Asa Wells

Asa Wells (August 6, 1774 - February 1859) was a pioneer farmer and surveyor from Pompey, New York who served two terms in the New York State Assembly.

Asa Wells
Member of the New York General Assembly
Personal details
BornAugust 6, 1774
Colchester, Connecticut
DiedFebruary 1859
ResidencePompey, New York

Background

Wells was born August 6, 1774, in Colchester, Connecticut. He settled in Pompey in the spring of 1803, built a log house at Pompey Hill, and in 1807 relocated to a more distant farm. Wells was a practical surveyor and assisted Judge Geddes in the survey for the Oswego Canal. He married the former Chloe Hyde, who lived until 1872. He was prominent in the militia, in which he was captain at the time Sackett's Harbor, New York, was threatened by the British, and led his company to that point. On May 3, 1834, Wells was one of the founders of the first Disciples of Christ church in Pompey, and became one of its first elders. [1]

Public office

He held various town offices and served in the 40th New York State Legislature and 41st New York State Legislature (1816-18) as a member of the New York State Assembly representing Onondaga County. In the 1816 election he was one of four victorious Democratic-Republican candidates, with 2,031 votes to 1,507 for the highest Federalist candidate, Nicholas P. Randall.[2] In the 1817 race, he was once again the least successful of the four "Old Line" Democratic-Republican winners, coming out ahead of former Assemblyman Jonathan Stanley, Jr. running as a "Clintonian" or "New Line" candidate, with 1,380 vote to Stanley's 724.[3]

He was a candidate in the 1822 United States House of Representatives elections in New York for the 23rd Congressional District. Wells was now identified with the Clintonian faction of the state's Democratic-Republican Party, losing with 1,387 votes to 2,042 for Elisha Litchfield, identified with the Bucktails or Anti-Clintonian faction.[4]

He died in February, 1859.

References
  1. Re-Union of the Sons and Daughters of the Old Town of Pompey, Held at Pompey Hill, June 29, 1871. Proceedings of the Meeting, Speeches, Toasts, and Other Incidents of the Occasion. Also, a History of the Town, Reminiscences and Biographical Sketches of Its Early Inhabitants Pompey: Published by the Direction of the Re-Union Meeting, 1875; pp. 198-99, 390-91
  2. ""New York 1816 Assembly, Onondaga County" A New Nation Votes: American Election Returns 1787-1825". Archived from the original on 2021-06-26. Retrieved 2021-06-26.
  3. "New York 1817 Assembly, Onondaga County" A New Nation Votes: American Election Returns 1787-1825
  4. "New York 1822 U.S. House of Representatives, District 23" A New Nation Votes: American Election Returns 1787-1825
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