William Wheeler, Sr. Summary

This page last updated: 2 January 2015. Re-evaluating the death of William's first wife, Lucy following the data received about their daughter, Lucy.

The intent of this page is to bring all of the information together on William Sr. and make sense out of it. This will tell us what information has been gathered and how it applies to the overall picture of William Wheeler Sr.'s family.

In the table below, I am going to recreate his family and provide a timeline of events that chronical his life from birth to death. The column on the left will be the event/date being discussed. The right column will identify the source of the information. If that source is an actual document I will provide a link to that document, if I have it on file. When that information is a person, if I have their permission, I will hyperlink their name to their email address. If your name is in that column and you wish to give your permission, please contact me.

Do you have an event that you think should go on this list? Please contact me and I will get it added.

 

A Chronology of William Wheeler Sr's Life (and those in it or may have been)
Birth: 1765-1770

I have calculated this as follows: according to the 1800 census, he is between 26-45 which would have him born between 1755-1774, the 1810 has him the same age which means he was born between 1765 and 1784. The 1820 census only shows him over 45 which means he was born before 1775 and the 1830 census shows he is between 60-70, making him born between 1760-1770. Therefore, his actual birthdate is between 1765-1770.

NOTE: There are several trees on RootsWeb and Ancestry.com that claim our William Wheeler was born in 1759 in Bedford Co., VA. When asked for proof of this, they have never provided any. It would seem to me that the 4 census records we have for William disproves this possibiity.

7 Jul 1784: In the will of John Pain of Rowan Co., NC, "the land next to William Wheeler" is mentioned. This information is from the McCubbins Collection. Click HERE to see the record. This is the first refererence I have seen to William though it may not be our William Sr. He would have been between the ages of 14-19 and would probably not have owned property by then. Was it referring to his father?
1790 Census: No Wheeler entry found in Rowan County, NC.
Marriage: 15 Feb 1791 William married Lucy Ellis. This is recorded in the Rowan County, NC marriage records, therefore this is assumed as fact. Does someone have an image of the actual record?
Late 1791: birth of Henry The McCubbins Collection does not state that Henry is a son of Lucy Ellis but it implies that. The birth year is estimated from later census records. Henry is listed as the son of William when he is administrator of William's will in 1830.
11 May 1793: The McCubbins Collection states that "William Wheeler appointed overseer of the road instead of Lewis McCartney."
1795: birth of Willis Ellis The McCubbins Collection identifies Willis as a son of Lucy Ellis. The birth year is estimated from later census records.
1797: birth of William Jr The McCubbins Collection identifies William Jr as a son of Lucy Ellis. The birth year is estimated from later census records.
1799: birth of Thomas The McCubbins Collection identifies Thomas as a son of Lucy Ellis. The birth year is estimated from later census records.
1800 Census: William is living in Rowan Co., NC (census here) with 4 sons under 10, he is 26-45, and his wife is 26-45.
1 May 1801: William Wheeler purchased land in Rowan County, NC.This information is from the McCubbins Collection. Click HERE to see the record.
3 Feb 1802: birth of John The McCubbins Collection identifies John as a son of Lucy Ellis. He became one of the founding members of the Mormon Church and moved west into Iowa about 1840. He would move to Utah between 1845 & 1849. The birth date is from the Mormon records (located here) but I suspect the year to be 1801 as he is listed before James and after Thomas in the McCubbins Collection letter and he does not appear to be in the 1800 Census.
1801-2: birth of James The McCubbins Collection identifies James as a son of Lucy Ellis. The birth year is estimated from later census records.
1803-10: birth of Lucy The McCubbins Collection identifies Lucy as a daughter of Lucy Ellis. The birth year is estimated based on the birth of her brother James and the possible death of her mother, Lucy. Lucy is the only child listed by name (other than Henry who is admistrator) in the will of William Sr. in 1830. Later records indicate her birth as 3 Apr 1810. See the story here.
3 Nov 1804: Lucy (wife of William Sr.) dies before this date William Wheeler sold land in Rowan County, NC to Jesse Haden on 3 Nov 1804. The land sale record does not indicate a wife. This information is from Peggy Sue (Morris) Estes and is unverified. If you have access to the land records of Rowan Co., NC, please look this up and send an image. Previously I had "assumed" that since no wife was listed it meant she had died. I am re-thinking this due to the recent discovery of records for their daughter, Lucy.
1810: Territorial census of Illinois There is one William Wheeler living in southern Illinois (census here). He is a widower with the following listed as children in the household: 2 males 16-26 (assumed to be Henry & Willis), 2 males 10-16 (assumed to be William Jr. and Thomas), 2 males under 10 (assumed to be John and James), and 1 female under 10 (this must be Lucy). This information is from Darlene Farris Sewell and is transcribed information.
2 Sep 1814: William Wheeler purchased land in Gallatin County, Illinois Territory (Shawneetown Land Office, receipt number 78). This information is from the Related Notes section of Harold G. Felty's book on Hamilton County marriages from 1821-1854. It is attached to note 107.
1810-1815 Around this time, William marries his second wife, Margaret/Peggy. This date is assumed as his son, Robert Lewis Wheeler will be born in 1816. I have moved the possible earlier date back to 1810 as I have seen genealogies that show the four children from this second marriage to have been born between 1810-1823.
Pre 1816 Older son, William, Jr. marries Sarah (who has children?) and moves out. He is recorded separately in the 1820 census.
2 Sep 1816 Death of Judah Wheeler in White Co. Ill. He had at least 2 children - Martin & Malinda. At this point I have no idea where this man fits into our Wheeler line (if he does). Two pages from his probate that discuss his two children can be seen here. All of the pages from his probate file have been copied. The remaining pages discuss the disposition of his property. None of the William Wheeler family is named.
5 Jan 1819 Older son, Willis, marries Rebecca Charles and moves out. She was previously married and comes with at least one child - Polly Charles. Willis is recorded separately in the 1820 census.
1816 Robert Lewis Wheeler is born. This date is based on the 1850 census record.
22 Feb 1819 Thomas Wheeler purchased land in White County, Illinois (Shawneetown Land Office, receipt number 5465). This information is from the Related Notes section of Harold G. Felty's book on Hamilton County marriages from 1821-1854. It is attached to note 82.
22 Feb 1819 John Wheeler purchased land in White County, Illinois (Shawneetown Land Office, receipt number 5466). This information is from the Related Notes section of Harold G. Felty's book on Hamilton County marriages from 1821-1854. It is attached to note 42-A.
14 Aug. 1820 Oldest son, Henry, marries Priscilla Mayberry and moves out. He is recorded separately in the 1820 census.
1820 Census:

William Sr. is living in southern Illinois (census here) with 3 males under 10, 3 males 10-16, 1 male 16-18 and 16-26, and one male over 45 (William). He shows 1 female under 10, 1 female 10-16, and 1 26-45. There are 6 new males under the age of 16. Who are they? We know one of the males is 4 year old Robert Lewis Wheeler. and the 10-16 year old female would be Lucy, but who are the other five males and 1 female? This implies that his new wife, Margaret, may have come with some children.

The one male 16-18 would be James and he should be the one that is in the 16-26 column, but where is John (about 20 now) and Thomas (about 21 now)? They purchased land a year earlier and will not be marrying until 1824 & 28 respectively, but they are not separately listed on the 1820 census.

There is one additional older male (16-26) living with William Jr. so that may be one of them. There are also 2 males 26-45 living with William Jr. that have not been identified.

1823 Artimissia (Wheeler) Stephens is born. This date is based on the 1850 census record.
1830 Census:

William Sr. is still living in southern Illinois (census here) with 2 males 10-15 (Robert would be 14, others have reported the second to be Abner Peirce Wheeler), 1 male 15-20 (some have said this is the oldest son from the second marriage, George Washington Wheeler), and one male 60-70 (William, Sr.). He shows 1 female 10-15 (Artimissia should only be about 7 now so who is this? Is this a 'census error' and this is actually Artimissia?), 1 female 20-30 (Lucy), and 1 female 40-50 (Margaret).

We now have two unidentified males (George and Abner?) and the one 10-15 female or is this Artimissia?

8 Sep 1830 William Sr. dies in Hamilton Co., IL. This information is from the Probate record. I have a copy of this and will be adding it soon. The probate shows the executor of his estate is his son, Henry.
   

 

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