James Wells Video | Interviews

James Wells (died 1878) was an African American equal rights activist, and the father of Ida B. Wells. He was a black slave, the son of his master, that worked as a carpenter. Shortly before his death, James's father apprenticed his eighteen-year-old son to learn the building trades from Spires Bolling, on whose plantation James had been working. James continued working for him, at Bolling's...  MORE

James Wells (died 1878) was an African American equal rights activist, and the father of Ida B. Wells. He was a black slave, the son of his master, that worked as a carpenter. Shortly before his death, James's father apprenticed his eighteen-year-old son to learn the building trades from Spires Bolling, on whose plantation James had been working. James continued working for him, at Bolling's request, after the young man was emancipated in 1865 . Now free, James Wells made his marriage to Elizabeth "Izzy Bell" Warrenton, who had been the enslaved plantation cook, legal, and moved in with his wife and their oldest child, Ida B. Wells . The Wells Family quickly multiplied until there were seven children. James became heavily involved in politics and spent much time campaigning for equal rights for blacks . His wife Elizabeth, a stern and religious woman, helped him by campaigning in churches and charities. Ida B. Wells attributed her determination to reach her goals and her interest in politics to her parents. James, his wife, and their ten-month-old son died quietly in the yellow fever epidemic of 1878 . Ida returned from Rust College, where she had been studying, to take care of her LESS