James E. Wells Biography


	This biography appears on pages 876-878 in "History of South 
	Dakota" by Doane Robinson, Vol. I (1904) and was scanned, 
	OCRed and edited by Maurice Krueger, mkrueger@iw.net.

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	JAMES E. WELLS, who represents the fourth ward on the board of 
aldermen of the city of Mitchell, was born in the town of Cambria, 
Columbia county, Wisconsin, on the 23d of May, 1858, being a son of Ora 
B. and Sarah T. (Campbell) Wells, to whom were born four children, 
namely: Roderick C., who is a resident of La Crosse, Wisconsin; Charles 
L., who resides in Lincoln county, South Dakota; Sarah A., who is the 
wife of Isaac R. Bagley, of Canton, this state; and James E., who is 
the immediate subject of this sketch. Ora B. Wells was born in Genesee 
county, New York, and his wife was born in the province of Ontario, 
Canada, having moved thence to the state of New York when a child and 
being reared in the home of relatives, her parents having died when she 
was about one year of age. The father of our subject was reared on a 
farm, and for a number of years, as a young man, he was employed by a 
merchant in the capacity of teamster, all merchandise at that time 
having been transported by wagon. In the early 'fifties he came west to 
Wisconsin, in which state he followed various vocations, having been 
engaged in the grain business for some time and also having been a 
contractor and builder, while for several years he was assistant 
postmaster at Bangor. In 1873 he came as a pioneer to what is now the 
state of South Dakota, locating seven miles north Of Canton, Lincoln 
county, where he purchased a quarter section of land, thereafter 
devoting his attention to farming and stock growing until 1886, when he 
retired, coming to Mitchell, where he and his devoted wife died. He was 
a staunch advocate of the principles of the Republican party, while his 
four brothers all gave allegiance to the Democracy.  

	James E. Wells acquired his early educational discipline in the 
public schools of Wisconsin, and when but thirteen years of age began 
to depend to a certain extent upon his own resources, manifesting that 
energy and self reliance which have been dominating characteristics of 
the man during his entire career. In 1879, after the crops had proved a 
failure for five successive years, he left the homestead farm in 
Lincoln county, this state, proceeding to Jackson, Minnesota, before he 
succeeded in finding employment. He went to work in a harvest field in 
that locality. He then secured a position in a lumber yard at Jackson, 
where he was employed about eight months, then resigning by reason of 
the fact that business was so slack that he found nothing to do, though 
his employer wished him to continue in his service. Mr. Wells, however, 
felt that this was hardly expedient and he thus secured employment in a 
hardware store in the same town, where he remained until the spring of 
1880, when he started to return to his home in South Dakota, the 
nearest railroad station at the time being at Luverne, Minnesota, 
twenty one miles distant, and this portion of his journey he traversed 
on foot. He assisted his father in putting in the spring crops and also 
those of a neighbor, aiding in the seeding of all the crops raised on 
the two farms that year, the resulting harvest giving but thirty-five 
bushels of oats, by machine measure, with a weight of fourteen pounds 
to the bushel, grasshoppers having destroyed the crops. After the 
planting was completed Mr. Wells went to the village of Canton, where 
he secured employment in a lumber yard conducted by C. A. Bedford. He 
resigned about four months later and shortly afterward H. W. Ross, of 
the Oshkosh Lumber Company, tendered him a position in the company's 
yards at Mitchell, in which city he took up his residence in the fall 
of 1880. The following summer he was offered a more remunerative 
position by F. E. Moses, a local lumber dealer, and continued in the 
employ of this gentleman about four years, when Mr. Moses sold out. The 
subject then secured a position with the J. M. LeVake Lumber Company, 
with which he continued to be thus identified until January, 1889, 
having been elected to the office of register of deeds of Davison 
county the preceding fall. He continued incumbent of this office for 
six successive years, and after the expiration of his second term 
engaged in the abstract, insurance and real-estate business in 
Mitchell, his previous official work having proved of much value to him 
in the handling of his new enterprise, in which he has since continued, 
having built up a large and prosperous business. During the greater 
portion of this interval he has also been the local agent of the 
American Express Company, being incumbent of the position at the 
present time. He is a staunch Republican in his political proclivities, 
and in addition to serving as register of deeds, as noted, he held the 
office of clerk of the board of education for two years, while he was 
alderman from the second ward for two terms, and is the present 
representative of the fourth ward, in which he now resides. He is a 
prominent frater of the Masonic order, being affiliated with Resurgam 
Lodge, Free and Accepted Masons; Mitchell Chapter, Royal Arch Masons; 
St. Bernard Commandery, No. 16, Knights Templar; El Riad Temple, 
Ancient Arabic Order of the Nobles of the Mystic Shrine, in Sioux 
Falls; and Starlight Chapter, Order of the Eastern Star. He is also 
identified with Mitchell Lodge, No. 69, Ancient Order of United 
Workmen, and with the organization of the Order of Home Guardians at 
Canton.  

	In October, 1883, Mr. Wells was united in marriage to Miss Fanny 
Wedehase, of Lancaster, Wisconsin, and they are the parents of three 
children, Ora B., Frederick A. and James Earl, the two elder sons being 
assistants in their father's office.