Misplaced Pages

Thomas Edmund Wells (January 28, 1855 – August 4, 1910) was a British American business magnate and philanthropist. He served as a member of the Chicago Board of Trade before leading one of the largest meat-packing companies in the United States. He was also one of the founders of the Quaker Oats Company.

Born and raised in Birmingham, England, Wells immigrated to the United States as a teenager in 1870. During the First Gilded Age, he became a self-made millionaire. He eventually returned to England where he lived in retirement and died from appendicitis in 1910.

Early life

Thomas Edmund Wells was born on January 28, 1855, in Birmingham, England to John Wells and Diana Nash, grandniece of historian Treadway Russell Nash. He was baptized on June 3, 1855 in St George's Church, Edgbaston and was raised alongside his younger brother, Samuel. In the summer of 1869, his mother died and the family decided to relocate the following year. In 1870, Wells, his father, and Samuel immigrated to the United States and settled in Hyde Park Township, Illinois. After immigrating, Wells dropped-out of school at age 15 and began his career.

Career

In 1870, he began working as a bank messenger for Lunt, Preston, and Kean. He was working at the bank house during the Great Chicago Fire; escaping the building as it caught fire and collapsed. In 1873, he went to work for the Chicago Board of Trade and was made parter of the firm in 1876, alongside Robert Stuart. By the late 1870s, Wells was appointed director of Stuart's new company, Quaker Oats; a position he would retain until his death. He would later serve as vice president. At that time, the Quaker Oats Company was doing $16 million of sales annually, selling wheat cereals, farina, hominy, cornmeal, baby food, and animal feed. By 1918, the company did $123 million in sales.

After a debtor defaulted on their loan, Wells received several thousand head of cattle as collateral. In 1890, he initially purchased 10,000 acres of land in the Sandhills of the Nebraska panhandle from the Union Pacific Railroad, establishing Rush Creek Land & Livestock Company. Before his death, the ranch would grow to 155,864 acres and, as of 2024, the Wells family still owns and operates Rush Creek.

In 1891, Henry Adkins, an "eccentric Englishman" who lost heavily in the market, stormed the floor of the Chicago Board of Trade and discharged his firearm three times before pointing the pistol at Wells in an apparent attempt to "call his attention". Adkins was arrested on site and charged with "assault to kill".

In 1896, Wells left the Chicago Board of Trade to become president of Continental Packing Company. He opened his own trading firm, T.E. Wells & Co., in 1902 and became a major leader in the meat-packing industry.

Personal life

Wells married his first cousin Mary Nash of Inkberrow in Chicago on October 17, 1878. They had seven children together and lived in Hyde Park, Chicago until their retirement. They acquired Orchard Farm in the Cotswolds and moved back to England where the couple lived until Thomas's death from appendicitis on August 4, 1910. His funeral service was conducted by Rev. Francis Xavier Morgan the following day and a memorial was held. His body was transported back to Chicago on the SS Baltic, escorted by his son Preston. He was buried in Winnetka Congregational Church Cemetery.

For many years, Wells was a member of the Chicago Club.

Children

List of children:

• Mary Wells (1879–1969)
• John Edward Wells (1881–1945)
• Anne Diana Wells (1883–1957)
• Thomas Edmund Wells Jr (1885–1940)
• Richard Albert Wells (1888–1895)
• Preston Albert Wells Sr (1891–1974)
• Eleanor May Wells (1896–1978)

References

1. ^ "Thomas Edmund Wells (1855-1910) of Chicago and Broadway". Broadway History Society. Retrieved December 23, 2024.
2. ^ "Thomas E. Wells' Widow Leaves 2 Million Estate". Chicago Tribune. August 13, 1941. Retrieved December 23, 2024.
3. "Wells Retreats To Aged Couples". Chicago Tribune. August 19, 1910. Retrieved December 23, 2024.
4. "Oatmeal Trust Prospering". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. February 15, 1900. Retrieved December 23, 2024.
5. "Thomas E. Wells: Quaker Oats". Chicago Inter Ocean. February 14, 1905. Retrieved December 23, 2024.
6. "American Cereal Company". Akron Beacon Journal. February 13, 1901. Retrieved December 23, 2024.
7. "Customer Highlight: Rush Creek". Points West Community Bank. July 19, 2021. Retrieved December 22, 2024.
8. "Attempted assassination of Thomas E. Wells". Chicago Inter Ocean. July 23, 1891. Retrieved December 23, 2024.
9. "Longest Spite Fence Doomed". Chicago Tribune. September 30, 1916. Retrieved December 23, 2024.

• 1855 births
• 1910 deaths
• 19th-century American businesspeople
• 19th-century British businesspeople
• 20th-century American businesspeople
• 20th-century British businesspeople
• Businesspeople from Chicago
• Businesspeople from Birmingham, West Midlands
• American food company founders
• Quaker Oats Company people
• Businesspeople in the meat packing industry
• 19th-century American philanthropists
• 19th-century British philanthropists
• 20th-century American philanthropists