Heber Manning Wells
Born 11 Aug. 1859 in Salt Lake City.[1] Son of Daniel Hanmer Wells and Martha Givens Harris.[2] Attended the University of Deseret, 1868–1871.[3] Worked for Salt Lake City as a tax collector, 1877.[4] Performed in theatrical productions, beginning 1878; founding member of the Home Dramatic Club, established 1879.[5] Married Mary Elizabeth Beatie, 15 Jan. 1880, in Salt Lake City.[6] Served as a city recorder, 1882–1890.[7] Elected governor of Utah prior to statehood, Nov. 1895; served a second term, to 1905.[8] Managing director of the Utah Savings and Trust Company, 1905.[9] Served on the Salt Lake City Commission, 1913–1917.[10] Associate editor of Salt Lake Herald, 1919.[11] Served as assistant treasurer of the United States Shipping Board Fleet Corporation, 1921–1925, and as treasurer, 1925–1933.[12] Died 12 Mar. 1938 in Salt Lake City.[13]
[1]“Endowments of the Living, 1851–1884,” The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Endowment House, vol. H, p. 213, Heber Manning Wells, 15 Feb. 1875, microfilm 183407, DGS 5270330 (restricted access), FHL. “Sons of the American Revolution Membership Applications, 1889–1970,” database, Ancestry.com (http://ancestry.com, accessed 3 Dec. 2019); National Society of the Sons of the American Revolution, Louisville, KY. “Family Tree,” database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org, accessed 30 Jan. 2018), Heber Manning Wells (KWVG-9K5).
[2] “Endowments of the Living, 1851–1884,” The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Endowment House, vol. H, p. 213, Heber Manning Wells, 15 Feb. 1875, microfilm 183407, DGS 5270330 (restricted access), FHL. Miriam B. Murphy, Heber Manning Wells, Utah’s Youngest Governor Led the First State Government (Salt Lake City: Utah State Historical Society, 1992) 4.
[3] First Annual Catalogue of the Officers and Students in the University of Deseret for the Academical Year 1868–9 (Salt Lake City: Deseret News, 1869), 8. Third Annual Catalogue of the Officers and Students in the University of Deseret for the Academical Year 1870–1871 (Salt Lake City: Deseret News, 1871), 8. “First Governor of the State of Utah: Heber M. Wells,” Improvement Era, Nov. 1901, 49.
[4] Allan Kent Powell, ed., Utah History Encyclopedia (Salt Lake City: University of Utah Press, 1994), 627.
[5] Horace G. Whitney, The Drama in Utah: The Story of the Salt Lake Theatre (Salt Lake City: Deseret News, 1915), 37–41.
[6] “Sealings of Couples, Living and by Proxy, 1851–1889,” The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Endowment House, vol. L, p. 143, Heber Manning Wells and Mary Elizabeth Beatie, 15 Jan. 1880, microfilm 183402, DGS 5270325 (restricted access), FHL.
[7] Allan Kent Powell, ed., Utah History Encyclopedia (Salt Lake City: University of Utah Press, 1994), 627.
[8] Allan Kent Powell, ed., Utah History Encyclopedia (Salt Lake City: University of Utah Press, 1994), 157, 158. Miriam B. Murphy, Heber Manning Wells: Utah’s Youngest Governor Led the First State Government (Salt Lake City: Utah State Historical Society, 1992), 4. Gov. Heber Manning Wells, “Former Utah Governors,” National Governors Association (https://www.nga.org/governor/heber-manning-wells/, accessed 3 Dec. 2019).
[9] Robert Sobel and John Raimo, eds., Biographical Directory of the Governors of the United States, 1789–1978, (Westport, CT: Meckler Books, 1978), 4:1547.
[10] Robert Sobel and John Raimo, eds., Biographical Directory of the Governors of the United States, 1789–1978, (Westport, CT: Meckler Books, 1978), 4:1547. “H. M. Wells Dead after Long Career,” Deseret News, 12 Mar. 1938, 6.
[11] “H. M. Wells Dead after Long Career,” Deseret News, 12 Mar. 1938, 1, 6.
[12] Robert Sobel and John Raimo, eds., Biographical Directory of the Governors of the United States, 1789–1978 (Westport, CT: Meckler Books, 1978), 4:1547.
[13] “Utah State Archives Indexes” database and images, Utah State Archives (https://archives.utah.gov, accessed 16 Jan. 2018), Utah Department of Health, Office of Vital Records and Statistics, Death certificates, series 81448, file no. 474/420 (1938), Heber Manning Wells.