Project Status
https://wells.org/project26/project26.html
I thought I was prepared to send this on September 1st, but then I got into reviewing all the email I had received
since December pertaining to wells and this project in particular finding myself caught up in responding to some I
had not replied to and doing deeper dives into some of the families presented. I just can't help myself.
A Change in Direction
As I have been working through all the boxes and file drawers building the top index to what is there it dawned on me
that I need the genealogies!!
It does not do any good for me to take a bible record, census record, marriage, death or birth list etc. to digitize
unless I know what family the individual(s) belong(s) to. For that I need your help!
I need to be able to run the name of a Wells in the record I am processing through something to do my best to attach
them to the proper family - where it is known. For that I have a couple of data bases to work with which includes the
search engine for the Wells.org website where everything posted to the website is held as well as the Wells DNA Surname Merge
database that Bonnie "Bonita" Hillmer built several years ago. To that I will add the three Wells newsletters -
The Wells Chronicles, Wells Researcher and the Wells Family Research Bulletin. I will place these three newsletters on the
website as searchable PDF Files. I also have the indexes to everything i have in my Wells contacts and material on my computer.
BUT I NEED one more thing. That is all of your family trees. So I am asking you to send me GEDCOM files for your families.
I will merge the different branches in the same family to form as complete trees as possible given what we have to work with.
I will add to these the possibly hundreds of other gedcom files I have been sent over the years. Of course this is going to
distract me from starting the digitizing project for a bit. It won't be wasted time because at the end we had planned to take
all the trees and make them available as part of the archive. We are just hitting this part earlier.
If you believe you sent me your gedcom file recently, just shoot me a note letting me know and I will confirm whether or not I have it. Those of you who were involved in the first DNA testing pre 2015 (BYU, Relative Genetics, Ancestry and The Sorenson Molecular Genealogy Project) I probably have your information, but if you have added significantly to the tree since then, a new gedcom would be welcome.
If you don't know what a gedcom is, please ask me and I will help you.
If you do not want to let YOUR information be included in the final archive, PLEASE LET ME KNOW.
In that case I will use it but not pass it on. I will not question your choice. Just remember that all of this is intended
to help everyone and to make sure the information is not lost to future researchers as SO much in the past has been.
The Wells DNA Surname Merge Database
Once again I want to point out that we all owe Bonita a great debt of gratitude for the enormous effort she put in building that.
She clearly spent endless hours pulling together the genealogies that most of the DNA project participants in our first phase of
DNA testing shared with us and then went the extra mile by finding and including cemetery records and census records plus
whatever else she could find to validate the individuals. If you have not taken a look at this data for YOUR family, you are
missing a valuable resource. As with any useful project, do not be surprised if there are errors in this data. It was provided
by humans and you know how we are. If you spot something, please let me know and we will see if we can fix it.
I am in the midst of removing this database from the Wells.org website indexing because it produces an overwhelming result
if you try to search for someone. Instead off of the landing page for the website you will be able go into the genealogy
content of the website where you can use the search engine OR select the DNA Merge database. The DNA Merge database will
not be linked into the FreeFind search engine indexing. However once you get into the database you can look up individuals
by surname, and given name using the tools packaged with the database. I expect to finish the move this week.
Wells Researcher
In my upper level indexing project (now completed!) I came across the cover page and a census record from what
looks to have been the Wells Researcher
Vol 7 No. 1. I was unaware that Ann L. Wells had continued beyond Vol. 6
(of which I am missing a couple of issues). Does anyone who was a subscriber to this still have copies beyond Vol. 5? I want to
once again thank Ann L. Wells for giving me permission to include the issues I had in a compilation of the three newsletters which
will all find their way to the wells.org site.
Family Numbers
Many of the early families (US, UK, AUS/NZ and Canadian primarily) have been assigned rather random numbers by me.
I have noticed researchers referencing these number here and there and that is fine. As I completed my run
through all the Y-DNA test results I have been assigning those of you we can not connect to a known
Wells family
the number W999 or W899 if you are not US centered. Eventually I will assign more unique numbers to every Wells family we
touch and some may be changed as we figure out how they connect to known lines where currently the DNA matches but there is no
supporting genealogy to answer the how
. So have patience with me on that front.
Top Index Is Complete
Once I have built out the family trees, I will begin to go through the papers one at a time to digitize and organize them
for transfer to the archive.
Subscribers to the Wells DNA Project
To do as complete a job of the building out the family trees, we will need to do the best we can to contact all the
folks who are subscribed to the Wells DNA Project at Family Tree DNA. So I will be tapping the project co-administrators
Aaron Wells and Johnny Brown to assist me in trying to reach these folks who are not responding to the emails or whose email
addresses are no longer working.
Original DNA project participants.
I will also begin reaching out to all the original DNA test subjects who were tested prior to 2014 outside of FTDNA.
This will take a bit but I have complete contact information for all of them if they are still with us and have not
dropped out of sight.
The DNA Database
I have completed the preparation of all the Y-DNA test participants in the project at FTDNA and started testing the import.
I now need to go back to the pre-FTDNA test subject results and realign the table to match that from FTDNA. I need to do
some more testing but expect within a week or two I will be able to compare the FTDNA tests against the Phase one tests and
expect we will find additional matches that we can not see at FTDNA. As I find new
matches, I will advise members affected.
First 30 Baseline
Families
Here are the first 30 Baseline
Families. If assigned to someone to be the leader I have indicated the name.
If no assigned leader, I am looking for volunteers. If I missed someone who tried to volunteer, please let me know
and I will fix that.
- W001 - Thomas Wells/Frances Albright cir 1600 Evesham, Worcestershire to Wethersfield, CT
- W002 - Thomas Wells/Naomi Marshall cir 1636 to Westerly, RI - Orin Wells
- W003 - Richard Wells/Eleanor ___ cir 1618 Cherring, Warwickshire to Maryland - Shane Wells
- W004 - Thomas Wells/Abigail Warner cir 1600 to Ipswich, MA
- W005 - Richard Wells (Tunis) cir 1700 Frederick Co., VA to Fayette Co., VA - David J. Wells
- W006 - Thomas Wells/ Frances ___ cir 1653 to Maryland - Tommy Wells
- W007 - Richard Wells cir 1584 Tattershall, Lincolnshire -
- W008 - James Wells/Anne ____ cir 1649 to Baltimore, MD - Vicki Cox & Clay Carenter ("Little Wells")
- W009 - John Wells cir 1670 to Baltimore MD -
- W010 - Peter Wells cir 1630 to Kingston, RI -
- W011 - Samuel Wells cir 1680 to Stafford Co, VA - Stacey Hodges & Laura Wells
- W012 - William Wells cir 1552 Lincolnshire to Virginia -
- W013 - Henry Wells cir 1666 Bradfield, Berkshire to Bucks Co., PA -
- W014 - William Wells cir 1798 to Fayette Co, PA -
- W015 - Thomas Welles/Alice Tomes Cir 1590 Stourton, Warwickshire to Wethersfield, CT - Bonita Hillmer
- W016 - Aaron Wells/Ruth Wiggins Cir 1765 MD? to Mason Co., KY - (same family as W006)
- W017 - Isaac Wells/Ann cir 1709 Stratford-upon-Avon, Warwickshire to Frederick Co., MD -
- W018 - Thomas Welles (Edmond) cir 1620 Dudley, Worcestershire to Saybrook, CT - (same as W015) - Bonita Hillmer
- W019 - William Wells cir 1608 to Southold, LI, NY -
- W020 - Zachariah Wells/Abigail Osborne cir 1739 to Lee Co., VA - (same family as W006) - - Gregory Scalf
- W021 - Samuel Wells (John) cir 1682 to Montgomery Co., PA - Justin Houser
- W022 - Barnarby Wells cir 1638 to Rappahanock Co., VA -
- W023 - David Wells/Susannah Cir 1730 VA to Mecklenburg, VA -
- W024 - Jacob Wells cir 1680 to Duplin Co., VA -
- W025 - David Wells/Kitty White cir 1764 Cumberland Co., KY to IL -
- W026 - John Wells/Mary cir 1797 Kent County, England -
- W027 - John Wells/Elizabeth (Katherine) Fletcher 30 Oct 1617 Gloucestershire to York Co., VA -
- W028 - Robert Wells/Mary Downing cir 1753 PA to Mason Co., KY -
- W029 - George Wells cir 1674 Ecclesfield, Yorkshire -
- W030 - Wells of Sumerset
- W031 - Wells of New York
- W032 - Wells of Pennsylvania - Michelle Wisniewsky & Marilyn Bryan
- W033 - Henry Wells -Cir 1695 Buckinghamshire
- W034 - Peter Wells/Jane Cir 1620 Selborne, Hampshire - Paul Wells
- W035 - Richard Wells/Elizabeth Dyer Cir 1765 Maryland
- W036 - Joseph Wells/Charity Carrington 20 Jul 1669 Prince Georges Co., Maryland
- W037 - James Wells/Mary Rhodes Cir 1640 Kent Co., Delaware - Jen-Marie Pera
- W038 - Richard Wells/Nancy Hardesty Cir 1765 Prince Georges Co., Maryland - Jeff Wells
Other families assigned
- W098 - Thomas Wells/Ann Bond Cir 1800 Baltimore, Maryland - Chuck Wells
- W366 - Benjamin F. Wells/Elizabeth Waddle 4 May 1805 Montgomery (Bath) Co., Kentucky - Launa Darby
- W516 - Delamar Bryant Wells/Susan Jane Gillikin 19 Sep 1826 Onslow Co., North Carolina - Andrew Wells
Here is an example of why this may be. For the period of 1635 through 1656 - a mere 21 years, the following 27
Wells came into just Virginia alone. Did they remain there, move to other colonies, leave descendants?
The following is from Early Virginia Immigrants by George Cabel Greer published in 1912 and reflects immigrants
whose passage was paid to come to Virginia by land Patentees who were already there. Some others may have come as
indentured servants and still others under their own payment for transport. The first six entrees are for patentees
named Wells who sponsored the transport of others in exchange for more land. Notice too that Greg/Gregory Wells appears
to have been sponsored in 1635 by Capt. Wm. Pierse, Addams Co. and then in 1653 was himself sponsoring others.
- Barber, Fra. 1647 by Tho Wells, Lower Norfolk Co.
- Bonner, Tho. 1647 by Tho. Wells, Lower Norfolk Co.
- Trent, John, 1647 by Tho. Wells, Lower Norfolk Co.
- Bayly, Tho. 1654 by Gregory Wells, James City Co.
- Whitly, David 1654 by Gregory Wells and Richard Williams, James City Co.
- Williams, Richard 1654 by Wm. Wells, Lancaster Co.
- Wells, Greg 1635 by Capt. Wm. Pierse, Addams Co.
- Wells, Mary 1636 by John Wilkins, Accomack Co.
- Wells, Robert 1637 by James Knott, New Norfolk Co.
- Wells, Jon. 1637 by Joseph Royall, Henrico Co.
- Wells, Richard 1637 by Francis Poythers, Charles City Co.
- Wells, Mary 1637 by John Wilkins, New Norfolk Co.
- Wells, John 1638 by Wm. Rainshaw, Lower Norfolk Co.
- Wells, John 1638 by Joseph Royall, Charles City Co.
- Wells, Edmond 1642 by Adam Cooke, Charles Co.
- Wells, Edward 1643 by Peter Knight, Isle of Wight Co.
- Wells, Walter 1643 by Casar Puggett, Lower Norfolk Co.
- Wells, Geo., 1645 by Michael Masters, Henrico Co.
- Wells, Wm. 1645 by James Bruss, Northampton Co.
- Wells, Richard 1650 by Mrs. Frances Townshend (widow), Northumberland Co.
- Wells Tho. 1650 by Bertram Obert, ____ Co.
- Wells Tho. 1650 by George Pate, Charles City Co.
- Wells, Wm. 1651 by Phillip Hunley, _____ Co.
- Wells, Elisa, 1652 by Gilbert Blunt, _____ Co.
- Wells, Elisabeth, 1652 by Isaac Richardson, Lancaster Co.
- Wells, Tho., 1653 by Charles Grimes, Lancaster Co.
- Wells, James 1654 by John Watson and John Bognall, Westmoreland Co.
- Wells, Mary 1654 by Robert Hubard, Westmoreland Co.
- Wells, Richard 1654 by Nich. Merywether. Westmoreland Co.
- Wells Richard, 1654 by Mr. Giles Brent, Westmoreland Co.
- Wells, Rich., 1654 by Abra. Moone, Lancaster Co.
- Wells, Mary 1654 by Fra. Spright, Nansemond Co.
- Wells, Pru., 1654 by Robert Younge, Lancaster Co.
- Wells, John 1656 by George Kibble, Lancaster Co.
If I succeed on these projects it will be a good month.
More with the next update.
Orin Wells
253-630-5296