Arthur F. Wells and Anna Leeds Wells

Found Photo: Arthur F. Wells and Anna Leeds Wells

Name(s): Arthur F. Wells "Father Wells" and Mrs. Arthur F. Wells
Date: unknown
Location: Greenfield, Massachusetts

Benjamin F. Popkins was a studio photographer who worked in Greenfield in the 1860s through the 1890s.  His shop was at the corner of Main and Federal streets in Greenfield.

There was an Arthur F. Wells living in Greenfield in the late 1800s and early 1900s.  There was possibly another living in nearby Deerfield.  However, the key to identifying the people in these photos is the word Bernardston, found on Mrs. Wells' photo.  

This Arthur F. Wells was a deacon in the congregational church in Bernardston, Massachusetts, which is about a 15-minute drive north of Greenfield on today's highways.  He was born around 1836.  He died on March 10, 1918 at the age of 82.  His wife was Anna Leeds.  They had no biological children. Deacon Wells' obituary, posted in the "The Congregationalist and Advance" on April 25, 1918, stated that he and his wife had two foster children, Daniel Murray of Waltham and Olivia, wife of Preston Crowell of Medway.  In addition to acting as deacon of the church, Arthur may have owned a farm in Bernardston.  He may have been the son of Elisha Wells of Leyden.