Arthur+and+Rose+McCormick+Wells

Arthur (1888-1942) and Rose McCormick Wells (1890-1966) met and married in Bradford County, PA. They lived in the Wyalusing/Camptown, PA area in their early years, and in the early 1920s bought a farm on the Lockwood Road in North Waverly (now Old Rt. 34). There they raised two sons and seven daughters. Arthur was known as a hard worker and supported his family by farming, cutting firewood, and working on the railroad.

Arthur, originally from Palmerton, PA, actually bought the farm twice. As he prepared to make what he thought was the last mortgage payment for a clear title to the property, he found that the last owner had a second mortgage that was never revealed. As a result, Arthur and Rose had to pay that off before getting a clear title to the land.

Shortly after his death in 1942, Rose moved to town and their daughter Madeline and her husband Charles bought the farm. The farm is now owned by the granddaughter of Arthur and Rose.

Click here for more pictures of Arthur and Rose

Their nine children were:

Elizabeth Wells Withey [Alfred] ( 1907- 1943) Dorothy Wells Madigan [Walter] (1909-1987) Lawrence Wells [Nellie] (1911-1990) Sarah Wells Porter [Floyd] (1916-1988) Ruth Wells Pipher [Kenneth] (1918-200 Madeline Wells Vanderpool [Charles] (1920-2009)  Marjorie Wells Allen [William] (1923-2008)  Erma Wells Ammerman [Arthur] 1926-1914  Walter Bruce Wells (1925-1944) Killed in an auto accident

In August 1934, a lightening storm set the barn on fire and it was completely destroyed. Arthur either bought or was given an old barn from the Chemung/Baldwinsville area, dismantled it, and brought it to the farm where it was reassembled on October 12, 1934. There was an article in the Oct. 11 newspaper advertising a "barn bee."

Both Arthur and Rose were active in their church.

Arthur died while out of town working on the railroad. He had a thyroid problem that today could have been easily treated. He was only 53. Published October 1942.

Walter Bruce Wells, the youngest of the nine children, was seriously injured in an auto accident in February 1944. From what I remember my parents telling me, he suffered a head injury that ultimately took his life several months later. I remember my dad, Charles Vanderpool, saying that in modern times his death could easily have been prevented. It must have been an incredibly sad time for the family, especially after losing Arthur in 1942, Elizabeth (Bidgey) in 1943, and then Walter in 1944.