Sidney Wells was born on September 15, 1838 in Utica, New York to R. S. Wells. The family lived in St. Charles, Illinois before settling in Lodi, Wisconsin in the 1840s. Wells enlisted in the Union Army at the age of 21 on April 24, 1861 and served in Company H, 2nd Wisconsin Infantry Regiment, part of the Iron Brigade, during the American Civil War. He fought at first battle of Bull Run, Antietam and Gettysburg and then served as wagon-master for balance of term of enlistment. He mustered out on June 29, 1864 when his term expired.
On April 27, 1865, Wells married Margaret A. Laughlin. They had five children: Pearl (married Willaim Christie), Orpha L. (married Charles Axon), Clara (married J. E. Padley), Addie (married A. Roy Vaughn), and Amos (who moved to Los Angeles, CA). Wells was a member of the Grand Army of the Republic George H. Irwin Post No. 25 in Lodi, Wisconsin and of the Masonic Lodge F. & A. M. No. 99. He died on July 15, 1924 and is buried at Mount Pleasant Cemetery in Lodi, Wisconsin.
