John Wesley Wells (1829 - 1902)

Born 20 Jun 1829 in Daniels Creek, Johnson, Kentucky, United States

Ancestors

Husband of Sarah Jane (Flannery) Wells — married 21 Feb 1853 in Floyd County, Kentucky, United States

Descendants

Died 6 Feb 1902 at age 72 in Newfoundland, Elliott, Kentucky, United States

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Biography

John Wesley Wells was born on June 29, 1829, in Floyd County, Kentucky. He was the son of Moses Wells and Margaret Hillman.^[1] In the 1850 U.S. Census he is shown at age 20 or so and living with his parents in Johnson County, Kentucky.^[2]

He married Sarah Jane Flannery on February 21, 1853 in Floyd County, Kentucky.^[3] In the 1860 U.S. Census he and his wife Sarah (24) are listed as living in Morgan County, Kentucky with their 4 year old daughter Melvina and their 10 month old son Allen B, Wells.^[4]

John fought for the Confederacy during the U.S. Civil War. He enlisted as a private in Capt. Field’s Company of Kentucky Partisan Rangers. He served under Gen. John Hunt Morgan and was promoted to 1st Sergeant. He mustered out on March 13, 1863, but then re-enlisted in Company D of the 10th KY Confederate Cavalry. He was discharged at Christiansburg, Virginia, on April 12, 1865. He was then captured in Pike County, Kentucky on May 25, 1865, as a “paroled soldier.”^[5]

John W. Wells was identified in legal depositions in 1867 as one of thousands of unpardoned rebel fighters who had voted illegally in the 1867 elections, and may have participated in intimidation of Union voters leading up to the election and at the polls.^[6][7][8]

In the 1870 U.S. Census he and his wife Sarah (34) are listed as living in Elliott County, Kentucky with their growing family of Melvin, Allen B., Missouri, John., Mary E,, and Moses S, Wells.^[9] By the 1880 U.S. Census he and his wife Sarah (45) are listed as living in Elliott County, Kentucky with their growing family and the addition of Martha, Jasper, and Sarah Wells to the other children, who also all still lived at the home..^[10]

He passed away in Johnson County, Kentucky in about 1902.

Sources

• FamilySearch Person: KLBW-HMC

1. ↑ Wells, James Britton III, The Wells Family of Kentucky's Big Sandy Valley , Pg 64, 2020
2. ↑ FamilySearch Record: M65C-V6W 1850 U.S. Census
3. ↑ FamilySearch Record: Q2DN-76S4 Marriage record
4. ↑ FamilySearch Record: MZBX-T69 1860 U.S. Census
5. ↑ Wells, James Britton III, The Wells Family of Kentucky's Big Sandy Valley , Pg 64, 2020
6. ↑ Perkins, Marlitta H., Morgan County Confederate Soldiers, Eastern Kentucky and the Civil War
7. ↑ Papers in the case of Samuel McKee against John D. Young. Ninth Congressional District of Kentucky. Date: 1868-01-01; Publication: Serial Set Vol. No. 1349, Session Vol. No. 1; Report: H. Misc.Doc. 13; pp. 34 - 36
8. ↑ See L.D. Rowe and the U.S. Civil War for an extended account with footnotes.
9. ↑ FamilySearch Record: MX71-7LH 1870 U.S. Census
10. ↑ FamilySearch Record: MCCX-9Y1 1880 U.S. Census