Alfred Wells (May 27, 1814 – July 18, 1867) was a U.S. Representative from New York and a prominent lawyer, jurist, and anti-slavery political figure in the mid-nineteenth century. He was born in Dagsboro, Sussex County, Delaware, on May 27, 1814. Little is recorded about his early family life, but he pursued classical studies as a young man, laying the intellectual foundation for his later legal and political career. Seeking professional opportunity, he moved to New York, where he prepared for admission to the bar.
Wells studied law in Ithaca, New York, in the office of Charles Humphrey and David Woodcock, both well-known attorneys and political figures of their day. Under their tutelage he completed the traditional course of legal reading and apprenticeship then required for admission to practice. He was admitted to the bar in 1837 and immediately commenced the practice of law in Ithaca. His legal work quickly brought him into local public life and aligned him with the Democratic Party, particularly its anti-slavery wing.
In addition to his legal practice, Wells became active in journalism and party politics. From 1839 to 1853 he was one of the owners of the Ithaca Journal and Advertiser, a Democratic newspaper published in Ithaca. Through this paper he helped shape public opinion in Tompkins County and advanced the views of anti-slavery Democrats at a time when the national party was increasingly divided over the expansion of slavery. His growing prominence led to a series of local and county offices that further established his reputation as a lawyer and public servant.
Wells served as District Attorney of Tompkins County from 1845 to 1847, prosecuting criminal cases on behalf of the county and the State of New York. He then served as Judge of the Tompkins County Court from 1847 to 1851, presiding over civil and criminal matters and gaining experience on the bench that complemented his work as an advocate. During the 1850s, as the national debate over slavery intensified, he continued his anti-slavery activism by joining the Anti-Nebraska Party, a coalition formed in opposition to the Kansas-Nebraska Act and the extension of slavery into the western territories. He attended the party’s conventions in Saratoga and Auburn in 1854, aligning himself with the emerging political realignment that would soon give rise to the Republican Party.
Like most members of the short-lived Anti-Nebraska Party, Wells became a Republican before 1860. As a member of the Republican Party representing New York, Alfred Wells contributed to the legislative process during one term in office. He was elected to represent New York’s 27th Congressional District in the Thirty-sixth Congress, serving from March 4, 1859, to March 3, 1861. His service in Congress occurred during a significant period in American history, on the eve of the Civil War, when sectional tensions were at their height. In this capacity he participated in the democratic process and represented the interests of his constituents within the broader national debate over slavery, union, and federal authority. He was an unsuccessful candidate for renomination in 1860 and thus did not return to the Thirty-seventh Congress.
After leaving Congress, Wells remained an active public official during the Civil War era. In 1862 he was appointed federal revenue assessor for the internal revenue district that included Ithaca, a position created under the new federal tax laws enacted to finance the Union war effort. In this role he was responsible for assessing and overseeing the collection of federal taxes within his district, an important administrative function as the federal government expanded its fiscal reach during the conflict. He held this office from his appointment in 1862 until his death, continuing to serve the federal government in a civil capacity even as the war and its aftermath reshaped the nation.
Alfred Wells died in Ithaca, New York, on July 18, 1867, while still in office as a federal revenue assessor. He was interred in the City Cemetery in Ithaca. His career spanned law, journalism, local prosecution, judicial service, and national legislative and fiscal responsibilities, reflecting the trajectory of an antebellum Democrat who became an early Republican and an enduring figure in the political life of upstate New York during a transformative period in American history.
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