One of the oldest families to settle in the Big Sandy Valley, the Wells family announces their 2022 reunion date for Saturday, May 28 (Memorial Day weekend), beginning at 11 a.m. in Paintsville.

Plans for two previous years were interrupted by COVID-19. This year the Family will gather at J. B. Wells Cemetery, Depot Road.

The Wells family history began with Thomas Atte Welle in 1452 in Willesborough, England, according to John Britton Wells III in his story of the Wells family. The first arrivals from England settled in the original colonies, becoming teachers, doctors, lawyers and businessmen. After the end of the Revolutionary War, many Wells family members traveled west to southwestern Virginia in Russell and Scott counties.

Russell and Susannah Wells settled in Dungannon (between present-day Big Stone Gap and Abingdon). Ten children were born between 1799 and 1820. Many of those children later moved to Daniels Creek, Johnson County.

Big Sandy Chapter Sons of the American Revolution will assist with the program; Chapter President Edward Keeton and First Vice President Judge John David Preston, program moderator. Daughters of the American Revolution throughout the region will be present. Color guard will be provided by Boy Scout Troop 147 and Cub Scout Pack 827, Prestonsburg.

The program includes a memorial dedication ceremony for Revolutionary War Patriot, First Lt. Richard Wells III, South Carolina Navy. Richard was born in Queen Anne’s County, MD, 1736. He lived in Delaware, Pennsylvania, and Georgia, where he was a jeweler and officer of a privateer vessel. In 1777, he accepted a commission as First Lieutenant in the South Carolina Navy. He was a POW, died, April, 1779, 43 years old, and is thought to be buried at sea. A memorial tombstone is in the Wells Cemetery.

Attendees will meet with descendants of Thomas Atte Wells.

Attendees may bring their chairs and umbrellas for their comfort.