Thomas WHEELER

1620 - 1676  (56 years)

• Name	Thomas WHEELER
  Born	8 Apr 1620	Cranfield, Bedfordshire, England
  Gender	Male
  Baptism	20 Apr 1620	Cranfield, Bedfordshire, England
  Military Event	King Philips War; wounded on 2 Aug 1675 near Brookfield
  Immigrant?	Y
  Cause of Death	Mortally wounded in battle
  Died	10 Dec 1676	Concord, Middlesex, Massachusetts
  Buried	Old Hill Burying Ground, Newburyport, Essex, Massachusetts   [1]
  	Unmarked
  Person ID	I15664	Main
  Last Modified	17 Dec 2023

  
  

  Father	Thomas WHEELER,   b. 11 Feb 1563, Cranfield, Bedfordshire, England ,   d. 9 Feb 1634, Cranfield, Bedfordshire, England  (Age 70 years)
  Mother	Rebecca SAYRE,   b. 1572, Odell, Bedforshire, England ,   d. 3 May 1653, Cranfield, Bedfordshire, England  (Age 81 years)
  Family ID	F5166	Group Sheet  |  Family Chart

  
  

  Family	Ruth WOOD,   b. Abt 1624, Cranfield, Bedfordshire, England ,   d. Aft 1663, Concord, Middlesex, Massachusetts  (Age ~ 40 years)
  Children	1. Timothy WHEELER,   b. Abt 1645, Concord, Middlesex, Massachusetts ,   d. 7 Jun 1678, Concord, Middlesex, Massachusetts  (Age ~ 33 years)
  Last Modified	3 Nov 2023
  Family ID	F5158	Group Sheet  |  Family Chart

  
  

• Event Map		Died - 10 Dec 1676 - Concord, Middlesex, Massachusetts  = Link to Google Earth
  Pin Legend	: Address       : Location       : City/Town       : County/Shire       : State/Province       : Country       : Not Set

  
  

• Notes

  s/o Thomas WHEELER (1563—1634) & Rebecca SAYRE (1572—1653) —— Captain Edward Hutchinson was appointed to negotiate a treaty with the Indians and Capt. Thomas Wheeler with about 25 of his company was assigned to guard & assist him. On July 28th 1675 they marched from Cambridge to Sudbury, arriving at Brookfield August first where they were met by a party of Indians. The Indian Sachem agreed to meet the English the next morning at a point a short distance from Brookfield. When they arrived, there were no Indians there and proceeded four or five miles further beside a swamp, when they were attacked by 200 to 300 Indians. Eight of the men were killed by the first firing and three wounded. Capt. Thomas Wheeler had two horses shot out from under him and received a ball through his body. His son, whose arm was fractured by a ball, dismounted and placed his wounded father on the horse of a soldier that had been killed. They both escaped on the horse. The both died months later from their wounds. —— CAPT. THOMAS WHEELER, of Concord, Mass. This "gallant and intrepid" Indian fighter was among the most interesting and important characters of our colonial period, and was preeminent among the few pioneers through whose restless daring the frontiers of the Massachusetts Bay Colony were so persistently extended. He was born in England. The date of his arrival in America and the name of the ship in which he came are not known. Several historians assert that he was a resident of Concord as early as 1640, and even before this date he was in this country trading among the Indians. The first written record that refers to him, however, is in May 18, 1642, when he took the oath of freeman at Concord, Mass. The first definite information concerning his trading with the Indians is on July 1st, 1657, when, with three others, he bought from the colony the privilege of trading with the Indians, paying there for the sum of £25. [2]

  
  

• Sources

  [S96] Find a Grave, database and images, 32747395. [S151] WikiTree, https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Wheeler-1337.