Grandpa Wheeler’s father Grampy Wheeler was born on September 7, 1892 to James Wheeler and Nellie (Ellen) Colton. Nellie and James lived in Waltham Massachusetts. James was a Machinist and was born in Brookline New York. Nellie was born in Boston and grew up in a house on 20 Clinton Street in Waltham. Nellie and James were married in June of 1889. Grampy Wheeler’s mother Nellie died on November 15, 1893 when Grampy was only one :(. In the census of 1900, when Grampy was 7 he is listed as a boarder in the Colton household at 20 Clinton Street living with his Grandmother and Grandfather Martin and Mary Colton and Aunts and Uncles Mary, Margaret and Martin. In the 1910 census Grampy is now living with his father James and his step mother in Ware Massachusetts. Grampy and Nanny would meet in Ware and get married. More on this later, but Grampy and Nanny would move to a farm in New Hampshire and later inherit the house on 20 Clinton Street, with Uncle Martin living with them as a “boarder”.
In the 1870 census, there is a family living in Northboro, Massachusetts. The Mother and Father were both born in Ireland, James and Margaret. James is 30 and Margaret is 26. Neither of them can read or write. James is a farm laborer. John E. is 6 years old, James is 5, Anna M is 3 and Joseph is only 10 months old. In the 1880 census the family has moved to Oak Street in Waltham. They are all 10 years older, yet a few more Wheeler’s have joined the family. Joseph is now 10, Peter W. is 7, Charles is 4 and Frank is 1. James, now 15 is working in the cotton mill in Waltham (so isn’t Joseph age 10, Pater is in school :). Oak Street is only two streets from Clinton Street. The 1880 census also shows Nellie (Ellen) Colton age 15 living on Clinton Street working in the cotton mill. James and Nellie’s marriage certificate shows James’s mother and father as Margaret and James.
So Joseph the farmer from Ireland who lived in Northboro, would be Uncle Matt’s Great, Great, Great Grandfather and a lot more Wheeler grandfathers lived in Northboro than we ever realized.
The Picture is of Grampy Wheeler - who was born in 1892, my father's Father
9 comments:
Good Job;
even "I" can follow it.
can you email a copy of this to me so I can save it
Love, Mom
I'll see if I can find out where in Northboro they lived. there were many farms in Northboro years ago
Fantastic!
Makes me proud to continue the tradition as a laborer
So interesting! Thank you for sharing! I love seeing familiar family names from the past and how things come full circle. : )
If you're interested I can keep going with Nana's family history in Ware,Grampa and Nana in Londonderry NH, Grampa registering for the WWI Draft, the Colton Family history and Grampa and Nana Bourinot family lines. Also, I can continue the story of Barbe including how it continued after the Canadian phase leading to a boat trip by Grampa Bourinot's Dad Louis to his job as a waiter in Roxbury:) Let me know :):)
Grampy Wheeler looks alot like you, Uncle Pat!
~Jacki
Keep going!!! This must be so much fun to discover our past! (Funny a commercial for ancestry.com just came on the tv as I am writing this!! : )
Eileen, perfect addition to the story and thanks for the correction in my grammar:)
Since we now have a picture of Nellie, a little more history on her with more to come. Nellie was born in 1865. Both of her parents were born in Ireland, Martin born around 1824 and Mary (Corrigan - maiden name)born in the late 1820s. They were married in 1848. Dad had some information that the Coltons came from Kilkenny, Ireland. Dad and I spent an afternoon in the Town Offices in Kilkenny in August of 1984 looking through birth, marrage and death notices and although we did find some Coltons we didn't find anything conclusive. I'll keep looking. In the 1990 census Martin, now in his 70s has the profession of Laborer. (This will be our story with college tuitions where they are:)He died the following year on September 23, 1901.
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