Alexander Hamilton Wells was born on January 18th, 1805 in the town of Cambridge, which is in the upstate New York county of Washington. He was the youngest of sixteen children to wealthy parents Daniel Wells and Hannah Lothrop. In his adult years, he professionally pursued his interests in politics and journalism, and was an active member of the Whig party.[1] While he was working as a printer, he married Mary Collins on February 7th, 1830.[2] During his life Wells stayed involved in the newspaper business, and was editor of Rockland County’s Weekly Times, The Hudson River Chronicle, and Troy’s Daily Times at different points in his life. In 1840, he was appointed by Governor William H. Seward to the position of Surrogate of Westchester County.[3] A Surrogate leads the Surrogate’s court, which oversees matters of estates, wills, guardianships, and adoptions.[4]

                In 1849, he was elected State Prison Inspector on the Whig ticket.[5] As both Warden and member of the board of prison inspectors, Wells was a powerful individual. Unluckily for Isaac T. Hopper and the rest of the Prison Association, he was not inclined to cooperate with their mission. During his years in power, he refused the Association access to Sing Sing. Additionally, Wells was notorious for his cruelty and mistreatment of prisoners. For example, on pages 114 and 115 of volume 2 of the diary a particularly brutal instance is recounted. An unwell prisoner named Barney Smith had left work to go to the hospital, met Robert Lent on his way, and was beaten and sent to his cell. Wells then took Smith out of his cell and beat him with a club all the way to the Shower bath. After this punishment, Wells searched for and found a whip. He then whipped Smith until the instrument broke and there was copious amounts of blood.

                 Upon his retirement in 1852, the Prison Association was once again allowed access to the prison.[6]  Alexander Hamilton Wells died at the age of fifty-two years on December 21, 1857.[7] He was survived by his wife Mary and his only daughter Margaret Stone. During his life, he was described as a combative, headstrong man who was “happiest in controversy”.[8]

[1] J. Thomas Scharf, History of Westchester County, New York: Including Morrisania, Kings Bridge, and West Farms, Which Have Been Annexed to New York City, vol. 1 (Philadelphia, PA: L. E. Preston &, 1886), 627-628, July 27, 2009, https://archive.org/details/historywestches00schagoog/page/n7

[2] Chautauque Phenix (Westfield, New York), March 3, 1830: 3. Readex: America's Historical Newspapers. https://infoweb.newsbank.com/apps/readex/doc?p=EANX&docref=image/v2:14B7B6D542BDE972@EANX-14DD2C5A86DF4AE8@2389515-14DD252864CBC8D8@2-14DD252864CBC8D8@.

[3] J. Thomas Scharf, History of Westchester County, New York: Including Morrisania, Kings Bridge, and West Farms, Which Have Been Annexed to New York City, vol. 1 (Philadelphia, PA: L. E. Preston &, 1886), 628, July 27, 2009, https://archive.org/details/historywestches00schagoog/page/n7

[4] "Monmouth County Surrogate Office: What We Do." New Jersey's Monmouth County. https://co.monmouth.nj.us/page.aspx?ID=3030.

[5] New York Herald (New York, New York), no. 5217, September 15, 1848: [3]. Readex: America's Historical Newspapers. https://infoweb.newsbank.com/apps/readex/doc?p=EANX&docref=image/v2:11A050B7B120D3F8@EANX-11D6226A4185F420@2396286-11D6226AA924F198@2-11D6226B1BE53858@.

[6] Heale, M. J. "The Formative Years of the New York Prison Association, 1844-1862 : A Case Study of Antebellum Reform." New-York Historical Society Quarterly 59, no. 4 (October 1975): 320-47.

[7] "[Alexander H. Wells]." Albany Evening Journal (Albany, New York), December 22, 1857: 2. Readex: America's Historical Newspapers. https://infoweb.newsbank.com/apps/readex/doc?p=EANX&docref=image/v2:120FA88F2298A4EF@EANX-121D8A490B264368@2399671-121AA5C2CDB10910@1-12EEDAFAC3CA7580@%5BAlexander+H.+Wells%5D.

[8] Scharf, History of Westchester County, New York, 628.