Allen line: Moses Wheeler 1598-1698, Immigrant

It's a joy to write these blog posts.  I never write one entirely out of what I think I know when I sit down to write a post.  A little digging turns up more information, or draws into question what I think I know, and always leaves me with more questions.  Sometimes, I am so fortunate as to find one or more stories that tell me a little bit about the person.  These anecdotes can't be proven, but I love them because even if not strictly true, they do give us insights into the character of the man or woman.  Such is the case with Moses Wheeler.

Moses Wheeler is believed to have been born in Kent, England in 1598, the son of Dominick and Mercy Jelly Wheeler.  As far as I know, the documentation for this has not been found, just as the documentation for his journey to America and his marriage has not been found.  His early life is a mystery.  It is believed that he came to America in 1638 and soon was in New Haven, Connecticut, but records of his immigration are missing.  It is also believed that he married Miriam Hawley, sister of Joseph Hawley, but when or where are still questions.  If, as many trees state, he married her in Connecticut than it may well be that he had earlier been married.  Moses and Miriam's first child was born August 1, 1642, when Moses would have been 46 years old.  This leaves plenty of time for him to have had a family in England, be widowed and come to America to start a new life.  He must also have had strong religious convictions, because New Haven was one of the strictest Puritan settlements in New England.  He may have come to New Haven so that he could follow his trade, which was a shipwright.   He was on the Planters list in 1641, receiving 12 1/2 acres in the first division and 14 acres in the second division of land.  At the time of the first division, there were just two people in the family, so the family had not yet been started.

I love the story that in New Haven, Moses returned from a trip on Sunday.  In his joy at seeing his family again, he kissed his wife and children, in public, on the Sabbath.  New Haven had strict "blue laws" and he was expelled from the colony for this offense.  That's the story.  I question whether it happened exactly that way, and whether this was a first offense.  Generally a person who ran up against the blue law was given a chance to confess and repent, and be punished by time in the stocks or/and a public whipping.  Perhaps Moses didn't confess and repent, or perhaps he had other minor marks on his record, thus incurring the harsh punishment of being expelled.  From this story, I take the germ of truth that he must have loved his family, and that perhaps he was a bit of a rebel.

Another story about Moses is that one day when Moses was in the cellar, three Indians with hatchets "appeared in the doorway.  Moses said something to the effect of "let's have a drink" and picked up a barrel (empty, or nearly so) of cider and drank directly from the bunghole.  The visitors apparently thought it was full, and decided that Moses was too strong for the three of them.  I'm not sure what to make of this story, since giving spirits to the Indians was forbidden.  Perhaps cider, no matter how "hard" it was, was permissible.  My takeaway from this story is that Moses was a strong man and muscular, in order to lift even an empty barrel to his shoulder, and that he may have been known to his visitors.

When the family was expelled, they moved southwest on the coast to Stratford, which was founded in 1639, again by Puritans, and purchased land from the Indians.  It is not known when the Wheelers arrived but in 1648 he was granted rights to be the ferryman on the Stratford river.  This was a hard job, physically, but when he had no passengers to ferry he could farm and he could continue building ships, so there was an opportunity to "get ahead" financially.  Ferrying probably meant rowing passengers across the river, which could be quite a challenge, with floods and ice and tidal currents to make the job more difficult.  He was the ferryman from 1648 to 1690, and when he "retired" at the age of 92, he passed his duties on to his son Samuel. 

Moses and Miriam had 7 known children, although some lists include fewer.  Elizabeth was the first born, in 1642, and then they had Miriam, Samuel, Moses, Mary, Joanna and Susanna, in 1659.  Apparently he returned to England in 1665 for just a short time.  Was this business, or was he called home to settle an estate, or was there another reason for the trip?  It would be fascinating to know more about this trip. 

Moses is stated to have been an extensive land holder and one of the leading influential men of Stratford Township.  This means he must have stayed out of trouble with the church authorities.  His sister, Jane, had married Rev. Adam Blakeman who was one of the founders of Stratford and its minister for many years, so if Moses did have any more improprieties such as the kissing episode, he may have had a religious counselor to help him conform. 

Moses Wheeler's headstone in the Old Congregational Burying Ground at Stratford is partially buried, but still clearly legible is "Moses Wheler  Aged 100 Dyed Jan 15,1698"  What a life he had, long and loving and virtuous, hardworking and strong.  I'm so glad I got to know him a little bit by writing this post!


The line of descent is:

Moses Wheeler-Miriam Hawley
Elizabeth Wheeler-Jacob Walker
Elizabeth Walker-Luke Hitchcock
Ruth Hitchcock-Jonathan Church
Ruth Church-Stephen Noble
Ruth Noble-Martin Root
Ruth Root-Samuel Falley
Clarissa Falley-John Havens Starr
Harriet Starr-John Wilson Knott
Edith Knott-Edward Allen
Richard Allen-Gladys Holbrook
Their descendents

Allen line: Thomas Lamb, another immigrant ancestor

Thomas Lamb (Lambe) is another of our immigrant ancestors.  Although much is known about him, there are still some questions, because what would family history be without unanswered questions?  (One answer might be "finished!", but we are not anything close to being there yet.)

Thomas Lamb was born in Barnardiston, Suffolk, England in 1596 to Thomas and Elizabeth Aylett Lamb. He had two brothers, Edward and Samuel.  The next time we hear of our Thomas, he and his wife Elizabeth (possibly the widow Smith who married a Thomas Lambe in Shropshire, England in 1621, but that is still unproven) and at least two sons are in the Winthrop Fleet coming to the New World.  Thomas was a merchant, and also a Puritan, since he came in that fleet.

Thomas Lamb was one of the founders of Roxbury, receiving 18 acres of land there, between the Meeting House and the Stony River. His neighbors included John Johnson and Isaac Heath.  He took the oath of the general court on May 18, 1631 and became a freeman on October 19, 1631.  He was also one of the founders of the first church at Roxbury.

Thomas and Elizabeth had several children after arriving in Roxbury.  John and Thomas had come with them, and Samuel was born about a month after their arrival in the Massachusetts Bay Colony. Their other children were Decline, Abiel, and Benjamin.  Elizabeth died during or just following the birth of Benjamin in 1639, and Thomas married Dorothy Harbittle soon after.  He needed a stepmother for all those children, and Dorothy appears to have been a good one. She also gave Thomas more children. 

It's unclear whether he acted as a merchant at Roxbury, but by 1633 he was opening the first quarry in New England, on the island of Squantom in Boston Harbor. There are additional reports about land acquisitions up until his death on March 28, 1646 of a "grate colde".  I would guess this was pneumonia.  His inventory at the time of his death was 112 pounds, 8 shillings, 8 pence, which didn't include the land he owned.  There was trouble with the estate, and it appears that there were still court proceedings in 1698, trying to prove who owned land that was contested between the Lamb descendents and those of Dorothy Harbittle's second husband, Thomas Hawley. 

I of course would like to know more about Thomas's life in England. How did he become a merchant, or was that designation given to him only in Massachusetts?  With his father dead when Thomas was just three years old, who cared for him and got him started in life?  Was it his mother's family, or a paternal uncle?  And when and how did he become a Puritan? 

Our line of descent is:

Thomas Lamb-Elizabeth
John Lamb-Joanna Chapin
Samuel Lamb-Rebecca Bird
Samuel Lamb-Martha Stebbins
Eunice Lamb-Martin Root
Martin Root Jr-Ruth Noble
Ruth Root-Samuel Falley
Clarissa Falley-John Havens Starr
Harriet Starr-John W Knott
Edith Knott-Edward Allen
Richard Allen-Gladys Holbrook
Their descendents