Erastus Wells was a nineteenth century politician

Politician

A politician, political leader, or political figure is an individual who is involved in influencing public policy and decision making...

 and businessman from Missouri

Missouri

Missouri is a US state located in the Midwestern United States, bordered by Iowa, Illinois, Kentucky, Tennessee, Arkansas, Oklahoma, Kansas and Nebraska. With a 2010 population of 5,988,927, Missouri is the 18th most populous state in the nation and the fifth most populous in the Midwest. It...

. He was the father of St. Louis Mayor Rolla Wells

Rolla Wells

Rolla Wells , also called "Rollo", was an American politician. He served two terms as Mayor of St. Louis, Missouri, was named an officer of the Democratic National Committee in the 1912 Wilson campaign, and served as Governor of the St. Louis branch of the Federal Reserve Bank.- Biography :Born in...

.

Born in Sackets Harbor, New York

Sackets Harbor, New York

Sackets Harbor is a village in Jefferson County, New York, United States. The population was 1,386 at the 2000 census. The village was named after land developer and owner Augustus Sackett, who founded it in the early 19th century.The Village of Sackets Harbor is within the western part of the...

, Wells attended public schools as a child. He moved to St. Louis, Missouri

St. Louis, Missouri

St. Louis is an independent city on the eastern border of Missouri, United States. With a population of 319,294, it was the 58th-largest U.S. city at the 2010 U.S. Census. The Greater St...

 in 1842 where he established the first omnibus line

Wagonette

A wagonette or an omnibus is a horse-drawn wagon for passenger transport. Two wooden benches along the right and left side of the wagon platform can hold several sitting people facing each other. The driver sits on a separate, front-facing bench.The term carried over to motorized vehicles...

 in St. Louis and inaugurated the first street railroad company. He was a member of the St. Louis board of aldermen

Board of Aldermen of the City of St. Louis

The Board of Aldermen, is the municipal legislature of the independent City of St. Louis, Missouri.-Composition:It consists of 28 aldermen from each of the city's wards...

 from 1853 to 1867, was president of the Missouri Railroad Company from 1859 to 1883 and was elected a Democrat

Democratic Party (United States)

The Democratic Party is one of two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Republican Party. The party's socially liberal and progressive platform is largely considered center-left in the U.S. political spectrum. The party has the lengthiest record of continuous...

 to the United States House of Representatives

United States House of Representatives

The United States House of Representatives is one of the two Houses of the United States Congress, the bicameral legislature which also includes the Senate.The composition and powers of the House are established in Article One of the Constitution...

 in 1868, serving from 1869 to 1877, being unsuccessful for reelection in 1876. Wells was elected back to the House of Representatives in 1878, serving again from 1879 to 1881, not being a candidate for renomination in 1880, and was president of the Laclede Gas Light Company

Laclede Gas Company

Laclede Gas Company is the largest natural gas distribution utility in Missouri, serving approximately 632,000 residential, commercial and industrial customers in the city of St. Louis and ten counties in eastern Missouri...

 from 1880 to 1883. He died in St. Louis, Missouri on October 2, 1893 and was interred in Bellefontaine Cemetery

Bellefontaine and Calvary Cemeteries

Bellefontaine Cemetery and the Roman Catholic Calvary Cemetery in St. Louis, Missouri are adjacent burial grounds, which have numerous historic and extravagant tombstones and mausoleums. They are the necropolis for a number of prominent local and state politicians, as well as soldiers of the...

 in St. Louis.

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