James Madison Wells
| James Madison Wells | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| 20th Governor of Louisiana | |
|
In office March 4, 1865 – June 3, 1867 |
|
| Lieutenant | Albert Voorhies |
| Preceded by | Michael Hahn |
| Succeeded by | Benjamin Flanders |
| 9th Lieutenant Governor of Louisiana | |
|
In office 1864–1865 |
|
| Governor | Michael Hahn |
| Preceded by | Benjamin W. Pearce |
| Succeeded by | Albert Voorhies |
| Personal details | |
| Born |
January 7, 1808 near Alexandria, Louisiana |
| Died | February 28, 1899 (aged 91) Lecompte, Louisiana |
| Political party | Republican |
| Spouse(s) | Mary Ann Scott |
| Religion | Catholic |
James Madison Wells (January 7, 1808 – February 28, 1899) was elected the 20th Governor of Louisiana during Reconstruction.
Born near Alexandria, Louisiana, on January 7, 1808, Wells' father was Samuel Levi Wells II, a member of Louisiana's constitutional convention in 1811. His mother was the former Dorcas Huie. A brother, Thomas Jefferson Wells, was involved in Louisiana politics. Samuel Wells died when James was 8 years old, leaving eight children. He was a nephew by marriage of Alexander Fulton, the businessman who founded and laid out the plat of the future city of Alexandria, in 1805.
Wells was educated at the Jesuit-run St. Joseph's College in Bardstown south of Louisville, Kentucky; Partridge's Academy, Middletown, Connecticut; and Cincinnati Law School. In Cincinnati, he was tutored in law by an old-line Federalist named Charles Hammond, who edited the Cincinnati Gazette. Hammond's frequent attacks on slavery failed to stick. Wells later owned nearly one hundred slaves.
In 1829 he returned to Rapides Parish, to manage several of his family's plantations.
In 1833, Wells married 15-year-old Mary Ann Scott; together they had 14 children. Wells inherited a substantial estate; he controlled a large cotton plantation called New Hope near Alexandria, a sugar plantation on Bayou Huffpower in Avoyelles Parish called Wellswood, and a large summer home Jessamine Hill near Lecompte, Louisiana. Wells was appointed Sheriff of Rapides Parish in 1840 by Governor Andre B. Roman. Wells was an active Whig and a large slave holder. Eventually, as the Whig Party collapsed in the 1850s, Wells became a Democrat. His brother, Thomas Jefferson Wells, was the Whig nominee for governor in 1859, against eventual winner Thomas Overton Moore.
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