Person talk:Ruth Wheeler (1)

Wrong birthdate? [16 November 2009]

Currently the birth date is shown to be 23 FEB 1641/42 in Concord, the source cited being Source:Wheeler, Albert Gallatin. Genealogical and Encyclopedic History of the Wheeler Family in America.

In actuality, that source says she was born in England, with no date specified.

Meanwhile, Source:Concord, Middlesex, Massachusetts, United States. Births, Marriages, and Deaths, 1635-1850, p. 3, shows Ruth the daughter of Obadiah Wheeler was borne 23 . (2.) 1642. Firstly, this is clearly a different Ruth Wheeler (although it appears to be the source of the above date), and secondly, the date has clearly been mangled in transcription as it should be 23 Apr 1642.

Needless to say, no birth of Ruth, daughter of George, is recorded in Concord, or in the Wheeler entries from the Cranfield parish registers published in Source:The American Genealogist, volume 27.

We know George Wheeler had a daughter Ruth, because Ruth Hartwell is named in his will. Samuel Hartwell's birth is recorded in 1645, so there is reason to question Ruth's birth in England, since it would require Ruth to be more than five years older than Samuel (George Wheeler's daughter Sarah was born in Concord in 1640, so he must have emigrated before that date). A marriage in 1665 argues for a birth sometime before 1647 in order for Ruth to be of legal age. In his will George lists his daughters in the order Elizabeth, Sarah, Ruth, & Hannah, hinting Ruth was born after Sarah in 1640, but before Hannah. But that does not help much, since we don't really know when Hannah was born either. Hannah did not marry until 1672 or 1673, and could have been born as late as 1655. So there is nothing uncomfortable and ill-fitting about this assumption.

In any event, no source supports the above date for Ruth, and I am removing it. --Jrich 10:38, 16 November 2009 (EST)