Today’s find is a letter from Burdette Hall to his uncle. The original of this letter is in the papers belonging to PRston Wells of Michigan.
Chittenango, N.Y. Apr. 20, 1896
Dear Uncle,
I am going to inflict you with another genealogical letter. Cousin Hattie & I are still hunting up our ancestors, this time it is the Whites as you will see by the enclosed list, which is copied from a book of the White family. Cousin Hattie found it in the Public Library at Utica & says it is very interesting.
Capt. W. has quite a record as a politician as has also his son Dr. Dea W.
You see there is one difference in this list and the one Calista sent. Her Abagail White’s father is Oliver instead of Elihu & I presume this is correct, as it was compiled from church & town records & Calista’s was given to her by her mother from memory. The date of Abagail’s birth compared with the record I found at your home last fall.
We feel proud of our ancestry, now we can hold our heads as high as anyone.
I finally got a letter from a great-grandson of Thurston Wells who lives at Buffalo, as he sent me what his father David Wells Hutchinson had written down. That was a nephew of our Nathaniel’s you know. They were Nathaniel Wells, married Mary Triston, were married near Fish House. Children were Nathaniel, George, Thurston, Lewis, Joshua, Thomas & Joel. Thurston married Ann Backus & was that Thurston mentioned in the obituary we talked about last fall. I wrote to the Postmaster at Erie inquiring for that Wells you told me about but did not get answer.
I wrote to Abiah Delano to see if she could give me any points, but she is not living. Her son Amos answered the letter, he did not say when she died. He gave the names of his mother’s family, there were 9 children, 7 of which were living, most of them in Wis. Wm. G. had 6 children, 4 were living, most of them in the south. This Amos wrote that his grandfather was Dr. Wm. Wells & told of his hanging himself from a tree by a horse bridle. I replied that I understood it was Dr. Daniel, told him of the family record of Isaac Wells that his mother sent you. Of Harriet’s family there is still a Daniel Beecher living.
When you come down here this summer we will talk this all over. How have you all been this winter? I have wondered if you young have had grip over its sameness. We have had a long tedious winter but it is hot enough now. It has been hard for horses, it acts as though it had started in for another dry season. We had considerable snow but it went off without rain & as yet we have not had any rain of any amt. Tonight we had a sharp thunder shower but only lasted a few minutes, it is cooler since the rain. We commenced to plow the 13th but have not sowed yet. Trees are just leaving out with us. I have peas, lettuce & radish coming up in the garden & tomatoes 6 in. high in the hot-bed.
The papers state that the fruit buds were destroyed but apple & cherries bud & I do not take much stock in that. Currants are blossoming & I presume there will be some peaches. Hope you succeeded in wintering that colony of bees. About 1/4 of mine did not. I did not give mine as much attention as I should. Honey was pretty dull, mine averaged about 10¢ per lb for comb. We hit a pretty good sale for our wheat, got 50¢ for it in Feb. but have our oats yet. We are going to have considerable hay to sell, it has been 15th of April. Our alfalfa has killed badly, shall plow up the most of it but shall try again on land that is drier, it heaved out in low places.
We are as well as usual. Slenzie’s children have all had the measles so they are pretty well tired out, our children have not had them yet.
The Petibone friends were well the last we heard. With best wishes to all the friends.
Remain Yours truly, Burdette Hall
I presume Hattie put in the date of the death of Abagail & Isaac Wells, I understood this rec’d was copied from the book. I could not find any comment on an old map of 1835 but names of places are changed. Isaac Wells must have been in this state as early as 1796.
This letter provides a wealth of genealogical information about the Wells, White and collateral families.
Genealogical Summary from Letter of Burdette Hall (20 Apr 1896)
White Family
Abagail White
Father listed as Oliver White (per church & town records)
Alternate father listed as Elihu White (per Calista, family memory)
Capt. White – noted as having a political record.
Dr. Dea White – son of Capt. White, also notable.
Wells Family
Nathaniel Wells
Married: Mary Triston
Marriage location: near Fish House (likely New York)
Children (as listed):
Nathaniel
George
Thurston (married Ann Backus)
Lewis
Joshua
Thomas
Joel
Thurston Wells
Residence: Buffalo, N.Y. (descendant mentioned in 1896)
Married: Ann Backus
Mentioned in obituary referred to in the letter.
David Wells Hutchinson
Recorded family notes (used as a source of information).
Abiah Delano
Deceased before 1896.
Her son Amos Delano replied to correspondence.
Wm. G. Wells
Had 6 children; 4 still living in the South as of 1896.
Dr. Wm. Wells
Reportedly hanged himself from a tree with a horse bridle (per Amos Delano).
Dr. Daniel Wells
Possible confusion with Dr. Wm. Wells as the one who hanged himself.
Isaac Wells
Death date recorded (possibly by Cousin Hattie).
In the state as early as 1796.
Harriet Wells
Her family included Daniel Beecher, still living in 1896.
Beecher Family
Daniel Beecher – living in 1896, part of Harriet Wells’s family line.
Dates
April 20, 1896 – Letter written.
1796 – Isaac Wells noted in the state by this date.
1835 – Reference to an old map, showing place names.
Fall 1895 – Burdette mentions checking family records then.
Locations
Chittenango, N.Y. – Location of Burdette Hall, letter written.
Utica, N.Y. – Public Library, where Cousin Hattie found White family records.
Buffalo, N.Y. – Residence of a descendant of Thurston Wells.
Fish House – Place of Nathaniel Wells & Mary Triston’s marriage.
Erie – Burdette wrote to the Postmaster there regarding the Wells family.
Wisconsin – Home of several Wells descendants (children of Wm. G. Wells).
Southern U.S. – Residence of some Wells descendants.
Observations
There is clear disagreement in family records about Abagail White’s father (Oliver vs. Elihu).
Evidence suggests that Isaac Wells was present in the state as early as 1796, which could be a key migration clue.
Multiple family branches were living in New York, Wisconsin, and the South by 1896.
The Wells family had a history of physicians (Dr. Wm. Wells, Dr. Daniel Wells) and suicide is noted in family tradition.
According to the FamilySearch tree, Burdette Hall, the author of this 1896 letter, would be my cousin. His mother, Lucinda Wells, was the sister of my ancestor Thurston Kennedy Wells. In addition, Burdette’s father, Henry Patrick Hall, was the brother of Sarah Hall, the first wife of Thurston Kennedy Wells.
