Founder Profile
Jeptha Wade
Last reviewed: October 2026 · By Swet Parvadiya
Who is Jeptha Wade?
Jeptha Wade is a founder of The Western Union Company, which was founded in 1851 with Hiram Sibley, Ezra Cornell and Samuel Selden.
- Company founded
- The Western Union Company
- Founded
- 1851
- Co-founders
- Hiram Sibley, Ezra Cornell and Samuel Selden
Background
Midwestern telegraph line builder who was later a Cleveland businessman and philanthropist.
Founding Story
Jeptha Wade built telegraph lines in the Midwest and brought them into the 1856 Western Union consolidation. He helped organize the western part of the transcontinental telegraph effort and later served as president of Western Union.
Jeptha Wade was born in 1811 in Romulus.
Jeptha Homer Wade was born on August 11, 1811 in Romulus, New York, and died on August 9, 1890. He was a portrait painter and made early daguerreotypes before taking an interest in the telegraph after moving to Adrian, Michigan, in 1840.