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Alexander Wells (October 7, 1819 – October 31, 1854) was an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of California.
Contents
Early life
Wells was born on October 7, 1819 in New York City.
Career
He was admitted to the bar about 1842, and practiced law in New York City. He also entered politics as a Democrat, and was a member of the New York State Assembly in 1846.
About 1850, they moved to California and on April 1852, he was appointed a temporary Associate Justice of the California Supreme Court, to serve during the absence of Justice Solomon Heydenfeldt, and remained on the bench until October.
He won the Democratic nomination for a seat as Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of California in 1852, defeating the incumbent Alexander O. Anderson who had been appointed to the vacancy caused by the resignation of Henry A. Lyons. On November 2, 1852, Wells was elected for the remainder of the term, which expired at the end of 1854. He was to be re-elected in 1854 for a full term, but died shortly thereafter. One historian summed up his judicial career as follows: "The sixth associate justice, Alexander Wells, who came to the bench in 1853 at the age of 59,[sic] died a year later, leaving no published legal mark on the court".
Personal life
On October 7, 1846, he married Annie Van Rensselaer Van Wyck (1822–1919), the daughter of Philip Gilbert Van Wyck (1786–1870) and Mary Smith (née Gardiner) Van Wyck (1788–1858). Her paternal grandparents were Catherine Van Cortlandt (1751–1829) and Abraham Van Wyck (1748–1786) and her uncles were Pierre Van Cortlandt Van Wyck and David Gardiner. Wells was introduced to Annie by her cousin, Stephen Van Rensselaer. Together they had:
Wells died suddenly on October 31, 1854, at his home in San Jose, California. In 1903, his widow inherited the estate of her sister, Joanna L. Van Wyck, estimated at several million dollars.