In the 1840s Thomas J. Wells manufactured steam engines and woodworking machinery including sawmills, re-saws, veneer saws and slitting saws. In 1850 Wells had "given up the business and gone to California." By 1862, though, he was back in New York.
Information Sources
- American Steam Engine Builders: 1800-1900 by Kenneth L. Cope, 2006 page 259
- In 1850, an article in Scientific Americanmentioned that T. J. Wells had "given up the business and gone to California." But there is an 1862 patent which gives his address as New York.
- 1847 article and 1848-1850 ads in Scientific American.