Elijah Wells (1744-1796) was the youngest of seven children born to John and Martha (Allis) Wells. His parents came from Hatfield, Massachusetts, and were among the early settlers of Hardwick, Worcester County, Massachusetts. Hardwick, originally known as Lambstown, was incorporated in 1739. Elijah's father was among the new town's first selectman and an early church member. He ran a gristmill until his death in 1745 when Elijah was a year old.
By 1767, Elijah in his early 20s and living in Deerfield, Massachusetts, about 29 miles from Hardwick. (The creation of the Quabbin reservoir in the 1930s would considerably increase the travel distance between the two towns.) Elijah's signature appeared among those of residents petitioning Deerfield to set off the section of the town where where they lived as a separate town. Other Deerfield voters agreed and the Massachusetts General Court established the town of Conway in 1767. Not much is know of Elijah, in contrast with other members of the large Wells family living in the region and to whom he was only distantly related. He appeared in the first Federal census for Conway in 1790 as the head of a household of 6 people that included two males under 16 and two females. Elijah Wells died in Conway in 1795, aged 51.
According to Conway vital records, "Amasa, Servant Boy to Elijah Wells," was baptized on September 9, 1781. It is not clear whether Amasa was an enslaved person; further research may clarify this. Amasa may also have been part of the household of another Elijah Wells (1740-1786) who moved from Greenfield, Massachusetts, to Conway and was living there in the same time period of Elijah Wells of Hardwick.
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