Born on a slave plantation in Saint Kitts, he was sent to Britain to complete his education, eventually serving as a magistrate after being called to the bar.

Wells died in 1852, remaining wealthy despite his slaves having been emancipated 19 years earlier by the Slavery Abolition Act 1833.

William was a Welshman from a wealthy Cardiff family who emigrated to Saint Kitts with his younger brother Nataniel.

[1] Following his wife's death, William Wells began fathering children by his female slaves – at least six, all by different women.

[4] William Wells died when Nathaniel was 15 years old and left the bulk of his estate to him as his only surviving, 'natural and dear'[5] son.

Together with the Duke of Beaufort he contributed to the upkeep of the church fabric, and St Arvan's distinctive octagonal tower (1820) was his gift.

As Lieutenant Wells, it is recorded[14] that he took part in action against striking coal-miners and iron workers in South Wales in 1822.

Jackson's Oxford Journal of 11 May 1822 reprinting an article from the Bristol Mercury recorded that: "It was then decided that a party of the cavalry, under the command of Lieutenant Wells, of Piercefield, should form a kind of advance guard, and should precede the main body by about a mile, to prevent the breaking up of the roads."

However, the road ran along a steep-sided valley, and his party came under attack from the iron workers, who threw down large stones and rocks.

Two of his sons became clergymen and the eldest, Nathaniel Armstrong Wells (1806–1846), an author, writing and illustrating an account of his travels through Spain.