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John Wheeler (1630 - aft. 1693)

Major John Wheeler
Born in Englandmap
Son of [father unknown] and [mother unknown]
[sibling(s) unknown]
Husband of — married about 2 Jan 1650 in Charles County, Marylandmap [uncertain]
Descendants descendants
Died after after age 63 in Charles County, Province of Marylandmap
Profile last modified | Created 30 Jul 2011
This page has been accessed 10,241 times.
US Southern Colonies.
John Wheeler resided in the Southern Colonies in North America before 1776.
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Contents

Biography

John Wheeler was born in 1630 in England, according to a deposition he made in 1652 when he was about 21 years old. He arrived in the Southern Colonies in 1651[1] and married Mary, whose last name at birth is unknown. He and Mary had seven (7) known children. Major John Wheeler executed his Will on 11 November 1693. He died before 9 January 1694, in Charles County, Maryland, when his estate entered probate.[2]

Birth

John Wheeler was born in 1630 in England.[1] In one deposition made January 22, 1652, he gave his age as 21 years. This deposition is recorded in Land Record Book No. 1, folio 397[1] In another deposition made October 22, 1691, he gave his age as 61 years.

Immigration

John Wheeler was 21 years old in 1651, when he left England for the British Colonies.[1]

He was a Roman Catholic, and it is probable that he left England to escape the persecution of Catholics following the end of the English Civil War.

John arrived in Maryland in January 1652, on the ship Thomas and John, under the command of Captain William Mitchell. He had traveled from Deptford near London, where he boarded the ship.[1] He may have been an indentured servant, since the ship contained about a dozen indentured servants who had contracted for a period of time (usually seven years) of labor in exchange for payment of their passage to the Colonies. However, there is evidence that he paid his own transportation to the Colonies. "On 20 June 1654 Walter Hall sold unto John Wheeler all my rights of land due me for the transportation of myself into the Province of Maryland. On this same date John Wheeler demanded 100 acres of land due him by the assignment of Mr. Walter Hall as above written. Warrant to lay out for John Wheeler 100 acres in any part of the Province of Maryland not formerly taken up."

He did not serve any time for his transportation and subsequent records prove he was a shrewd person even though illiterate. It is apparent that he skipped out during the prolonged court trials of Capt. William Mitchell and did not show up again until June 1654 after Captain Mitchel had returned to England.[1]

Marriage

John married Mary, maiden name unknown, presumably about 1653 as their first child John was born about 1654.[3]

Children

John and Mary's children are:[4]

  1. John, b. 1654,[5] Charles County, MD.
  2. James, b. 16 Dec 1656,[5] Charles County, MD.
  3. Mary or Marie, b. 22 Mar 1658,[5] Charles County, MD; m. Robert Middleton.[6]
  4. Thomas, b. 18 Mar 1660,[5] Charles County, MD.
  5. Winnifred or Winnifrett, b. 13 Mar 1663 (or Mar 1663[5]), Indian Fields, Charles County, MD; married.
  6. Ignatius, b. 14 May 1665 (or May 1665[5]), Charles County, MD.
  7. Francis, b. 1672, Charles County, MD.

Life Events

John was apparently a good farmer and businessman, as his estate and his importance grew rapidly from raising tobacco, cattle, and hogs.

1658 he rented, for seven shillings per acre, 350 acres from Robert Cole on the northeast branch of the Nanjemoy River. He continued to acquire land and by 1688 he had accumulated 3,293 acres of land in Charles County.
1661 - He was the Ensign (2nd Lieutenant) in Captain James Longworth's Company in February 1661, participated in operations against hostile Indians in 1666, became Captain in June 1676, and Major in June 1679. [7]
1676 - He was commissioned Captain of Militia, and from 1680-1684 he was Major of the Infantry of Charles County, Province of Maryland.
1684 - He served as one of the twelve judges of the county court., and also served as Commissioner of Port Towns
1692 - The Charles County Court ordered "Major John Wheeler being much old and very much enabled through a wound he received in the Country's service...is therefore removed from all tax rolls...for the future."

Land Transactions

1657 Maryland Land Records: "Robert Cole demandeth 450 of land for the servants, Robert Gates 1655, John Johnson, Mary Miles and Joseph Alvey, by special warrant from his Lordship 100 acres and 100 more by assignment from John Wheeler.

1663 Wheeler's Choice The Wheeler Family goes back to the early history of Maryland where John Wheeler obtained a patent July 10, 1663 for 4000 acres of land, known as "Wheeler's Choice", in Charles County.

In his will he mentions property, "Planter's Delight", "Major's Choice", "Wheeler's Purchase", and "Wheeler's Delight."

John used a distinctive mark instead of a signature on all documents he signed, up to and including his will, 1694.

Will & Death

Last Will and Testament of John Wheeler [2][8]
Charles County, Maryland.
Will Book No. 7, Fol. 70.
11 November 1693
9 January 1694 (probate).

To son Thomas and hrs., 200 A. (unnamed) on which he now lives, and 23 0 A., "Wheeler's Rest."
To wife Mary, extx., 600 A., "Planter's Delight" and all personalty .
To son Ignatius and hrs., sd. "Planter's Delight" at death of wife afsd.
To son Francis and hrs., 187 A., "Major's Choice," and 96 A., "Middleton's Lot."
To grandson, John Wheeler, son of dec'd son James, 200 A., part of 50 0 A., "Wheeler's Purchase".
To grandson James, son of sd. dec'd son James, 200 A., part of "Wheeler's Purchase."
To granddau. Ann Wheeler, dau. of sd. dec'd son James, 100 A., residue of "Wheeler's Purchase".
To granddau. Ann 165 A., "Wheeler's Delight."
To grandson Richard, son of son Thomas afsd., and his hrs., "Wheeler' s Delight" in event of death of granddau. Ann afsd. without issue.
Test: Jno. Sanders, Wm. Montgomery, Anna Montgomery.

His Inventory was filed on 26 November 1696.[9]

Research Notes

  • A deposition was taken from a John Wheeler, age 21 or thereabouts, on Jan 22, 1652 saying that he was a servant of Capt. Mitchell and came to America from Debtford, Eng. (Maryland Archives. Vol.10, p 226).

Sources

  1. 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 Walter V. Ball, The Wheeler Family of Charles County, Maryland (1966); digital images, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/library/books/viewer/84034/) or Ancestry (https://www.ancestry.com/imageviewer/collections/26622/images/dvm_GenMono007090-00001-0).
  2. 2.0 2.1 Jane Baldwin, The Maryland Calendar of Wills, Wills from 1685 to 1702 Vol II (Baltimore, Maryland: Kohn & Pollock, 1906), p88; digital images, Archive.org (https://archive.org/details/marylandcalenda00cottgoog), image 103.
  3. Harry Wright Newman, The Maryland Semmes and Kindred Families (Baltimore, Maryland: The Maryland Genealogical Society, 1956), p261; digital images, Archive.org (https://archive.org/details/marylandsemmeski00newm/page/n8/mode/1up).
  4. Ball; image 8 of 118.
  5. 5.0 5.1 5.2 5.3 5.4 5.5 Ball, p9; image 17 of 118; quoting The Archives of Maryland, Vol. 60, p117.
  6. John Goodwin Herndon, Robert Middleton (ca. 1651 - ca. 1707) of Charles City and Prince Georges Counties, Maryland, and Numerous Descendants of His (privately printed, 1954) (Lancaster, Pennsylvania: Wickersham Printing Company, 1955) pp17-18; digital images, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/library/books/viewer/196166/), images 17-18.
  7. Services of Ancestors: "Society of Colonial Wars in the State of Maryland"
    Services of Ancestors
    Ancestry Sharing Link - Ancestry Image (accessed 4 April 2023)
  8. Ball, Dickinson (editor), pp23-24.
  9. Francis Barnum Culver, ed., Baltimore, The Williams & Wilkins Company, 1940, Library of Congress, Washington, DC, Page: 247 - "inventory of John Wheeler filed 26 Nov 1696 with a value 41 Lb. 21 Sh. and 9 Pc.; I Wheeler, John 1630-1693/4 Immigrant to Md. in 1651 II Wheeler, John, Jr. 1654-1688 m ___. See Chapter II III James 1656-1684 m (1) Elizabeth Corker, (2) Catherine IV Mary 1658- m ca 1673 Robert Middleton, chapter II V Thomas 1660-1735 See Chapter III VI Winnifred 1663- m John Speake. See Chapter IV VII Ignatius 1665-1699 m Frances Slye. See Chapter IV VIII Francis c1670-1736 m Winnifred Green. See Chapter V" Title: Society of Colonial Wars in the State of Maryland
See also - other family trees:
  • Find A Grave: Memorial #33481296 for MAJ John Wheeler Sr. (1630–1693). Uses Walter V. Ball's The Wheeler Family of Charles County, Maryland (1966) for the biography.
  • "John Wheeler (1632–Bef. 1695)", Miles Files, Hundreds of Eastern Shore Families from Charlemagne to the Present, Eastern Shore of Virginia Public Library System (link).




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Comments: 22

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US Southern Colonies Project adding project management (PMP) and project protection (PPP)—frequently duplicated.

PMP was added in May 2021. Adding PPP was deferred at the time to allow relationship cleanup. Sufficient time has now passed to add PPP.

Please continue to manage normally, and review US Southern Colonies Project Editing Guidance before editing.

Managed Profiles Coordinator, US Southern Colonies Project

posted by Ken Spratlin
'MIles Files' https://www.espl-genealogy.org/getperson.php?personID=I97027&tree=1 Accromac Co for Historic Northampton Co has a file on John as a source where much of the info in immigration came from and included in Ball's Book. Apparently he did pay for his passage , "On 20 June 1654 Walter Hall sold unto John Wheeler all my rights of land due me for the transportation of myself into the Province of Maryland. On this same date John Wheeler demanded 100 acres of land due him by the assignment of Mr. Walter Hall as above written. Warrant to lay out for John Wheeler 100 acres in any part of the Province of Maryland not formerly taken up." this was on "N.E. Branch of Nanjemoy River, St. Mary's Co, Maryland on 16 Nov 1658", the same year charles co was formed. However, the Nanjemoy River is in Charles Co!  ?????

There are some good actual Land Rec Doc ref provided from Ball's book.

posted by Mike Williamson
edited by Mike Williamson
Just to mention that King Charles I was executed in 1649, and not, as appears to be the claim, 1651. The last battle of the Civil War, Battle of Worcester, DID occur in 1651, but after King Charles was dead.
posted by A. Newman
Good point, and I think that Charles I was an Anglican too. I have just removed that phrase as it isn't necessary to make the point.
posted by Scott McClain
A merge was proposed on May 10 for the two wives of Wheeler-1667|John Wheeler, specifically: Unknown-485195, Mary Wheeler, and Causine-12, Mary Causine.

However reliable sources for Mary Causine are lacking, according to the pre-1700 standards. The merge is currently set as an unmerged match until the differences can be resolved.

No reliable source has been found for the birthplace or for the parents of Wheeler-1667, so I intend to remove the parents unless there's a source to prove either or both parents.

I also plan to begin to reorganize the profile and remove the duplications of information and irrelevant information.

posted by Donna (Stephens) Harris
edited by Donna (Stephens) Harris
Hi! I had a request to lock this profile (PPP - see Help: Project Protection). I've adopted the profile for the US Southern Colonies Project but PPP will need to wait until parents and wives (and children?) are sorted.

Cheers, Liz

posted by Liz (Noland) Shifflett
when I saved after changing the project sticker to a project box, I received the following automated warning:
Warning: Check the data.
  • A father's death date (Wheeler-1667 died 11 Nov 1693) should not be more than nine months before one of his children's birth dates (Wheeler-13892 born 2 Jan 1698).

Cheers, Liz

posted by Liz (Noland) Shifflett
After checking for evidence of (Wheeler-13892) being the son, it's clear that he could not have been the son of (Wheeler-1667), so I've removed Wheeler-13892.
Hi Liz,

I'm wondering why the Project box reads: "Henry Wheeler resided in the Southern Colonies in North America before 1776," when this the profile for John Wheeler. No verified records have been found to prove the father of this John Wheeler.

Cheers,

Donna

posted by Donna (Stephens) Harris
edited by Donna (Stephens) Harris
there's a glitch with the template used within templates to pull in the name of the person from the profile's datafields - it sometimes pulls in the name of an attached profile that was recently edited. It's a head-scratcher, but not permanent (refresh or another edit clears the problem).

Cheers, Liz

posted by Liz (Noland) Shifflett
Displaying properly now..........
posted by Ken Spratlin
He should probably be disconnected from his alleged parents in the absence of any evidence. In fact, all evidence is negative. His alleged father's biography shows him as appearing in a 1624 census in Virginiaso Henry can't have been his father. His birthplaces in England cover most options - Bedfordshire, or Wiltshire or Derbyshire or Shropshire. In other words his birthplace isn't known.

Better that he be disconnected from his alleged parents and his birthplace left as is as "England"

posted by David Cooper (-2021)
Thank you, David. Both parents have been disconnected.
If John's death in 1693 is certain, and John Richard's birth in 1698 is also certain they cannot be father and son and should be disconnected.
posted by David Cooper (-2021)
John Richard disconnected after checking to verify.
Wheeler-5877 and Wheeler-1667 appear to represent the same person because: Same dates
posted by David Cooper (-2021)
Wheeler-9978 and Wheeler-1667 appear to represent the same person because: Same birth, same incorrect birthplace , same army rank. Same person
posted by David Cooper (-2021)
Since no one commented after my post in March, today I disconnected the two profiles of Margaret and John William.

Is there any discussion on John's wife? I looked at all the sources and they only say Mary. I think she should be removed and Mary Unknown be connected. The information about Mary Causine could be added to the profile as a reference note needing documentation.

I also find no documentation for the parents listed for John.

posted by Susan (Knight) Gore
I agree with Susan Gore. In addition, there is no documentation that John and Mary had any children named Margaret or John William. Can we get more than circumstantial evidence and hearsay to back this up or remove it from the profile, please.
posted by Mary (Weston) Jenkins
What is the documentation for the maiden name of his wife, Mary?

These are the sources cited but I do not find her maiden name listed in any of them.  ? Alice Norris Parran, "Register of Maryland's heraldic families : period from 1634, March 25th to March 25th, 1935, tercentenary of the founding of Maryland," Baltimore, MD: H.G. Roebuck & Son, (1935-1938).  ? Walter V. Ball, The Wheeler family of Charles County, Maryland, Chevy Chase, MD: unknown (1966).  ? Peter Wilson Coldham, Settlers of Maryland, 1679-1783, Baltimore, MD: Genealogical Publishing Co., 2002 If there is no proof, I would suggest it be unlinked unless there is addition documentation.

posted by Susan (Knight) Gore
Wheeler-1797 and Wheeler-1667 appear to represent the same person because: same name, same time frame, close on birth, same parents, merge

Rejected matches › John Wheeler (1661-1721)