Robert William Wells was a United States federal judge

United States federal judge

In the United States, the title of federal judge usually means a judge appointed by the President of the United States and confirmed by the United States Senate in accordance with Article II of the United States Constitution....

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Born in Winchester, Virginia

Winchester, Virginia

Winchester is an independent city located in the northwestern portion of the Commonwealth of Virginia in the USA. The city's population was 26,203 according to the 2010 Census...

, Wells read law to enter the bar in 1820. He was in private practice in Saint Charles, Missouri

Saint Charles, Missouri

St. Charles is a city in, and the county seat of, St. Charles County, Missouri. As of the 2010 census, the city had a population of 65,794, making St. Charles the 2nd largest city in St. Charles County. It lies just to the northwest of St. Louis, Missouri on the Missouri River, and, for a time,...

, from 1820 to 1821, and was a circuit attorney of the St. Charles Circuit from 1821 to 1822. He was a member of the Missouri House of Representatives

Missouri House of Representatives

The Missouri House of Representatives is the lower chamber of the Missouri General Assembly. It has 163 members, representing districts with an average size of 31,000 residents. House members are elected for two-year terms during general elections held in even-numbered years.In 1992 Missouri...

 from 1823 to 1826. He was the Attorney General of Missouri from 1826 to 1836.

On June 16, 1836, Wells was nominated by President Andrew Jackson

Andrew Jackson

Andrew Jackson was the seventh President of the United States . Based in frontier Tennessee, Jackson was a politician and army general who defeated the Creek Indians at the Battle of Horseshoe Bend , and the British at the Battle of New Orleans...

 to a seat on the United States District Court for the District of Missouri vacated by James H. Peck

James H. Peck

James Hawkins Peck was a son of Revolutionary Soldier Adam Peck and his wife Elizabeth Sharkey Peck. He was a United States federal judge on the United States District Court for the District of Missouri...

. Wells was confirmed by the United States Senate

United States Senate

The United States Senate is the upper house of the bicameral legislature of the United States, and together with the United States House of Representatives comprises the United States Congress. The composition and powers of the Senate are established in Article One of the U.S. Constitution. Each...

 on June 27, 1836, and received his commission the same day. On March 3, 1857, the District of Missouri was subdivided, and Wells was reassigned by operation of law

Operation of law

The phrase "by operation of law" is a legal term that indicates that a right or liability has been created for a party, irrespective of the intent of that party, because it is dictated by existing legal principles. For example, if a person dies without a will, his heirs are determined by operation...

 to the United States District Court for the Western District of Missouri

United States District Court for the Western District of Missouri

The United States District Court for the Western District of Missouri is the federal judicial district encompassing 66 counties in the western half of the State of Missouri...

. He served in that capacity until his death, in 1864, in Bowling Green, Kentucky

Bowling Green, Kentucky

Bowling Green is the third-most populous city in the state of Kentucky after Louisville and Lexington, with a population of 58,067 as of the 2010 Census. It is the county seat of Warren County and the principal city of the Bowling Green, Kentucky Metropolitan Statistical Area with an estimated 2009...

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