was president of the First National Bank of Aurora and in 1867 also the first president of the Cayuga Lake Railroad. Later endeavors Wells retired from the board of Wells Fargo in 1867. He also retired as president of American Express in 1868 when it was merged with the Merchants Union Express Company under the presidency of William Fargo. Also in 1868, Wells founded Wells College in Aurora with an endowment to make it one of the first women's colleges in the United States. One of Wells' last ventures was the Arizona & New Mexico Express Company, of which he was president in 1876. Personal life On September 5, 1827, Wells married Sarah Caroline Daggett (1803–1859), the daughter of Levi Daggett (1768–1835) and a descendant of the Doggett colonial settlers. They had four children: Charles Henry Wells (1828-1891), who married Louisa Burnham (1832-1905) Mary Elizabeth Wells (1830–1884), who married James H. Welles (1819–1873) Oscar A. Wells (1833–1909) Edward Wells After his first wife's death on October 13, 1859 in Albany, New York, he married Mary Prentice of Boston in 1861. Wells died in Glasgow, Scotland, on December 10, 1878, two days short of his 73rd birthday. He was brought home for burial in Aurora and was buried at Oak Glen Cemetery in Aurora. His body was transported back to the United States aboard the steam-ship Ethiopia. His funeral was held at his home in Aurora. See also Wells Fargo American Express Wells College William Fargo Ezra Cornell References Additional sources Norton, Frederick Calvin The governors of Connecticut: biographies of the chief executives of the commonwealth that gave to the world the first written constitution known to history, Publisher Connecticut Magazine Co., 1905. External links 1805 births 1878 deaths People from Cayuga County, New York American people of Scottish descent American people of English descent Wells Fargo employees American Express people Wells College people People from Thetford, Vermont People from Palmyra, New York 19th-century American businesspeople