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- H. Abner WheelerAbt 1786 - 1855
- W. Mary Reed (add)
m. 20 Apr 1820
Facts and Events
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 Wheeler, Albert Gallatin. The Genealogical and Encyclopedic History of the Wheeler family in America. (American College of Genealogy , 1914)
p. 50.
Abner Wheeler [#535], s/o Abner Wheeler [#311] and Mary Ross, m. (1) Bedford 1 Jun 1817 Anna Davis, m. (2) Bedford 20 Apr 1820 Mary Reed.
- ↑ Massachusetts, United States. Massachusetts Vital Records, 1841–1910. (New England Historic and Genealogical Society)
Vol. 94, p. 30.
No.: 9
Date of Death: May 7th [1855]
Name: Abner Wheeler
Age: 70 [birth about 1785]
Place of Death: Bedford
Cause: Old age
Condition: Widower
Occupation: Farmer
Place of Birth: Bedford
Parents: Abner & Rhuhanah Wheeler
- ↑ Massachusetts. Probate Court (Middlesex County). Probate records, 1648-1924. (Salt Lake City, Utah: Filmed by the Genealogical Society of Utah, 1964-1967)
File 44315: Abner Wheeler 1855.
Will of "Abner Wheeler of Bedford ... Yeoman, being of the age of sixty three years", dated 4 Sep 1850, proved 12 Jun 1855, bequeaths "farm on which I now live ... which I purchased at different times of my father, of Col. Winn and of others" to Nauman Holbrook of said Bedford ... on the condition nevertheless, that the said Holbrook ... shall take care, provide for and maintain me in sickness and health, so long as I live and until my deceased, without charge. James McKee of Billerica to be executor.
15 May 1855: heirs cited to appear.
- Both the marriages attributed to Abner by History of the Wheeler Family are listed in the Bedford VRs, but there are reasons to doubt whether they apply to this Abner Wheeler. First, NEHGR,p. 62:71, in the records of Rev. Samuel Stearns, shows the death 7 Mar 1817 of "Mrs Wheeler wife of Abner Wheeler aged about 54". This is clearly Abner's mother, wife of Abner Sr., and suggests the marriage 1 Jun 1817, or the marriage 20 Apr 1820, or even both, could possibly be the widowed father remarrying. Since Wheeler's identification of the second wife (i.e., as d/o Reuben and Mary Reed, b. 1793, d. 1815) is wrong, we do not know how old the Mary Reed of the 1820 marriage was, and cannot assess the likeliness that this marriage applied to father, or to son. Further, there are other, contemporaneous Abner Wheelers, found in different towns in Middlesex county. So one or both marriages may or may not belong to Abner Jr.
Further, a death record found in Bedford VRs says that Abner's wife d. 1847, aged 44, so born 1803. The full record, found in Source:Massachusetts, United States. Vital Records, 1841–1910, Vol. 33, p. 3, line 7, gives her name as Lydia, and under parents, simply states "Wife of Abner Wheeler". Further, this corresponds with the remark found in Wheeler that, "About the year 1847 he gave his property to Namah Holbroke for taking care of him through life," very likely an arrangement precipitated by the death of his wife. This is further suggested by the lack of mention of a widow in his will or probate. No such marriage between Abner Wheeler and some Lydia is found in the records, but if the younger Abner did participate in either the 1817 or 1820 marriage, he would appear to have remarried subsequently to Lydia, who d. 1847.
In summary, History of the Wheeler Family appears to have no actual insight into this man (e.g., as you might get from corresponding with a distant family member), being apparently unaware of several easily-known facts, and hence there is no reason to consider his arrangement of marriages as anything more than fairly uninformed speculation.
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