Got a note on the ol' comments page this morning, the reply to which (Good English, Chuck!) I want to share with all of you. It has to do with genealogy  and how Wells Fargo's history is not, I'm afraid, all that helpful.

The note reads: "I am looking for information about an agent for Wells Fargo named __________ from El Paso to Yuma . Thank you." Signed by "Howard."

Well Howard, let me say right from the start that Wells Fargo thanks this agent for his service. Our reputation was made by people like him, doing the work on location and getting the business from point "A" to point "B." We here in the History department see many stories and images of people like him, working hard and building a 155-year heritage of excellence.

(That last bit is my own version of working hard and reputation-making. But it's true all the same.)

Anyway, our archives contain many records, and many kinds of records. But employee records are not a large part. There are several reasons, but the chief one is privacy. Anyone who worked for us and left a record of any kind is entitled to strict privacy.

There are other reasons why employment records are lean. Employment before the modern era (let's say 1945) was more tentative. People came and went more frequently, sometimes by choice and sometimes not. There were fewer laws about employment security and documentation. Wells Fargo Bank in San Francisco had relatively few employees, and many of them left important records. Many of these we do have, but there was a pretty serious 'quake and fire in 1906 that impacted paper records.

Wells Fargo's Express had thousands of workers across the nation, but the offices were pretty local. They were run from drug stores, general stores, telegraph offices and the like—merchants themselves got the Express contract, and the people they hired also did Wells Fargo business. Offices in depots were staffed by employees of the railroads and the depot itself, as well as by Wells Fargo people.

All in all, we have very, very few employee records—especially before the 20th century. Family history and scholarly researchers will have better luck in local historical societies and in museums. State archives  are good, usually housed in the Capitol or in a university.

If you must, you can send me your contact info and I'll look into it. But bear in mind, these types of records here are sparse—usually non-existent.

Good luck, Howard!