Portrait courtesy of "The Descendants of Samuel Osgood".
Following three profiles on oddly named political figures from Connecticut we journey to the Granite State's northern neighbor New Hampshire to highlight the life of Hanover Osgood Wells, an obscure resident of Epsom who served a term in his state's house of representatives. A son of Capt. Samuel and Eleanor (Dickey) Wells, Hanover Osgood Wells was born in Epsom on May 29, 1828. Little information is available regarding Wells' early life in Epsom or his education, and he married in that town in February 1856 to Mary Sarah Brown (1834-1897). The couple were wed for over four decades and had five children, Edward Eugene (1856-1926), Ida (1858-1909), Etta (1860-1910), Clarence Oscar (1862-1937) and Alice (1874-1903).
As a farmer in Epsom, Hanover O. Wells was deeded his father-in-law's 114-acre farm in 1870, continuing to operate it until his death nearly three decades later. Following his death in 1898 ownership passed to his sons Edward and Clarence.
Active in the religious and political life of Epsom, Hanover O. Wells was a founding member of the First Christian Society of Epsom in 1861 and entered into local politics in 1867 when he was elected to the Epsom board of selectmen. He would serve back to back terms in 1868-1869 and again from 1872-73, and served another term in 1885. In 1886 he was elected as Epsom's representative to the New Hampshire House of Representatives and during the 1887-89 term was a member of the committee on Claims. Little else is known of Wells' life after his legislative service. Widowed in 1897, he died one year after his wife Mary on August 25, 1898, in Epsom. Both Wells and his wife were interred at the Rye Cemetery in that town.
From the Epsom Town Register, 1909.
In addition to Hanover Osgood Wells' political service to Epsom, attention must also be given to Hanover Dickey (1773-1845), his maternal grandfather. Even more obscure than his grandson, Dickey served Epsom as a member of the board of selectmen on multiple occasions and was also a two-term state representative. Born in 1773, Hanover Dickey was the son of David and Rachel (Hanover) Dickey. He married in 1799 to Lydia Osgood (1781-1866) and the couple's marriage saw the births of three children, Eleanor (mother of Hanover Osgood Wells), David (1806-1877) and Hanover (1807-1873).
Hanover Dickey served as first selectman for Epsom from 1819-1825 and was a board of selectmen member in 1817 and 1826. He was elected to the state legislature for the first time in 1818 (serving from 1819-21) and was returned to that body on two further occasions in 1829 and 1842. Dickey died in Epsom on May 13, 1845, aged 72, and was buried at the McClary-Epsom Center Cemetery.
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