Historical Tyson Landowners

John breckenridge wells

John Breckenridge Wells was born in Kentucky and moved to Missouri in 1833. He lived from 1800-1890, and owned land that is today part of Tyson Research Center in 1838.  

His father was Hasten Wells and his wife was Tabitha C. Davis. They had many children: Leander E. Wells, John D. Wells, Littleton M. Wells, Laura Wells, Henrietta Wells, George Wells, Frances Wells, Luther J. Wells, Mittie Wells, Vernie Wells, and Reginie Wells.  

Many individuals with the last name Wells were enslavers, but their relation to John is unclear. The lone clear record of enslavement by John Wells was from the year 1838, where he emancipated one of the women he enslaved, named Virginia.

Resources 

Biro, E. Tyson Border Polygon. (2023) Tyson Research Center.  

Kearns, E. Wells’ Land 1838 ArcGIS Polygon. (2024) Washington University in St. Louis.  

St. Louis Integrated Database of Enslavement | Washington University in St. Louis. (n.d.). Retrieved June 17, 2024, from https://sites.wustl.edu/enslavementstl/search/.  

I383: John Breckenridge WELLS (16 Nov 1800—19 Feb 1890). (n.d.). Retrieved June 25, 2024, from https://jrm.phys.ksu.edu/genealogy/simmons/d0001/I383.html. 

This Tyson landowner profile was researched and written by Undergraduate Fellow Emmett Kearns and edited by Undergraduate Fellow Juliana Morera during summer 2024.

I would change the last sentence of the first paragraph to “ He was born in Kentucky to father Hasten Wells and moved to Missouri in 1833.  Then delete that part from the next sentence so you are only talking about his wife and kids in the second paragraph.