Alexander Wells (California judge)

Wells was born on October 7, 1819, in New York City.Richard Roy Powell, Compromises of Conflicting Claims: A Century of California Law, 1760 to 1860 (1977), p. 227.

He was admitted to the bar about 1842, and practiced law in New York City. He also entered politics as a Democrat, and was a member of the New York State Assembly in 1846.{{cite book |last1=Hough, A.M., M.D. |first1=Franklin B. |title=The New York Civil List: Containing the Names and Origin of the Civil Divisions, and the Names and Dates of Election or Appointment of the Principal State and County Officers from the Revolution to the Present Time |date=1858 |publisher=Weed, Parsons and Co., Publishers |location=Albany |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=E3sFAAAAQAAJ&pg=PA123 |accessdate=July 25, 2017 |language=en}}

About 1850, he moved to California. In April 1852, he was appointed a temporary Associate Justice of the California Supreme Court, to serve during the absence of Justice Solomon Heydenfeldt, and remained on the bench until October.Johnson, J. Edward. "Alexander Wells." Journal of the State Bar of California (1946; Vol. 21–22; [https://books.google.com/books?id=SOkMAQAAMAAJ&pg=PA225 pg. 225])

In 1852, he won the Democratic nomination in a special election for Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of California, defeating the incumbent Alexander O. Anderson who had been appointed to the vacancy caused by the resignation of Henry A. Lyons. On November 2, 1852, Wells was elected for the remainder of the term, which expired at the end of 1854.{{cite book |last1=Secrest |first1=William B. |title=Dark and Tangled Threads of Crime: San Francisco's Famous Police Detective Isaiah W. Lees. |date=2004 |publisher=Quill Driver Books |isbn=9781884995415 |page=44 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=vRdrO-y8qdoC&pg=PA44 |accessdate=July 25, 2017 |language=en}} In 1854, he was nominated for election to a full term, but died before the election.The State Register and Year Book of Facts (1859). [https://books.google.com/books?id=WXQJAAAAIAAJ&pg=PA192 pg. 192] One historian summed up his judicial career as follows: "The sixth associate justice, Alexander Wells, who came to the bench in 1853 at the age of 59,{{sic}} died a year later, leaving no published legal mark on the court".Burrill, Donald R. (2011) Servants of the Law, [https://books.google.com/books?id=CWufoAz0ec0C&pg=PA65 p. 65.] (In fact, Wells was about 31, not 59, when he took office.)

On October 7, 1846, he married Annie Van Rensselaer Van Wyck (1822–1919),[https://books.google.com/books?id=cMhrgqYREtMC&q=alexander+wells+new+york+assemblyman+1846 The American Monthly Magazine] (Vol. 3; 1893; pg. 686){{cite news|title=Obituary -- WELLS|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1919/05/08/archives/obituary-5-no-title.html|accessdate=July 25, 2017|work=The New York Times|date=May 8, 1919}} the daughter of Philip Gilbert Van Wyck (1786–1870) and Mary Smith (née Gardiner) Van Wyck (1788–1858). Her paternal grandparents were Catherine Van Cortlandt (1751–1829) and Abraham Van Wyck (1748–1786) and her uncles were Pierre Van Cortlandt Van Wyck and David Gardiner. Wells was introduced to Annie by her cousin, Stephen Van Rensselaer. Together they had:

• Ann Van Cortlandt Wells (1848–1848), who died young.
• Gertrude Van Cortlandt Wells (1849–1944), who married Schuyler Hamilton, Jr. (1853–1907), the son of Schuyler Hamilton and grandson of Alexander Hamilton, in 1877.{{cite news|last1=Times|first1=Special To The New York|title=DEATH LIST OF A DAY. {{!}} Schuyler Hamilton|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1907/02/14/archives/death-list-of-a-day.html|accessdate=July 25, 2017|work=The New York Times|date=February 14, 1907}} Before their divorce in 1884, they had three children.{{cite news|title=MRS. S. HAMILTON, JR., DEAD.; Took an Overdose of Morphine at Her Home in the Florence -- Prostrated by the Storm.|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1899/05/04/archives/mrs-s-hamilton-jr-dead-took-an-overdose-of-morphine-at-her-home-in.html|accessdate=July 25, 2017|work=The New York Times|date=May 4, 1899}} In 1901, she married the Baron Raoul Nicholas de Graffenried.{{cite news|title=DEATH LIST OF A DAY.|url=http://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1907/02/14/101723826.html?pageNumber=9|accessdate=October 17, 2016|work=The New York Times}} He was the son of Baron Emanuel de Graffenried, Ambassador from Switzerland to Austria, and his wife, Baroness Gabrielle de Barco, lady-in-waiting to the Empress of Austria, assassinated at Geneva, while traveling the Swiss Alps. They divorced in 1908.{{cite news|title=Rites Tomorrow for Baroness, 94 {{!}} Former Gertrude Wells Was Talented Musician|work=Brooklyn Eagle|date=January 28, 1944}}
• Grady Wells (1852–1854), who died young.

Wells died suddenly on October 31, 1854, at his home in San Jose, California.[https://books.google.com/books?id=HdE-AAAAIAAJ History of the Supreme Court justices of California] by J. Edward Johnson (1963; pg. 1831){{cite book|last1=Legislature|first1=California|title=Journals of the Legislature of the State of California|date=1855|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=fvhEAQAAMAAJ&pg=PA718|accessdate=July 25, 2017|language=en}} In 1903, his widow inherited the estate of her sister, Joanna L. Van Wyck, estimated at several million dollars.{{cite news|title=LEFT SEVERAL MILLIONS.; Will of Joanna Van Wyck of Ossining Filed for Probate.|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1903/08/29/archives/left-several-millions-will-of-joanna-van-wyck-of-ossining-filed-for.html|accessdate=July 25, 2017|work=The New York Times|date=August 29, 1903}}

• List of justices of the Supreme Court of California
• Hugh Murray
• Solomon Heydenfeldt

{{reflist|30em}}

• [http://www.cschs.org/history/california-supreme-court-justices/alexander-wells/ Portrait of Alexander Wells] at the California Supreme Court Historical Society
• [http://www.courts.ca.gov/12523.htm Past & Present Justices]. California State Courts. Retrieved July 19, 2017.

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before= Alexander O. Anderson | |

title= Associate Justice of the California Supreme Court |

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Category:1819 births

Category:1854 deaths

Category:California Democrats

Category:Democratic Party members of the New York State Assembly

Category:Justices of the Supreme Court of California

Category:19th-century American judges

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Category:19th-century members of the New York State Legislature