THE TUNIS* WELLS FAMILY HISTORY |
( As compiled by Dave Wells - since November 1983)
*The name Tunis is used to identify our particular
Wells family because he was the earliest known ancestor for a long time, and
because his name is unique enough to be easily identifiable
RICHARD WELLS (my 5th-great grandfather) settled a plot of 318 acres on the Potomac River in Frederick Co, Virginia. The area, called the "Northern Neck", was granted to Lord Fairfax by King Charles II. Lord Fairfax in turn granted it to his tenants for 10 shillings per 50 acres, plus 2 shillings per hundred acres each year in rent. Richard's land grant was surveyed while he lived on it on 19 Dec 1751. One of the chain carriers for the survey was a William Wells. The land warrant was never issued to Richard. On August 1, 1769 the Frederick Co. (VA) Court appointed Thomas Applegate to administer Richard's estate, and Tunis Hood, John McLaughlin, James Hawthorn, and Mathew McKay to appraise his property. Subsequently the original deed was issued on 15 June, 1770 to Tunis Wells, his "only Son & Heir at Law". Richard's age, place of birth, wife, and activities prior to settling in Virginia are currently uncertain.
However, recently with the advent and application of DNA testing for genetic markers, the Wells Family Research Association has contributed information that traditional research might never uncover, but which provides intriguing clues as to our family origins. It has been found that descendants of Peter Wells are related to Richard. Peter had 4 sons (Cornelius, George, John, and Henry), lived in the area of Schoharie Co, NY about 1800, and later migrated to Dundas, Ontario, Canada. Peter’s exact relation to Richard is not clear (a nephew?), nor whether Richard came from New York to Virginia; or whether they both originated from some other location. But it does give another direction to research in finding our Wells family roots.
Sources:
TUNIS WELLS was first recorded as having received the land grant of his father's property on the Potomac in Frederick Co, Virginia. On the same day (15 June, 1770) he leased the land to George Chapman. His place of birth is unknown, but he must have been born around 1747, as he had to be at least 21 to inherit the land in 1769, and, when he sold the land in 1772 both he and his wife Sarah signed the document. By then it was in Berkeley Co, VA, - currently West Virginia. According to land records he settled in Washington Twp, Westmoreland Co, Pennsylvania in 1772 (which became Fayette Co in 1783, and Jefferson Twp in 1839). On June 15th, 1780 a tract of 400 acres was recorded for Tunis Wells. It was surveyed on Feb 4, 1785 and he received a land patent for the tract on Big Redstone Creek on Feb 27th, 1790. His wife Sarah, died around 1785 by which time they had 6 children according to the census and the "History of Fayette County, PA." by Ellis (1882). By 1787 he was remarried to Margaret Williams, with whom he had another 3 daughters and son James by 1800, when his three oldest children had already reached adulthood and moved to Henry Co, KY. Tunis and Margaret subsequently had their last 2 daughters, plus Joseph (1803) and Jacob Jennings (1805) before Tunis died in 1809. His will was written 19 June, 1809 and recorded 11 Dec, 1809 in Uniontown. He died on his Washington Twp farm and was buried in the Dunlap's Creek Churchyard, as was Margaret. The family was said to have been Scotch-Irish and devout Presbyterians, possibly on his wife's side.
Children of Tunis & Sarah
Wells:
|
Richard |
abt 1775 |
1840 |
Nancy, Elizabeth Mary |
|
William |
|
|
|
|
Sarah |
|
|
|
|
Nancy |
|
|
|
|
Rachel |
|
|
|
|
John |
17 Dec 1779 |
9 Oct 1853 |
Deborah |
Children of Tunis Wells & Margaret
Williams:
|
James |
1787 |
24 Jun 1848 |
Mary Margaret Scarborough |
|
Mary "Polly" |
abt 1788 |
after 1865 |
Isaac Downs |
|
Elizabeth "Betsy" |
7 Jun 1795 |
4 Jun 1864 |
Samuel Scarborough |
|
Margaret |
bef 1800 |
|
|
|
Rebecca |
aft 1800 |
|
|
|
Joseph |
19 Apr 1803 |
28 May 1877 |
Anna Shaw |
|
1805 |
17 Sep 1876 |
(see below) |
|
|
Charlotte |
28 Feb 1808 |
26 Feb 1886 |
Richard Huskins |
Margaret raised the children and then lived with her son Jacob for a while,
prior to his departure for Ohio, then lived on her own again. She, Joseph, James,
and John continued to live in Jefferson Twp, Fayette Co where she died in 1845.
Joseph continued running the family homestead until his death
in 1877 and was survived by his wife, Anne and son James.
The original house and
barn, along with about 100 acres are still being used for farming, and were
owned by the Chalfant family when we visited in 1991.


Sources:
JACOB JENNINGS
WELLS was born in Fayette Co, Pennsylvania in 1805. He was
apparently named after Jacob Jennings, an outstanding local doctor and
minister. He married Maria and had 3 children, Joseph (1830),
George W. (1832) and John (1835) in Fayette Co. On March 14, 1835 he sold his
50 acres of their father's homestead on Big Redstone Creek to his brother
Joseph for $1,000.
They moved to Guernsey Co, Ohio later that year, where they had James A.
(1838), and Robert B. (1839). Maria either died there or they were divorced,
because in April, 1846 he married Elizabeth Watson and they had Samantha
(1847), and Newton (1849). He was a farmer, and by 1850 he owned about 120
Acres ($2,000) of land in Monroe Twp, Guernsey Co. They had his last child,
Sarah (1851), the same year his second wife, Elizabeth, died - probably in
childbirth. Later that year he sold his land in preparation for moving on
again.
Children of Jacob Jennings &
Maria Wells:
|
12 Jul 1830 |
13 Aug 1872 |
(see below) |
|
|
George W. |
Oct 1832 |
9 Jan 1908 |
Ann E. Logsdon |
|
John |
1834/1835 |
8 Jan 1863 |
Evaline M. Nicodemus |
|
James Alexander |
8 Apr 1838 |
28 Aug 1907 |
Lydia C. Logsdon |
|
Robert B. |
4 Jul 1839 |
8 Apr 1874 |
Melissa J. Kimmell |
Children of Jacob Jenning Wells
& Elizabeth Watson:
|
Samantha Maud |
1 Jun 1847 |
28 Apr 1918 |
Luke D. Porch |
|
Newton |
25 Feb 1849 |
25 Apr 1912 |
Irene Barnes |
|
Sarah |
Apr 1851 |
30 Apr 1931 |
Lorenzo D. Brentlinger |
He moved to Knox Co
and married Sarah Knouse in Morrow County in November, 1851. In 1860 he was
living in Middlebury Twp, Knox Co and had land worth $2,700 and $605 of property.
Three of his sons served in the Union Army during the Civil War, and all three
died before him. In 1870 he was living in Berlin Twp, Knox Co with his wife,
plus children Newton and Sarah as well as grandson Jacob (John's son). His farm
was then worth $3,060 and he had $580 worth of personal property. By that time
his son James had migrated to Iowa, and within a few years the families of
three other children also went there. He died in Knox County on Sept 17, 1876,
was buried in Forest Cemetery at Fredericktown and was survived by his wife,
Sarah. George, the oldest surviving son administered his estate. Jacob and
Sarah both have fairly impressive (large) headstones - pointed and 5-6 ft tall.
Sources:
JOSEPH WELLS,
Jacob's oldest son, was born on July 12, 1830 in Fayette Co, Pennsylvania. He
grew up there and moved with the family to Guernsey Co, Ohio in 1835, where
they lived until 1851, and then moved to Knox Co. On March 26, 1854 he married
Sophia Elizabeth Noble (born 16 Aug, 1833 in Westmoreland Co, PA) in Knox County.
Their oldest son, George, was born 22 Feb 1855. A second son, Jasper Newton was
born 27 July 1856 but no further records of him occur in either the 1860 (but
neither did Joseph Miller) or 1870 census records, suggesting that he died
young. The youngest son, Joseph Miller Wells, was born on the
30th of July 1859 in Fredericktown, Ohio.
Children of Joseph Wells &
Sophia Elizabeth Noble:
|
George Washington |
22 Feb 1855 |
19 Jul 1923 |
|
Jasper Newton |
27 Jul 1856 |
died as a child |
|
30 Jul 1859 |
5 Mar 1929 |
He worked on the
farm of a John W. Elliott from 1859 thru the time of his enlistment in 1864 according
to an affidavit in his pension records, but it appears that this was in
addition to his own farm. In 1860 they were living in Middlebury Twp, Knox Co.
where he farmed land worth $250 and had $470 worth of property. In February,
1863 he and Joseph Scarborough witnessed the sworn statement of his father
Jacob, for the pension benefits of Jacob's grandson, Jacob M. Wells (son of
John Wells). On May 2, 1864 he enlisted in Co K 142nd Regt. of the Ohio Nat'l
Guard Volunters under Captain Charles S. Tyle for 100 days. He apparently
contracted a lung disease while serving, and was discharged at Camp Chase in
Columbus, OH on Sept 2, 1864. Statements in his pension file state that he was
not able to do more than 1/2 the work of an able bodied man from that time
until his death. Also, that he complained of lung disease and rheumatism, and
had a bad cough. In 1865 he moved to Mt. Vernon and started a small grocery
business for about a year. He then moved back to the farm. By 1870 his farm was
valued at $1,500 and he had $150 of property.
He died of consumption in Fredericktown on Aug 13th, 1872 with his half-sister,
Sarah Brentlinger, present according to the "History of Knox County,
Ohio" (pg 832) and his pension records. He was buried in Fredericktown by
G. W. Sargent - undertaker.
In 1880 his wife, Sophia, was listed as widowed with their son Joseph in the
Middlebury Twp census, and a county history has them living together there in
1882 as well. Sophia was remarried to Isaac Shroder in Feb, 1882. Her correspondence
with the government about pension benefits for herself and Joseph Miller
indicates she was still in the area thru 1886. No subsequent information has
been found as to her residence or death.
Sources:
JOSEPH MILLER WELLS, Joseph's youngest son, was born in 1859 in Fredericktown, Ohio. He was living at home with his mother until 1882. He married Ida Ellen Moats on Feb 8th, 1883 in Mansfield, Richland Co, OH. They lived in Knox County and had Clarence M. (1883), Melva Estella (1885), Omar Newton (1887), and Josie Sophia (1889) there. In 1890 they moved to Perry Twp, Morrow Co., where he rented a farm. They had their remaining children there: Iva Mae (1891), Frank (1893), Bessie Sarah Rebecca (1896), Oliver Lewis (1898), and Robert William (1901).

Children of Joseph Miller Wells
& Ida Ellen Moats:
|
Clarence Marion |
1 Jul 1883 |
7 Jun 1956 |
|
Melva Estella |
3 May 1885 |
18 May 1940 |
|
Omar Newton |
18 May 1887 |
16 Apr 1966 |
|
Josie Sophia |
6 Nov 1889 |
4 Oct 1970 |
|
Iva Mae |
27 Oct 1891 |
13 Jul 1982 |
|
Frank "B. F." |
8 Oct 1893 |
9 Sep 1981 |
|
Bessie Sarah Rebecca |
8 Mar 1896 |
21 Jul 1957 |
|
Oliver Lewis |
22 Jan 1898 |
6 Jun 1979 |
|
Robert William |
8 Mar 1901 |
21 May 1987 |
He went by his middle name, Miller, possibly to avoid confusion with his father,
and many people knew him only as "Millard".
On 22 June 1908 he bought an 80 acre farm in Perry Twp, Richland Co. from G.J.
Ewers, and the next day, on June 23rd his wife Ida, died of cancer in
Fredericktown. His daughter Josie helped keep the children together as a family
and acted as a mother to them following Ida’s death. He also lived on a farm
south of Batemantown in Knox Co.
He was married a second time to Mary E. (Stafer) Lake, a widow from Mt Vernon
in 1913. He was living in Middlebury Twp at the time, listed as a farmer. They
were divorced in 1917. After retiring in 1919, he worked in Fredericktown as a
handyman. He is said to have been a man of short stature, with only one eye in
his later years (cause unknown).
In 1920 he was living in his home on Grant St in Fredericktown, age 56 and
listed as Millard J. Wells. He was widowed, working as a laborer in a foundry.
Joseph married a third time in Jan 1920, right after the census, to Mary
Elizabeth (Zolman) Sillivan, a widow of Fredericktown. That marriage lasted
only until Oct 1922, when they were divorced.
He was married a last time, to Mary Roth in 1923 and lived with her in
Fredericktown until his death on Feb 5th, 1929 of bronchial pneumonia after 5
years of myocarditis. He is buried in North Fork Cemetery, near Waterford, OH.
Sources:
FRANK WELLS,
their 3rd son, was my grandfather. His birth certificate shows his birth as Oct
8th, 1893 in Perry Twp, Morrow Co. but his family and all other documents list
the date as Oct 25th. Also, he went by the nickname of "B.F."
(Benjamin Franklin), although his birth certificate lists his name simply as
Frank. In 1908 his mother (Ida Ellen) died of cancer in Fredericktown, and by
1910 the family had moved to Perry Twp, Richland Co, Ohio.
When he married Edith Grice in 1914, he lived in Fredericktown and
his name was listed as Frank V. Wells. They moved to the Bellville area where
Raymond J. (1915), Ella Juanita (1917), Thelma Irene (1920), my father - Jason
Grice (1922), and Betty JoAnn (1930) were born. In the 1920 census he
is listed as Frank B. Wells. At one time he was in business with logging
trucks, but went bankrupt. He spent most of his life farming, and sold farm
implements for a time, while living on various farms near Bellville.
Children of Frank Wells & Edythe
Grice:
|
Raymond J. |
24 Apr 1915 |
24 Aug 1984 |
|
Juanita Ella |
12 Aug 1917 |
31 Dec 2002 |
|
Thelma Irene |
26 Jul 1920 |
living |
|
Jason Grice |
7 Aug 1922 |
3 Oct 2004 |
|
Betty Joann |
21 Jul 1930 |
living |
Frank inherited a Cherry
Dresser (which I currently have) through his father's will in 1929. They moved
to Jelloway around 1950 and lived there the rest of their lives. Edith changed
her name to Edythe somewhere along the line, apparently as a personal
preference. She died of a heart attack in 1975 and is buried in the Bellville
Cemetery. Frank was a foreman for Knox Co. Highway Dept before his death in
1981. He also is buried in the Bellville Cemetery.
Sources:
This summary covers
my direct Wells ancestors© (Copyright 1998-2008). To
browse thru my direct-line ancestors from among the 9,000 people in my
database, just look thru either of the following pages and select the name of
interest:
Index or
Surnames
If you have additional information, think you may be related, or have any questions - please contact me. Thanks, Dave
Other Wells resources you might check are:
The information on this page was collected and
recorded using Reunion on an Apple Macintosh computer