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Ralph Wells
Gender:
Male
Born:
1789
Died:
November 17, 1837
Home Town:
Hartford, CT
Later Residences:
Hartford, CT
New York, NY
New York, NY
Biographical Notes:
Ralph Wells was the son of Dr. Sylvester and Eunice (Waterman) Wells of Hartford, CT. After attending the Litchfield Law School, he was admitted to the Litchfield County Bar in 1813 and began practicing law in Hartford, CT. In 1815, he moved to New York City and worked in the dry goods business. Five years later he was employed as a broker. Later in life he returned to Hartford and died there on November 17, 1837.
Education
Years at LLS:
1812
Other Education:
Graduated from Yale College in 1810.
Profession / Service
Profession:
Lawyer; Business; Broker
Admitted To Bar:
1813
Immediate Family (Why only immediate family?)
- Mary Wells
Sister
LFA (1805) - Eunice Waterman Wells
Mother - Sylvester Wells
Father
The Citation of Attendance provides primary source documentation of the student’s attendance at the Litchfield Female Academy and/or the Litchfield Law School. If a citation is absent, the student is thought to have attended but currently lacks primary source confirmation. Records for the schools were sporadic, especially in the formative years of both institutions. If instructors kept comprehensive records for the Litchfield Female Academy or the Litchfield Law School, they do not survive. Researchers and staff have identified students through letters, diaries, family histories and genealogies, and town histories as well as catalogues of students printed in various years. Art and needlework have provided further identification of Female Academy Students, and Litchfield County Bar records document a number of Law School students. The history of both schools and the identification of the students who attended them owe credit to the early 20th century research and documentation efforts of Emily Noyes Vanderpoel and Samuel Fisher, and the late 20th century research and documentation efforts of Lynne Templeton Brickley and the Litchfield Historical Society staff.
CITATION OF ATTENDANCE:
Baldwin, Roger Sherman. Notes on law taken from the lectures of the Honble. Tapping Reeve and James Gould, esquire … at the Litchfield Law School, 1812-1813. Rare Book Collection, Lillian Goldman Law Library, Yale University.
William Key Bond List 1811-1812, Henry Francis Du Pont Winterthur Museum Joseph Downs Manuscript Collection No. 65x669.
Catalogue of Litchfield Law School , 1812, Hartford, Connecticut: Press of Tiffany, Case and Company, 1849.
William Key Bond List 1811-1812, Henry Francis Du Pont Winterthur Museum Joseph Downs Manuscript Collection No. 65x669.
Catalogue of Litchfield Law School , 1812, Hartford, Connecticut: Press of Tiffany, Case and Company, 1849.
Secondary Sources:
Dexter, Franklin Bowditch. Biographical Sketches of the Graduates of Yale College with Annals of College History, Vol. 6. New Haven: Yale University Press, 1912.
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