History of Iowa From the Earliest Times to the Beginning of the Twentieth Century/4/D. Franklin Wells
D. FRANKLIN WELLS was born in Oneida County, New York, June 22, 1830. His early education was acquired in the common schools and later he graduated from the State Normal School at Albany. In 1853 he came to Muscatine, Iowa, where he was chosen principal of one of the city schools. In 1856 he was placed in charge of the Normal Department of the State University, serving in that capacity for ten years. In 1867 he was appointed by the Governor, Superintendent of Public Instruction to fill a vacancy occasioned by the resignation of Oran Faville, and at the following general election was chosen for a full term. He died in November, 1868, in the thirty-ninth year of his age. Henry Sabin pronounced Professor Wells the recognized leader of the educational forces of the State at the period when he was thus actively engaged in the work, and adds that he literally gave his life to the cause.