I have written about several of my double or even quadruple descents from colonial ancestors, but I realized I overlooked one set of great grandparents, Obadiah Wheeler and his wife, Susannah Wheeler. This double descent is a bit different because it is assumed that they were cousins, probably first cousins.
“Obedyas” Wheeler was baptized on 5 December 1609 in Cranfield, Bedfordshire, England, the son of John Wheeler. Obadiah’s mother is unknown to me.
Susannah Wheeler was also baptized in Cranfield on 31 May 1607, the daughter of Thomas Wheeler. Thomas’s wife is purported to be Rebecca, maiden name unknown, but she is not named in the baptismal record and I don’t know the source of this claim.
It is thought that John and Thomas, both born about the 1560’s, are brothers, but to my knowledge no proof has been offered. I am also unaware of any 20th century research done on these early Wheelers.
Cranfield is a village with a population today of just under 5,000 people. It is located in Bedfordshire and sits almost due north of London.
Its Church of St. Peter and St. Paul, built in the 1100’s, is a beautiful limestone church. Photos of the church and a description of it can be found here.
This church has records going back to 1600, which helps to identify Obadiah’s and Susannah’s potential siblings, but says little about their parents.
Obadiah and Susannah Wheeler have many descendants today. Wheeler cousins – are any of you aware of further research done on the parents of this couple? Please leave a comment.
Linda, I have info from three fairly recent books that may help:
John B. Threlfall, 50 Great Migration Colonists in New England, 1990
M. Wheeler Molyneaux, The Wheeler Family of Cranfield England and Concord, Massachusetts and Some Descendants of Sgt. Thomas Wheeler of Concord, 1992
Dean Crawford Smith, edited by Melinde Lutz Sanborn, The Ancestry of Eva Belle Kempton, 1878-1908; Part III: The Ancestry of Henry clay Bartlett, 1832-1892, Boston, New England Historic Genealogical Society, 2004. This follows one Wheeler line.
However, they don’t answer your question about relationships between John Wheeler and Thomas Wheeler or George Wheeler. I descend from both Thomas and George but not John to my knowledge.
My husband’s mother was a Wheeler and I have done some research. I recently found a great deal of information that someone has noted in “Find A Grave” about the Wheeler family; tracing back the Wheelers from Charles County, Maryland to Cranfield, England and buried in the St. Peter and St. Paul Cemetery. My husband would be a great…….. grandson of Obadiah’s brother Henry.