WELLES
WELLING
head) Weller and of Horace and Emma (Corbit)
Look. His father removed to Jacksonville, Fla.,
where he was rector of bt. John's church, and the
son attended St. John's academy, Jacksonville,
and the L^niversity of the South, Sewanee, Tenn.,
and studied theology under the direction of his
fatlier. He was admitted to the diaconate by
Bishop Young in St. Jolin's church, Jackson-
ville. May 9, 1880, and served at Ocala. Fla., and
Providence. R. L He was graduated at Nashotah,
1884; and was advanced to the priestliood by the
Bishop of Milwaukee (Edward R. Welles) Sept.
28, 1884. He was rector of Christ church. Eau
Claire, Wis., 1884-88; of St. Mattliias. AVaukesha,
1888-90, and of the Church of the Intercession,
Stevens Point, W^is., 1890-1901. He was a deputy
to the general conventions of 1892, 1895 and 1898
from the diocese of Fond du Lac; archdeacon
of Stevens Point, and trustee of Nashotah and of
Grafton Hall. He was married. May 18, 1886, to
Bessie, daughter of Dan Tliairand Sarah (Glover)
Brown of Eau Claire, Wis. In 1900 he was
elected bishop coadjutor of Fond du Lac and he
was consecrated in St. Paul's cathedral, Nov. 8,
1900, by Bishops Grafton, McLaren, Nicholson,
G. M. W^illiams, Francis, A. L. Williams, and
Anderson. He received the honorarj- degree of
S.T.D. from Nashotah in 1901.
WELLES, Edward Randolph, third bishop of Wisconsin and lOoth in succession in the Amer- ican episcopate, was born in Waterloo. N.Y., Jan. 10, 1830; son of Dr. Gardiner AVelles (1784- 1872), who was a prominent physician in New York. He was graduated from Hobart college, A.B., 18.->0, A.M., 1853; was a tutor at De Veaux college, N.Y., in 1857, and was gradu- ated from the Hobart Divinity school in 1857. He was ordered deacon, Dec. 20, 1857; ordained priest, Sept. 12, 1858; was rector and missionary in western New York, and rector of Christ church. Red Wing, Minn., which he had organ- ized in 1858. He was secretar)- of the diocese of Minnesota; was elected bishop of Wisconsin, and consecrated at St. Thomas's church. New York City, Oct. 24, 1874, by Bishops Smith, Wil- liams and Atkinson, assisted by Bishops W^hipple and Courtenay. In 1874 the northwestern por- tion of Wiscf)nsin was made a separate diocese under the title •' diocese of Fond du Lac," and Bishop Welles remained in the old diocese which became known as the diocese of Milwaukee. The honorary degree of S.T.D. was conferred on him by Racine college in 1874. He died in Wa- terloo. N.Y.. Oct. 19, 1888.
WELLES, Gideon, cabinet officer, was born in Glastoiil»nry, Conn., July 1, 1802; son of Samuel and Ann (Hale) Welles; grandson of Samuel and Lucy Kilbourne; great-grandson of Tliaddeus and Elizabeth (Cowles) W^elles, and a descendant
of Thomas Welles (1598-1660), governor of Con-
necticut, 1655-57 and 1658. He entered the Amer-
ican Literary, Scientific and Military academy at
Norwich, Vt., in 1823. but was not graduated;
studied law, and in 1826 became editor and part
owner of the Hartford Times, with which he was
connected until 1854, although he vacated the re-
sponsible charge of its columns in 1836. As the
organ of the Democratic party in Connecticut,
the Times advocated the election of Andrew
Jackson to the Presidency, and supported his ad-
ministration. Mr. Welles was a representative in
the state legislature, 1827-35, where he opposed
the laws imprisoning debtors, and also special
and private legislation, and was one of the first
to propose a low postage law. He was married,
June 18, 1835, to Mary Jane, daughter of Elias W^.
and Jane (MulhoUand) Hale of Lewistown, Pa.
He was comptroller of the state, having been
elected by the legislature in 1835, and by popular
vote iii 1842-43; was postmaster of Hartford,
1836—41, and chief of the bureau of provisions and
clothing for the U.S. navy, 1846-49. He joined
the Republican party in 1855, and in 1856 was its
candidate for governor of Connecticut. He was
chairman of the state delegation to the Chicago
convention of 1860, which nominated Abraharii
Lincoln for President, and was the first selection
made by President Lincoln as a member of his
cabinet, being appointed secretary of the navy.
During his secretaryship, the navy was increased
from forty to more than five hundred vessels;
and the ironclad class of vessel was introduced.
He was a member of the National Republican
committee, and of the executive committee, and
at the outbreak of the civil war objected to the
blockade of the southern ports, holding that
the action was equal to an acknowledgment of
belligerent rights, and presenting his views in
writing to the cabinet. In September, 1861, he
ordered that Negro fugitives taking refuge on
U.S. naval vessels should he enlisted as seamen.
He held his portfolio until the close of President
Johnson's administration in 1869; joined the
Liberal Republican partj' in 1872; favored the
election of Samuel J. Tilden as President, and de-
nounced the electoral commission, and its de-
cision in the matter. The honorary degree of
A.M.was conferred on him by Norwich universitj'
in 1836. He contributed articles on the political
events of the civil war; in 1872 published a pajier
claiming that the capture of New Orleans in 1862
was entirely due to the navy, and is the author
of: Lincoln arid Seicard (1873). He died in
Hartford. Conn., Feb. 11. 1878.
WELLING, James Clark, educator, was born in Trenton, N.J.. July 14, 1825: son of William and Jane (Hill) Welling; grandson of John and Mary (Hart) Welling, and a descendant of William
