Thomas Wells (1678-1750) was one of the many Wells family members who lived in Deerfield, and is among three men named Thomas who appear in this database. He was born in Hadley, Massachusetts to Thomas, Sr. and Hepzibah (Buel) Wells. Thomas, Jr.'s parents came to Hadley from Wethersfield, Connecticut, and were among the early settlers who came to Deerfield, Massachusetts, when the town was reoccupied in 1682 after having been abandoned during King Philip's, or Metacom's War (1675-1676.) Thomas's father became a community leader and a lieutenant in the militia before he died in 1691. Deerfield remained contested territory well into the 18th century. An older sister was killed and two others grieviously wounded when they and Thomas's mother were attacked by a raiding party that included Indigenous warriors from Canada. Thomas's mother, Hepzibah, remarried in 1691 and was killed after being captured in a French and Indian raid on Deerfield in 1704.
Like his father, Thomas, Jr. was a militia officer and town leader, attaining the rank of captain and serving as a town selectman. A prosperous trader and surveyor, he owned a large amount of land. He was instrumental in establishing Fall Town, Massachusetts, known as Bernardston today. He married Sarah Barnard in 1700. On his death in 1750, aged 72, Thomas left much of his substantial estate to his nephew, Thomas Dickinson and his niece, Susannah White of Hardwick, Massachusetts, after providing suitable mourning apparel and half of his personal estate to his widow as well as real estate for her use during her remaining lifetime. A costly tablestone monument marks his gravesite in the Old Deerfield Burying Ground. Thomas also left a silver tankard to the Deerfield Church. (George Sheldon, History of Deerfield (Greenfield, MA: PVMA, 1996), Vol. II, p. 358; printed transcriptions of Thomas Wells's will and probate inventory are available on the Historic Deerfield Library website: https://www.historic-deerfield.org/probate-records-wills-and-related-documents/)
Included in the probate inventory of Thomas Wells's possessions taken after his death was "Peter Negro," who was valued at 160 pounds. Wells had enslaved Peter in 1731, having purchased him from John Cook of Windsor, Connecticut. Peter was likely included in the estate Thomas Wells bequeathed to his nephew, Thomas Dickinson in 1750. A 1740 entry in the daybook of Joseph Barnard of Deerfield notes that Capt. [Thomas] Wells rented the services of Pompey, who was enslaved by Joseph's uncle Samuel Barnard (1684-1762). (Account Book of Joseph Barnard, PVMA Library, Deerfield, Massachusetts.)
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