Columbia-Lycoming County PA Archives Biographies.....WELLS, Edward C. 1832 - living in 1899 ************************************************ Copyright. All rights reserved. http://www.usgwarchives.net/copyright.htm http://www.usgwarchives.net/pa/pafiles.htm ************************************************ File contributed for use in USGenWeb Archives by: Joy Fisher sdgenweb@yahoo.com July 8, 2005, 7:45 pm Author: Biographical Publishing Co. EDWARD C. WELLS, a member of the firm of Creasy & Wells, is a man of tried ability who stands foremost among the leading business men of Bloomsburg. The planing mills conducted by himself and partner and operated in connection with their extensive lumber yard between Sixth and Seventh streets, are modern and up-to-date in every particular, and are unexcelled in point of size and quality of work turned out, in Columbia County. Mr. Wells is a son of Theodore and Martha (Clark) Wells, and was born in Hughesville, Lycoming County, Pa., September 4, 1832. Our subject is a descendant of a very prominent family, being a great-grandson of Lemuel Wells, a direct descendant of Hugh Wells, who settled in Hartford, Conn., in 1636, one of the earliest settlers of that state. He is supposed to have been a cousin of Gov. Wells. Lemuel Wells was a sergeant in the Revolutionary Wrar and after its close located at Wethersfield, where he was a very prominent man, his name being closely connected with the history of that section. Israel Wells, the grandfather of our subject, was born at Whately, Mass., June 16, 1774, and moved west with his family in June, 1817, locating at Bloomsburg, Columbia County, Pa., where the residence of Dr. W. M. Reber now stands. He was a wheelwright by trade and attained distinction throughout the state as the manufacturer of the old Dearborne wagons with wooden springs, which were at that time considered a great luxury. He made large sales and did an extensive business for many years before his death in 1853. On June 11, 1798, he was united in marriage with Dolly Smith, a daughter of Gad and Irene Smith, and they became the parents of five children: Sedwick; Theodore; Israel; Clarissa; and Mosely D. Theodore Wells, our subject's father, was born in Whately, Mass., in 1804, and early in life engaged in the mercantile business at Hughesville, Lycoming County, Pa., where he remained until 1832, when he located at Catawissa. There he successfully pursued the same line of business and in addition, with others, he entered into a contract for the construction of a bridge and one mile of track on either side, near the village of Mainville, Pa., for the Catawissa Railroad. In 1842 he moved to Muncy, Lycoming County, where he embarked in the hotel business, opening what is now known as the City Hotel, a large brick structure. This he conducted until his death in 1861. In 1828 Mr. Wells formed a matrimonial alliance with Martha Clark, a daughter of John Clark of Catawissa; she was born in 1808, and was called to her final rest in 1880. This union was blessed by the following offspring: Edward C., our subject; Mary; John; Rufus; Israel; Joseph; Jane; and Blanche. Edward C. Wells at an early age took up the business at which his father had made a success, and in 1855 opened a mercantile store at Muncy, Lycoming County, which he conducted until 1861, when he sold out and accepted the appointment of sutler with the 11th Pennsylvania Reserves. He was located at Washington, D. C., and continued in that capacity for a period of eighteen months. After the evacuation of Petersburg, Va., he accepted a similar appointment, purveyor to Gen. McKlever's headquarters at Petersburg, and served until September, 1865. He then engaged as general traveling agent for the Oil Creek Railroad, running from Corry to Oil City, for the following seven years. He then moved to Bloomsburg and accepted the position of steward and superintendent of the Bloomsburg State Normal School, continuing as such for about eleven years in a faithful and efficient manner. In 1885 the firm of Creasy & Wells was formed, his partner being Samuel C. Creasy, Esq., a record of whose life appears elsewhere in this Book of Biographies. The latter established the lumber business in 1883 on a very small scale, but under successful management it prospered and increased in size, and at the present time has assumed vast proportions. They have a large lumber yard between Sixth and Seventh streets, all of which is under cover. They purchased hundreds of acres of timberland and run a number of stationary and portable saw-mills, furnishing all of their own lumber. Their planing mills are models of completeness. They make sashes, blinds, doors, screens, etc., employing a large force of men the year around, all being skilled workmen. They are men of energy and push and it is due to their own abilities that their success has been such as it has. Our subject in recent years built a beautiful home on Fifth street; it is supplied with all modern conveniences, finely furnished, and is. one of the best in the borough. Mr. Wells was joined in wedlock with Elizabeth Brunner, a daughter of Isaac Brunner, who served in the state militia and was also a member of the Legislature, and this union has been blessed with four children, namely: Jennie W., the wife of S. B. Henderson, a lumber merchant; O. Bruce, deceased; May, the wife of S. C. Creasy, who is in business with our subject; and Joseph G., who looks after his father's business interests and who married Lottie Kuhn. Mrs. Wells died in 1897, aged sixty-eight years. Politically Mr. Wells is a Republican, whilst in social circles he is a member of the Masonic order at Muncy; Bloomsburg Chapter; and also Bloomsburg Commandery. Additional Comments: Extracted from: Book of Biographies of the Seventeenth Congressional District Published by Biographical Publishing Company of Chicago, Ill. and Buffalo, NY (1899) This file has been created by a form at http://www.genrecords.org/pafiles/ File size: 6.0 Kb