Thomas Everett Welles
| Thomas Everett Welles | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Born | November 24, 1855[1] Mystic, Connecticut |
| Died | November 26, 1914 Pensacola |
| Occupation | Sea captain, civic leader |
| Spouse | Caroline Brown Cobb |
| Parents | Russell and Fannie Peabody Welles |
| Children | Frank Welles Ruth Alden Langford |
Thomas Everett Welles was a sea captain, Mayor of Pensacola, and stakeholder in the E. E. Saunders Company.
Early life
Welles was born in 1855 in Mystic, Connecticut and was educated in the schools of that city. In his youth he was employed by Captain T. C. Cobb of Cape Cod, Massachusetts, who operated a fleet of ice-harvesting ships. In the early 1870s, Welles was the purser of a ship delivering ice to the E. E. Saunders Company, a leading fishing company in Pensacola. The owner, E. E. Saunders, was apparently so impressed by Welles that he offered to sell him a stake in the company. Welles returned to Massachusetts, where he married Captain Cobb's daughter, Caroline Brown Cobb, and borrowed money from him to purchase his stake in the E. E. Saunders Company. Thereafter, around 1878, he moved with his wife to Pensacola and Welles assumed the position of manager of the company. At the time, the E. E. Saunders Company employed over one thousand men, operated ice and fishmeal manufacturing plants, and had an annual payroll exceeding $100,000.
Welles became very successful and in later years entered the banking industry, serving as vice president of the Citizens National Bank and a director of the Peoples National Bank. Welles was the president of the Good Government League, and a member of the Knights of Pythias, Woodmen of the World, and the Masons. Welles owned a home at Gadsden Street and 12th Avenue, as well as a large plantation in north Alabama.
Welles served as Mayor of Pensacola from 1903-1905. After E. E. Saunders' death in 1913, Welles bought his shares of the Saunders operations from his widow, and operated the company until his death in November 1914.
Heritage
Thomas Welles is of English descent and has several notable ancestors:
- Lionel de Welles, 6th Baron Welles
- John Welles, First Viscount Welles, who married Cecily of York, daughter of King Edward IV of England
- Thomas Welles, 17th-century governor of the Colony of Connecticut
- John and Priscilla Alden, Pilgrims, passengers on the Mayflower
Welles is also related to Gideon Welles, Secretary of the Navy during and after the Civil War.
References
- ↑ Armstrong, Henry Clay. History of Escambia County. St. Augustine: 1930.
