Last updated: September 16, 2024
Person
Malery Quitman Wells
Nicole L. Wells
Quick Facts
Significance:
Mississippi Homesteader
Place of Birth:
Mississippi
Date of Birth:
February 2, 1849
Place of Death:
Three Rivers, Jackson County, Mississippi
Date of Death:
May 18, 1917
Place of Burial:
Three Rivers, Mississippi
Cemetery Name:
Davis Chapel Cemetery
Malery Quitman Wells was born a last-generation slave in Mississippi. He was one month shy of fourteen years old when President Lincoln signed the Emancipation Proclamation on January 1, 1863. Quitman married Katie Davis, daughter of Louis P. Davis and Lucy Davis circa 1873. Ten children were born to the union of Quitman and Katie; John (1874), Horace (1875), Melvin (1876) Cora (1879), Joseph (1882), Paul (1883), Lucy (1887), Wiley, my paternal great grandfather (1891), Ollie (1894) and Sarah (1895-died as child). All of these children, except Melvin, Lucy, and Sarah, had children, who are the descendants of Malery Quitman and Katie Wells.
Malery Quitman submitted application #16901 on October 21, 1886, for one hundred and nineteen and sixty-seven hundredth acres of homestead land in the county. Thirteen dollars was paid in cash as fee and compensation for Lot One and North of Lot Seven of Section 26 in Township 5 South of Range 6 West.
This entry was not patented (proven) or given a certificate until March 17, 1894. There was application #6084 that was canceled earlier for reasons not given in the file. This may explain the lapse in time- almost twenty years- in receiving a patent for his land.
Malery Quitman built a two-story, white-frame residence with a porch wrapped around it on his land. There were green shutters at the windows, a separate detached kitchen, a smokehouse, a crib, and a barn which he valued at $259.00 in 1892. The land was described as ordinary piney woods farming land, most valuable for agricultural purposes. Nine of the acres had been cultivated for 18 seasons by 1892. He and his family had not been absent from the land since first establishing residence there in 1874. Several other community members served as witnesses to testify on his behalf, including Lee Foster.
Malery Quitman received his Homestead Land Patent on March 17, 1894 (Homestead Certificate No. 8049), and went on to purchase additional acreage several times over. He possessed skills as a carpenter, bricklayer, and laborer in the lumber industry. At some point, Quitman did learn to read and write, likely from someone he was apprentice to as a young man. He was an entrepreneur owning a logging business with large 8-wheel logging wagons, carts with oxen for pulling, and a tugboat in the Pascagoula River to run logs downriver. Quitman also owned a complex rosin and turpentine distillery. His sons helped in the family businesses. One son Melvin, was in charge of the oxen. Another son Joseph was the family banker for the business enterprises of the family. Joseph was even sent to Tuskegee Institute in 1906 where he studied bricklaying. Quitman also farmed many acres and was prosperous in his business ventures. It was reported that he owned approximately 1500 acres of land through evidence from land deeds, tax, and court records. Quitman’s descendants live on some of the original homestead land and the home structure he built remains today.
Quitman’s father Moses Wells also made a homestead application #18451 for one hundred and sixty acres of land adjacent to his son’s land. His land grant was patented and homestead certificate No. 8719 issued on December 17, 1894.
The descendants of Malery Quitman Wells are proud of his legacy and contributions to American history. His perseverance, courage, and astuteness are an illustration of how human resiliency lives on and is our rich heritage. Although Quitman was born a slave, he survived Mississippi during the difficulties of the Civil War and despite the odds went on to become a landowner and successful businessman defending his rights and paving the way for future generations. He died May 18, 1917, at 2:30p when he was plowing a field and fell ill from acute indigestion. He was buried May 19, 1917, in the Davis Chapel Cemetery of the family church in Three Rivers where he lived.
Patent Details - BLM GLO Records
~ Contributed by Nicole L. Wells, homesteader descendant
Nicole L. Wells
More about the contributor: Nicole L. Wells is the great-great granddaughter of Mississippi homesteader Malery Quitman Wells. She has 29 years of financial service experience focused in delivery channels for Private and Specialty Banking. Nicole holds a Master’s Degree in Public Administration-Organizational Leadership with a emphasizes in Public/Private Collaborations. She is proactive in her community and believes we can all make a difference. Nicole serves on numerous boards and is a champion for people. She is a native of Los Angeles and enjoys, golf, traveling and spending quality time with family. Special acknowledgement to Alma Burke McClendon of Chicago for her research and efforts to preserve the legacy of our forefather Malery Quitman Wells.