells-L@rootsweb
From: John Wells <doredad(a)foothills.net>
Subject: Re: Zachariah Wells
Greetings from East Kentucky. By way of introduction, I am John B. Wells III
the great-great nephew of the M.L.K. Wells who wrote the genealogy of the
Wells family which included Zachariah Wells as a brother of Richard Wells,
M.L.K.'s grandfather. I am sorry to inform you that M.L.K.'s entire thesis
was terribly, terribly wrong. I am in possession of M.L.K.'s orginal notes
and letters. Although he was an intelligent & respected man, his
genealogical skills were very limited. He simply ignored the information
given to him by his father and uncles and incorrectly connected my branch of
the Wells family to an unrelated branch. I have letters from his uncles
telling him that he was wrong. I also have letters from M.L.K. that fit our
branch into other branches of the family. It seems that he vascilated back
and forth. The facts prove conclusively that my great-great-great
grandfather Richard Wells(who married Susannah Hutchison) was not the son of
Richard Wells, Sr., nor was he a brother of Zachariah Wells. Richard Wells,
Sr. did have a son name Richard Wells, Jr., but "Jr." died in Rosse County,
Ohio, as a Revolutionary War veteran. That is well-documented. My Richard
Wells was also a Revolutionary War veteran and he died in what is now
Johnson County, KY, in 1838.
Now, for the truth. My Richard Wells was probably the son of Humphrey Wells
of Philadelphia, PA, and Dover, Delaware. What we know for certain is that
he was the nephew of Dr. George Wells of Dover, Delaware, and Augusta, GA.
"Uncle" George is mentioned in Richard's Revolutionary War pension. We know
definitely who George was. His father was Dr. Richard Wells of Dover,
Delaware, who descends from Zorobabel Wells and his English/American father
Richard Wells of Harbury, Warwickshire, England, and Virginia. Please check
the Wells Family Research Association webpage for the account of my branch.
M.L.K. did not include Zachariah Wells with our branch of the family in any
of his early attempts at genealogy. It was only after he met an old lady in
West Virginia that he tried to fit Zachariah into his already incorrect
puzzle. I have a letter from a lady in Blaine, KY, dated 1923 which angrily
denounced M.L.K.'s research into the Zachariah Wells family. The lady
rightfully criticized M.L.K. for making up stories about her family after
being informed that he was wrong.
Regrettably, M.L.K.'s account has since been proved to be terribly wrong by
scores of thoughtful Wells researchers. Only those who will not check his
sources still hold on to his genealogy. I'm sorry to be so blunt about this,
but my family has had a great deal of trouble trying to correct his mistakes
for generations. It wouldn't be so bad if he had simply been ignorant of the
facts, but HE KNEW BETTER and put forth this garbage anyway. That's what
makes it so bad.
Having said all this I am very interested in learning more about Zachariah
Wells. The earliest record I have uncovered of Zachariah Wells is his
inclusion in the 1772 tax list for Fincastle County, VA. Where he came from
is yet to be found. I will be most happy to share everything I have with you
including scholarly research about my branch.
I am also very excited about the England trip this Summer. I, too, do
research to learn more about my ancestors and not to "bring glory" to me.
The trip to England will include visits to the little villages in
Warwickshire where my Wells ancestors lived in the 16th and 17th centuries.
We are planning to worship in the little churches and meet with distant
relatives. I can't wait! At present we have 22 cousins who are going. It
will be fun!!
Again, I look forward to hearing to anyone interested in solving the
Zachariah Wells mystery.
John B. Wells III
733 Court Street
Paintsville, KY 41240
doredad(a)foothills.net
>Return-Path: <ORWells(a)bigfoot.com>
>X-Sender: OWells(a)pop5.ibm.net
>Date: Fri, 16 Jan 1998 23:41:26 -0800
>To: doredad(a)foothills.net
>From: "Orin R. Wells" <ORWells(a)bigfoot.com>
>Subject: Re: Zachariah Wells
>
>John:
>
>Another which I will let you answer. Post it to
>ZachariahWells-L(a)rootsweb.com
>
>I don't believe you are subscribed, so you don't see these posts.
>
>>Resent-Date: Fri, 16 Jan 1998 22:06:28 -0800 (PST)
>>Subject: Re: Zachariah Wells
>>Date: Sat, 17 Jan 98 01:11:27 -0500
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>>From: John Graves <jgraves(a)3wave.com>
>>To: <ZachariahWells-L(a)rootsweb.com>
>>Resent-From: ZachariahWells-L(a)rootsweb.com
>>Reply-To: ZachariahWells-L(a)rootsweb.com
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>>
>>John,
>>
>>How do you know that the Wilkes Co?/Lee County Zachariah is not a son of
>>Richard Wells and Nancy Brown? I do not have proof that he is, but I
>>have seen that connection in other peoples research. I believe there was
>>a family member way back (M.S.K. Wells) who responded to an article on
>>the family of Zachariah Wells of Lee County. He says that his
>>grandfather was Richard Wells from Philadelphia, PA and was a brother of
>>Zachariah Wells. There were two other brothers one of which located on
>>the Knawabah River. M.S.K. Wells' mother was a Putcher raised in Scott
>>Co. near Osburn Ford. His father was Dr. William Green Wells born 1818.
>>
>>The Brown family name appears in the marriages of descendants. One in
>>particular was Susannah Wells (b. ca 1840) who was a daughter of Ezekiel
>>Wells and Emeline Day. She married George W. Brown Jan 1, 1856. They
>>named one of their children Larkin E. Brown.
>>
>>I'm just getting beginning to "get my feet wet" in the area of
>>historical research. Most of the research that I have found has been
>>given to me by kindly cousins on the web. My own orignal information
>>comes from Wise County Va. and Letcher County, KY census records and
>>marriage records. I read a lot of history books which may not have
>>totally accurate information. I take bits and pieces where I find them
>>and make notes of their source.
>>
>>No, I'm not ready to go to England. I just want the facts on the origins
>>of my ancestors. I'm not researching for the prestige or fame of family
>>names. My motivation is just the pure fascination of knowing my great
>>greats. I'm learning a lot of U.S history and geography in detail as I
>>go.
>>
>>The Zachariah Wells mystery has me very curious. I will do what I can to
>>help solve it unless some of these more experienced Wells descendants
>>unravel it first.
>>
>>Lucille Graves
>>lucy(a)3wave.com
>>
>>
>>==== ZachariahWells Mailing List ====
>>Please make sure you use your full name and topic
>>when posting messages to the list. When replying,
>>please use the name of the original poster and topic
>>so everyone will know what you are talking about.
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>Orin R. Wells
>Wells Family Research Association
>P. O. Box 5427
>Kent, Washington 98064-5427
><ORWells(a)bigfoot.com>
>http://www.rootsweb.com/~wellsfam/wfrahome.html
>