It is believed that Newman Sr. is buried in the Big Sandy Mush Methodist Cemetery, as well as possibly his wives, and some of their children.

     For the purpose of this sketch, we will follow a line of descent from Newman's son Thomas.

     Thomas Wells, son of Newman, married Mary O'Bryan.  Their children were: Henry, who married Elizabeth Phillips; James; Thomas Jr.; Watson; Larkin who married Alcy Weaver; John who married Margaret Palmer; Hannah; William who married Mary A. Jones; Charlotte who married Thomas Deboard; Sarah who married a Hicks from Tennessee; and Mahalia who married John Glance. 

     James Wells, son of Thomas and Mary, born January 9, 1794, married Nancy Palmer and their children were:  John W; Manson who married Althea King and was killed in the Civil War; Erwin (or Irving) who married Zion King; Henry who married Elizabeth Greer; Mahalia who married Turner King; and Sarah who married George Hampton.

     John W. Wells, son of James, was born June 20, 1815 in Sandy Mush and continued the life of farming that his family had taught him, and also stayed in the same area, owning a large piece of land:  "all the land in Willow Creek valley from the forks of the road, where Waldrop's store was, to the top of the (Beaverdam) mountain," according to one member of the family.  Eventually he owned some slaves, and a slave house was one of the buildings on his property.  A bill of sale, dated December 17, 1849, transfers a fourteen-year- old Negro youth to J.W. Wells for the sum of five hundred and fifty-two dollars.

     The Wells farm raised corn, wheat, potatoes, tobacco, as well as vegetables, pumpkins and fruit.  On Willow Creek, John built and operated a grist mill with a millrace that diverted the creek water onto a large wooden wheel.

     He married first, Priscilla Blackstock, daughter of Nehemiah and Hammeleketh Ball Blackstock of Flat Creek.  He had two children, Harriett who married Ebed Worley and Robert who went to the Civil War and was killed at the Blackstock home by raiders in his early twenties.  Priscilla died at the early age of twenty-seven years.

     John's second wife was Rachel E. Penland, born 1822, daughter of Henry and Elizabeth (Parks) Penland.  At the time of Rachel's marriage to John, her father gave her a little spinning wheel which has been handed down in the family.

     The house that still stands on Willow Creek was built for his bride, Rachel.  The house is a two-story, white clapboard structure with porches running the entire width of the house above and below.  Each porch has a small enclosed "porch room" entirely shut off from the rest of the house where occasional travelers were housed.  One of the main rooms on the ground floor and a small room opening off it were used by the father and mother and their small children.  The other main room, designated the "upper roon" because of its relationship to the flow of the creek, was saved for company.  Behind these is located the one-story kitchen and dining wing.  Upstairs are two large rooms, one for the older girls, the other for the boys.

     Nearby a smokehouse held hams and bacon; the corn crib a little farther down the creek stored corn for meal and stock feed; a root cellar kept apples, pumpkins and potatoes.  Chickens, geese, sheep, horses and cattle lived in the barnyard, and the simple farm tools, such as plow, hoe, scythe, cradle, mattock and axe hung in the shed.

     Behind the house still stands a spring house built over stone troughs where large crocks of milk, butter, meats, and vegetables were set in cold water piped several hundred yards down the hill from the 'pump spring.'

     As John W. grew older, he divided his land among his children and portions of it were sold.  He turned the operation of the mill over to his son Charlie L. Wells, who still lived at home and who, with his wife Anna Reynolds Wells, continued to run the farm and care for the aging parents and their own growing family.  John died September 29, 1891 and was buried in the Methodist Cemetery.

     His wife Rachel lived on her home with her son Charlie and his family. In her later years, severely stooped and confined to a wheel chair, she would roll herself over to the window where she could look across the grass and watch the water run into the springhouse trough.  One of her grandsons recalls that she was particularly fond of him and saved him treats of biscuits or cake in her apron pocket and took his part in small family squabbles.  She died in her sleep on February 7, 1911, and is buried in the Methodist Cemetery at Sandy Mush.
     John W. and Rachel Penland Wells had at least seven children as follows:

     Horace N. Wells, born 1850, a medical doctor who married Hester Wells and practiced medicine in Waynesville.
     Bascom Wells (1851- ?), a farmer in Cherokee County, married Anna Ferguson.
     Alexander H. "Weet" Wells (1853-1880), a retarded boy who was separated from his brothers one cold night in Asheville and froze to death.
     Jane A. Wells (1856-1884) married James Osborne and lived in Haywood County.
     Victor Wells (1858- ?), a farmer in Cherokee, married Mattie Noland.
     Charlie L. Wells (1861-1910), and stayed on the home farm on Willow Creek, Sandy Mush.
     Henry Wells (died in infancy)  Perhaps Reuban.

     Charlie wells, son of John W. Wells, was born Sept 15, 1861, married Joanna Reynolds, daughter of John Haskew and Sarah Ann (Ferguson) Reynolds on January 1, 1886.  Their children were Gertrude, Sally who died as a young woman, Myrtle who married Earnest Byrd, Carlton who married Amanda Duckett, Raymond who married Phoebie Brown, Wayne who married Lucy Parrish, Richard who married Lillie Williams, and Vinnie who married Fulmer Duckett.

     Because of the difficulties of travel and the rural farm life they led, most of this family did not venture far from where they were born; consequently, one can see how family lines became involved with one another through inter-marriage until nearly everyone was related in some way.

     Early opportunity for education was limited; later the one-room school provided basic reading, writing and arithmetic; and small schools like Weaver College in Weaverville, Cullowheel Normal School, and Mars Hill College offered more advanced work.  Only a fortunate few made their way to the University of North Carolina or Peabody College in Nashville.