William Storrs Wells

William Storrs Wells (October 14, 1849 – May 13, 1926) was an American businessman serving as president and CEO of the Fairbanks Company who was prominent in New York society during the Gilded Age.

William Storrs Wells
Born(1849-10-14)October 14, 1849
Albany, New York, U.S.
DiedMay 13, 1926(1926-05-13) (aged 76)
Paris, France
Resting placeSleepy Hollow Cemetery
EmployerFairbanks Company
Spouse
​
(before 1926)​
Children2
ParentRobert Hitchcock Wells
Catharine M. Storrs

Early life

Wells was born in Albany, New York on October 14, 1849. He was the second son of three children born to Robert Hitchcock Wells (1817–1900) and Catharine M. (née Storrs) Wells (1820–1891).[1] Both of his siblings, Frederick Storrs Wells and Evelin Nelson Wells, died in infancy.[2]

Career

Wells served as president and CEO of the Fairbanks Company, an American manufacturing company that built weighing scales.[2]

Society life

In 1892, Wells and his wife were included in Ward McAllister's "Four Hundred", purported to be an index of New York's best families, published in The New York Times.[3] Conveniently, 400 was the number of people that could fit into Mrs. Astor's ballroom.[4]

Wells was a member of the Union Club of the City of New York and the Metropolitan Club.[5]

In May 1900, Pansy cottage, the Wells summer cottage located at Bellevue and Ruggles Avenues in Newport, Rhode Island, burned down.[6] The fire at the cottage, which had recently been extensively remodeled and enlarged,[7] occurred the day before the Wells were to take up residence at the home.[6] The Wells had purchased Pansy cottage in 1886 from Constant A. Andrews.[8] In 1903, the construction of their replacement cottage, called Chetwode, was completed.[9] It was designed by Horace Trumbauer with gardens by John Russell Pope.[10][11]

Personal life

Wells was married to Anna Cole Raynor (sometimes Annie) (1854–1935),[12] the daughter of James A. Raynor, president of the Erie Railroad.[13] They maintained a home at 16 East 57th Street, in New York City.[5] Together, they were the parents of:

  • James Raynor Storrs Wells (d. 1917),[14][15] who married Irene Dabney Bishop, a former chorus girl.[16] They divorced after he got out of the U.S. Navy and he remarried to May Maloney, a showgirl, in 1912.[15]
  • Natalie Wells (1882–1976), who married Harry Twyford Peters (1881–1948) at Chetwode in 1905.[17][18]

Wells died of pneumonia in Paris, France,[19] after a long illness on May 13, 1926.[5] In 1934, his widow sold their Chetwode, their Newport estate, to John Jacob Astor III.[20] The home was eventually demolished in 1973.[21] As his son predeceased both parents, his daughter was his wife's sole beneficiary in her will.[22] The will provided nothing for the two daughters of their son, James, stating that it was her specific "intention to cut them off absolutely from sharing in my estate."[22]

Descendants

Through his son James, and James' second wife Mary, he was the grandfather of Marie Storrs Wells and Annette Raynor Wells.[22] Through his daughter Natalie, he was the grandfather of Natalie Peters and Harry Twyford Peters Jr.[12]

Notes
  1. American Ancestry: The City of Albany, State of New York, 1887, ed. by Thomas P. Hughes.- v. 2. (Local series) Columbia County, state of New York, 1887, ed. by Thomas P. Hughes.- v. 3-12. Embracing lineages from the whole of the United States. 1888[-1898. Ed. by Frank Munsell. Munsell. 1887. p. 93. Retrieved 17 May 2018.
  2. The Storrs Family. Priv. print. 1886. p. 200. Retrieved 17 May 2018.
  3. McAllister, Ward (16 February 1892). "THE ONLY FOUR HUNDRED | WARD M'ALLISTER GIVES OUT THE OFFICIAL LIST. HERE ARE THE NAMES, DON'T YOU KNOW, ON THE AUTHORITY OF THEIR GREAT LEADER, YOU UNDER- STAND, AND THEREFORE GENUINE, YOU SEE" (PDF). The New York Times. Retrieved 26 March 2017.
  4. Keister, Lisa A. (2005). Getting Rich: America's New Rich and How They Got That Way. Cambridge University Press. p. 36. ISBN 9780521536677. Retrieved 20 October 2017.
  5. "WILLIAM STORRS WELLS.; Body of New Yorker Who Died in London to Be Brought Here". The New York Times. 15 May 1926. Retrieved 17 May 2018.
  6. "A NEWPORT COTTAGE BURNED.; Residence of W. Storrs Wells Destroyed -- Had Just Been Enlarged". The New York Times. 5 May 1900. Retrieved 18 May 2018.
  7. Town Topics, the Journal of Society. Town Topics Publishing Company. 1893. p. 11. Retrieved 18 May 2018.
  8. "Society at Newport.; Enjoyable Events at the City by the Sea". The New York Times. 3 October 1886. Retrieved 18 May 2018.
  9. Kathrens, Michael C. (2009). Newport villas: the revival styles, 1885-1935. W.W. Norton & Co. pp. 189–190. ISBN 9780393732702. Retrieved 18 May 2018.
  10. Markert, Gretchen (11 July 2017). "Chetwode a Visit with the Astors". Newport Patch. Retrieved 17 May 2018.
  11. "Wells, Anna Cole Raynor, 1854-1935". redwoodlibrary.pastperfectonline.com. Redwood Library and Athenaeum. Retrieved 17 May 2018.
  12. "MRS. W. STORRS WELLS DIES IN NEW YORK | One of Oldest of Summer Residents of Newport | Spent Past Season at "Stone Gables," Leaving Newport Several Weeks Ago". Newport Mercury. 15 Nov 1935. p. 2. Retrieved 18 May 2018.
  13. "MRS. WILLIAM S. WELLS.; Widow of President of Fairbanks Scales Company Dies at 81". The New York Times. 15 November 1935. Retrieved 17 May 2018.
  14. "DIED. WELLS". The New York Times. 31 March 1917. Retrieved 17 May 2018.
  15. "J. R. S. WELLS IS DEAD. Marital Troubles Attracted Much Attention for Decade". New York Herald. April 1, 1917. p. 10. Retrieved 17 May 2018.
  16. "MR. J. R. WELLS SUES FOR $500,000 DAMAGES | Declares Husband's Parents Have Alienated His Affections and Caused Her Desertion". Asheville Gazette-News. 19 Mar 1910. p. 6. Retrieved 17 May 2018.
  17. "Weddings of a Day.; Peters -- Wells". The New York Times. 26 May 1905. Retrieved 17 May 2018.
  18. "News of Newport". The New York Times. 13 July 1907. Retrieved 18 May 2018.
  19. "DIED. WELLS--William Storrs". The New York Times. 14 May 1926. Retrieved 17 May 2018.
  20. "Mrs. W. Storrs Wells (ca. 1853-1935)". www.nyhistory.org. New-York Historical Society. Retrieved 17 May 2018.
  21. Miller, Paul F. (2008). Lost Newport. Applewood Books. pp. 73–76. ISBN 9781557090911. Retrieved 17 May 2018.
  22. "MRS. W. STORRS WELLS' WILL PROBATED | Leaves An Estate "In Excess of $10,000" | Testament Names Her Daughter, Mrs. Peters, Executor and Sole Beneficiary". Newport Mercury. November 22, 1935. Retrieved 17 May 2018.
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