Last but not least, I have a few additional comments.
1. Most, if not all, of the Quaker families named Wells in Hendricks Co., IN
are descendant of Joseph Wells, said to be the son of Thomas and Frances
Wells of Prince George's Co., Maryland. [Family W006] These are DEFINITELY
NOT related to either Raymond or the rest of us.
2. I'm taking the statement that John Boyd Wells was born in Scotland with a
whole boxfull of Morton's. In some of my other research, I've found that it
is not uncommon to "telescope" generations. A grandfather is said to have
been born in Scotland (or England or Germany, etc.) Further investigation
shows that he was born in America but HIS grandfather was born in Scotland.
I think this is a clue to ethnicity rather than nativity. Indeed, some of
our Wells may have been born in Northern Ireland but were "Scottish" (spoke
English and were Protestant rather than native "Irish" (spoke Gaelic and
were Roman Catholic). Unlike the German Protestants who came to America in
colonial times and had to pledge allegiance to the British Monarch (and left
wonderful records), the Scots could just get off the boat and melt into the
population.
3. Except for Zachariah, we're seeing a pattern of western Maryland,
southwest Pennsylvania and northwest Virginia, all the boundaries in dispute
at various times. Don Claypool and I like to call this region "The Black
Hole". Families emerge from it with no clues as to their origin. We need a
lucky break, but with more research avenues opening, there may be a better
chance that it can happen.
Patricia
Patricia