Sunday, April 20, 2008

Introducing Elizabeth Wheeler

Elizabeth is our antecedent through this line:

Me - Christopher A Adams (b 1908) - Ida May Tanner (b 1886) - Charles Tanner (b 1849) - Elizabeth Wheeler (b 1811)

We didn't know about her until this year (thanks in great part to Bonnie's research) and didn't know her name till 2 weeks ago. I have redone the entire tracing and landed in the same place.

In the 1840 census we find Elizabeth married to George Bailey, the mother of several children. In the 1850 census we find her married to Charles W Tanner and the mother of three more, all little boys (William Charles, Frederick, and Charles). The first of these was born when Elizabeth was 35. At the time she married Charles W Tanner, he was 20-ish.

They all lived in Calne, Wiltshire County, England, though Elizabeth was born a few towns away in Laycock, Wiltshire.

After that we lose track of them for a while, but now they have re-emerged: I found them living in Bristol Rhode Island in time for the 1860 US Census. According to later census reports pertaining to my great grandfather Charles, they immigrated in 1853.

After that one sighting in Rhode Island, they all disappear except Charles, who reappears 20 years later in Norwalk, married to Mary Jane Reynolds.

Other than the 3 little boys, Elizabeth's other children did not come to America with her. Some were quite young (12+) still when Elizabeth and her new young family immigrated. We may be able to get clues about her parents by looking up where her left-behind offspring lived and who they lived with.

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