Wheeling register. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1878-1935, 1886-08-16
THE COMINGi REUNION
oP THE WELLS FAMILY, AT BEACH BOT
TON, BROOKE COUNTY,
On Tuesday, the S4ih ina-An Interesting
Sketch Of the Early History
Of the Family.

Tuesday the oath inst, there is to be o
general reunion of the Wells family In the
United States, at the residence of Absolem
Wells, at Beech Bottom, Brooke county,
and the event is expected to bring together
representatives of the family not only
from the various counties of this
State, but from all over the
West. The family has a large repre-
sentation in this vicinity, especially in the
upper Panhandle, and the members
are universally among the most
respected and prominent citizens Of
their several neighborhoods. Possessed
individually of so many estimable quail
tiles, the assembling together OF the liy-
ing representation of the family, cannot
but be most interesting and enjoyable
occasion, and many "reminiscences OF the
family history are sure to be brought
forward by those present.
With view to affording data where
with to refresh the memories of those con-
templating going, we take from Mr.. Cliff.
NJ. Wells "Memoirs of Elder Milton
Wells" published at Winona, Mimi, the
following account of the early history of
the family:
''More than two centuries ago three
Welshmen by the name Of Wells came to
the United States of America, one Of
whom settled in Massachusetts,, one in
Baltimore, Maryland; the other one was
lost sight of so far rs the author knows
The subject of this memoir is descendant
of the Baltimore brother. The great great
era dfather of Milton married an irish
lady, whose head was very red. She lived
to the ripe old age of 100 years, and it IS
reported of her that she spun on her wheel
even when her eyes were so bedlmmed by
age that she could not see her distaff: Her
husband was a very large man, weighing
over 800 pounds. They had son
whose name was Benjamin, and
who married Miss Temperance Butler,
and lived in or near Baltimore, Md. Their
son Charles was born April ., 1745, and
married Michal Owens, daughter OF
Joshua and Mary Owens, December q,
1854. who afterwards emigrated West and
settled in Virginia, on the Ohio river bot
toms, i'm the section of country now known
as the Pan Handle. His wife Michal died,
and July "a, 1874, he married Elizabeth,
only daughter of Charles and Ruth Prather.
He was the father of twenty-five children,
most of whom lived to be old people and
settled in the Ohio valley from the Pan
Handle to the Kentucky line. Charles's
brothers names were Absalom, Nicholas,
John, Anon, William and Caleb, all pow
erful men physically, who most
" settled in Brooke county, Viz
ginia. Absalom, the eldest brother, married
Michal Wells, who was of English descent,
and was known rs the family of Little
Wells, a distinction which is known and
kept up to this day. Michal weighed 80
pounds, 'witch's weight She was
daughter of Alexander Wells, then OF
Charlestown, now Wellsburg West Vir-
ginia. Her only sister married man by
the name of Griffith. who settled in the
Pan Handle, near Holidays Cove. Her
brothers settled as follows: Alexander on
Cross Creek, Washington county, Pennsyl-
vania; James in Kentucky, and BaZclleel
settled in Steubenville, Jefferson county,
Ohio and was the proprietor of the first
wooden mills of all that section OF country.
He was the first importer of what is known
as the Wells and Dickinson stock of
sheep, rs well as the first to introduce the
raising of wool to any great extent in that
section now recognized rs the headquar-
tiers for the best woods of America, rs was
demonstrated at the Centennial Exposition,
as well rs at New Orleans in 1856. To
Absal0m and Michal were born twelve
children, viz: Jesse, Actius, Temperance,
Butler, Benjamin, Michal, Leah, John d.,
Sally, Bazellcel, Dorinda, and Jesse, as
Jesse the elder had died when q youth.
The girls married and settled with their
husbanCI us follows: James Craig mar
ricd Actius and settled in Morgan county,
Ohio, on the Muskingum river; John Nef,,
a German, married Temperance and set
tied in Tyler county, Virginia, on
the Ohio river, adjoining the vii
lagc of Sistersyile; Michal mar
ried Joseph Lazear and settled on the
farm now owned by Absalom Wells in
Brooke county, Nirginia-the house is yet
standing in which they first lived; Leah
married Charles Wells, her cousin, and set
tied in Monroe county, Ohio, near where
the town of Baresville now stands; he was
generally known as. Hog Charlie, because
of the immense number of hogs he raised;
Sallie married Samuel Williamson and EN-
igrated to Ohio, and thence to Missouri,
where she died; Dorinda married Richard
Talbot, who settled on the old homestead
of her parents and in the stone dwelling
house built by them, and yet standing,
and owned and occupied by Henry G..
Wells, n nephew of him whose memoirs
are now being penned. OF their brothers,
Butler settled in Washington county, Ohio,
on the Ohio river, thirty miles above
Marietta, and owned the site where Coch-
ransville now stands. Benjamin, always
known Us Spot Ben, settled in Morgan
county, Ohio, on Meigs Creek, and owned
a Touring mill, now owned by his son
Frank. John d. settled in Tyler county,
Virginia, on the farm known at this time
as the jug Handle, because of its peculiar
shape, made so by Middle Island Creek.
jesse the youngest son, settled in Brooke
county, Virginia, on what was then known
as the Beech bottom race farm, and after
wards removed to Ohio county, near the
junction of Short Creek with the Ohio river,
Sllil ltSluCS. DtLplletl,
the father of Milton, married Nancy
Mcintyre, November 20, 1919. She
was of Scottish descent, her
foreparents having came from Scot
land. Robert Mcintyre, with his brother
John, emigrated from Ellicott's Mills in
Maryland to Brooke county, Virginia, in
an early day; by Tomahawk right gained
possession of farm on the waters of Buff |
talo Creek, now owned by his grandson
John Mcintyre, and soon after married |
Ann Hyatt, and to them were born sixteen
children, four Of whom died in infancy.
The other twelve arrived at the age of ma
jority and reared families. The names of
the children were Isaac, Priscilla, Eliza
beth, Nancy, John Robert, Rebecca, Jo-
sephus, Mercy, Dorcas, Margaret, Char
lotte. Isaac married, and his wife dying
in one year afterward, leaving him with |
one son, always thereafter live with his |
parents, who brought up John, who
(nuf;n,,e1 nm EryOy Dooo