1639 Thomas Wheeler was among the 44 Milford church members granted the franchise as "free planters" of Milford at the first General Court (town meeting) on November 20, 1639. [1]
1640 John and Samuel, sons of Thomas Wheeler, were baptized on August 16 by Rev. Peter Prudden in Milford, Connecticut. [2] [3]
1640 Joan, wife of Thomas Wheeler, was admitted to the Milford Church on September 27. [4]
1641/42 Nathaniel, son of Thomas Wheeler, was baptized on February 20 by Rev. Peter Prudden in Milford, Connecticut. [5] [6]
1644 [1643/44?] Obadiah, son of Thomas Wheeler was baptized on March 10 in Milford, Connecticut, by Rev. Peter Prudden. [7] [8] [9]
1646 Ephraim, son of Thomas Wheeler was baptized on April 5 in Milford, Connecticut, by Rev. Peter Prudden. [10] [11] [12]
1648 Eleazer, son of Thomas Wheeler, was baptized on April 30 in Milford, Connecticut, by Rev. Peter Prudden. [13] [14] [15]
1649 Eleazer, son of Thomas Wheeler, died on August 10, 1649. [16] [17]
1650 Thomas, son of Thomas Wheeler, was baptized on July 28 in Milford, Connecticut, by Rev. Peter Prudden. [18] [19] [20]
1653 Josiah, son of Thomas Wheeler, was baptized on June 5 in Milford, Connecticut, by Rev. Peter Prudden. [21] [22] [23]
1655 Joseph, son of Thomas Wheeler, was born on November 23 in Milford, Connecticut, [24] [25] and was baptized there on December 2 by Rev. Peter Prudden. [26] [27]
1656/57 Joseph, son of Thomas Wheeler was born on March 13 in Milford, Connecticut. [28] [29]
1672 Thomas Wheeler wrote his will on November 18. He named his eldest son John and John's three eldest daughters, Sarah, Mary, and Elizabeth, his 2nd son Nathaniel and Nathaniel's daughter Esther, sons Ephraim and Joseph, son Thomas; his brother's children, William, Thomas, and Sarah, and his wife Joan. (His sons John and Obadiah Wheeler had land in Stratford 1667, by gift from their father, Thomas of Milford.) [30]
Will Of Thomas Wheeler. The last will & testament of me, Thomas Wheeler of Milford, in ye county of Newhaven in New England in manner & forme as followeth; I the sd Thomas Wheeler being sicke of body, but of sound understanding & memory blessed be God, doe will as followeth:
Imprimis: I doe give to me eldest son John Wheeler, besides ye portion yt I have already given to him, the sume of twenty shillings:
Item, a parcell of meadow lieing on Stratford side in Oronacke meadow be it more or lesse, with three acres of upland lieing on the same side, both of which parcells & the whole of them, with ye respective privilidges belong — unto them, I doe give & bequeath unto my sd son John Wheeler for & dureing his naturall life, & then after his decease, my Will is that his three eldest daughters Sarah, Mary & Elizabeth should have it equally divided amongst them, or the survivors of them & their heyres forever.
It: To my second son Nathanll Wheeler besides what he hath already received, I doe now give him ye sume of twenty shillings, & to his daughter Ester Wheeler fifty shillings.
I doe give & bequeath unto my sons Ephraim Wheeler & Joseph Wheeler the upland & meadow, both in ye upper meadows & fresh meadows, that I brough of Mr. Zackariah Whitman, with ye respective privilidges and appurtenances belonging thereunto to be equally divided between them both for quality & quantity by casting a lot in case they canot satisfieingly agree otherwise: Item, ye meadow & upland I bought of Mrs Joanna Prudden lyeing by or neare to Stratford River, with all the privilidges & appurtenances therunto belonging, to be equally divided between the sd Ephraim & Joseph as abovesd.— Item, I doe give unto them my two home lotts, those I bought of William Roberts, & that I bought of Ens. John Streame now lieing all together to be equally divided betweene them, as abovesd both the land & fenceing according to acres. Item, that parcell of upland yt I bought of John Browne Senior lyeing in Stubby Playne be it more or less, Item, that parcell of meadow lieing on the indyan side, betweene Thomas Welch & Andrew Sanford Senr — Item, another parcell of meadow lieing in ye point next to Lt William Fowler & soe by ye river to ye mouth of a little creeke & soe from thence on a square to the upland on his way Northward.
Another parcell or halfe of it, being ye upland yt lies on ye calves pen hill being yt part of his dividion yt lies on the northwest end or side of ye sd hill, which sd halfe of theirs, is to be yt pt yt lieth next unto Thomas Welch, all which sd parcells of upland & meadow are to be equally divided betweene ye sd Ephraim & Joseph.
I give to each of them a gun & sword & amunition according to law onely Ephraim shall have his choyce:— Item, unto my son Ephraim I give one feather bed, one of the best, Item, one coverlid & in brasse six pounds worth, & in pewter two pounds worth, Item, a payre of foure yeare old stears & one three yeare old heifer & one two yeare old heifer, a payre of new wheels with iron hoops, he procuring of them to be made, & my wife shall pay for them, as alsoe one plow with irons to it & one chayne & iron braces for a horse, And further my Will is that in case he dyes & leaves noe heyres of his owne body then my Will is that the one halfe of his lands shall returne to his brethren: And further my will is, if Joseph Dye before he comes to age to receive his portion wch is at his accomplishing of one & twenty yeares, then my will is that, Ephraim shall have the first refusall of all the land both of upland & meadow, that is now betweene them upon a moderate price & concerning the lands yt I bought of ye sd Mr. Whitman & Mrs. Prudden he shall not pay any more for it then it cost mee. And further my Will is that Ephraim shall have foure hogs of a yeare old & foure Sheepe, Item, My Will is concerning Joseph yt in case he dye after he hath received his portion without any lawful heyre of his owne body, that then ye one halfe of his lands shall returne to his brethren surviveing— Item, my Will is yt my son Joseph shall continue with his mother till he come to ye age of two & twenty yeares; and yt Ephraim & Joseph they are to maintaine the two parcells of fence against Adding playns.
I give unto my son Thomas Wheeler the one halfe of all my lands & meadows that I have not already disposed of, with ye one halfe of the orchard, barnes, garden, yards & well, and concerning my dwelling house, my Will is, that he shall have a part in it yet I doe reserve to my wife, the north end below with the leantoo belonging to it as alsoe her liberty to make use of the hall, cellar, & buttery with ye chamber over the hall with the chimney & oven according to her need & desire, dureing the time of her naturall life, And after her decease my Will is, that the whole accomodations not already willed otherwise shalbe my son Thomas Wheelers, to him & his heyres forever, and in case he dyes & leaves noe lawfull heyre of his owne body, that then my will is, as of his former brethren soe he also shall leave the one halfe of his lands to his brethren remaineing— Item, my Will is, that Thomas shall continue with his mother till he is two & twenty yeares old. Item, I give to my son Thomas ye one halfe of my teame, the whole being two oxen & a horse, the halfe of the cart & wheels plow & plow irons, the halfe of two chaynes & the horse braces: Alsoe my Will is that my sd son Thomas Wheeler shall not receive his portion untill he is two & twenty yeares old, And in case either of my sons dye before they come to age, then his or their portions shalbe divided among the mother & surviveing children equally.
Item: My will is to give unto my son John Wheelers three daughters aforementioned fifty shillings apeice, or to each of them; Item I doe give to my brothers children here, viz: William, Thomas & Sarah ten pounds to be equally divided amongst them.
Item: My will is to give to ye Reverend pastor of ye church Mr. Roger Newton fifty shillings, Item to ye church of Christ in Milford fifty shillings to be distributed to the poore. All which abovesd Legacys, my will is they should be payd by my Executrix within one yeare after my decease.
Item: I give & bequeath unto my deare & loveing wife Joane Wheeler, all the rest of my goods & estate reall & personall whatsoever lyeing in Milford or elsewhere, whom I doe constitute, make & ordaine the sole executrix of this my last will & testament willing & desireing her duely to educate her children in the ways of God & to prepare for their latter ends, And in case my loveing wife shall see it her way againe to dispose of herselfe in marriage that then my Will is, that she shall have power onely to dispose of one hundred pounds of my goods to any, but the rest to my owne children or theirs. And in case my son Thomas Wheeler shall see cause to build & set up a dwelling house either adjoining to this house, or elsewhere for his present personall use to dwell in that then my Will is that my wife shall allow him twenty pounds towards it out of her estate — Item, my will is to entreate and desire my loveing friends Mr. Robert Treat brother Daniell & Samuell Buckingham to be ye overseers of this my last Will and testamt, entreating them to be helpful to my Executrix, to lend their best helpe and counsell as there may be need: And to ye ratification & confirmation thereof, I have this eighteenth of November one thousand six hundred & seventy two sett to my hand & seale.Thomas X Wheeler, marke
(Seal)
published & declared to be my last will & testament in ye presence of us witnessing as well as signed & sealed
Robert Treate, Samll. Buckingham, Daniell Buckingham
1672 Thomas Wheeler died on November 26 in Milford, Connecticut. [31]
1672/73 Joan Wheeler died in January. [32]
1673 The will of Thomas Wheeler waw proved on June 11. [33]
Research Notes:
Jacobus states, [34]
Wheeler Family (Milford)
Wheeler, Thomas. Deputy (Milford) to Conn. Leg., May and Oct. 1670, May 1671.
He was adm. to Milford Church, 9 Aug. 1640, and d. at Milford, 26 Nov. 1672. His wife Jane was adm. 27 Sept. 1640, and buried 11 June 1673. She is called Joan in probate records; no evidence has been seen for the oft-repeated assertion that she was a Bryan.
Nor can we accept Orcutt's statement that the Milford Thomas was son of Thomas, Sr., of Fairfield, despite its acceptance by the compiler of the bulky Wheeler Family in America, for the Milford Thomas was certainly too old a man to permit such identification. The wills of Thomas and of William of Stratford prove that they were brothers, but of their parentage we permit ourselves no guess.
Will 18 Nov. 1672, proved 11 June 1673; eldest son John and John's three eldest daus., Sarah, Mary, Elizabeth; 2d son Nathaniel and his dau. Esther; sons Ephraim and Joseph; son Thomas; my bro.'s children here, viz., William, Thomas, Sarah; wife Joan.
Inv. Of his widow Joan, 23 June 1673.
John and Obadiah Wheeler had land in Stratford 1667, by gift from father, Thomas of Milford. Children, recorded at Milford:
John, b. abt. 1636, bapt. 16 Aug. 1640.
Samuel, b. [say 1639], bapt. 16 Aug. 1640, d. in 1668; Inv. 24 June 1668.
Nathaniel, bapt. 20 Feb. 1641/2; rem. To Newark, N.J.; m. at Milford, 27 June 1665, Esther Botsford, dau. of Henry; had issue.
Obadiah, bapt. 10 Mar. 1643/4, d. at Stratford in 1668; m. Ruth, widow of Thomas Goodwin, dau. of John Rogers, bapt. 5 Feb. 1642/3; she m. (3) 28 July 1669, Ephraim Stiles. Obadiah's will named only wife Ruth and father Wheeler; no issue; the dau. Ruth sometomes attributed to him belonged to his predecessor Goodwin.
Ephraim, bapt. Apr. 1646.
Eleazer, bapt. 30 Apr 1648, d. 10 Aug. 1649.
Thomas, bapt. 28 July 1650.
Josiah, bapt. 5 June 1653, d. y.
Joseph, b. 23 Nov. 1655, bapt. 2 Dec. 1655, d. y.
Joseph, b. 13 Mar 1656/7, rem. To Newark, N. J.; m. at Milford, June 1678, Patience Holbrook; she was dau. of Richard. They had children rec. at Milford: Patience, b. 7 June 1679; Anna, b. 20 Feb. 1680 [1680/1]; Joseph, b. 1 Dec. 1683. Joseph, Jr., m. at Milford, 27 Mar. 1707, Sarah Crane.
Savage states of Thomas Wheeler, [35]
Milford 1639, by w. Joan, wh. join. the ch. 1640, had John; Samuel, both bapt. 16 Aug. of that yr.; Nathaniel; Obadiah, bapt. 10 Mar. 1644; Ephraim, 1646; Eliezer, 1648, d. next yr.; Thomas, 1650; Josiah, a June 1653, d. young; Joseph, b. 23 Nov. 1655, d. soon; and Joseph, again, bapt. 1660; own. much est. in Derby then call. Paugusset or Pawgasuck, and liv. there short time in 1664, but usually resid. at M. was lieut. rep. 1670 and 1, had large est. and d. 26 Nov. 1672; and his wid. d. Jan. 1673. His will made eight days bef. his d. provides for w. Joan, s. John, and his ds. Nathaniel and his d. Esther, wh. phrase may mean no more than w. of N. and s. Ephraim, Thomas, and Joseph. No d. could be nam. and the s. Samuel and Obadiah d. in early manhood. He ment. also, William, Thomas, and Sarah, childr. of his br. William of Stratford.
Thomas Wheeler was Deputy (Milford) to CT Legislature May and Oct. 1670, May 1671. Brother of William Wheeler of Stratford. Resident Milford, CT 1639, removed to Derby, CT 1664
Admitted to the church in Milford 9 Aug 1640. Thomas had lot #34, consisting of 3 acres. [36] [37] [38]
The History of Milford states, [39]
In May, 1637, the Hector sailed from London to Boston, carrying a company gathered by John Davenport and Theophilus Eaton of London. Five weeks later another ship arrived with a group headed by Peter Prudden, a native of Hertfordshire. Among the original Milford settlers known to be of this company were Edmund Tapp, James Prudden, William Fowler, Thomas and Hannah Buckingham, Thomas Welch, Richard Platt, Henry Stonehill, and William East, all from Hertfordshire. The new arrivals stayed in the Massachusetts Bay Colony for almost a year, and were considered such desirable colonists that efforts were made to induce them to settle there permanently.
Davenport and Prudden, however, desired to establish their own colony, and when the potentialities of the region at the mouth of the Quinnipiac River in Connecticut were verified by an expedition made in August, 1637, by Eaton and several others of the Davenport company, they decided that was the place to found their colony. Seven of Eaton's group stayed through the winter to hold the territory for the others. In April, 1638, Peter Prudden and a number of his followers sailed with the Davenport group from Boston, bound for the Quinnipiac.
From April, 1638, to the fall of 1639, the Prudden group was a part of the New Haven Colony. A separate allotment, known as the Hertfordshire section, was granted to them. They cleared the land, built houses, and planted crops. During the summer of 1638 Mr. Prudden preached at Wethersfield, and there attracted a devoted following, many of whom wished to found a new settlement where he would be their pastor. This crystallized the movement to found a separate colony among the Hertfordshire group in New Haven.
Of the original settlers of Milford, Thomas Tapping, Robert Treat, John Sherman, Thomas Tibbals, John Fletcher, George Hubbard, Richard Miles and Andrew Benton were Wethersfield recruits. Zachariah Whitman, Benjamin Fenn, and Thomas Sandford, from Dorchester, Massachusetts, and John Astwood, John Peacocke, Thomas Baker, Jasper Gunn, John Burwell, and Thomas Uffot from Roxbury, joined the Prudden group and went to the mouth of the Wepawaug. The Milford Colony was thus a settlement of Mr. Prudden's followers, recruited from towns in England and NevvEngland where he had preached, and held together by personal devotion to their leader.
…
On February 12, 1639, Edmund Tapp, William Fowler, Benjamin Fenn, Zachariah Whitman, and Alexander Bryan from New Haven, journeyed to the Wepawaug and purchased land from Ansantawae, a sachem of the Paugusset Indians who had a village on the banks of the river.
…
Several months of planning and labor followed the purchase of the Wepawaug land before the settlers took actual possession of their new home. On August 22, 1639, while they were still living in New Haven, those intending to move to Wepawaug met in council in Robert Newman's barn and formed the First Church of Milford.
…
Prolonged discussions had occurred as to whether or not voting and office-holding should be confined to church members. The policy of excluding non-members from civil rights was finally adopted. The first General Court (town meeting), held on November 20, 1639, granted forty-four church members the franchise as "free planters." Following is the list taken from the town records:Zachariah Whitman
Thomas Welsh
Thomas Wheeler
Edmond Tappe
Thomas Buckingham
Richard Miles
Richard Piatt
Thomas Topping
Mr. Peter Prudden
William Fowler
John Astwood
Richard Baldwin
Benjamin Fen
Samuel Coley
John Peacocke
Henry Stonhill
Nathaniel Baldwin
James Prudden
Thomas Baker
George Clarke, Senr.
George Hubburt
Jasper Gunn
John Fletcher
Alex. Bryan
Frances Bolt
Micah Tomkins
John Birdsey
Edmond Harvy
John Lane
William East
Thomas Lawrance
Thomas Samford
Timothy Baldwin
George Clarke, Jr.
John Burwell
Henry Botsford
Joseph Baldwin
Philip Hatly
Nicholas Camp
John Rogers
Thomas Uffott
Nathaniell Briscoe
Thomas Tibballs
John SharmanThe following persons are recorded immediately after, but not as free planters.
Robert Plum
Roger Terrel
Joseph Northrupp
John Baldwin
William Slough
Andrew Benton
William Brookes
Robert Treat
Henry Lyon
[1] Federal Writers' Project, Work Projects Administration, History of Milford Connecticut 1639-1939 (Bridgeport, Connecticut: Braunworth & Co., 1939), 7, [InternetArchive].
[2] Connecticut Vital Records to 1870, Lucius Barnes Barbour Collection, Milford 1640-1850 (New England Historic Genealogical Society, 2011), 171, [AmericanAncestors].
[3] Connecticut Church Records, Milford First Congregational Church, 1639-1926 (Connecticut State Library, 1950), 393, [AncestryImage].
[4] Connecticut Church Records, Milford First Congregational Church, 1639-1926 (Connecticut State Library, 1950), 393, [AncestryImage].
[5] Connecticut Church Records, Milford First Congregational Church, 1639-1926 (Connecticut State Library, 1950), 394, [AncestryImage].
[6] Connecticut Vital Records to 1870, Lucius Barnes Barbour Collection, Milford 1640-1850 (New England Historic Genealogical Society, 2011), 171, [AmericanAncestors].
[7] Milford, CT: Records of the First Church, 1640-1829. Online database with images. (New England Historic Genealogical Society, 2018), 68, (Original manuscript: Baptisms in the First Church of Milford; baptisms and marriages in Milford Second Society Church records., R. Stanton Avery Collection), [AmericanAncestors].
[8] Connecticut Church Records, Milford First Congregational Church, 1639-1926 (Connecticut State Library, 1950), 394, [AncestryImage].
[9] Connecticut Vital Records to 1870, Lucius Barnes Barbour Collection, Milford 1640-1850 (New England Historic Genealogical Society, 2011), 171, [AmericanAncestors].
[10] Milford, CT: Records of the First Church, 1640-1829. Online database with images. (New England Historic Genealogical Society, 2018), 68, (Original manuscript: Baptisms in the First Church of Milford; baptisms and marriages in Milford Second Society Church records., R. Stanton Avery Collection), [AmericanAncestors].
[11] Connecticut Church Records, Milford First Congregational Church, 1639-1926 (Connecticut State Library, 1950), 393, [AncestryImage].
[12] Connecticut Vital Records to 1870, Lucius Barnes Barbour Collection, Milford 1640-1850 (New England Historic Genealogical Society, 2011), 171, [AmericanAncestors].
[13] Milford, CT: Records of the First Church, 1640-1829. Online database with images. (New England Historic Genealogical Society, 2018), 68, (Original manuscript: Baptisms in the First Church of Milford; baptisms and marriages in Milford Second Society Church records., R. Stanton Avery Collection), [AmericanAncestors].
[14] Connecticut Church Records, Milford First Congregational Church, 1639-1926 (Connecticut State Library, 1950), 392, [AncestryImage].
[15] Connecticut Vital Records to 1870, Lucius Barnes Barbour Collection, Milford 1640-1850 (New England Historic Genealogical Society, 2011), 171, [AmericanAncestors].
[16] Milford, CT: Records of the First Church, 1640-1829. Online database with images. (New England Historic Genealogical Society, 2018), 68, (Original manuscript: Baptisms in the First Church of Milford; baptisms and marriages in Milford Second Society Church records., R. Stanton Avery Collection), [AmericanAncestors].
[17] Connecticut Church Records, Milford First Congregational Church, 1639-1926 (Connecticut State Library, 1950), 392, [AncestryImage].
[18] Milford, CT: Records of the First Church, 1640-1829. Online database with images. (New England Historic Genealogical Society, 2018), 68, (Original manuscript: Baptisms in the First Church of Milford; baptisms and marriages in Milford Second Society Church records., R. Stanton Avery Collection), [AmericanAncestors].
[19] Connecticut Church Records, Milford First Congregational Church, 1639-1926 (Connecticut State Library, 1950), 394, [AncestryImage].
[20] Connecticut Vital Records to 1870, Lucius Barnes Barbour Collection, Milford 1640-1850 (New England Historic Genealogical Society, 2011), 171, [AmericanAncestors].
[21] Milford, CT: Records of the First Church, 1640-1829. Online database with images. (New England Historic Genealogical Society, 2018), 68, (Original manuscript: Baptisms in the First Church of Milford; baptisms and marriages in Milford Second Society Church records., R. Stanton Avery Collection), [AmericanAncestors].
[22] Connecticut Church Records, Milford First Congregational Church, 1639-1926 (Connecticut State Library, 1950), 393, [AncestryImage].
[23] Connecticut Vital Records to 1870, Lucius Barnes Barbour Collection, Milford 1640-1850 (New England Historic Genealogical Society, 2011), 171, [AmericanAncestors].
[24] Connecticut Vital Records to 1870, Lucius Barnes Barbour Collection, Milford 1640-1850 (New England Historic Genealogical Society, 2011), 171, [AmericanAncestors].
[25] "Milford (Conn.) Vital Records," The American Genealogist 9 (1932-33), 100-120 and 159-173, at 101, [AmericanAncestors].
[26] Connecticut Church Records, Milford First Congregational Church, 1639-1926 (Connecticut State Library, 1950), 393, [AncestryImage].
[27] Milford, CT: Records of the First Church, 1640-1829. Online database with images. (New England Historic Genealogical Society, 2018), 68, (Original manuscript: Baptisms in the First Church of Milford; baptisms and marriages in Milford Second Society Church records., R. Stanton Avery Collection), [AmericanAncestors].
[28] "Milford (Conn.) Vital Records," The American Genealogist 9 (1932-33), 100-120 and 159-173, at 102, [AmericanAncestors].
[29] Connecticut Vital Records to 1870, Lucius Barnes Barbour Collection, Milford 1640-1850 (New England Historic Genealogical Society, 2011), 171, [AmericanAncestors].
[30] Albert Gallatin Wheeler, The Genealogical and Encyclopedic History of the Wheelers in America (1914), 202-205, [GoogleBooks].
[31] Albert Gallatin Wheeler, The Genealogical and Encyclopedic History of the Wheelers in America (1914), 202, [GoogleBooks].
[32] Albert Gallatin Wheeler, The Genealogical and Encyclopedic History of the Wheelers in America (1914), 202, [GoogleBooks].
[33] Albert Gallatin Wheeler, The Genealogical and Encyclopedic History of the Wheelers in America (1914), 202, [GoogleBooks].
[34] Donald Lines Jacobus, History and Genealogy of the Families of Old Fairfield, Vol. 1, Reprinted with additions and corrections (Baltimore, Maryland: Genealogical Publishing Company, 2007), 679-680, [GoogleBooks].
[35] James Savage, John Farmer, Orrando Perry, A Genealogical Dictionary of the First Settlers of New England, Showing three generations, Vol. 4 (Boston: Little Brown & Co, 1861), 500, [GoogleBooks], [HathiTrust], [InternetArchive].
[36] Susan Woodruff Abbott, Families of Early Milford, Connecticut (Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing Co., Inc, 1979), 797, [GoogleBooks].
[37] "Errors in Genealogical Books," The American Genealogist 10 (1933), 129-133, at 132, [AmericanAncestors].
[38] Donald Lines Jacobus, History and Genealogy of the Families of Old Fairfield, Vol. 1, Reprinted with additions and corrections (Baltimore, Maryland: Genealogical Publishing Company, 2007), 679, [GoogleBooks].
[39] Federal Writers' Project, Work Projects Administration, History of Milford Connecticut 1639-1939 (Bridgeport, Connecticut: Braunworth & Co., 1939), 2-7, [InternetArchive].