Wayman Frederick Wells: Texas Revolution Veteran and Early Settler (1815–1878)
Published: 1976
Updated: July 4, 2017
Wayman Frederick Wells, early settler and veteran of the Texas Revolution, was born in Lincoln County, Tennessee, on May 11, 1815, the son of Martin and Sally (Boyd) Wells. The family moved to Marengo County, Alabama, in 1817 and in 1826 migrated to Texas, settling in Fayette County. In 1827 they moved to the area of Bastrop County, where they engaged in farming and stock raising at a plantation known as Wells' Pyramid, fifteen miles from Bastrop. In 1835 Wells joined the Texas army, becoming a scout and spy. He married Mary Emeline Bacon on March 4, 1849; they became the parents of nine children, six of whom lived to adulthood. The Wells family moved to Travis County in 1855 and settled on Walnut Creek east of Austin. Wells contributed generously to the Baptist High School at Walnut Creek and to Southwestern University. He served on the board of trustees of the Texas Insane Asylum (later Austin State Hospital) during the administration of Francis R. Lubbock. Wells died at his home at Walnut Creek on February 25, 1878, and was buried at Davis Cemetery.
Bibliography:
Frank W. Johnson, A History of Texas and Texans (5 vols., ed. E. C. Barker and E. W. Winkler [Chicago and New York: American Historical Society, 1914; rpt. 1916]). Vertical Files, Austin History Center.
Categories:
The following, adapted from the Chicago Manual of Style, 15th edition, is the preferred citation for this entry.
Claudia Hazlewood, “Wells, Wayman Frederick,” Handbook of Texas Online, accessed March 09, 2026, https://www.tshaonline.org/handbook/entries/wells-wayman-frederick.
Published by the Texas State Historical Association.
TID:
FWE27
- 1976
- July 4, 2017
