Jason Wheeler is one of the brick walls that is driving me crazy. Most trees out there give a definite date of birth for him, of October 4, 1765, and an approximate death date of 1843, supposedly in Marion County, Indiana. I have no reason to dispute those dates except that I can't find documentation for them. My hope is that the birth date came from a family Bible somewhere, and that someone seeing this will contact me with more information.
So the only real thing I have to go on is his birthdate, and the fact that the 1850 census shows his widow, Patience, or Palina possibly, as having been born in Vermont. So the 1791 census (called the 1790 census on Ancestry, but it was taken a year later than the rest of the country) shows a Jason Wheeler in Lunenburgh, Orange County, Vermont. This is the only Jason Wheeler in the entire 1790 census, so I'm going to assume this is our guy. I have bits and pieces through land records and census records of the rest of his life. He and Timothy Wheeler (a possible brother, possibly named for Timothy Nash) went to Chenango County, New York and then Jason moved on to Clermont County, Ohio, before the final move to Marion County, Indiana. The dates and time frame aren't really part of this discussion, because I want to focus on the early years of Jason Wheeler's life-in fact, his earliest years.
Specifically, I would like to know who his parents were. Every tree that ventures a guess seems to think his father is Joseph Wheeler, from Smyrna, Cobb County, Georgia. If someone has proof of this I sure would be pleased to see it, but on the face of it this doesn't seem likely. Going from Georgia to New York (where Joseph supposedly died) is not a usual migration path, and none of Jason's known children are named Joseph.
Let's leave that name alone for a while and apply some of the thought processes that family historians rely on. We know that family tended to stay together, so let's look at the other Wheelers in Orange County, Vermont in 1791. There are quite a few, but the one closest geographically is George, who is in Guildhall, which is basically right over the line from Lunenburgh. In fact, the two men probably thought they were living in the same town, until a 1786 survey showed that the border was not where the towns thought they were. George Wheeler's name is on some petitions in 1786 and 1788, and Jason's name joins his in 1788. George's 1791 census shows that he still has quite a large family, with a total of 10 people in the household. As a further note, Lunenburgh and Guildhall were each very small communities, with only 16 heads of households listed in each town in that year. George and Jason are the only two Wheelers here.
The only record I've found for a child for George is George Junior, who was born in 1773. That doesn't mean that this was the only child the family had, though. I've found that George first went to the area that became Guildhall in 1764, as one of a small group of people that also included Timothy Nash and David Page. These men settled in the area, with George pitching a tent on the south side of Fiske's pond (which I've not yet located on a map; it could be drained by now). There is a reference to the Wheeler family being there in the early years but it's possible that at least for the first year or two that the family joined George only for the warmer months.
So who was George Wheeler? Well, the record for George Junior's birth shows his parents as George and Experience Wheeler. George Wheeler and Experience Nash (she seems to be the daughter of the Timothy Nash mentioned above, and Experience Kellogg) were married in Shutesbury, Massachusetts on March 17, 1764. Jason was born about 19 months later. If we count back nine months from October 4, 1765 we arrive at early January, 1765, a time when it would make sense for the couple to have been together, if George went back to Shutesbury that first winter. It's an "if", but it may be a reasonable "if". And if Jason was born in Vermont in early fall, it makes sense that his birth records would either be non-existent due to the pioneer experience, have been lost, or are somewhere in the archives of either New York or New Hampshire, each of which was claiming this land at the time. There are no further records for George Wheeler in Shutesbury, so he must have gone someplace.
George served in the Revolutionary War under a New Hampshire group, in Captain Bedell's company, and again in 1782 in a group credited to Vermont. I haven't done a lot of digging on the war story because I'm still trying to piece together a timeline and figure out how much sense this idea makes.
George is in Lunenburgh, now Essex County, in the 1800 census. He is about the age of 45, so born earlier than 1755, and still has 5 people living with him, plus a woman over 45 who is presumably his wife, Experience. After that, I can no longer locate a likely suspect to be George. He may have died between 1800 and 1810, or he may be living in a child's home, but since we don't know the children to check that is hard to determine at this point. Jason, meanwhile has moved on to Frankfort, Herkimer, New York in 1800 (again, he's the only Jason I can find in the 1800 census). He is apparently married (best guess for marriage date is 1788 or so) and has six children living in the household. One of these children is a son named George, born in 1799.
I have no smoking gun here. I haven't found a will for George, or estate papers, land records or pension records. I don't know what happened to him. I have geographic location, opportunity, and names (some of Jason's children used the name George, also, which may be for George Wheeler, or could be for George Washington) This is more than I can find for the supposed Joseph.
What do my genealogy friends think? Are George and Experience strong possibilities for Jason's parents? Where else can I look? I'd sure love to add these names to the Beeks family tree, and start researching George and Experience! Please email me: happygenealogydancingATgmailDOTcom, or leave a comment!
Here's Jason's line of descent:
Jason Wheeler-Patience
Lucinda Wheeler-John Simpson Aldridge Jr.
Darlington Aldridge-Leah Folsom
Harvey Aldridge-Margaret Catherine Dunham
Cleo Aldridge-Wilbur Beeks
Mary Margaret Beeks-Cleveland Harshbarger
Their descendants
Showing posts with label Jason Wheeler. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Jason Wheeler. Show all posts
Tuesday, May 2, 2017
Friday, October 9, 2015
Holbrook and Beeks lines and Ethan Allen
What in the world do Ethan Allen, Libbeus Stannard (Holbrook line), Timothy Martin (Beeks line) and Jason Wheeler (Beeks line) all have in common? Well, there is a known connection between Ethan Allen and Libbeus Stannard, because Libbeus served under Ethan Allen in 1776 as one of the Green Mountain Boys.
I am currently reading Ethan Allen; His Life and Times by Willard Sterne Randall and I am learning much that may be of interest in tracking down Timothy Martin and Jason Wheeler. Both these men were born in New York, but as it turns out, New York claimed what is now Vermont (as did New Hampshire) until 1791, when it became the 14th state in the United States of America. So if we are looking for Jason Wheeler, born in 1765 in New York, it is quite possible that he is the Jason Wheeler in Lunenburgh, Orange County, Vermont in 1790. (I'm not sure the designation is Vermont in 1790, but that's not my problem.) Timothy Martin is listed as having a birthplace of Vermont in one census and New York in another census so I'm thinking it would be wise to look for him in Vermont, too.
Reading and thinking about this book is really getting my genealogy juices going. For instance, it sent me to Fold3 to look once more for Libbeus Stannard's Revolutionary War records, and there they were. He was living at Rupert, Vermont in 1776 when he enlisted in January 1776 and served four months and six days in Captain Gideon Brownson's Company Colonel Seth Warner's Regiment of Green Mountain Boy's and was in Arnold's Expedition to Canada. Gideon Brownson was Ethan Allen's brother-in-law, the brother of his wife Mary Brownson.
I'm not quite that far in reading the book yet, but I know from other reading that Arnold's (Benedict Arnold, when he was an American hero and not yet a traitor) Expedition to Quebec took place in 1775, so I'm not sure yet how Libbeus took part in that expedition. The locations listed on his case file 14619 (pension number) do seem to support the Arnold expedition, as Quebec, Canada, Lake Champlain, Onion River, ,Vermont, Montreal, St. Lawrence, Abraham Plains, Whitehall, Fort Independence and Castleton are all listed. I do hope to find out more, either in this book or in other research, because it appears that our Libbeus may have been a true hero though! Libbeus re-enlisted in July of 1776 and served a three month term with Connecticut troops, which is not surprising. Libbeus was born in Connecticut and there was a natural path of travel, up and down the Connecticut river into Vermont. He later re-enlisted in Vermont in 1781 and served another three or four months, so altogether he had about a year of service.
Besides tracing down the Arnold expedition story for Libbeus, I need to look for possible military records for Jason Wheeler, either in New York or Vermont, and possibly in the War of 1812 rather than the Revolutionary War. I also need to look for men who may be Timothy Martin's father, in each of the states and each of the wars (more likely that Mr. unknown Martin would have served in the war of 1812.) For that matter, there may be a Ilberry or Tilbury who would be a clue to Hannah Tilberry Martin.
Finally, I need to finish reading this book, to see what else I can learn that could be of interest in tracing down Jason and Timothy. I expect more surprises and insights that could give me some clues, but just as importantly, I expect to learn more about this part of American history. The author quite passionately believes that Ethan Allen was a hero, and he is not at all shy about explaining how the New England people were mistreated by the New York governors and elite and by New Hampshire's governors, who were equally greedy. Who knew?
As always, if someone knows more about Timothy Martin or Jason Wheeler, or has more tidbits about Libbeus Stannard, I'd love to hear from you. Meanwhile, Ethan Allen is calling me!
I am currently reading Ethan Allen; His Life and Times by Willard Sterne Randall and I am learning much that may be of interest in tracking down Timothy Martin and Jason Wheeler. Both these men were born in New York, but as it turns out, New York claimed what is now Vermont (as did New Hampshire) until 1791, when it became the 14th state in the United States of America. So if we are looking for Jason Wheeler, born in 1765 in New York, it is quite possible that he is the Jason Wheeler in Lunenburgh, Orange County, Vermont in 1790. (I'm not sure the designation is Vermont in 1790, but that's not my problem.) Timothy Martin is listed as having a birthplace of Vermont in one census and New York in another census so I'm thinking it would be wise to look for him in Vermont, too.
Reading and thinking about this book is really getting my genealogy juices going. For instance, it sent me to Fold3 to look once more for Libbeus Stannard's Revolutionary War records, and there they were. He was living at Rupert, Vermont in 1776 when he enlisted in January 1776 and served four months and six days in Captain Gideon Brownson's Company Colonel Seth Warner's Regiment of Green Mountain Boy's and was in Arnold's Expedition to Canada. Gideon Brownson was Ethan Allen's brother-in-law, the brother of his wife Mary Brownson.
I'm not quite that far in reading the book yet, but I know from other reading that Arnold's (Benedict Arnold, when he was an American hero and not yet a traitor) Expedition to Quebec took place in 1775, so I'm not sure yet how Libbeus took part in that expedition. The locations listed on his case file 14619 (pension number) do seem to support the Arnold expedition, as Quebec, Canada, Lake Champlain, Onion River, ,Vermont, Montreal, St. Lawrence, Abraham Plains, Whitehall, Fort Independence and Castleton are all listed. I do hope to find out more, either in this book or in other research, because it appears that our Libbeus may have been a true hero though! Libbeus re-enlisted in July of 1776 and served a three month term with Connecticut troops, which is not surprising. Libbeus was born in Connecticut and there was a natural path of travel, up and down the Connecticut river into Vermont. He later re-enlisted in Vermont in 1781 and served another three or four months, so altogether he had about a year of service.
Besides tracing down the Arnold expedition story for Libbeus, I need to look for possible military records for Jason Wheeler, either in New York or Vermont, and possibly in the War of 1812 rather than the Revolutionary War. I also need to look for men who may be Timothy Martin's father, in each of the states and each of the wars (more likely that Mr. unknown Martin would have served in the war of 1812.) For that matter, there may be a Ilberry or Tilbury who would be a clue to Hannah Tilberry Martin.
Finally, I need to finish reading this book, to see what else I can learn that could be of interest in tracing down Jason and Timothy. I expect more surprises and insights that could give me some clues, but just as importantly, I expect to learn more about this part of American history. The author quite passionately believes that Ethan Allen was a hero, and he is not at all shy about explaining how the New England people were mistreated by the New York governors and elite and by New Hampshire's governors, who were equally greedy. Who knew?
As always, if someone knows more about Timothy Martin or Jason Wheeler, or has more tidbits about Libbeus Stannard, I'd love to hear from you. Meanwhile, Ethan Allen is calling me!
Friday, April 25, 2014
Harshbarger and Beeks lines: Actively pursuing (AKA brick walls)
OK, I'll admit it. These two lines have fairly robust family trees. A lot is known about some ancestors in these lines, and a little is known about a lot more. A genealogist working 30 years ago would have been thrilled to have such a full family tree. But it's not 30 years ago, and I'm not a genealogist. I'm just trying to find the story of my husband's ancestors, so I can pass it on to our children and grandchildren. And these folks I've been actively pursuing frustrate me!
Here are the "Disturbing Dozen" of missing ancestors in the Harshbarger and Beeks lines. These are all third or fourth great grandparents to my husband, which in genealogy terms is not so very long ago. The first six are in the Harshbarger lines and the last six are in the Beeks line. I am posting them here in the hopes that someone will stumble across one of these names and be able to offer some help, to tell me where I'm wrong or give me ideas about where to look for records.
Henry Cook: born Berks County, Pennsylvania January 30, 1794. Died Whitley County, Indiana, 1861. He also lived in Stark County, Ohio for possibly about 25 years. He had 9 children living at the time of his death, and two young sons named John had died earlier in the early 1820s. His birth name was possibly Koch. His wife was Catherine Whetstone, see next.
Catherine Whetstone was born December 27, 1799 in Berks County, Pa and she died August 19, 1887 in Whitley County, Indiana. That is what is known about her, except for the details in the above paragraph. Her name may have originally been Wetstein, or another variant because this name is spelled in all sorts of interesting ways.
Joseph Withers was born about 1804 in Pennsylvania. His trade was a shoemaker. He is found in Morris Township, Knox County, Ohio in 1840 and in 1850 in Marion County, Iowa. Then he disappears, as far as I have learned. Some of his family ended up in Whitley County, Indiana, with oldest son John being there as early as 1857. He was married to Mary Gearhart in 1832 in Carlisle, Cumberland County, Pa. He and Mary were the parents of at least 8 children.
Mary Gearhart was born about 1812 in Pennsylvania. I know nothing more about her at this point, other than the information shown above. Her name was probably Gerhard, a generation or two before Gearhart.
Barbara N Long was born in 1826, possibly in Clermont or Brown County, Ohio. I am not sure about that information because it doesn't really make sense as to how she married in 1844 to Benjamin Buchtel in Summit County, Ohio. She moved with Benjamin to Whitley County, Indiana, and after his death married her son-in-law's father, Daniel Kemery. I have not found her death record, so I don't know whether she died in Whitley County or perhaps went to live with one of her children after Daniel's death in 1877 (if she was still living then).
Ann Catherine Wilson was born about 1768 in Virginia, and married Caleb Bennett November 8, 1785 in what is now Wetzel County, West Virginia. She and Caleb had at least 6 children. Caleb died in Scioto County, Ohio on September 23, 1851, but I don't know when Ann died.
On to the Beeks line:
Polly Carter was born about 1805 in Virginia and died March 12, 1880 in Largo, Wabash County, Indiana. She married John Beeks in 1830 in Greene County, Ohio. It appears that they had at least three children, although I don't know of genealogical proof for Casey Beeks. Polly may have been a nickname for Mary.
Jackson Wise is one I am truly actively pursuing at the moment. I think I know who his parents are but I haven't yet seen the records. I've written about him recently, so will not repeat it here, except to say he was born December 27, 1817 in Ohio and died in 1893 in Wabash County, Indiana.
"Possibly Eva" is the wife of Philip Serfass, and that is as much as I know about her right now. Philip was born in 1782 in Northampton County, Pennsylvania. They probably had a large family, if they lived, but I only know of Mary. At one point, the Serfass family were of the Moravian faith, but I don't know whether that applies to this generation or not. I would expect to find that she was of German heritage, if I could find a record of her.
Jeremiah Folsom I have also already written of. He was married to Sally Lock in 1815, and was born about 1795 and died before 1835 probably in Dearborn County, Ohio. His children's guardian was Austin Clark.
Jason Wheeler was born October 4, 1765, possibly in New York, and died about 1843, probably in Lawrence Township, Marion County, Indiana. He was in Herkimer County, New York, in 1800 and Chenango County, New York in 1810, before moving to Clermont County, Ohio with much of his family. He was married to Patience.
Patience, possibly Tracy was born about 1768. The 1850 census can be read either Virginia or Vermont as her birth place. I lean toward Vermont but am keeping my mind open on that subject. She died after 1850 in Lawrence Township, Marion County, Indiana. Other then her marriage to Jason Wheeler and the fact that they had 12 children, that's what I know about Patience.
So you can see that even though these trees are robust, they are certainly not "completed". I need to know more about each of the 12 persons noted above, especially who their parents are. As usual, I'd be delighted to hear from anyone who has any knowledge of any of these people, even if it's just to say "That's all I know, too."
Updated 10/21/2015 correcting birth date for Catherine Whetstone. I am also wondering if perhaps her first name might have been something like Maria or Anna or ?
Here are the "Disturbing Dozen" of missing ancestors in the Harshbarger and Beeks lines. These are all third or fourth great grandparents to my husband, which in genealogy terms is not so very long ago. The first six are in the Harshbarger lines and the last six are in the Beeks line. I am posting them here in the hopes that someone will stumble across one of these names and be able to offer some help, to tell me where I'm wrong or give me ideas about where to look for records.
Henry Cook: born Berks County, Pennsylvania January 30, 1794. Died Whitley County, Indiana, 1861. He also lived in Stark County, Ohio for possibly about 25 years. He had 9 children living at the time of his death, and two young sons named John had died earlier in the early 1820s. His birth name was possibly Koch. His wife was Catherine Whetstone, see next.
Catherine Whetstone was born December 27, 1799 in Berks County, Pa and she died August 19, 1887 in Whitley County, Indiana. That is what is known about her, except for the details in the above paragraph. Her name may have originally been Wetstein, or another variant because this name is spelled in all sorts of interesting ways.
Joseph Withers was born about 1804 in Pennsylvania. His trade was a shoemaker. He is found in Morris Township, Knox County, Ohio in 1840 and in 1850 in Marion County, Iowa. Then he disappears, as far as I have learned. Some of his family ended up in Whitley County, Indiana, with oldest son John being there as early as 1857. He was married to Mary Gearhart in 1832 in Carlisle, Cumberland County, Pa. He and Mary were the parents of at least 8 children.
Mary Gearhart was born about 1812 in Pennsylvania. I know nothing more about her at this point, other than the information shown above. Her name was probably Gerhard, a generation or two before Gearhart.
Barbara N Long was born in 1826, possibly in Clermont or Brown County, Ohio. I am not sure about that information because it doesn't really make sense as to how she married in 1844 to Benjamin Buchtel in Summit County, Ohio. She moved with Benjamin to Whitley County, Indiana, and after his death married her son-in-law's father, Daniel Kemery. I have not found her death record, so I don't know whether she died in Whitley County or perhaps went to live with one of her children after Daniel's death in 1877 (if she was still living then).
Ann Catherine Wilson was born about 1768 in Virginia, and married Caleb Bennett November 8, 1785 in what is now Wetzel County, West Virginia. She and Caleb had at least 6 children. Caleb died in Scioto County, Ohio on September 23, 1851, but I don't know when Ann died.
On to the Beeks line:
Polly Carter was born about 1805 in Virginia and died March 12, 1880 in Largo, Wabash County, Indiana. She married John Beeks in 1830 in Greene County, Ohio. It appears that they had at least three children, although I don't know of genealogical proof for Casey Beeks. Polly may have been a nickname for Mary.
Jackson Wise is one I am truly actively pursuing at the moment. I think I know who his parents are but I haven't yet seen the records. I've written about him recently, so will not repeat it here, except to say he was born December 27, 1817 in Ohio and died in 1893 in Wabash County, Indiana.
"Possibly Eva" is the wife of Philip Serfass, and that is as much as I know about her right now. Philip was born in 1782 in Northampton County, Pennsylvania. They probably had a large family, if they lived, but I only know of Mary. At one point, the Serfass family were of the Moravian faith, but I don't know whether that applies to this generation or not. I would expect to find that she was of German heritage, if I could find a record of her.
Jeremiah Folsom I have also already written of. He was married to Sally Lock in 1815, and was born about 1795 and died before 1835 probably in Dearborn County, Ohio. His children's guardian was Austin Clark.
Jason Wheeler was born October 4, 1765, possibly in New York, and died about 1843, probably in Lawrence Township, Marion County, Indiana. He was in Herkimer County, New York, in 1800 and Chenango County, New York in 1810, before moving to Clermont County, Ohio with much of his family. He was married to Patience.
Patience, possibly Tracy was born about 1768. The 1850 census can be read either Virginia or Vermont as her birth place. I lean toward Vermont but am keeping my mind open on that subject. She died after 1850 in Lawrence Township, Marion County, Indiana. Other then her marriage to Jason Wheeler and the fact that they had 12 children, that's what I know about Patience.
So you can see that even though these trees are robust, they are certainly not "completed". I need to know more about each of the 12 persons noted above, especially who their parents are. As usual, I'd be delighted to hear from anyone who has any knowledge of any of these people, even if it's just to say "That's all I know, too."
Updated 10/21/2015 correcting birth date for Catherine Whetstone. I am also wondering if perhaps her first name might have been something like Maria or Anna or ?
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