James Babbage Wells Jr.

James B. Wells Jr.
Born	July 12, 1850 St. Joseph Island, Texas
Died	December 21, 1923 Brownsville, Texas
Occupation	lawyer, political boss

James Babbage "Jim" Wells Jr. (1850-1923) was a lawyer, rancher, and Democratic Party boss of South Texas. Wells is best remembered for the nearly four decades he spent as a political kingmaker from his base in Cameron County, Texas and as the namesake of Jim Wells County in the same state.

James B. Wells Jr. was born July 12, 1850 on St. Joseph Island in Texas, a barrier island on the state's Gulf Coast. He was the son of Lydia Hastings and James B. Wells Sr., both of whom hailed from New England sailing families. The elder James Wells participated in the Texas Revolution of 1835-36 as a privateer, settling on St. Joseph Island after the end of the conflict to raise cattle and operate a merchant ship.

As a boy James Wells Jr. lived in comparative isolation on St. Joseph Island, where he received most of his education directly from his mother. As he grew older he began working at the family's ranch, eventually managing the operation.

In 1873 Wells moved to Galveston, where he began to study law under the tutelage of a prominent attorney in that city. He enrolled in the University of Virginia School of Law in 1874 and received his degree the following year.

Following his graduation from the University of Virginia Law School, Wells returned to his native Texas to open up a legal practice in the Gulf Coast city of Rockport, Texas. He soon moved his practice to Corpus Christi, however, where he gained the attention of Democratic Party political boss Stephen Powers. Powers would take Wells under his wing in 1878 following the death of Powers' junior partner in a duel.

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