Josiah was born in 1695.1 Josiah's father was Ebenezer Wells and his mother was Mary Waite. His paternal grandparents were Thomas Wells and Mary Beardsley. He had four brothers and a sister, named Ebenezer, Thomas, John, Jonathan and Martha. He was the third oldest of the six children. He had a half-sister named Mary. He died at the age of 73 in 1768.1