Born July 18, 1836 in Wellsburg, Erie County, PA, Frank owned a business that made oars and boat hooks. He later invested in mining and oil companies. He is my husband’s second great-grandfather.

Birth

Frank was born on July 18, 1836, in Wellsburg, Erie County, PA, to parents Julius Ellis Wells and Louisa Cole.

Marriage

Frank was married twice, first to Sarah Marie Page and second to Emma Seibly.

Marriage to Sarah Marie Page

Frank married Sarah Marie Page (1839-1900), daughter of Ezekiel H. Page (1811-1873) and Sarah G. Bartlett (1815-1885), on December 23, 1861, in either Widder or Lambton, Ontario, Canada, about 185 miles west of Buffalo, NY.

Photos of Sarah Marie Page Wells

Marriage to Emma F. Seibly

Frank remarried after the death of his first wife in 1900. He married Emma F. Seibly, 21 years his junior, on January 12, 1902.

Photos and Info for Emma F. Seibly Wells

Children

Franklin Parker Wells and Sarah Marie Page had seven children, one of whom died in childhood. Below is a photograph of the family.

Franklin Parker Wells and Sarah Marie Page had the following children:

1. Charles Frederick Wells. Born on September 24, 1867, in Albion, Erie, PA. He died on November 18, 1923. He married Alice Sutcliffe, daughter of Richard Sutcliffe and Martha Perrin Allen, on July 5, 1892. She was born on February 5, 1870, in Des Arc, Prairie, Arkansas. She died on 28 Jun 1951, in Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA.
2. Andrew Page Wells. Born in 1869 in Pennsylvania. He died on October 3, 1881, in Lansing, Ingham, Michigan (Age: 12).
3. Sarah Marie Wells. Born on Feb 21, 1871, in Albion, Erie, Pennsylvania. She died on March 2, 1947 in Pennsylvania, USA. She married Frank L. Fay, son of Patrick S. Fay and Bridget Mary Murray, on August 12, 1896, in Buffalo, Erie, New York. He was born on July 18, 1869, in Cleveland, Cuyahoga, Ohio. He died on October 10, 1946, in Clifton Springs, Ontario, New York.
4. Julius Ezekiel Wells. Born on November 30, 1872, in Lansing, Clinton, Michigan. He died on March 19, 1931, in Greenville, Mercer, Pennsylvania (Age: 58). He married Haidee Elder in 1899. She was born about 1873 in Tennessee. She died in 1931.
5. Frank Parker Wells. Born on September 13, 1874, in Lansing, Ingham, Michigan, USA. He died on May 30, 1936, in Costa Mesa, Orange, California. He married Claire Pruyn in 1913 in Maricopa, Kern Co., California. She was born about 1884 in Kansas, USA. She died on December 27, 1944, in Whittier, Los Angeles, California.
6. Adelaide Louise Wells. Born on Aug 4, 1877, in Lansing, Clinton, Michigan. She died on November 23, 1955, in Milton, Norfolk, Massachusetts. She married Harry Benjamin Burley on April 17, 1901, in Buffalo, Erie, New York. He was born on 26 May 1867 in Epping, Rockingham, New Hampshire. He died on August 22, 1954, in Boston, Middlesex, Massachusetts.
7. Clara B. Wells. Born on January 8, 1882, in Lansing, Ingham, Michigan, USA. She died on June 8, 1930, in Belmont, Middlesex, Massachusetts. Notes for Clara B. Wells: According to her father’s obituary, in 1913, Miss Clara B. Wells is teaching school in Salem, Ohio. She never married.

Biography

This biography is found in Biographical and Historical Memoirs of Eastern Arkansas: Comprising a Condensed History of the State, a Number of Biographies of Distinguished Citizens of the Same, a Brief Descriptive History of Each of the Counties (Goodspeed Publishing Company, 1890). Found on Google Books.

F. P. Wells. A sketch of Mr. Wells’ life, as far as Prairie County is concerned, covers a period of but little over six years, yet he has become so thoroughly identified with the business interests of the same, and his career has been so successful that a brief sketch of his career will be of much interest to all. His birth occurred Erie Country, Penn., in 1836, he being the eldest of a family of nine children born to the marriage of J. E. Wells and Louisa Cole. The former was born in the “Green Mountain State” in 1812, and about the year 1820 removed with his father to Pennsylvania, and in that State he was reared to manhood and married, the last-named event taking place in 1835, and resulted in the birth of these children: Mittie, Charles, Jerome (deceased), Julius, Louisa, Judson, Addie, Jerome (named for his elder brother who died) and subject of sketch. Mr. Wells was a tanner by trade, and in this business became quite successful. He died in 1886, still survived by his wife, who is residing in Buffalo, N.Y. F.P. Wells’ youthful days were spent in the “Keystone State,” but his education was acquired in Hillsdale College, Mich. Mr. Wells is a married man, his wife having formerly been Miss Sarah M. Page, a daughter of E. Page, their union being consummated in 1861, and resulted in the birth of six children: Charles, Marie, Julius, Frank, Louise and Clara. They, with their mother, reside in Buffalo, N.Y. Mr. Wells first began manufacturing boat-oars in 1865, in Albion, Erie County, Penn., but at a later period he removed to Lansing, Mich., where he had control of four mills for this purpose, his business there being on a very extended scale, indeed. In 1883, he established a factory at De Vall’s Bluff, Ark., which establishment is the only one of the kind in the State, and it is fitted up with all the latest improved and best machinery, and has the capacity of 3,500 feet of oars per day. He ships his products to all points of the globe, and in addition to having an extensive trade with the seaport and river towns of the United States, he supplies the markets of London and Liverpool (England), Glasgow (Scotland) and Sidney and Melbourne (Australia). He manufacturers pike-poles, handles of all kinds and descriptions, but makes a specialty of oars. Joseph Gordner & Sons of London, Liverpool (England) and Glasgow (Scotland) are interested in this establishment. Mr. Wells owns a portion of 14,000 acres of woodland, and in addition to this, owns valuable property in Lansing, Mich., and Buffalo, N. Y. Mr. Wells is one of the progressive and enterprising business men of the county, whose strict attention to work, perseverance and integrity have produced such substantial results, and it is a pleasure to lay before the reader the unsullied record of such a man. He is a member of the Masonic order, and he and wife are members of the Congregational Church at Lansing, Mich.

Occupation

“FPW formed the Lakeside Oil Company in California in 1913 that drilled the first oil well in California which started the oil boom there in Kern County and later Signal Hill and San Pedro near Long Beach. Many of the Wells family members and associates would later leave Arkansas and Michigan and move to California to work in the oil fields. These fields started by F.P. Wells turned out to provide the livelihood of many future wells family members.” (Rick Harris)

Residence

Death

Frank died 12/14/1913 in Pasadena, Los Angeles County, CA. You can see his entry at FindAGrave.com here.

Photo Gallery

Newspaper Clippings

Related Lines

Wells

Sources

• Belinda Dapice
• Rick Harris
• Furst Family Archives