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Facts and Events
References
- ↑ Concord, Middlesex, Massachusetts, United States. Births, Marriages, and Deaths, 1635-1850. (Boston: Beacon Press, 1891)
114.
Hannah ye Daughter of Jon'n Wheeler and Sarah his wife was born April ye 29 : 1725.
- Source:Wheeler Families of Old Concord, Massachusetts says Hannah m. Jabez Russell. No evidence is given, but the marriage is specified in both the website and original manuscript. This marriage occurs in Bedford 1751, and the intention (see Source:NEHGR, p. 63:73) describes both participants as "of Bedford" (in Middlesex County). Hannah's sister Olive had married Nathaniel Merriam in Bedford and was living there at the time (although, unlike Olive Meriam, the death record of Hannah Russell in Bedford doesn't have an age at death to confirm her as Hannah Wheeler). The records of Sutton (in Worcester County), where Hannah's parents lived, show two additional marriages of a Hannah Wheeler in the same timeframe: 1) 1748 to Joseph Balcom of Douglass, 2) 1749 to Jonathan Elliot.
Source:Benedict, William Addison. History of the Town of Sutton, Massachusetts, from 1704 to 1876 say Jonathan and Hannah Elliot named their first child Jonathan but that doesn't tell us anything since it is also the husband's name. No child named Sarah out of 12 children from 1750-1777. Joseph and Hannah Balcom of Douglas had no children named Jonathan or Sarah out of 7 children from 1750-1764. Jabez and Hannah Russell of Bedford had a daughter Sarah, but no Jonathan out of 10 children 1752-1776. I have found no reference to any probate documents for Hannah's father, which, of course, would be very useful in straightening this out.
Comments about each candidate marriage:
* Jonathan Elliot acts as guardian for the children of Hannah's sister Anne, suggesting some relationship to this family. However, his baptism in 1730 suggests he is too young, being about 5 years younger than Hannah, an idea that is further supported by the birth of child in 1777 when Hannah would have been 52.
* Jabez Russell is also younger than Hannah, by 3 years. However, many websites suggest he married a different Hannah Wheeler, a younger one, which makes sense since their last child was born in 1776 when this Hannah would have been 51. While the marriage in Bedford can be rationalized, it adds doubts. The only real reason to consider Jabez is on the say-so of Source:Wheeler Families of Old Concord, Massachusetts, and they didn't explain why.
* Joseph Balcom's birth 1723 in Mendon matches well with a Hannah b. 1725, and the number and dates of children works well with Hannah not marrying until age 25. The naming of a daughter Milly, possibly after Hannah's sister Millicent is a weak circumstantial plus. In most respects, this choice seems like the most likely match.
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