Jeptha Homer Wade was an American industrialist, philanthropist, and one of the founding members of Western Union Telegraph

Western Union

The Western Union Company is a financial services and communications company based in the United States. Its North American headquarters is in Englewood, Colorado. Up until 2006, Western Union was the best-known U.S...

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Born in Romulus, New York

Romulus, New York

Romulus is a town in Seneca County, New York, United States. The population was 2,036 at the 2000 census. The town is named after the mythical founder of Rome, Romulus, a name assigned by a clerk with an interest in the classics...

, youngest of nine children of Jeptha and Sarah (Allen) Wade. Made Daguerreotypes, was a portrait painter, moved to Adrian, Michigan, in 1840, before developing an interest in the telegraph. In 1847, he was subcontractor for J.J. Speed and constructed a telegraph line from Detroit to Jackson, Michigan.