Darius Wells (1800-1875) was born in Johnstown, New York and was apprenticed to a local printer. He moved to Amsterdam, NY and established a newspaper with a partner before moving to New York City to continue in his profession. Determined to find an alternative to expensive metal printer’s type for large font type, he invented a straight-line routing machine that could speedily remove excess material on wooden typesetting blocks so it could be more cheaply produced.
In 1840 he moved to Paterson and entered into a partnership with Ebenezer R. Webb to specialize in fabrication of “printer’s furniture” as typesetting equipment was called. They separated in 1855, each carrying on their own businesses in this trade, later built a factory that created wooden typeset blocks and other wooden material needed by printers and engravers. With new partners, the Vanderburg, Wells & Co. enlarged the business and a modest factory was constructed on the Passaic River off of Water Street, one block from the Wells’ home. A portion of their manufacturing was also handled in New York City at the corner of Fulton and Dutch streets.
Wells and his wife, Almira and children lived at 95 Water Street in Paterson, and he is named on most lists of remembered Underground Railroad operatives in Paterson. Wells was very active in the abolitionist and temperance movements in New Jersey serving as a ranking member of the Liberty Party, and the New Jersey Anti-Slavery Society where he was nominated in 1844 as a Presidential Elector for the Liberty Party and served as Chairman of the New Jersey State Liberty Convention for that year held in Newark. In 1861 became a postmaster in Paterson and served intermittently until 1872.
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