| 2. |  Dr. Richard WELLS was born in 1618 in Boughton, Aluph, Kent, England; died after 22 Jun 1667 in , Anne Arundel, MD, USA. Notes:
Richard Wells could be the son of John and Elizabeth Elyott Wells of Saltash, England. Harry Wright Newman supports this theory because Richard's son, George, used a seal on his documents that was highly similar to the arms of the Wells of Saltash, County Cornwall, England. That Wells family settled in County Cornwall about 1530 from Lincolnshire. Their arms included a shield with a chevron with three birds and horse's head for the crest. This evidence suggests that the Wells in Saltash need to be studied closely.
What we know for sure about Richard is that he was a staunch Puritan of wealth and influence at a period of history when the Puritans were in power. He and his wife were both the immigrant ancestors in this line. He immigrated from England to Virginia before Sep. 13, 1637. Richard was unmarried when he arrived and settled south of the James River in Virginia. (C-637) He received head rights in Charles City Co., Virginia and received fifty acres of land on the River between two creeks. He apparently had property back in England. He is sometimes confused with another Richard Wells also in Virginia.
Our Dr. Richard Wells is apparently the Richard who was a Surgeon. He was elected to the Virginia House of Burgesses in 1645. He and his family probably moved to Maryland to seek religious freedom offered by Lord Baltimore in 1653. The fact that he was a liberal puritan provoked the move. He took with him all of his children but Martha who had not been born, plus his servants, Thomas Boone, Henry Symonds, George Hall, Thomas Linstead, Edward Howard and Martha Windright.
The birth place of he and his wife's children was in Virginia. Only their daughter, Martha's, birth date and place is unknown.
In Maryland, he was granted 600 acres on Herring Bay that he named "Wells". He built the Manor House they lived in throughout their days on that property. He was appointed a member of the Parliamentary Commission on July 22, 1654, a year after arriving in Maryland. He along with Capt. Fuller, Richard Preston, William Durand Edward Lloyd, Capt. John Smith, Leonard Strong, John Lawson, John Hotch, and Richard Ewen controlled Maryland's government from 1654-1658. Any four of them could act as long as one of them was Fuller, Preston or Durand. (C-603)
He held multiple offices for the courts. He accumulated much wealth in the form of land and a sixteenth of a ship called "The Baltimore." In checking public record, one family researcher has found this Richard Wells and his sons to be ambitious, furious when thwarted, and unsympathetic to those who could not further their interests. (C-637)
After his death in 1667, his son Richard returned to England where his father's will was probated at the Prerogative Ct. of Canterbury, (1668). He still owned land in England at that time. His estate was appraised on Dec. 5, 1667 by Capt. John Howell and Godfrey Bayley. In it, a "chirugeon chest" contained interest in the ship "Majesty". His total worth was L1,735/6/4 plus 57,145 pounds of tobacco, several servants, silver plate, L7/8/9 currency. His Majesty owed him several sums on top of that. His will was witnessed by Francis Stockett, Bonham Turner and Wm. Linckhorne. He named five sons and three daughters. He wished all things to be divided including things in Maryland (the plantation where he lived), Virginia and England.
According to a book on the "Welsh Family" whom his grandson, Thomas Stockett through daughter Mary married into, Richard held the title of "Major" as well as Dr.
Dr. married Francis WHITE. Francis (daughter of Richard WHITE and Catherine WESTON) was born in in , Essex, England; died before 1667. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]
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Abt 1640 - Abt 1714 (~ 74 years)
