Simon Wheeler was
born in Maine, about 1781, the son of Simon and Hannah Reed Wheeler. On the Census Report for 1850, Simon gave his
birthplace as Maine.
Levi Wheeler, son
of Simon and Sarah Wheeler, told his family that his people were early New
England settlers and had lived in Maine for a long time. Simon was in the lumber business, and as a
boy, Levi helped cut down the trees and also helped take the logs down the
Kennebec and later on the Penobscot Rivers,
After the
Revolutionary War, financial conditions were terrible. The Country was full of worthless paper money
which had been issued by each of the original colonies. The Revolutionary soldiers were paid with
this money. At that time Maine was part
of Massachusetts. Massachusetts was
willing to give land in Maine and take this paper money from her soldiers in
payment. For this offer there arose a
great migration to Maine. The district
flourished until the War of 1812 when a stagnation occurred in all business. Many left and went to the new lands of the
west.
The land in Maine
was covered with timber. In the
winter-time, the men worked cutting down trees for the lumbering companies, and
also to clear their land for farming.
Then they helped bring the logs down stream in the spring from the
timber country. The men were then paid
off for their winters
work and returned to their farms for the summer. Wild game was plentiful, so there was lots of
hunting and trapping.
Simon told his
children that he and three brothers left their home to make their own way. They
became separated, lost touch with each other and also with the folks at home.
We first find
Simon Wheeler living at Greene, Maine, in 1803, where he was appointed on a
committee to re-organize the school districts in the town in 1803. {See History
of Greene, Maine, By. W.L. Mower, pager 23}.
March
15,1804, he married Sarah Stevens, of
Greene, Maine, daughter of Jacob and Martha (Pettingill) Stevens, at Greene,
Maine and lived there until about 1818, when he sold his land and moved to
Leeds, Maine. {Marriage intentions were filed on February 5, 1804. Marriage was solemnized by Benjamin Merrill,
Justice of the Peace. - from Town Records of Greene, at town clerk's office, signed Carmelita
Appleby.} [* See Jacob Stevens History for more information.]
Simon was living
at Greene during the War of 1812-1814.
He was drafted at Greene, Maine, on or about the 1st day of September
1814, for the term of INDEFINITE or 40 days, and continued in actual service in
said war for the term of fourteen days and was honorably discharged, at Wiscassettm,
Me. On or about the 1st day of October
1814, as will appear on the muster roll of this company. He was a Private in the Company commanded by
Captain Andrew Daggett in the Regiment of Infantry commanded by Colonel Walter
M. Blaisdell in the war with Great Britian declared by the United States on 18
June 1812, in camp at Gardiner, Maine.
In 1827 Simon
moved again, going east to Lincoln, where he is on the tax list for 1828, with
six children of school age.
On 28 March 1830,
Deborah Cutter Wheeler married Jeremy Nelson from Rowley, Essex,
Massachusetts. Their family of 12
children, including a set of twins, were born and raised in Lincoln, Penobscot,
Maine. Both parents died there.
Ebenezer, the
oldest boy, went back to Leeds. On May 14, 1831, he married Agnes Beals of Scarborough, Maine.
He remained in Leeds and died there in 1890.
Some of his descendants still living around there. They had 6
children. [Two of Ebenezer's boys were in the Civil
War. Levi W. Wheeler was a Private in
Company G., 1st Regiment of Calvary from Maine.
William W. Wheeler was a Private in Company E, 16th Regiment of Infantry
from Maine.]
On 11 January
1834 , Jacob married Martha Drake at Buckfield, Maine. Later they moved to Molunkus and the eastern part of the state. They had 9 children and are buried at Paw Paw
County, Illinois.
In 1845 Levi and
Jacob and their families moved west to Nauvoo, Illinois, and shortly afterwards
to Paw Paw, Illinois.
In 1849 Gold was
discovered in California. Levi and Jacob
left their families at Paw Paw and rushed west with others.
In 1851, Jacob
returned to Illinois and bought land at Paw Paw, Illinois. [ Jacob's oldest son, Beniah, was
born in Maine in 1836 and came to Illinois with the family
On 5 July 1835,
Rhoda Wheeler married Stephen D. Haynes (or Stephen P. Haines) of Dexter,
Maine. They are both buried in Dexter, Maine and are the parents of 4 girls and
5 boys.
Levi must have
gone back to Leeds with Ebenezer and Jacob, as he went south into
Massachusetts. On 15 May 1838 he married
Mary Ann Wilder Arnold at Abington, Massachusetts. In 1840 Levi moved back to Augusta Maine where
the next three of his children were born.
Other relatives were living at Augusta at this time.
In 1845 Levi
and Jacob and their families moved west to Nauvoo, Illinois, and shortly
afterwards to Paw Paw, Illinois.
In 1849 Gold
was discovered in California. Levi and
Jacob left their families at Paw Paw and rushed west with others. Later Levi and some other men went to
Colorado in that gold rush and later to the Black Hills, but none of them had
much luck in finding gold. Then Levi went to South Dakota and took up government
land, which was just being open up for settlement in 1883.
[ * See Levi
Wheeler History for more information.]
Simon and his
family moved from Lincoln to Molunkus.
Simon and Sarah ran the hotel at Monlukus while they were there. [Their
daughter, Martha had a daughter born at Simons
home in Molunkus, Maine on 13 August 1843.]
In 1843, Rebecca
married Ephraim Butnam Smith,(or Ephraim Putnam Smith ) a brother of Sylvester
Jay Smith. They lived in Maine until
about 1849, when they moved to Ohio.
They settled in Fulton County where they lived many years. Both died at Swanton, Fulton County,
Ohio. They had 5 children.
On May 4, 1844,
Joseph married Elmira Lancaster at Lee, Maine.
Elmira was the daughter of Elihu and Sally (Tuck) Lancaster. Joseph Wheeler cleared timber land and built
a house near Molunkus, where all of his children were born, except the
youngest, who was born in Illinois. In
1851 Molunkus was divided and the part where Joseph lived was them called
Macwahoc. The less settled area was left
as Molunkus Plantation. In 1877,
Joseph Wheeler and his wife and family moved to Iowa, where they bought land in
Harrison Township, Boone County, Iowa.
They had 13 children. Joseph and
Elmira died at Mackay, Iowa.
Numerous descendants
of Joseph and Elmira Wheeler still live in Boone County, Iowa.
Sylvester J.,
wife and daughter, Martha Jane, left Aroostock County, Maine on 1 July 1845,
planning to make their home in Illinois.
They journey took 102 days and they settled in Northern Illinois. Early in the summer of 1846, they settled in
Paw Paw Grove. There were 14 families in
the party and about 60 people in the encampment, in the trip from Maine.
He describes the
unrest of the immigrants in the new strange country. 'Wearied
at length with the unsettled state of Northern Illinois and especially of
society, mixed, varied and unsettled, I determined to remove to the territory
of Wisconsin, which journey was accomplished in April 1848. A brother-in-law, Levi Wheeler and his family
were also in the party.
In September I
finally decided to return to Maine. This
action was precipitated by the action of my partner, Dr. Drake, who with my
brother-in-law, Wheeler, had caught the California gold fever which was
raging and almost contagious throughout
the country at this time.'
They set about
making preparations to make the journey by way of the lakes, intending to dock
at Buffalo. He then describes a raging
storm on the lake which induced them to leave the boat at Cleveland, Ohio.
We lived in Orange
and North Solon, Ohio for several years and this is where the other daughters
were born. Martha Jane, the eldest daughter, met and married Robert Harper in
Orange.
We do not know how
long he lived in Ohio, but evidently he was much impressed with Michigan on his
trip from the East as he describes its
dry climate and sandy soil. The family
moved to Akron, Michigan, and this is where the other girls met and married
their husbands. Julia Ellen, Geneva C.
And May C. Lived in Michigan for the remainder of their lives. Adelaide eventually moved to California.
Sylvester Jay
Smith wrote the story of his life when he was 72 years old, and evidently
intended to write more but died before the work was completed.
[This excerpt from the Diary of Sylvester J. Smith was
copied and sent to Ada Miller by Mrs. Alida Harper Irwin.]
. In 1849, Beniah
went to California for gold and stayed for four years, then returned to Paw Paw
becoming one of Paw Paws
prominent citizens. * See history of
Beniah Wheeler for more information. ]
Simon Wheeler
died at Charleston, Maine 2 April, 1853.
He was buried in the East Corinthian Cemetery, at East Corinth, Maine.
(The dividing line
between Charleston and Corinth ran through the Simon Wheeler farm. )
{According to a letter from the caretaker at the cemetery,
In April, the snow in Maine is about four feet deep in that part of the state,
with roads closed or nearly closed.}
[ This information was also recored in the history of Simon
Wheeler Family, But I Tammy Stevenson, am unable to figure out its relevance at
this time.
Adalbert took up
land in Northeastern Nebraska and Simon bought land near Sioux City.
In 1885,
[he???????] married Laura Elizabeth Horton at Blunt, South Dakota Territory at
that time. ]
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