Hugh Wells (abt. 1625 - 1678)

Descendants

Contents 1 Biography 1.1 Confusion Caused by Early Works 1.2 Origin 1.3 Marriage 2 Children 2.1 Positions and Property 2.2 Last Will and Testament 2.3 Death and Legacy 3 Research Notes 4 Sources

Biography

Hugh Wells

Spelling note: Wethersfield records and journals use "Wells" (incl. Robert C. Anderson and Donald L. Jacobus), occas. various: Wels, Welles (on his will)

Confusion Caused by Early Works

An 1890 article by George Sheldon, published in The New England Historical and Genealogical Register, claimed that Hugh Wells was married to Frances and settled in Wethersfield (NOT CORRECT).^[1] History of Ancient Wethersfield, by Adams and Stiles, repeated and embellished these mistakes.^[2] Another book from 1910, A History of Hatfield by Wells, mentions facts which actually apply to Thomas Wells/Welles.^[3] This mis-information has been picked up by data bases everywhere.^[4]

Apparently, these authors confounded Thomas Welles of Evesham, Worcestershire, England, with Hugh Wells of Hartford and Wethersfield, Connecticut, sometimes making them father and son, sometimes combining the two.^[4] There is no known relationship between the two families.

Thomas Wells/Welles married, as her 1st, to Frances Albright who married, as her 2nd, to Thomas Coleman.

Hugh Wells did not marry Frances Belcher, (although it is reported in various data bases online). In fact, the Wells Family Research Association contends that Frances Belcher may not have existed.^[5]

Therefore, this profile has been disconnected from the one for Frances Belcher.

This profile reported Hugh Wells' birth was 1590 at Colchester, Essex, England, without citation. This (and other birth information) has been reported by various data bases online, apparently without evidence.^[5]

Origin

Hugh Wells' parents and place of origin are not known. Birth date, 1625, is a guess, based on his reported age, about 53 years at his death on 22 December 1678.

Specific birth place: Colchester, Essex, England was removed from this profile (no evidence and no citation).

Marriage

Hugh ("Heew") married on 19 August 1647 at Hartford, Hartford County, Connecticut (bride's home), to Mary Ruscoe (b c. 1628), daughter of William Ruscoe of Hartford.^{[6] [7]}

Children

Children of Hugh and Mary (*three recorded at Wethersfield):^[8][4]

1. John Wells* b 24 May 1648 Wethersfield; mar ?
2. Mary Wells (#1) b abt. 15 Aug 1649, died young
3. Mary Wells* (#2) b 14 Oct 1650; mar Thomas Robinson
4. Rebecca Wells* b 10 Jan 1651/?2; mar 1) Thomas Latham, 2) John Packer, 3) Unknown Watson of Kingston, RI
5. Sarah Wells b "say" 1654; mar John Bishop

Positions and Property

Ensign Hugh Wells' name is among those of the earliest settlers of Pyquaug (later Wethersfield), according to The History of Ancient Wethersfield ... compiled by Adams; none arrived later than 1645.^[2] Hugh Wells is first found in official records of Connecticut on 21 May 1653 as a drummer for the colonial troop.^[4] In May 1677, he was confirmed Ensign, and also in 1677, as Sargent of the Wethersfield Train Band.^[4] History of Wethersfield by Sherman W. Adams gives a good account of Hugh Wells, according to Jacobus.^[2]

"The Townsmen have hired Hugh Welles to beate the drum for one whole year from the 25th of April, from that time twelve months, every night and morning, for the setting and the calling of the watch in the morning, and for to beate it every Lord's Day, and the Lecture dates, and for all other occasions of the townsmen shall stand in need for, and the townsmen have provided to pay him twelve pounds." - Wethersfield Rec, Feb. 1652.

In 1659, Hugh served as town recorder.^[2] On October 29, 1670, Hugh signed his name to the agreement, as one of the four committee members, setting the bounds between the towns of Wethersfield and Farmington.^[2]

As a military man, Hugh was granted land by the General Court, in return for his services.^[2] His initial homestead at Wethersfield was recorded in 1649.^[4] On December 3, 1663, Hugh Wells signed a bill of sale transferring the "Red Hill," at South Glastonbury from himself to Daniel Rose.^[2] This Red Hill area was the site of a fort, built by John Hollister, assisted by members of the Wongum tribe who remained there in fear of the Narragansetts. These Wongum became known as the "Red Hill Indians."^[2]

Last Will and Testament

Welles, Hugh, Wethersfield. Invt. £317-14-03. Taken 12 June, 1679, by James Treat, Thomas Hollister. Will dated 20th November, 1678.

I Hugh Welles in the town of Wethersfield do make and ordain this my last Will & Testament: I give to my wife Mary Welles 1-3 part of my Houseing & Land, with 1/2 of my Household Stuff during her natural life. I give to my son John Welles all my Wearing Apparrel, all my military Arms, 1/2 of my Household Stuff, all my Carpenter's Tools and all other Tooles & Implements whatsoever, also my Stock of Cattle, Horses and Cows, one Cow only excepted. I give to my son John 2-3 of all my Houseing and Lands, 1/2 acre of Land (bounded upon the Green or Common, adjoining to the Lands of William Goodrich & Anthony Wright) only excepted, and also the immediate reversion & remainder of my Houseing & Lands before given to my wife Mary during her natural life, which sd. Reversion is not to include any part of that half acre of Land before excepted, all which sd. Houseing & Lands & Reversion of Houseing & Lands I give to my sd. son John to be to him & his heirs successively forever, after my decease. I give to my daughter Mary Robinson £5. I give to my daughter Rebeckah £5, and to my daughter Sarah Bishop an half of acre of Land before particularly mentioned, to be to her & to her daughter now living. Also I Will my sd. daughter Bishop £5. I give to my gr. Child Thomas Robinson, the son of Thomas Robinson, £5. I give to my gr. child Will Robinson, the son of Thomas Robinson aforesd., £1. I give to my gr. Child Mary Robinson 10 Shillings. I give to my gr. Child Samuel Latham, the son of my daughter Rebeckah, £3. I give to my gr. Child Sarah Latham £2. I give unto my gr. Child Sarah Bishop £3, and also the half acre of Land, to be possessed after the decease of her father and Mother. I give to my Cousin Will Savage, the son of John Savage of Middletown, £1. I give the rest of my Cousins, the Children of John Savage, to each i Shilling apeice. And my Will is that all the Legacies shall be paid by my son John or his heirs. And my Will is that if my son John Welles should die without Issue, the Land, etc., given to him shall be to the use of my gr. child Thomas Robinson the Entail, or next to Will Robinson, or next to Samuel Latham, etc. I constitute my son John Welles my Executor, and Mr. Gershom Bulkeley and Eleazer Kimberly, Overseers.

Witness : Samuel Wright, Eleazer Kimberly.

Hugh Welles. Ls.^[9]

Court Record, Page 14 — 24 April, 1679 : Will proven. The Estate of Mr. Welles being considerably in Debt, this Court doth Order that if the Executor doe see need to part with any Land to pay the Debts, that he doe take the Houselott as it is prised in the Inventory & pay so much of the Debts out of his own proper Estate as the House lott is prised in the Inventory, & he so doing, the entayle of the sd House & Lott is hereby cut off.^[9]

Death and Legacy

Hugh's will was dated 20 November 1678.^[4] He mentioned his "cousin" John Savage of Middletown who married Elizabeth Dubbin on 10 Feb 1652 at Hartford.^[4] Interestingly, he did not mention any other Wells/Welles relatives, other than his own direct descendants.^[4]

Hugh died on December 22, 1678, aged about 53 years, at Wethersfield, Hartford County, Connecticut.^[8] His wife, Mary, was executrix of his will.^[8]

Research Notes

Note: (The following is placed here temporarily and needs more work) Confusion between John, son of Hugh (error for Thomas) of Wethersfield, and another John Welles, the magistrate at Stratford, Connecticut and son of Gov. Thomas Welles.^[10] Each of these John Wells had a daughter named Sarah. John, the son of Hugh (error for Thomas), married Sarah Curtis, daughter of William Curtis of Stratford.

John, the son of Hugh (Thomas), married Sarah Curtis, daughter of William Curtis of Stratford, and appears to have left there about two years after the magistrate died. Judd, in his "History of Hadley," says that John Wells of Hatfield probably came from Stratford. Sarah, daughter of the latter, born 28 Sept. 1659, married 1 Feb. 1677/8 Benjamin Beach of Stratford, while Sarah, daughter of John Welles, the magistrate, married Ambrose Thompson. (Source, The English Ancestry of Gov. Thomas Welles of CT, (NEHGR 80:303-04)^[11]

An in-depth article by Jacobus and Wood points out the correct evidence for these two distinct families.^[4]

Sources

1. ↑ Sheldon, George, (1890) "Notes and Queries." The New England Historical and Genealogical Register, Vol 44. AmericanAncestors.org NEHGS (Vol 44, Page 208) NOT CORRECT.
2. ↑ ^{2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 2.5 2.6 2.7} Adams, Sherman W., The History of Ancient Wethersfield, Connecticut ... (Pages 31, 34, 48, 73, 118) (GENEALOGY INCORRECT - otherwise useful) New York: Grafton Press, 1904, Archive.org accessed October 25, 2015
3. ↑ Wells, Daniel White, A History of Hatfield, Massachusetts, in Three Parts: I. An Account of the Development of the ... (Page 447) (NOT CORRECT) Pub. under the direction of F.C.H. Gibbons, 1910, Archive,org accessed October 25, 2015
4. ↑ ^{4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 4.4 4.5 4.6 4.7 4.8 4.9} Jacobus, Donald Lines and W. Herbert Wood, (1952) "Widow Frances Wells and Hugh Wells of Wethersfield." The American Genealogist, Vol 28. AmericanAncestors.org NEHGS (Vol 28, Page 227).
5. ↑ ^{5.0 5.1} Hugh Welles/Wells & Frances Belcher of Wethersfield, Connecticut, USA Wells Family Research Association, accessed October 25, 2015. Note. Archived March 12, 2023 but it says I'm denied access ~~~~ original link https://sites.rootsweb.com/~wellsfam/genealgy/fam00001/fam00001.html
6. ↑ Anderson, Robert Charles, (1995) "William Ruscoe," Featured Name. Great Migration 1634-1635, R-S. [https://www.americanancestors.org/DB397/i/12124/122/147525053 AmericanAncestors.org NEHGS (Vol R-S, Page 122).
7. ↑ Brown, Coralynn, transcriber, Hartford Vital Records from Barbour, 1668-1852. CtGenWeb.
8. ↑ ^{8.0 8.1 8.2} (1866) "Records of Wethersfield, Connecticut." The New England Historical and Genealogical Register. Boston, MA: NEHGS AmericanAncestors.org (Vol 20, Page 131).
9. ↑ ^{9.0 9.1} Manwaring, Charles William, A Digest of the Early Connecticut Probate Records. (Pages 381-82) Hartford, CT: R.S. Peck & co. printers, 1904, Archive.org accessed October 27, 2015.
10. ↑ Welles, Lemuel Aiken, (1926) "The English Ancestry of Gov. Thomas Welles." The New England Historical and Genealogical Register. Boston, MA: NEHGS AmericanAncestors.org (Vol 80, Pages 279-305, citing Pages 303-04 including footnote which contains an error - Thomas should be substituted for Hugh) Caution: contains an error.
11. ↑ Davis, Roderic A., (2015) "Wells Families (5): Descendants of John Wells, Immigrant (1635?—?1692)." [https://web.archive.org/web/20170624163816/http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~dav4is/ODTs/WELLS.shtml Archived.org archived 24 Jun 2017.

• The following Contain Incorrect Information (confusing Hugh and Thomas):
  
  • The North America, Families History 1500-2000, ie Hodge Genealogy from the first of the name in this country to the present time : from the first of the name in this country to the present p. 348 at Ancestry In this record it starts with Hugh Wells and two brothers coming to America on the Globe, Richard, Joseph and Hugh (Hugh along with wife and four children. The Globe passenger list only shows Richard. Also, in the record it states Hugh being married to a Frances (Unknown). The key being in the maiden name being unknown. This is one of the many texts that copied the original mistaken publication
  • William R Cutter's New England Families, Genealogical and Memorial Vol 4 p. 1801. (1915) Generally unreliable.