Rufus P. Wells, BiographyPorter County biographical sketches . . . .
Transcribed biography of Rufus P. Wells
RUFUS P. WELLS, coal dealer, a native of Athens County, Ohio, was born December 5, 1817. He is one of a family of ten children born to Varnum G. and Sarah (Davis) Wells, who were natives respectively of Rhode Island and Maine, and of Welsh and English descent. Varnum G. Wells was a millwright, and came to Marietta, Ohio in about 1800, and there married. He served in the war of 1812, and held a Captain's commission. At the close of the war, he removed to Athens County, Ohio, where he engaged in farming and working at his trade until his death in 1835, preceded by that of his wife in 1833. Rufus P. Wells was reared in Ohio until seventeen years old. In the fall of 1837, he and his half-uncle and family moved to Indiana, and that winter our subject remained in Elkhart County. In the spring of 1838, he came to Porter County, and worked around at odd jobs for four years. He then engaged in teaching winters and working summers. September 30, 1849, Mr. Wells married Miss Maria Smith, and moved upon his farm in Porter Township, which he had purchased in 1844. He yet retains the old farm, which now consists of 320 acres. He was elected in 1870 to the office of Clerk of Courts of Porter County, by the Republican party, taking his seat in November, 1871; afterward was re-elected, serving in all eight years. Since that time, he has been dealing in coal and looking after his farm. Mr. Wells is a member of F. & A, M, and a member of the Christian Church. His wife died in 1875, leaving three children - John Q., Orrin M. and Mary E., now Mrs. C. E. Mandeville. March 10, 1878, Mr. Wells married his present wife, Mrs. Ruth (Winspear) Shenck, a native of England.
Source: Goodspeed, Weston A., and Charles Blanchard. 1882. Counties of Porter and Lake, Indiana: Historical and Biographical, Illustrated. Chicago, Illinois: F. A. Battey & Company. 771 p.
Page(s) in Source: 275
This biography has been transcribed exactly as it was originally published in the source. Please note that we do not provide photocopies or digital scans of biographies appearing on this website.
Biography transcribed by Steven R. Shook