Wells fargo stagecoach history

Henry Wells

American businessman (–)

For other people named Henry Wells, see Henry Wells (disambiguation).

Henry Wells

Born()December 12,
Thetford, Vermont, U.S.
DiedDecember 10, () (aged&#;72)
Glasgow, Scotland
Resting placeOak Glen Cemetery
Aurora, New York, U.S.
Spouses

Sarah Daggett

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Mary Prentice

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Children4
Parent(s)Shipley Wells
Dorothea Randall
OccupationExpressman, banker
Known forCo-founder of American Express Company, Wells Fargo, and Wells College

Henry Wells (December 12, &#; December 10, ) was an American businessman important in the history of both the American Express Company and Wells Fargo & Company.[1] Wells worked as a freight agent before joining the express business.

His companies, which were the predecessors of American Express and Wells Fargo, competed with the United States Post Office by carrying mail at less than the government rate. In higher education, Wells was the founder of Wells College in Aurora, New York.

Wells fargo In other projects. Pomeroy, Henry Wells and Crawford Livingston. His leadership faced direct tests with the financial crisis that cut deep into profits, and Costco's departure in that eliminated a vital revenue stream. During his year tenure, Clark navigated the company through expanding consumer wealth and intensifying competition in financial services.

Life

Henry Wells was born in in Thetford, Vermont, the son of Dorothea "Dorothy" (Randall) and Shipley Wells, a Presbyterian minister at what is now the First Presbyterian Church of Seneca Falls, New York who moved his family to central New York State in the westward migration of Yankees out of New England.[2] He was a member of the seventh generation of his family in America.

His ancestor was an English immigrant Thomas Welles (–), who arrived in Massachusetts in and was the only man in Connecticut's history to hold all four top offices: governor, deputy governor, treasurer, and secretary. In this capacity, he transcribed the Fundamental Orders into the official colony records on 14 January , OS, (24 January , NS).[3]

As a child, Henry worked on a farm and attended school in Fayette.

In , he was apprenticed to Jessup & Palmer, tanners and shoemakers at Palmyra, New York. In his adult life, he was also called as Henry "Stuttering" Wells and was known as a flamboyant character.[4]

Career

In , Wells became a freight agent on the Erie Canal[5] and soon started his own business.

Later he worked for Harnden's Express in Albany.[4] His entry into the express business launched a series of events that eventually led to the establishment of the American Express Company.[4] When Wells suggested that service could be expanded west of Buffalo, New York, William F.

Harnden urged Wells to go into business on his own account.[6] In , the firm of Pomeroy & Company was formed by George E. Pomeroy, Henry Wells and Crawford Livingston. In the express business they competed with the United States Post Office by carrying mail at less than the government rate.[7] Popular support, roused by the example of the penny post in England, was on the side of the expressmen, and the government was compelled to reduce its rates in [8] and again in [9]

Pomeroy & Company was succeeded in by Livingston, Wells & Company, composed of Crawford Livingston, Henry Wells, William Fargo and Thaddeus Pomeroy.[9] On April 1, , Wells & Company's Western Express – generally known simply as Western Express because it was the first such company west of Buffalo – was established by Wells, Fargo and Daniel Dunning.[7] Service was offered at first as far as Detroit, rapidly expanding to Chicago, St.

Louis, and Cincinnati.[8][10]

In , Wells sold his interest in Western Express to William Livingston, whereupon the firm became Livingston, Fargo & Company. Wells then went to New York City to work for Livingston, Wells & Company, concentrating on the promising transatlantic express business.

When Crawford Livingston died in , another of his brothers entered the firm, which became Wells & Company. (However, Livingston, Wells & Company continued to operate under that firm name in England, France and Germany.)[11]

American Express and Wells Fargo

Early in , Wells formed Wells, Butterfield & Company with John Butterfield as the successor of Butterfield & Wasson.

The same year the American Express Company was formed as a consolidation of Wells & Company; Livingston, Fargo & Company; and Wells, Butterfield & Company.[12] Wells was president of American Express from to [5] About the time the company was formed, he relocated in Aurora, New York, which remained his home for the rest of his life.[8] There he built a grand residence, called Glen Park.

It was designed by noted architect A.J. Davis, with grounds by Andrew Jackson Downing, another notable architect. The property later became part of Wells College, which Wells founded.[5]

When John Butterfield and other directors of American Express objected to extending the company's service to California, Wells organized Wells, Fargo & Company on March 18, , to undertake the venture.

Wells fargo history Walter Ron Williams. It was the first home in the city to contain an elevator in it, and it was said to have gold doorknobs. United States. Published On February 5,

Edwin B. Morgan of Aurora was the company's first president, and Wells, William Fargo, Johnston Livingston and James McKay were on the boards of both Wells Fargo and American Express.[13]

In September , Wells Fargo & Company acquired Livingston, Wells & Company, which had been its express and banking correspondent in England, France and Germany.

By the spring of , some of the directors of Wells Fargo had become convinced that the purchase had been brought about through unspecified misrepresentations by Wells, Johnston Livingston, William N. Babbitt and S. De Witt Bloodgood. Wells and his associates made good any losses to Wells Fargo, and Livingston, Wells & Company wound up its affairs when its Paris office was closed in October [14]

Wells was president in of the New Granada Canal & Steam Navigation Company.[15] In Aurora he was president of the First National Bank of Aurora and in also the first president of the Cayuga Lake Railroad.[10]

Later endeavors

Wells retired from the board of Wells Fargo in He also retired as president of American Express in when it was merged with the Merchants Union Express Company under the presidency of William Fargo.

Also in , Wells founded Wells College in Aurora with an endowment to make it one of the first women's colleges in the United States.[8][16]

One of Wells' last ventures was the Arizona & New Mexico Express Company, of which he was president in [17]

Personal life

On September 5, , Wells married Sarah Caroline Daggett (–), the daughter of Levi Daggett (–) and a descendant of the Doggett colonial settlers.

  • William fargo descendants
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  • Wells fargo history timeline
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  • William fargo grandchildren

    • They had four children:[18]

    • Charles Henry Wells (–), who married Louisa Burnham (–)
    • Mary Elizabeth Wells (–), who married James H. Welles (–)
    • Oscar A. Wells (–)[19]
    • Edward Wells

    After his first wife's death on October 13, , in Albany, New York, he married Mary Prentice of Boston in [5]

    Wells died in Glasgow, Scotland, on December 10, , two days short of his 73rd birthday.[16] He was brought home for burial in Aurora and was buried at Oak Glen Cemetery in Aurora.[8][10] His body was transported back to the United States aboard the steam-ship Ethiopia.[20] His funeral was held at his home in Aurora.[21]

    See also

    References

    1. ^Mathews, Barbara J.

      (November ). "Henry Wells, Founder of Wells Fargo and American Express"(PDF). Welles Family Association. Archived from the original(PDF) on 6 June Retrieved 11 January

    2. ^?name=+henry+wells&ahnum=1[unreliable source?]
    3. ^Norton, pp.
    4. ^ abcGrossman, Peter Z.

      ().

    5. Henry wells and william fargo
    6. William fargo bank
    7. John g. stumpf

      8. American Express: The People Who Built the Great Financial Empire. Washington, D.C.: Beard Books. p.&#; ISBN&#;.

    8. ^ abcdMathews, Barbara J. (April ) [November ]. "Henry Wells, Founder of Wells Fargo and American Express"(PDF).

      Welles Family Association. Archived from the original(PDF) on Retrieved

    9. ^David Nevin, The Expressmen, p. New York: Time-Life Books,
    10. ^ abLoomis, p. 8.
    11. ^ abcdeMalone, pp.

    12. ^ abLoomis, p. 9.
    13. ^ abc"HENRY WELLS, OF AURORA. | THE PIONEER EXPRESSMAN | STORY OF A REMARKABLE CAREER--THE ESTABLISHMENT OF THE ALBANY AND BUFFALO EXPRESS--MR. WELLS' MEMORABLE TUSSLE WITH THE GOVERNMENT AND HOW IT AFFECTED POSTAGE LAWS".

      The New York Times. 12 December Retrieved 14 April

    14. ^Loomis, pp.

      Henry wells and william fargo biography Collection Fortune. Early life [ edit ]. January 3, Mary Prentice.

      9,

    15. ^Howell, George Rogers (). Bi-centennial History of Albany: History of the County of Albany, N.Y., from to . New York: W. W. Munsell & Company. p.&#;
    16. ^Loomis, pp. 15–16, note
    17. ^Loomis, pp. 20, 50, 70, ,
    18. ^Loomis, p.
    19. ^ ab"HENRY WELLS, OF AURORA".

      The New York Times. 11 December Retrieved 14 April

    20. ^Loomis, pp.

      William fargo biography Wikidata item. August 3, aged 63 Buffalo, New York , U. Fargo in a leadership contest. Wikimedia Commons Wikidata item.

      ,

    21. ^Lach, Edward L. Jr. "Wells, Henry". . American National Biography. Retrieved 14 April
    22. ^"DIED.

      Henry wells and william fargo: Archived from the original on August 29, Preceded by Ashbel H. January 3, Williams — , daughter of Nathan Williams, one of the proprietors of Pompey , with whom he had eight children: [ 6 ].

      Wells". The New York Times. January 28, Retrieved 6 November

    23. ^"ARRIVAL OF THE BODY OF HENRY WELLS". The New York Times. 27 December Retrieved 6 November
    24. ^"THE LATE HENRY WELLS.; FUNERAL SERVICES AT HIS HOME IN AURORA ON THE LAST DAY OF ". The New York Times. January 3, Retrieved 6 November

    Additional sources

    • Loomis, Noel M.

      (). Wells Fargo. New York: Clarkson N. Potter.

    • Malone, Dumas, ed. (). Dictionary of American Biography. New York: Charles Scribner's Sons.
    • Norton, Frederick Calvin The governors of Connecticut: biographies of the chief executives of the commonwealth that gave to the world the first written constitution known to history, Publisher Connecticut Magazine Co.,
    • Siemiatkoski, Donna Holt ().

      The Descendants of Governor Thomas Welles of Connecticut, –, and His Wife, Alice Tomes. Baltimore: Gateway Press.

    External links