Henry Carter Welles, a pharmacist in small town Waterloo, in upstate New York, knew what it was like to grieve. Little is known about the man credited with the idea of Memorial Day, but one poignant fact sticks out: he was a husband and father of three. All his children died young. Soon after the end of the Civil War, Welles suggested that a day be set aside to honor those who perished fighting for the Union and liberty.