William A. Wells
- Positions
- Butler
- Steward
- Years in President's House
- circa 1895 – 1900
- Legal Status
- Free Person
- Gender
- Male
- Race/Ethnicity
- Black or African American
- Biography
William Abbott Wells Sr. was born in Washington, D.C. in July 1850.1 For many years, Wells worked for the Pullman Company, which manufactured railroad cars; Wells served as steward to the founder of the company George M. Pullman.2 In 1891, Wells worked as a Pullman porter during President Benjamin Harrison’s cross-country rail tour; on Pullman sleeping cars, these porters served guests, carried luggage, made beds, and shined shoes, among other duties.3 Several former Pullman porters worked at the White House in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, as they were known for their impeccable hospitality.
As early as 1895, William Wells joined the White House staff as a butler; technically, he was employed by the War Department on assignment at the Executive Mansion.4 Wells continues to appear on the government register and city directories as a butler/steward through 1900. That year, his job title changed to “watchman,” and it is unclear if he was still on staff at the White House, or working elsewhere.5 According to his obituary, “He left the White House to accompany Charles A. Pullman on his tour abroad,” and by 1902, city directories listed his job as “valet” which aligns with this shift.6
Outside of his career, William A. Wells was a Mason and an active member of the Israel Metropolitan Christian Methodist Episcopal Church. He died on December 5, 1905, and was buried at Woodlawn Cemetery in Washington, D.C.7
- William A Wells in the 1900 United States Federal Census, Year: 1900; Census Place: Washington, Washington, District of Columbia; Roll: 162; Page: 10; Enumeration District: 0093, Ancestry.com; “William A. Wells Sr.,” Find A Grave, https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/195573117/william-a.-wells.
- In 1897, Wells made newspapers across the country because he was one of the beneficiaries in Pullman’s will. “A White House Servant,” Dayton Herald (Ohio), October 28, 1897, pg. 1; “Funeral of Wm. A. Wells,” Evening Star (Washington, D.C.), December 7, 1905, pg. 3.
- Ibid.
- Official Register of the United States (Government Printing Office: Washington, D.C., 1895), 444; Official Register of the United States (Government Printing Office: Washington, D.C., 1897), 470.
- Official Register of the United States (Government Printing Office: Washington, D.C., 1899), 583; Boyd’s Directory of the District of Columbia (Washington, D.C., 1899), 1024; Boyd’s Directory of the District of Columbia (Washington, D.C., 1900), 1021; William A Wells in the 1900 United States Federal Census, Year: 1900; Census Place: Washington, Washington, District of Columbia; Roll: 162; Page: 10; Enumeration District: 0093, Ancestry.com; Boyd’s Directory of the District of Columbia (Washington, D.C., 1901), 1088.
- Boyd’s Directory of the District of Columbia (Washington, D.C., 1902), 1138; “Funeral of Wm. A. Wells,” Evening Star (Washington, D.C.), December 7, 1905, pg. 3.
- “Funeral of Wm. A. Wells,” Evening Star (Washington, D.C.), December 7, 1905, pg. 3; “William A. Wells Sr.,” Find A Grave, https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/195573117/william-a.-wells.
- Birthplace
- Washington, D.C., USA
- Woodlawn Cemetery