(Written by Anita Cramer Wells)
Stephen was raised and well-educated
in England, the second of seven children and twin to sister Isabella,
who died as a child. He had roots in the servant class, his father was a
stonemason, and his maternal ancestry connects back with Isaac Newton and Francis Bacon.
His mother used to say, “Study hard so you’ll grow up to be as smart as
Uncle Isaac!” Even further back, his genealogy line connects in with
the Merovingian dynasty in France and King Clovis. Stephen was always a
fine English gentleman.
Stephen embraced the gospel in
London, along with his mother and siblings. He is listed as a salesman
in the Paddington Branch emigration records. However, only he left, of
his family, to gather with the Saints. Stephen married fellow British
convert Mary Ann (Lowe) en route, and they settled first in Big Cottonwood and
then Spanish Fork in 1853, where their three children were born. During
this time he married Mary Ann’s cousin Annie (Thorn),
also a British convert, as a plural wife. Stephen served as a bishop in
Spanish Fork. Interestingly, Mary had no more children after Stephen
took a second wife, although that could be due to advanced maternal age.
Stephen was an excellent
blacksmith, and he could make nearly perfect wagon wheel rims. After he
fashioned the hub and wooden spokes, he would pound out the circular
metal rim and fit it over the wheel while it was still very hot, then
immerse the wheel in water. The sudden cooling of the hot metal caused
it to shrink around the wheel. The family was called in 1861 to settle
Dixie and raise cotton. Soon after arriving, Stephen donated thirty
dollars to build the Tabernacle, even though he did not yet have a roof
over his own head.
Stephen farmed in St. George,
and built a two-story adobe home at 1st South and 3rd West. After
Stephen came to Utah, he continued to write letters home to England, but
there may have been a rift in the family (Elder Robert E. Wells
speculated due to polygamy), because when the Wellses did temple work in
St. George for others, they neglected to do it for their English family
members. Instead, they were sealed into the family of Erastus Snow.
Stephen served as the first
counselor in the St. George 2nd Ward. He was a popular entertainer
(doing what?). His son Samuel became quite prominent, and his daughter
Ann Eliza became the plural wife of J.D.T. McAllister and accompanied
him as president of the Manti Temple. Stephen and Annie worked together
in the St. George Temple and were remembered as being always faithful
and efficient.
Stephen wrote a letter to his teenage son Saint George,
“When I think of the many duties of life that there is to do, I find
that the boy or girl who begins the soonest makes the best man or woman.
Therefore mix up with play and work some reading, spelling, writing,
and then some music which will make your company always agreeable go
where you may. You must labour with your hands and heads, sometimes with
one at the time and sometimes with both at the same time.” His letter
is interesting as it was “cross-written”: to conserve space, after he
wrote one page, he turned the paper ninety degrees and continued to
write across the other direction.
As the result of a buggy
accident while driving home from Cedar City, Stephen was injured and
died in the arms of his son Saint George. He is our earliest patrilineal
(direct male line) ancestor to join the Church and has a number of
namesake descendants.
Source - Anita Cramer Wells: http://www.familytreerings.org/2011/12/happy-189th-birthday-stephen-robert.html
This same source also makes the following comments about this line:
"Our same ancestor Sarah Newton Wells who is related to Isaac Newton is also related to Sir Francis Bacon, through her mother Sarah Bacon Newton. Both of these men died without heirs, leaving only distant relatives to remember them."
"Shout out today to Wells relative
Isaac Newton. He was actually born on Christmas day 1642, but with
calendrical changes the date became January 4, 1643. Sir Isaac
was an English physicist, mathematician, astronomer, natural
philosopher, alchemist, and theologian who is considered by many to be
one of the most influential scientists in history.
He died childless and I don't
know if he'd claim us as relatives, but Gawain’s great-grandfather
Stephen Robert Wells and his siblings were frequently told by their
mother, Sarah Newton Wells (Isaac Newton’s
great-something-grand-niece)—“Study hard so you can grow up to be as
smart as Uncle Isaac!”"
Personal note: I found this information as I worked on my husband's family line. Richard Golightly (who is my GGG Grandfather) married Jane Thorne as his 4th wife. Jane's illegitimate daughter, Annie Thorn was the 2nd wife of Trent's GGG Grandfather, Stephen Robert Wells. Trent's line comes through Mary Ann Lowe, the 1st wife of Stephen Robert Wells. But interesting anyway as I see our lines converge.
Personal note: I found this information as I worked on my husband's family line. Richard Golightly (who is my GGG Grandfather) married Jane Thorne as his 4th wife. Jane's illegitimate daughter, Annie Thorn was the 2nd wife of Trent's GGG Grandfather, Stephen Robert Wells. Trent's line comes through Mary Ann Lowe, the 1st wife of Stephen Robert Wells. But interesting anyway as I see our lines converge.
