 In 1850, with failing health, Wells sold Piercefield to John Russell (1788–1873).Wells had been married twice – his second wife, in 1823, was Esther Wells née Owen (1804–1871) whose sister, Mary Frances Owen, was married to the eldest son of William Wilberforce – and had 22 children.Two of his sons became clergymen and the eldest, Nathaniel Armstrong Wells (1806–1846), an author, writing and illustrating an account of his travels through Spain.