Delanah Wheeler |
Delanah Wheeler's Family |
Delanah Wheeler was our great-great-great grandmother.
There are some things we know for certain about Delanah Wheeler because there is direct evidence and some things we suppose based on indirect supporting evidence. Delanah Wheeler was born March 4, 1805. She died December 2, 1865 at the age of 60. We know this for certain because a grave marker in the cemetery behind the Presbyterian church at Hancock, New York records this. This grave also records that she was married to Royal Wheeler. We know the parents of her husband Royal Wheeler because this is recorded in Albert Gallatin Wheeler’s Genealogical and Encyclopedic History of the Wheeler Family in America, on page 582. This record states that Royal was married to Delanah and that Royal’s parents, Frederick and Mary Comstock Wheeler, moved to Hancock, New York about 1800. Delanah had several children with Royal. The names of these children are recorded in New York State and Federal census rolls and in her last will and testament. These children are: Edgar Adius Wheeler, Ebenezer F. Wheeler, George Royal Wheeler, Laura Jane Wheeler, Martha Harriet Wheeler, Emily Adeline Wheeler and Hannah Mariah Wheeler. Delanah Wheeler’s last will and testament, on file in Delhi, New York, also records the name of her sister, Harriet Dickinson. Harriet Dickinson’s last will and testament, (New York Wills, Probate for Harriet Dickinson (town of Tompkins): 7 Aug 1865, Delaware, New York, USA. Letters of Admin, Test, Vol G, 1857-1870; Executor and holder: Milton Wheeler of Deposit, NY), records the names of her brother and sisters: Ransom F. Wheeler, Hamiali [sp] [Hannah]Young, Elmira Mitchell, Delana Wheeler, and Emmalinda Mitchell. Delanah is buried in the cemetery behind the Presbyterian church in Hancock, New York, among several other Wheelers. Her grave stone is next to the grave of Harriet B. Wheeler, wife of Major Ebenezer Wheeler. In the same row of grave stones, on the other side of and next to Harriet B. Wheeler are the graves of Delanah’s father in law and mother in law, Frederick and Mary Comstock Wheeler. I have not been able to find a birth record for Delanah Wheeler to verify her parents, but several other documents point to and support the evidence for Ebenezer Wheeler and Harriet Foster Wheeler as Delanah’s father and mother. The last will and testament of Harriet Dickinson, wife of Gilbert Dickinson both of Delaware county, New York, names Delanah Wheeler as her sister. Harriet also names Ransom as her brother, and Emmalinda Mitchell, Elmira Mitchell and Hannah Young as sisters. Harriet was born in 1795 which would have made her about 10 years old when Delanah was born in 1805. In Delanah’s will she names her sister Harriet Dickinson. A passage in The history of Delaware County, N.Y.; W. W. Munsell, 1880 [page 212], states, “Major Ebenezer Wheeler had one son, Ransom, and several daughters, all of whom married respectably. He died in 1814, aged 44.” There is a record of marriage for Ebenezer Wheeler and Harriot Foster, May 11, 1794 in Montgomery, MA. Found in Vital Records of Massachusetts. A passage in Delaware County, New York: History of the Century, 1797-1897; Centennial Celebration, June 9 and 10, 1897, [edited by David Murray, LL.D. Delhi, NY, 1898] (page 368) reads: “One of the worshippers at this first church was sometimes brought by her only son in a canoe from Hancock. She was the widow of Major Ebenezer Wheeler, a soldier in the war of 1812.” This passage refers to Harriet Wheeler and her only son would refer to Ransom Wheeler. These statements and records reinforce each other and support the inference that Major Ebenezer Wheeler and Harriet Foster Wheeler of Hancock, New York were the parents of Delanah Wheeler, Ransom Wheeler, Harriet Dickinson, Hannah Young, Emmalinda Mitchell, and Elmira Mitchell. Delanah’s grave stone is next to Harriet’s (the wife of Maj. Ebenezer) and within a few feet of Frederick and Mary Wheeler, her father and mother in law. This final resting alignment might also be an indication of the living relationships of these Wheelers. |
Delanah T Wheeler, born March 1,1805; died December 2, 1865. Buried at Hancock, Delaware County, New York.Married: Royal Wheeler, born 29 April 1800, Montgomery, Massachusetts; died after 1880. Hancock, New York.
Children: 1. Edgar Adius Wheeler, b. about 1825 2. Ebenezer F. Wheeler, b. about 1827 3. George Royal Wheeler, b. about 1835 4. Laura Jane. Wheeler, b. about 1836 5. Martha Harriet. Wheeler, b. about 1843 6. Emily Adeline. Wheeler, b. about 1848 7. Hannah Mariah Wheeler, born ? Father: Ebenezer Wheeler. Mother: Harriet Foster Wheeler. 1820 Federal Census, Town of Hancock, Delaware Co. New York 1830 Federal Census, Town of Tompkins, Delaware Co. New York 1840 Federal Census, Town of Hancock, Delaware Co. New York 1850 Federal Census, Town of Scott, Wayne Co. Pennsylvania 1860 Federal Census, Town of Scott, Wayne Co. Pennsylvania 1875 New York State Census, Tompkins, Delaware County, New York 1880 Federal Census, Town of Buckingham, Wayne Co. Pennsylvania Last Will and Testament of Delanah Wheeler on file at Delhi, New York |