Abigail (Allen) Wheeler (1640 - aft. 1697)

Born 4 Jan 1640 in Salisbury, Massachusetts Bay Colony

Ancestors

Wife of Henry Wheeler Sr — married about 1658 in Salisbury, Norfolk, Massachusetts Bay Colony [uncertain]

Descendants

Died after 28 Jan 1697 after age 57 in Salisbury, Essex, Province of Massachusetts Bay [uncertain]

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Biography

Parentage; Date and Place of Birth

Abigail Allen, the daughter of William Allen and Ann (Goodale) Allen, was born in Salisbury, Massachusetts on 4: 11 m: 1639, which converts to January 4, 1639/40 in the "new" calendar.^[1][2][3]

Marriage

Abigail married Henry Wheeler.^[4][3][5][6] Their marriage is confirmed by the birth records of Henry's children, which state that his wife's name was Abigail, and the will of Abigail's father, William Allen, which includes a bequest to daughter Abigail Wheeler.^[7][8]

Abigail and Henry's date and place of marriage are uncertain. Familysearch.org's "Massachusetts, Town Clerk, Vita and Town Records, 1626-2001" database includes information from a 1895 compilation of Salisbury marriage information collected by John French Johnson from town and county records and "other" sources, which says that they were married in 1569.^[9] No reliable later source repeats that assertion and no evidence supporting it has been found. There is no entry for Abigail and Henry's marriage in Topsfield Historical Society's 1915 Vital Records of Salisbury.^[10] Both Davis and Hoyt state that they were married "about" 1659,^[4][5] while Torrey's New England Marriages to 1700 states that they were married "by" 1659.^[6] Based on the date of birth of their first-born child (April 1659), however, a marriage date in 1659 is very improbable and a marriage date in 1658 seems much more likely. Since Abigail's family lived in Salisbury, it is reasonably probably that they were married there.

Children

Abigail and Henry had the following children, all born in Salisbury:

1. Henry, b. April 13, 1659,^[11][5] m. before December 1682 Rachel Squire probably in Boston,^[12][3] d. 1684^[3] probably in Boston^[12]
2. Abigail, b. March 7, 1660/1^[11][3][5]
3. William, b. September 6, 1663,^[11][3][5] m. May 26, 1686 Ann Phippen,^[13] d. before May 6, 1704^[13]
4. Moses, b. June 24, 1665^[11][3][5]
5. Ann/Anne (twin), b. May 27, 1667,^[11][3][5] probably m. November 22, 1687 Thomas Riggs (of Gloucester) in Amesbury^[10][5]
6. James (twin), b. May 27, 1667, m. 1st about 1690 Grizzell Squire, m. 2d October 2, 1738 Elizabeth Brintnal in Rehoboth, d. April 1753 in Rehoboth. (See discussion and sources in James' profile.)
7. Josiah, b. April 23, 1669,^[11][3][5] m. Elizabeth ______^[3][5]
8. Ruth, b. July 15, 1671^[11][3][5]
9. Nathaniel, b. March 28, 1675,^[11][3][5] m. November 9, 1697 Mary Bridges in Boston,^[14]
10. Jeremie/Jeremiah, b. July 17, 1677^[11][3][5]
11. Benjamin, b. January 15, 1681/2^[15][3][5]
12. Mary, b. June 5, 1685,^[11][3][5] perhaps m. October 14, 1702 Thomas Harris in Salisbury^[10][5]

Residency in Salisbury and Boston

As discussed in her husband's profile, after their marriage, Abigail and Henry settled in Salisbury. By the late 1690s, however, they were "of Boston"^[16][5] The date of their move from Salisbury to Boston is uncertain. They may have had residences in both places for a period of time in the 1680s and continued to maintain connections with Salisbury (at last through the Salisbury church) even after they considered themselves residents of Boston. Although they were probably primarily living in Boston by the late 1680s, "Mrs. Wheeler" was included on a list of members of the Salisbury church in 1687.^[17] and, according to Hoyt, her husband Henry was admitted as a member of the Salisbury church in 1694.^[5]

Husband's Death; Return to Salisbury?

Abigail's husband, Henry, died sometime before 1697. By a deed dated January, 28, 1696/7, Abigail Wheeler of Boston, relict and widow of Henry Wheeler late of Boston, repurchased from her brother-in-law Richard Hubbard of Boston (husband of her sister Martha), the house and land in Salisbury that Abigail and Henry had sold to Hubbard in 1684.^[16] Since Abigail was a native of Salisbury, she may well have repurchased her and Henry's old homestead in Salisbury in order to moved back there and spend the remainder of her days. No evidence has been found, however, to confirm whether Abigail indeed moved back to Salisbury or remained in Boston.

Death

Abigail's date and place of death are uncertain. Neither any record of her death or burial nor any record of her will or estate has been found. Based on the January 28, 1696/7 deed pursuant to which she repurchased her old Salisbury homestead,^[16] Abigail died sometime after that date. Since Abigail was "of Boston" at that time, she may have died there. However, based on her repurchase of her old Salisbury homestead, it is perhaps more likely that she died there.

^{[1] [6] [9] [12] [16] [7] [8] [10] [15] [11] [17] [5] [2] [14] [13] [3] [4]}

Sources

1. ↑ ^{1.0 1.1} Vital Records of Salisbury, Massachusetts to the End of the Year 1849. The Topsfield Historical Society, 1915. p. 12. Link to page at archive.org.
2. ↑ ^{2.0 2.1} Hoyt, David W. The Old Families of Salisbury and Amesbury, Mass., with some Related Families of Newbury, Haverhill, Ipswich, and Hampton. Part One. 1897. p. 31. Link to page at hathitrust.org.
3. ↑ ^{3.00 3.01 3.02 3.03 3.04 3.05 3.06 3.07 3.08 3.09 3.10 3.11 3.12 3.13 3.14 3.15} Wheeler, Albert Gallatin. The Genealogical and Encyclopedic History of the Wheeler Family in America. American College of Genealogy, 1914. pp. 429-430. Link to pages at archive.org.
4. ↑ ^{4.0 4.1 4.2} Davis, Walter Goodwin. The Ancestry of Annis Spear 1775-1858 of Litchfield, Maine. 1945. p. 135. Link to page at hathitrust.org.
5. ↑ ^{5.00 5.01 5.02 5.03 5.04 5.05 5.06 5.07 5.08 5.09 5.10 5.11 5.12 5.13 5.14 5.15 5.16 5.17 5.18} Hoyt, David W. The Old Families of Salisbury and Amesbury, Mass., with some Related Families of Newbury, Haverhill, Ipswich, and Hampton. Part One. 1897. pp. 354-355. Link to pages at hathitrust.org.
6. ↑ ^{6.0 6.1 6.2} Torrey, Clarence Almon. New England Marriages Prior to 1700. Volume 3. Boston, Mass.: New England Historic Genealogical Society, 2015. p. 1636. Link to page at americanancestors.org.
7. ↑ ^{7.0 7.1} Essex County Probate Records, Vol. 11, pp. 10-13. FHL Film # 007703073, images 319-320. Link to images at familysearch.org.
8. ↑ ^{8.0 8.1} Davis, Walter Goodwin. The Ancestry of Abel Lunt 1769-1806 of Newbury, Massachusetts. 1963. p. 92. Link to page at hathitrust.org.
9. ↑ ^{9.0 9.1} Johnson, John French. Married in Salisbury, Mass. 1641 to 1800. Collected from Town & County Records and Other Sources. 1895. p. 271. Link to page at familysearch.org.
10. ↑ ^{10.0 10.1 10.2 10.3} Vital Records of Salisbury, Massachusetts to the End of the Year 1849. The Topsfield Historical Society, 1915. p. 513. Link to page at archive.org.
11. ↑ ^{11.00 11.01 11.02 11.03 11.04 11.05 11.06 11.07 11.08 11.09 11.10} Vital Records of Salisbury, Massachusetts to the End of the Year 1849. The Topsfield Historical Society, 1915. p. 252. Link to page at archive.org.
12. ↑ ^{12.0 12.1 12.2} The fact that Henry Jr. married Rachel Squire before December 1681 is established by a deed dated December 8, 1681 by Philip Squire to his son-in-law Henry Wheeler and his daughter Rachel. Since Philip Squire lived in Boston and the deed says that Henry Jr. was "of Boston", they were probably married in Boston. Since Henry was "of Boston" in December 1681, he was probably living in Boston when he died in 1684. See Suffolk Deeds, Vol. 12. 131-132. Link to deed at hathitrust.org.
13. ↑ ^{13.0 13.1 13.2} Wheeler, Albert Gallatin. The Genealogical and Encyclopedic History of the Wheeler Family in America. American College of Genealogy, 1914. p. 430. Link to page at archive.org.
14. ↑ ^{14.0 14.1} Wheeler, Albert Gallatin. The Genealogical and Encyclopedic History of the Wheeler Family in America. American College of Genealogy, 1914. p. 431. Link to page at archive.org.
15. ↑ ^{15.0 15.1} Vital Records of Salisbury, Massachusetts to the End of the Year 1849. The Topsfield Historical Society, 1915. p. 253. Link to page at archive.org.
16. ↑ ^{16.0 16.1 16.2 16.3} Essex County Deeds, Vol. 11, p. 251-252. FHL Film # 007462657, image 490. Link to image at familysearch.org.
17. ↑ ^{17.0 17.1} Hoyt, David W. The Old Families of Salisbury and Amesbury, Mass., with some Related Families of Newbury, Haverhill, Ipswich, and Hampton. Part One. 1897. p. 24. Link to page at hathitrust.org.

See also:

• Roberts, Gary Boyd. Notable Kin (Carl Boyer, 3rd; Santa Clarita, California; 1998) Volume One, p120
• Roberts, Gary Boyd. Ancestors of American Presidents (New England Historic Genealogical Society; Boston, Suffolk, Massachusetts, USA; 2009)