Thomas Wheeler (1591 - 1654)

Born 1591 in Cranfield, Bedfordshire. England

Ancestors

Husband of Ann (Halsey) Wheeler — married 5 May 1613 in Cranfield, Bedfordshire, England

Descendants

Died 16 Jul 1654 at about age 63 in Fairfield, Fairfield County, Connecticut

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Thomas Wheeler migrated to New England during the Puritan Great Migration (1621-1640). (See The Directory, by R. C. Anderson, p. 367) Join: Puritan Great Migration Project Discuss: pgm

Biography

Thomas Wheeler "eldest son" born about 1591, the son of Thomas Wheeler (the Elder) and his first wife. Thomas "eldest son" married at Cranfield, Bedford, England on 5 May 1613 to Ann Halsey.^{[1] [2] [3]}

In his father Thomas' will, he received a bequest as 'my eldest son Thomas' as there was a second son Thomas, referred to in the will as 'my youngest son.' ^[2] The father was "of the Blake Howse" when he wrote his will but was formerly referred to as "of Wharley (End)" earlier in life when he lived there. The son Thomas, this profile, was then also known as "of Wharley End" before he emigrated just to add to confusion.

Children

All baptised in Cranfield:

1. Ann bp 30 Jan 1613/4 buried 16 Jul 1615^[4]
2. Alice bp15 Jun 1616; bur in Cranfield, Beds on 15 Dec 1636^[5][4] Baptized 15 Jun 1615 in Cranfield, Bedfordshire, England, daughter of Thomas Wheeler of Warley.^[6]
3. Anna or Hannah bp 20 Feb 1617/18. The printed transcript says 15 Fe[b]^[7][8] Jacobus later uses the 15th date of bpt.^[4]
4. Thomas 8 Dec 1621 (not 8 Apr 1620)^[8]
5. John 27 Feb 1624/25^[8]
6. Sarah 27 Dec 1627 or 1628^[8] The Ancestry of Lorenzo Ackley changed this making two Sarahs. (One) bpt 10 Aug 1628; d. young, & (Two) bpt 20 June 1630; d. before 1659; m. Thomas Sherwood (c 1624-bef 12 Mar 1698/9)
7. Sarah (see above) m. Thomas Sherwood

• A child William listed in Families of Old Fairfield, was a misreading of Ephraim, son of Thomas "the elder"

Thomas and Ann settled in Concord, Mass. & then to Fairfield Conn, where he died in 1654, she in 1659.^[9][10]

Family Note

Ann Halsey's brother married Elizabeth Wheeler, daughter of John Wheeler, Jr. and Elizabeth.

Notes

From the History of the Wheeler Family in America, 1914, Albert Gallatin Wheeler, Jr: Thomas Wheeler came to America with the Rev. John Jones' Company in the ship Defiance, which landed in New England 3 October 1635, for, with his wife, children, and most probably some grandchildren, he was in Concord as early as 17 April 1636/1637, when he was made freeman there. Of his life in Concord, substantially nothing is known. Being a supporter of the Rev. John Jones at the time of the dissension in the Church at Concord, he became one of those who removed with him to Fairfield in 1644, settling at Pequonnock, on Uncoway Brook, where his home lot of 2.5 acres is recorded, January 1649. This was at Black Rock. His will was dated 16 January 1653/1654, and proved 23 August 1654, mentions his wife Ann. To his eldest son Thomas he gave all of his property in Concord. He also mentions his daughter Sarah Sherwood and her son Thomas Sherwood; and his grandchildren Mary, James, Thomas and John Bennit. His son John was made executor and was to received the estate in Fairfield. [1, 2]

Sources

1. ↑ "History and Genealogy of the Families of Old Fairfield", Donald L. Jacobus, vol 1 p 65. "Will of Thomas Wheeler of Fairfield, 1654, mentioned son-in-law James Bennett ..." vol I, pp 662-663, download from familysearch https://dcms.lds.org/delivery/DeliveryManagerServlet?dps_pid=IE2130331
2. ↑ ^{2.0 2.1} The Father of the Concord Wheelers in: Jacobus, Donald L. The American Genealogist, Vol. 14, New Haven, Connecticut, July, 1937 p. 2-4 (Online database. AmericanAncestors.org. New England Historic Genealogical Society, 2009 - .)
3. ↑ The Genealogical and Encyclopedic History of the Wheeler Family in America - Compiled by the American College of Genealogy, Under the Direction of Albert Gallatin Wheeler- Pub. 1914. Record 2700 Pg. 200
4. ↑ ^{4.0 4.1 4.2} Parke, Nathan Grier Parke, 1884-, and Donald Lines Jacobus. The Ancestry of Lorenzo Ackley & His Wife Emma Arabella Bosworth. Woodstock, Vt: The Elm Tree Press, 1960. p54
5. ↑ The Parish Register of Cranfield 1600-1812. Bedfordshire County Record Office 1943.https://archive.org/details/bedfordshirepari27bedf/page/64/mode/1up
6. ↑ Bedfordshire (England); Emmison, F. G. (editor). Bedfordshire parish registers Bedford, County record Office, 1931 p. 3
7. ↑ Bedfordshire (England); Emmison, F. G. (editor). Bedfordshire parish registers Bedford, County record Office, 1931
8. ↑ ^{8.0 8.1 8.2 8.3} "Corrections to Families of Old Fairfield" by Donald L. Jacobus, (1943) p 37 FamilySearch
9. ↑ Fifty Great Migration Colonists to New England and Their Origins by John Brooks Threlfall, publ by author, Madison, WI, 1990.
10. ↑ "The Father of the Concord Wheelers" The American Genealogist 14:2, New Haven, CT: D. L. Jacobus, 1937-. (Online database. AmericanAncestors.org. New England Historic Genealogical Society, 2009)

• Wheeler, William. The Genealogy of the Wheeler Family (Washington, D.C., 1919) Page 1-4