Thomas Edward Wells (1861 - 1934)

Born 1861 in Wallingford, Berkshire, England, United Kingdom

Ancestors

Husband of Mary Ellen (Jones) Wells — married 24 May 1887 in Kensington, London, England, United Kingdom

Descendants

Died 9 Mar 1934 at about age 73 in Wallingford, Berkshire, England, United Kingdom

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Biography

Thomas Edward Wells was born on 15 June 1861^[1] at Wallingford, Berkshire. He is the first child of Thomas Frederick Wells (1837-1907) and Helen Mary (Gardner) Wells (1839-1900) who married in August 1860. His birth was registered at Wallingford in the third quarter of 1861.

Thomas' father was a partner in the Wells Brewery of Wallingford.

At the 1871 census Thomas is with his family at High Street, Wallingford. Details listed - father Thomas Frederick Wells (33, partner in brewery employing 36 men), mother Helen Mary Wells (31), Thomas Edward Wells (9, scholar, born Wallingford), brother Herbert Methuen Wells, (8, scholar, born Wallingford), brother Arthur Gardner Wells (6, scholar, born Wallingford), brother Charles Neville Wells (3, born Wallingford), and uncle Smith Hannington Gardner (24). Four servants are also listed - cook. housemaid, head nurse and under nurse.

In 1874 Thomas' father was Mayor of Wallingford for the first time.

At the 1881 census T E Wells (19, undergraduate, born Wallingford) is recorded as a boarder at Magdalen College, Oxford.

The Oxford University Alumni^[2] confirms Thomas matriculated at Magdalen College, on 13 October 1879, emerging with a B.A. in 1882.

On 24 May 1887 Thomas Edward Wells (bachelor, solicitor) married Mary Ellen Jones at St Stephen's church, Kensington, Middlesex. The marriage register confirms Thomas' father as Thomas Frederick Wells, master brewer, and Mary's father as John Lewis Jones, Clerk in Holy Orders. The day before the marriage Thomas made the requisite oaths that there were no impediments to the proposed marriage and asserted that he had his usual place of abode within the New Parish of St Stephen, South Kensington, and that Mary was of the Parish of Clapham, Surrey.^[3]

At the 1891 census Thomas and his young new family are recorded as staying with his parents at their home, still at High Street, Wallingford. Details listed are - father Thomas F Wells (53, brewer), mother Helen M Wells (49), Thomas E Wells (29, solicitor, born Wallingford), wife Mary E Wells (26, born Montgomeryshire, Wales), daughter Nesta M Wells (2, born Kensington, London) and son Henry Wells (under 3 months, born Kensington, London). Four servants are listed, of whom likely the latter two are accompanying Thomas junior's family - cook, parlourmaid, housemaid and nurse.

In the 1901 census the family is residing at 9 Petersham Terrace, Kensington, London. Details listed - Thomas Edward Wells (39, civil servant, upper ? Charity Commission, born Wallingford), wife Mary Ellen Wells (36, born Dowlais, Glamorgan), daughter Nesta Mary Wells (12), son Henry Bensley Wells (10), and brother Arthur G Wells (single, 36, underwriter Maritime Insurance Co.). A single nurse/domestic is also recorded.

At the 1911 census Thomas and his family remain at 9 Petersham Terrace, South Kensington. Details listed - Thomas Edward Wells (49, senior examiner in Board of Education, born Wallingford), wife Mary Ellen Wells (46), daughter Nesta Mary Wells (22, single), son Henry Bensley Wells (20, undergraduate at Oxford), and brother Arthur Gardner Wells (46, single, underwriter Maritime Insurance Co.). There are three resident servants. This census confirms that Thomas has been married for 22 years, and there have been two children of the marriage, both of whom are still living.

Electoral registers for 1920 and 1925 record Thomas Edward Wells as having an address with his wife and son Henry at 75 High Street, Wallingford, Berkshire. (Wigod House)

Thomas Edward Wells is said^[4] to have been Mayor of Wallingford, like his father, on a number of occasions (three?) but confirmation of all of these occasions has not yet been verified by sources. That he was elected in 1928 is verified by a report in the Berks and Oxon Advertiser^[5] which led with the heading Wallingford's New Mayor. Coun. Wells 40th Member Of His Family In Office.

Thomas Edward Wells of Wigod House, Wallingford, Berkshire, died 9 March 1934. Probate ...... to Mary Ellen Wells, widow, and Henry Bensley Wells, barrister. (National Prabate Calendar - 1934) His death was registered at Wallingford in the first quarter of 1934, aged 72.

Footnotes

1. ↑ Full date of birth from Pedigree of Wells of Wallingford by Major H R E Rudkin, 1935
2. ↑ Oxford University Alumni, 1500-1886, 1715-1886, Volume IV (Ancestry.com)
3. ↑ London and Surrey, England, Marriage Bonds and Allegations, 1597-1921 for Thomas Edward Wells, 1887, Apr-Jun (Ancestry.com)
4. ↑ Pedigree of Wells of Wallingford by Major H R E Rudkin, 1935
5. ↑ Berks and Oxon Advertiser 26 November 1928

Sources

• England & Wales, Civil Registration Birth Index, 1837-1915 for Thomas Edward Wells, 1861, Q3-Jul-Aug-Sep

• 1871 England Census for Thomas Edward Wells, Berkshire, St Peter, 3

• 1881 England Census for T.E. Wells, Oxfordshire, Oxford St Peter in East, District 4

• Oxford University Alumni, 1500-1886 for Thomas Edward Wells, 1715-1886, Volume IV (Ancestry.com)

• London and Surrey, England, Marriage Bonds and Allegations, 1597-1921 for Thomas Edward Wells, 1887, Apr-Jun (Ancestry.com)

• London, England, Church of England Marriages and Banns, 1754-1936 for Thomas Edward Wells, Kensington and Chelsea, St Stephen, Kensington, 1868-1907

• 1891 England Census for Thomas E Wells, Berkshire, St Peter, District 3

• 1901 England Census for Thomas Edward Wells, London, Kensington, Kensington Town, District 01

• 1911 England Census for Thomas Edward Wells, London, Kensington, Kensington South. 21

• Berkshire, England, Electoral Registers, 1840-1965 for Thomas Edward Wells, Abingdon, 1920 and 1925 (Ancestry.com)

• England & Wales, Civil Registration Death Index, 1916-2007 for Thomas E Wells, 1934, Q1-Jan-Feb-Mar

• England & Wales, National Probate Calendar (Index of Wills and Administrations), 1858-1995 for Thomas Edward Wells, 1934

Acknowledgments

Thanks to Gilly Wood for starting this profile. Click the Changes tab for the details of contributions by Gilly and others.