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| religion =
| spouse =Caroline Brown Cobb
| parents =Russell and Fannie Peabody Welles
| children =Frank Welles<br/>Ruth Alden Langford
| signature =Welles-sig.jpg
==Early life==
Welles was born in [[1855]] in Mystic, Connecticut and was educated in the schools of that city. In his youth he was employed by Captain T. C. Cobb of Cape Cod, Massachusetts, who operated a fleet of ice-harvesting ships. In the early 1870s, Welles was the purser of a ship delivering ice to the [[E. E. Saunders Company]], a leading fishing company in Pensacola. The owner, [[E. E. Saunders]], was apparently so impressed by Welles that he offered to sell him a stake in the company. Welles returned to Massachusetts, where he married Captain Cobb's daughter, Caroline Brown Cobb, and borrowed money from him to purchase his stake in the E. E. Saunders Company. Thereafter , around [[1878]], he moved with his wife to Pensacola and Welles assumed the position of manager of the company. At the time, the E. E. Saunders Company employed over one thousand men, operated ice and fishmeal manufacturing plants, and had an annual payroll exceeding $100,000.
Welles became very successful and in later years entered the banking industry, serving as vice president of the [[Citizens National Bank]] and a director of the [[Peoples National Bank]]. Welles was the president of the Good Government League, and a member of the Knights of Pythias, Woodmen of the World, and the Masons. Welles owned a home at [[Gadsden Street]] and [[12th Avenue]], as well as a large plantation in north Alabama.
