Author: Henry R Lucas
Randall Wells was born in Hopkinton, Kings County, Rhode Island 0n 30 September 1747. Little is known of his life as the child of Edward Wells Sr. He married Lois Maxson, and they lived in on a farm known decades ago as “Heartwood Farm.” This beautiful farm, built around 1780, sits high on a hill overlooking a valley. The dwelling was built with skill and pride, still in existence. It provided shelter to several generations of families, being built around a massive stone fireplace with a center chimney. The hand-hewn beams that have looked down upon numerous families have darkened with age, and original flooring still exists in parts of the house.

In the years before the Revolution, Randall Wells became an innkeeper of sorts. He paid the town treasury three shillings for the privilege of selling alcoholic beverages in 1773. To allay fears that selling liquor at his public house might cause problems, he also gave “bond to the Town Council for keeping good order, according to the Law.”

In 1775, Randall Wells volunteered for the local militia, and became an ensign in the Hopkinton Militia (Rhode Island). By the time the Revolution ended, Randall Wells was a captain in that unit.

His participation in named battles is mostly unknown. There was an action to retake the coastal town of Newport (RI) from the British in 1778, and various militia units aided a small number of the Continental Line. The American rebels were repulsed, and the British attempted to cut off and destroy American forces. One of the American generals taking part in successful efforts to prevent that destruction was Gen. James Varnum. Whatever Capt. Randall Wells’ involvement in the Battle of Newport, he was obviously taken with admiration of Gen, Varnum. So much so, Randall Wells named a son Thomas Varnum Wells. Thomas Varnum Wells (Sr.) then named his own son Thomas Varnum Wells (Jr.). That unusual middle name was of great assistance in genealogical research. Progeny of Randall Wells fought in the War of 1812, and in the Civil War.

After the Revolution, Randall Wells returned to Hopkinton and became a representative to the Rhode Island General Assembly in 1806 and 1807. He was the Hopkinton Town Treasurer from 1806 through 1811. In 1818, the Rhode Island General Assembly “granted petition of ...Thomas Wells, Randall Wells, James Wells...to incorporate an insurance company”. That company, the “Hopkinton Insurance Company” insured horse owners against theft. Horses insured by the Wells’ were branded “HIC” on the flank, and if a horse were stolen, a search by the Wells’ would commence. It did not take long for imaginative Yankees to guess that if they branded their horses with the “HIC” logo, theft would be minimized. An instance of what might be called trademark counterfeiting. The insurance company soon went out of business.

Randall Wells died on 05 November 1821 and is believed to be buried on the hill near his home of 1780. His wife, Lois Maxson, died 04 January 1819 and was buried next to Randall. As of the early 1990’s, Lois (Maxson) Wells’ gravestone still existed, an adjacent stone with unreadable text is probably that of Capt. Randall Wells. Lois’ stone was badly broken when found, and is possibly totally gone now. Much of the land that once constituted the farm owned by Randall and Lois Wells has been purchased by an out of state owner, and their intentions are unknown.