Born 25 May 1862 at Salt Lake City.[1] Son of Daniel Hanmer Wells and Martha Givens Harris.[2] Baptized as a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints by his father, 6 July 1871.[3] Attended the University of Deseret, 1878.[4] Hired as a clerk to work at Zion’s Cooperative Mercantile Institution, 1882, in Ogden, Weber Co., Utah Territory.[5] Worked as a clerk for the Heber J. Grant and Company Insurance Office, 1884–1888.[6] Ordained a seventy by Frances M. Lyman, 29 Sept. 1885.[7] Acted as the president of the Eighth Quorum of the Seventy, serving a mission in Europe, Oct. 1885–Oct. 1887.[8] Served as a Salt Lake Stake missionary, 1887–1904.[9] Married first Anna Elizabeth Sears, 14 Mar. 1888.[10] Wife died, 1 June 1903.[11] Ordained a high priest by George Albert Smith, 1 Apr. 1904.[12] Married second Mamie Ely Lovell, 19 June 1907.[13] Appointed secretary and treasurer of the Salt Lake City Railway Company and its holdings, 1889.[14] Vice president and cashier of the Utah Light and Railway Company and was appointed general manager, 1904–1906.[15] Served as private secretary for A. W. McCune, 1904–1910.[16] First counselor in the Ensign Stake presidency when it was organized, 1904–1916.[17] Appointed as a member of the Church Auditing Committee, 1911.[18] Died 18 Oct. 1916 in Salt Lake City.[19]
[1] “Sealings of Couples, Living and by Proxy, 1884–1957,” The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Endowment House, vol. A, 21 May 1884–10 May 1899, p. 174, line 2935, Joseph Smith Wells and Anna Elizabeth Sears, 14 Mar. 1888, microfilm 178135, DGS 4342223 (restricted access), FHL. Junius F. Wells, “The Wells Family Genealogy,” Utah Genealogical and Historical Magazine 6, no. 1 (Jan. 1915): 14.
[2] “Sealings of Couples, Living and by Proxy, 1884–1957,” The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Endowment House, vol. A, 21 May 1884–10 May 1899, p. 174, line 2935, Joseph Smith Wells and Anna Elizabeth Sears, 14 Mar. 1888, microfilm 178135, DGS 4342223 (restricted access), FHL. Junius F. Wells, “The Wells Family Genealogy,” Utah Genealogical and Historical Magazine 6, no. 1 (Jan. 1915): 11. 1870 U.S. Census, Salt Lake City, Salt Lake Co., Utah Territory, p. 33, Joseph Wells.
[3] Andrew Jenson, Latter-day Saint Biographical Encyclopedia: A Compilation of Biographical Sketches of Prominent Men and Women in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, vol. 2 (Salt Lake City: Andrew Jenson History, 1914), 479.
[4] “Death of Joseph S. Wells,” Utah Chronicle (Salt Lake City), 19 Oct. 1916, 2.
[5] EBW, Diary, 16 Apr. 1882.
[6] Andrew Jenson, Latter-day Saint Biographical Encyclopedia: A Compilation of Biographical Sketches of Prominent Men and Women in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, vol. 2 (Salt Lake City: Andrew Jenson History, 1914), 479.
[7] Andrew Jenson, Latter-day Saint Biographical Encyclopedia: A Compilation of Biographical Sketches of Prominent Men and Women in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, vol. 2 (Salt Lake City: Andrew Jenson History, 1914), 479. Missionary Department Missionary Registers, 1860–1959, vol. B, 25 Apr. 1860–27 Apr. 1894, p. 84, line 3334, Joseph S. Wells, CR 301 22, image 85/148, CHL.
[8] Missionary Department Missionary Registers, 1860–1959, vol. B, 25 Apr. 1860–27 Apr. 1894, p. 84, line 3334, Joseph S. Wells, CR 301 22, image 85/148, CHL.
[9] Andrew Jenson, Latter-day Saint Biographical Encyclopedia: A Compilation of Biographical Sketches of Prominent Men and Women in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, vol. 2 (Salt Lake City: Andrew Jenson History, 1914), 479. “Stake Conference,” Salt Lake Herald, 7 Mar. 1893, 6.
[10] Cache Co., UT, County Clerk, Marriage Records, 1887–1966, Index of Marriage Certificates A–C, 1887–1915, p. 224, Joseph Smith Wells and Anna Elizabeth Sears, 13 Mar. 1888, microfilm 430301, DGS 4540805, image 367/613, FHL. “Sealings of Couples, Living and by Proxy, 1884–1957,” The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Endowment House, vol. A, 21 May 1884–10 May 1899, p. 174, line 2935, Joseph Smith Wells and Anna Elizabeth Sears, 14 Mar. 1888, microfilm 178135, DGS 4342223 (restricted access), FHL. Salt Lake City, Office of Vital Statistics, Death Register, 1890–1908, p. 211, Anna E. S. Wells, 1 June 1903, line 8010, cert. no. D13282, microfilm 26554, DGS 7578790, image 679/874, FHL.
[11] Salt Lake City, Office of Vital Statistics, Death Register, 1890–1908, p. 211, Anna E. S. Wells, 1 June 1903, line 8010, cert. no. D13282, microfilm 26554, DGS 7578790, image 679/874, FHL.
[12] Andrew Jenson, Latter-day Saint Biographical Encyclopedia: A Compilation of Biographical Sketches of Prominent Men and Women in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, vol. 2 (Salt Lake City: Andrew Jenson History, 1914), 479.
[13] Salt Lake Co., UT, County Clerk, Marriage Records, 1887–1965, Marriage Licenses, vol. 12, no. 4406, Joseph S. Wells and Mamie Lovell, 19 June 1907, microfilm 429067, DGS 4262249, image 114/536, FHL. “Sealings of Couples, Living and by Proxy, 1893–1956,” The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Endowment House, vol. C, 21 June 1905–24 June 1908, p. 179, line 4815, Joseph Smith Wells and Mamie Ely Lovell, 31 May 1907, microfilm 184069, DGS 5271182 (restricted access), FHL.
[14] Andrew Jenson, Latter-day Saint Biographical Encyclopedia: A Compilation of Biographical Sketches of Prominent Men and Women in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, vol. 2 (Salt Lake City: Andrew Jenson History, 1914), 479.
[15] “Prominent Western Railroad Men: Joseph S. Wells Salt Lake Product by Birth, Training and Reputation,” Salt Lake Evening Telegram, 25 June 1910, 15.
[16] “Prominent Western Railroad Men: Joseph S. Wells Salt Lake Product by Birth, Training and Reputation,” Salt Lake Evening Telegram, 25 June 1910, 15.
[17] “Officers of Ensign Stake,” Deseret Evening News (Salt Lake City), 2 Apr. 1904, 1. “Passing Events,” Improvement Era, Nov. 1916, 94.
[18] “Passing Events,” Improvement Era, Nov. 1916, 94.
[19] “Utah State Archives Indexes,” database and images, Utah State Archives (https://archives.utah.gov, accessed 18 Sept. 2020); Utah Department of Health Office of Vital Records and Statistics Death Certificates, series 81448, file no. 1483/420 (1916), Joseph Smith Wells. “Passing Events,” Improvement Era, Nov. 1916, 94. EBW, Diary, 18 Oct. 1916.