Ens. Hugh Wells, of Wethersfield

Hugh Wells, born about 1625, origin unknown, died in Wethersfield 22 Dec 1678, aged about 53. He was a carpenter who married on 19 Aug 1647, in Hartford, CT, to Mary Ruscoe, the daughter of William and Rebecca Rusco of Hartford (see NEHGR 71:113-5 for Rusco family).

Biography

https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Wells-123

Hugh Wells' parents and place of origin are not known. Birth date, 1625, is a guess, based on his reported age, about 53 years at his death on 22 December 1678.

Specific birth place: Colchester, Essex, England was removed from this profile (no evidence and no citation).

Marriage

Hugh ("Heew") married on 19 August 1647 at Hartford, Hartford County, Connecticut (bride's home), to Mary Ruscoe (b c. 1628), daughter of William Ruscoe of Hartford.[6] [7]

Children

Children of Hugh and Mary (*three recorded at Wethersfield):[8][4]

1. John Wells* b 24 May 1648 Wethersfield; mar ?
2. Mary Wells (#1) b abt. 15 Aug 1649, died young
3. Mary Wells* (#2) b 14 Oct 1650; mar Thomas Robinson
4. Rebecca Wells* b 10 Jan 1651/?2; mar 1) Thomas Latham, 2) John Packer, 3) Unknown Watson of Kingston, RI
5. Sarah Wells b "say" 1654; mar John Bishop

Disambiguation

Hugh Wells b c. 1625, was 53 yrs old when he d 22 Dec 1678. Origin unknown. Appears at Wethersfield before 1645. Married 19 August 1647 at Hartford, Connecticut, to Mary Ruscoe (b c. 1628), daughter of William Ruscoe of Hartford.

Hugh Wells did not marry Frances Belcher, (although it is reported in various data bases online). In fact, the Wells Family Research Association contends that Frances Belcher may not have existed.[5]

Hugh Wells also did not marry Frances Albright; she was the wife of Thomas Wells.

Thomas Wells of Evesham, Worcestershire, England, was confused with Hugh Wells of Hartford and Wethersfield, Connecticut, sometimes making them father and son, sometimes combining the two.[4]

There is no known relationship between the two families.

https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Welles-375

notes

• Hugh Wells, who came from co. Essex, Eng., about 1635, with wife Frances and at least four children,-Thomas, Hugh, Mary and John. He settled in Wethersfield, where he died about 1645. Wid. Frances became second wife of Thomas Coleman [i.e., Mary (Welles) Gilbert's stepfather]. They removed to Hadley with her sons Thomas and John in 1660.

This was enlarged by Stiles in 1902 in his "History of Ancient Wethersfield" (2:780) repeating Shelden while enlarging it to: "Hugh Wells, probably came to New England in the Globe, 1635; was of Hartford, 1636, and appears in Wethersfield abt. 1645, where he is supposed to have d. abt. the same time." Stiles then claims that Hugh's dau. Mary m. Jonathan Gilbert of Hartford. The renowned New England genealogist Donald Lines Jacobus adopted Stiles' rendition as being factual in his "Families of Old Fairfield."

Unfortunately, the said Hugh Wells was a fictitious person and all manner of false genealogies have resulted. In Jacobus' supplemental "Widow Frances Welles and Hugh Wells of Wethersfield" [TAG 28(1952):232] he comments "later writers have accepted these statements [of Sheldon and Stiles] as having substance; among the many, be it confessed, one of the present writers," referring to Jacobus' own "Families of Old Fairfield." Subsequent work regarding the Gilbert family and finally identifying Thomas Welles of Evesham, Eng. as the father of Mary (Wells) Gilbert have thoroughly debunked the fictitious Hugh Wells of Wethersfield. [see TAG 67(1992):161 and NEHGR 146(1992):28]

http://penrose.org/getperson.php?personID=I35312&tree=penrose

Using this confuses WELLS and WELLES families. Not the same 2 different families. Jane WELLS Baldwin (Sylvester) Milford CT and
Mary WELLES Baldwin of Wethersfield CT ( Timothy of Milford CT)

Samuel is not the father of Hugh Welles Sr. (Samuel and his children are a different tree)

Incorrect

The correct father for Hugh Welles Sr 1590 is Thomas Welles 1566 and Elizabeth Hunt of Colchester.

Hugh Wells Sr. was married to Frances Belcher. Their children are:

• 1. Thomas Wells of Essex (who married Elizabeth Deming and Mary Beardsley), and:
• 2. Hugh Wells Jr (who married Mary Rusco)

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The children of Thomas Welles 1566 and Elizabeth Hunt are:

1. Hugh Welles, Sr, b. Abt 1590, Of Colchester,Essex,England , d. 1645, Wethersfield,Hartford,Connecticut [NO]

2. John Welles, b. 1592, Colchester,Essex,England , d. 1637

3. Joseph Welles, b. 1595, Colchester,Essex,England , d. 1681

4. William Welles, b. 1598, Colchester,Essex,England

5. Nathaniel Welles, b. 1600, Colchester,Essex,England , d. 1681, Boston,Suffolk,Massachussetts

6. Deacon Thomas Welles, b. 11 Dec 1605, Colchester,Essex,England , d. 26 Oct 1666, Ipswich,Essex,Massacussetts

7. Richard Welles, b. 1609, Colchester,Essex,England , d. 12 Jul 1672

8. George Welles, b. 1611, Colchester,Essex,England

Came across to England on the Globe in 1635 (from London to Virginia) Settled in Wethersfield CT