Sir Thomas Edmund Wells, 3rd Baronet (January 28, 1855 – August 4, 1910) was a British American

business magnate A business magnate, also known as an industrialist or tycoon, is a person who is a powerful entrepreneur and investor who controls, through personal enterprise ownership or a dominant shareholding position, a firm or industry whose goods or ser ...

and

cattle baron Cattle baron is a historic term for a local businessman and landowner who possessed great power or influence through the operation of a large ranch with many beef cattle. Cattle barons in the late 19th century United States were also sometimes re ...

. He was a member of the

Chicago Board of Trade The Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT), is an American futures exchange, futures and options exchange that was founded in 1848. On July 12, 2007, the CBOT merged with the Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME) to form CME Group. CBOT and three other excha ...

before leading one of the largest meat-packing companies in the United States. He was also one of the founders of the

Quaker Oats Company The Quaker Oats Company, known as Quaker, is an American food Conglomerate (company), conglomerate based in Chicago, Illinois. As Quaker Mill Company, the company was founded in 1877 in Ravenna, Ohio. In 1881, Henry Crowell bought the company and ...

. Born and raised in

Birmingham Birmingham ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands (county), West Midlands, within the wider West Midlands (region), West Midlands region, in England. It is the Lis ...

, England, Wells immigrated to the United States as a teenager in 1870. During the

Gilded Age In History of the United States, United States history, the Gilded Age is the period from about the late 1870s to the late 1890s, which occurred between the Reconstruction era and the Progressive Era. It was named by 1920s historians after Mar ...

, he worked as a

corporate executive Corporate titles or business titles are given to corporate officers to show what duties and responsibilities they have in the organization. Such titles are used by publicly and privately held for-profit corporations, cooperatives, non-profit org ...

in the American

financial services Financial services are service (economics), economic services tied to finance provided by financial institutions. Financial services encompass a broad range of tertiary sector of the economy, service sector activities, especially as concerns finan ...

and

food industry The food industry is a complex, global network of diverse businesses that supplies most of the food consumed by the world's population. The food industry today has become highly diversified, with manufacturing ranging from small, traditional, ...

. In 1890, he founded

Rush Creek Ranch Rush Creek Ranch is a historic site and Beef cattle, cattle ranch located across eight counties in the Sandhills (Nebraska), Sandhills of the Nebraska panhandle on the North Platte River. History After a debtor defaulted on their loan, Thomas E. ...

Nebraska Nebraska ( ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders South Dakota to the north; Iowa to the east and Missouri to the southeast, both across the Missouri River; Ka ...

and established his trading firm, T. E. Wells & Co., in 1902. After becoming a

multi-millionaire A millionaire is an individual whose net worth or wealth is equal to or exceeds one million units of currency. Depending on the currency, a certain level of prestige is associated with being a millionaire. Many national currencies have, or ha ...

, Wells returned to England in 1904, inherited a

baronetcy A baronet ( or ; abbreviated Bart or Bt) or the female equivalent, a baronetess (, , or ; abbreviation Btss), is the holder of a baronetcy, a hereditary title awarded by the British Crown. The title of baronet is mentioned as early as the 14th ...

in 1906, and lived in retirement at his estate until his death in 1910.

Early life

Thomas Edmund Wells was born in Birmingham,

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

, on January 28, 1855, to John Wells and Diana Nash, grandniece of historian

Treadway Russell Nash Treadway Russell Nash (24 June 1724 page 459 – 26 January 1811Chambers, p464) was an English clergyman, now known as an early historian of Worcestershire and the author of ''Collections for the History of Worcestershire'', an important source d ...

. He was baptized on June 3, 1855 in St George's Church, Edgbaston and was raised alongside his younger brother, Samuel. In the summer of 1869, his mother died and the family decided to relocate the following year. In 1870, Wells, his father, and Samuel immigrated to the United States and settled in Hyde Park Township, Illinois. After immigrating, Wells dropped out of school at age 15 and began his career.

Career

In 1870, he began working as a bank messenger for Lunt, Preston, and Kean. He was working at the bank house during the

Great Chicago Fire The Great Chicago Fire was a conflagration that burned in the American city of Chicago, Illinois during October 8–10, 1871. The fire killed approximately 300 people, destroyed roughly of the city including over 17,000 structures, and left mor ...

; escaping the building as it caught fire and collapsed. In 1873, he went to work for the

and was made partner of the firm in 1876, alongside Robert Stuart. By the late 1870s, Wells was appointed

director Director may refer to: Literature * ''Director'' (magazine), a British magazine * ''The Director'' (novel), a 1971 novel by Henry Denker * ''The Director'' (play), a 2000 play by Nancy Hasty Music * Director (band), an Irish rock band * ''D ...

of Stuart's new company,

Quaker Oats The Quaker Oats Company, known as Quaker, is an American food conglomerate based in Chicago, Illinois. As Quaker Mill Company, the company was founded in 1877 in Ravenna, Ohio. In 1881, Henry Crowell bought the company and launched a national ad ...

; a position he would retain until his death. He would later serve as vice president. At that time, the Quaker Oats Company was doing $16 million of sales annually, selling wheat cereals,

farina Farina may refer to: Places * Farina, South Australia, a former town in outback South Australia * Farina, Illinois, a village in the United States * Farina railway station, a former railway station on the Central Australian Railway, South Australi ...

hominy Hominy is a food item produced from dried maize (corn) kernels that have been treated with an alkali, in a process called nixtamalization ( is the Nahuatl word for "hominy"). "Lye hominy" is a type of hominy made with lye. History The process ...

cornmeal Maize meal is a meal (coarse flour) ground from dried maize. It is a common staple food and is ground to coarse, medium, and fine consistencies, but it is not as fine as wheat flour can be.Herbst, Sharon, ''Food Lover's Companion'', Third Editi ...

baby food Baby food is any soft, easily consumed Human food, food other than breastmilk or infant formula that is made specifically for human babies between six months and two years old. The food comes in many varieties and flavors that are purchased ready ...

, and

animal feed Animal feed is food given to domestic animals, especially livestock, in the course of animal husbandry. There are two basic types: fodder and forage. Used alone, the word ''feed'' more often refers to fodder. Animal feed is an important input ...

. By 1918, the company did $123 million in sales. After a debtor defaulted on their loan, Wells received several thousand head of

cattle Cattle (''Bos taurus'') are large, domesticated, bovid ungulates widely kept as livestock. They are prominent modern members of the subfamily Bovinae and the most widespread species of the genus '' Bos''. Mature female cattle are calle ...

as collateral. In 1890, he initially purchased 10,000 acres of land in the Sandhills of the Nebraska panhandle from the

Union Pacific Railroad The Union Pacific Railroad is a Railroad classes, Class I freight-hauling railroad that operates 8,300 locomotives over routes in 23 U.S. states west of Chicago and New Orleans. Union Pacific is the second largest railroad in the United Stat ...

, establishing Rush Creek Land & Livestock Company. Before his death, the ranch would grow to 155,864 acres and is still owned and operated by the Wells family, as of 2025. Henry Adkins firing his pistol toward Thomas E

Henry Adkins firing his pistol toward Thomas E

In 1891, Henry Adkins, an "eccentric Englishman" who lost heavily in the market, stormed the floor of the Chicago Board of Trade and discharged his firearm three times before pointing the pistol at Wells in an apparent attempt to "call his attention". Adkins was arrested on site and charged with "assault to kill". In 1896, Wells left the Chicago Board of Trade to become president of Continental Packing Company. He opened his own trading firm, T.E. Wells & Co., in 1902 and became a major leader in the meat-packing industry.

Personal life and death

Wells married his first cousin Mary Nash of

Inkberrow Inkberrow is a village in Worcestershire, England, often thought to be the model for Ambridge, the fictional setting of BBC Radio 4's long-running series ''The Archers''. In particular, The Bull, the fictional Ambridge pub, is supposed to be ba ...

in Chicago on October 17, 1878. They had seven children together and lived in

Hyde Park, Chicago Hyde Park is a neighborhood on the South Side, Chicago, South Side of Chicago, Illinois, located on and near the shore of Lake Michigan south of Chicago Loop, the Loop. It is one of the city's 77 community areas of Chicago, community areas. ...

until their retirement. They acquired Orchard Farm in the

Cotswolds The Cotswolds ( ) is a region of central South West England, along a range of rolling hills that rise from the meadows of the upper River Thames to an escarpment above the Severn Valley and the Vale of Evesham. The area is defined by the bedroc ...

and moved back to England where the couple lived until Thomas's death from

appendicitis Appendicitis is inflammation of the Appendix (anatomy), appendix. Symptoms commonly include right lower abdominal pain, nausea, vomiting, fever and anorexia (symptom), decreased appetite. However, approximately 40% of people do not have these t ...

on August 4, 1910. His funeral service was conducted by Rev.

Francis Xavier Morgan Francis Xavier Morgan C. O. (born Francisco Javier Morgan Osborne, 18 January 1857 – 11 June 1935) was a Spanish and British Catholic priest of the Oratory of Saint Philip Neri. He served for most of his priesthood at the Birmingham Oratory i ...

the following day and a memorial was held. His body was transported back to Chicago on the RMS ''Baltic'', escorted by his son Preston. He was buried at Winnetka Congregational Church Cemetery. In 1906, Wells inherited the Wells baronetcy from his first cousin Sir Arthur Spencer Wells, son of Sir

Thomas Spencer Wells Sir Thomas Spencer Wells, 1st Baronet (3 February 181831 January 1897) was surgeon to Queen Victoria, a medical professor and president of the Royal College of Surgeons of England. Early life He was born at St Albans, Hertfordshire and received ...

. For many years, Wells was a member of the

Chicago Club The Chicago Club, founded in 1869, is a private social club located at 81 East Van Buren Street at Michigan Avenue in the Loop neighborhood of Chicago, Illinois, in the United States. Its membership has included many of Chicago's most prominent ...

Children

List of children: * Mary Wells (1879–1969) * Sir John Edward Wells, 4th Baronet (1881–1945) * Anne Diana Wells (1883–1957) * Thomas Edmund Wells Jr (1885–1940) * Richard Arthur Wells (1888–1895) * Preston Albert Wells Sr (1891–1974) * Eleanor May Wells (1896–1978)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Wells, Thomas E. 1855 births 1910 deaths 19th-century American businesspeople 19th-century British businesspeople 20th-century American businesspeople 20th-century British businesspeople Businesspeople from Chicago Businesspeople from Birmingham, West Midlands American food company founders Quaker Oats Company people American cattlemen Businesspeople in the meat packing industry

103 103 may refer to: *103 (number), the number *AD 103, a year in the 2nd century AD *103 BC, a year in the 2nd century BC * 103 (Tyne Electrical Engineers) Field Squadron, a territorial regiment * 103 (Newcastle) Field Squadron, Royal Engineers * 103 ...

Thomas Thomas may refer to: People * List of people with given name Thomas * Thomas (name) * Thomas (surname) * Saint Thomas (disambiguation) * Thomas Aquinas (1225–1274) Italian Dominican friar, philosopher, and Doctor of the Church * Thomas the A ...

19th-century American philanthropists 19th-century British philanthropists 20th-century American philanthropists