This Day in Wall Street History 1805: Wells Fargo founder is born

December 12, 1805, brought the birth of Henry Wells, one of the fathers of speed-conscious delivery and banking services. Born in Thetford, Vermont, Wells cut his teeth working as an agent for HardenÝs Express in upstate New York. Clearly taken with the express transport business, Wells set up his own shop, Livingston Wells and PomeroyÝs Express, which ferried "goods, valuables, and specie" between Buffalo and Albany. By 1844, Wells sensed that it was time to push his business west of Buffalo, and he joined forces with William Fargo and Daniel Dunning to start Wells and Company, which would service terrain beyond the upper reaches of New York. While this was all fairly ambitious maneuvering, the 1850s saw Wells make an even stronger move to conquer the express market. First, in 1850, ever ambitious, he merged his two concerns into the American Express Company, which initially covered California and the Eastern seaboard (it later stretched to serve Latin America). Then, in 1852, he linked up with Fargo again to form Wells, Fargo and Company, a joint-stock venture that served as a holding company for the Wells Fargo Bank. Along with bankrolling business ventures, Wells used his ever-swelling fortune to aid the plight of chronic stutters, as well as to establish Wells Seminary (now Wells College) for women.  source: www.history.com