Copyright has not been assigned to The Society of California Pioneers. All requests for permission to publish or quote from manuscripts must be submitted in writing to the Librarian. Permission for publication is given on behalf of The Society of California Pioneers as the owner of the physical items and is not intended to include or imply permission of the copyright holder, which must be obtained by the reader.
Description
Copyright has not been assigned to The Society of California Pioneers. All requests for permission to publish or quote from manuscripts must be submitted in writing to the Librarian. Permission for publication is given on behalf of The Society of California Pioneers as the owner of the physical items and is not intended to include or imply permission of the copyright holder, which must be obtained by the reader Autobiography & Reminiscence of Henry Jackson Wells, Boston, Mass., 1901. The Society of California Pioneers Henry Jackson Wells was born in Charlestown, Massachusetts, November 16th, 1823. Previous to the study of his profession, he engaged in mercantile pursuits in the Boston vicinity. In 1848 and 1849 he lived in New Orleans. In 1849, Mr. Wells went to California and soon found employment as a Clerk in the Court of First Instance at San Francisco. When the State Government was established he was retained as Deputy Clerk in the District Court of the Fourth Judicial District. Mr. Wells continued to act as clerk in the courts for several years, during which time he studied law and was admitted to the Bar. He practiced his professions until 1863 when he was elected as Judge of the Second Township Justices' Court of San Francisco. He was also a member of the Board of Education in 1853, an Assistant Alderman and the President of the Board in 1855-56, and Police Commissioner. He was also President of the Young Men's Christian Association of San Francisco from 1857 to 1858. During President Lincoln's administration Mr. Wells held the position of Chairman of the Republican Committee of the City and County of San Francisco. He returned to Massachusetts in 1866. He was a member of the House of Representatives in 1880, 1881, and 1882, and was in the State Senate in 1883 and 1885. He was elected Presidential Elector on the Republican Ticket in 1888, and was chosen Secretary of the Electoral College of Massachusetts which met in January 1889 Autobiographies and Reminiscences of California Pioneers, p. 125-128, Vol. 3. This is a typed transcript, bound into a volume, of the member's autobiographical reminiscence created as an institutional record for the Society of California Pioneers. The transcription includes a reference to a photograph of the member in a set of bound volumes. It appears that the photographs in this set were dispersed throughout the regular photography collection, but the photographs referenced in the related materials may or may not be these same photographs. The first page of this reminiscence contains a transcript of a letter, dated May 13th, 1901, and penned by Henry J. Wells. It is addressed to "My Esteemed Friend of Pioneer Days". It states that the following biographical sketch was "in part prepared for and published in a souvenir volume, issued on the occasion of the celebration of the 'Fiftieth Anniversary of Cambridge, Mass. as a City.'" The biographical sketch outlines Mr. Wells' professional career and provides information regarding his numerous political and social contributions. Half of the two page sketch pertains to his life and work in Massachusetts.
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