Buena Vista County, IA
USGenWeb Project

Alfred A. Wells, owner of the Marathon Telephone Company and widely recognized as a representative and prosperous citizen of Buena Vista county, was born in Columbia county, Wisconsin, in 1861, his parents being Walter and Jane (Robinson) Wells, natives of Vermont and Liverpool, England, respectively. The father, who has now attained the age of eighty-four years, makes his home in Marathon.

The year 1870 witnessed the arrival of Alfred A. Wells in Buena Vista County, Iowa. When a young man he entered business circles as a dealer in grain lumber and coal, being a member of the firm of Wells Brothers, and was thus successfully engaged until 1894, when he disposed of the store and established the hardware business which he has since conducted. In 1898 he first became interested in telephone lines but subsequently sold out and in 1906 purchased and built the Marathon Telephone Company, of which he has been the owner to the present time. His connection with any undertaking insures a prosperous outcome of the same, for it is in his nature to carry forward to successful completion whatever he is associated with. He has earned for himself an enviable reputation as a careful man of business, and in his dealings is known for his prompt and honorable methods, which have won him the deserved and unbounded confidence of his fellowmen.

In 1900 Mr. Wells was united in marriage to Miss Mattie Todd, a daughter [of] W. J. Todd, a native of Ohio. They now have six children: Ward L., Alfred Albert, Edward Anson, Mary Belle, Dorothy Agnes and Catherine Jane, all at home.

Mr. Wells is a stalwart republican in his political views, while fraternally he is connected with the Independent Order of Odd Fellows. His loyalty to the public good is above question, being continually manifest in his cooperation with various movements tending to promote the moral, intellectual and material welfare of the community. He has now made his home in this county for thirty-eight years and that his life has ever been an upright and honorable one is indicated by the fact that the associates of his boyhood and youth are still numbered among his stanch friends and admirers.