Moses Wheeler

He was expelled from the colony in 1648 because of a slight infringement of one of the Blue Laws, for which the colony was noted. According to tradition he had been away for several months, and returned on a Sunday. Forgetting the "Blue Laws" in his joy at his return, he kissed his wife and children, and was expelled by the authorities when they learned of it. He then joined the little settlement of Stratford, and purchased here a home from the Indians on the shore, near what is now known as Sandy Hollow. He afterwards bought a large piece of land in the upper part of the town, extending from the river to some distance above the site of the present New York, New Haven & Hartford railroad.

He was a ship carpenter, and kept a farm for himself. He was given permission by the general court to keep a ferry at Stratford, which he already had established. Seventeen years after its establishment, the town leased the ferry to him with thirty or forty acres of upland adjoining it, for twenty-one years, without tax or rate except sixpence per annum. The inhabitants were "to be ferried over for one half penny per person and two pence for horse or beast." The town agreed to pay for any improvements he had made if he should leave it at the expiration of his lease. His son's will, proved January 23, 1724-25, shows that he received the ferry from his father Moses, and left it to his own son Elnathan, so it remained in the family at least over one hundred years.

He disposed of most of his land to his sons ten years before his death. He owned much land, and was one of the most prominent men of the town. He was a strong, powerful man, of whom the Indians are said to have stood in mortal terror.

He returned to England in 1665, at the time of the "Great Plague," and so did not remain long, but returned again to Stratford. He died January 15, 1698, the first white man of one hundred years who had lived in New England. He is buried in the old Congregational church at Stratford. A rough stone, cut from the rocks at his homestead, marks his grave, with the inscription: "Moses Wheeler, Aged 100, Dyed Jan. 15th. 1698."

His will was proved February 19, 1698, and after disposing of his real and personal property generally, it says: "I give to my daughter Miriam two pewter dishes, to my son Moses, his wife, ye pewter platter, and to my daughter Mary, a bras kitle houlding ten to twelve gallons, the Abridgement of the Marter Booke, and Mr. Brooks His Devices of Satan, and to Elizabeth ye wife of my son Samuel, ye great kitle, and to Mr. Israel Chauncey twenty shillings in silver."

[The article incorrectly declares that Moses' sister Jane became the wife of Rev. Adam Blakeman, the first clergyman of the Church in England in Stratford. Mrs. Blakeman's first name was Jane, but her family name is unknown.] Rev. Blakeman was rector of the [Stanford] church from 1639 to 1665. His son Samuel married Elizabeth, daughter of Moses Wheeler.

1. Elizabeth, married (first) Samuel Blakeman, and (second) Jacob Walker ; she was grandmother of General David Wooster.
2. Miriam, married James Blakeman, and was the mother ancestor of all those named Blakeman or Blackman in the towns of Huntington, Monroe and Newtown.
3. Samuel, left no children.
4. Moses, Jr., ancestor of many people, mentioned below [that is to say, in the book, not on this webpage]
5. Mary, married (first) Samuel Fairchild, and (second) Benjamin Beach.
6. Joanna, died in 1694, unmarried.

Notes by Robin Richmond

1. This 107-year-old biography repeats (or perhaps originated) the common mistaken assertions that Jane Blakeman was Moses Wheeler's sister and that his wife was a sister of James Hawley. Other reports say that Jane was also a Hawley sister and thus Moses Wheeler's sister-in-law. But the maiden names of both women are unproven.
2. It is not clear whether Jane was the first and only wife of Rev Adam Blakeman. It is quite clear, however, that his widow was named Jane, since contemporaneous documentation identifies her as "Jane" or "Mrs. Jane Blakeman".
3. To add to the confusion, Elizabeth Wheeler's husband Samuel Blakeman had a sister named Elizabeth, and Elizabeth herself had a brother named Samuel. Also, given the reference in Moses' will to "Elizabeth ye wife of my son Samuel", Elizabeth Wheeler's brother Samuel's wife must also have been named Elizabeth.
4. At the time of Adam Blakeman's ministry, Stratford, Connecticut was a would-be Utopian colony of the Church of England, where the leader of the church was also the town executive and chief judicial official. Unfortunately, no records of his administration appear to have survived. But, though many such town ministers (perhaps the one in New Haven who banished the Wheelers) were undeniably "puritanical", some contemporaneous accounts say that Rev. Blake was well regarded by his community. (See, for example his Wikipedia article)
5. Moses Wheeler and Adam Blakeman are my 10th great-grandfathers. Elizabeth Wheeler and Samuel Blakeman are my 9th great-grandparents.
6. Abigail Blakeman, the daughter of Samuel and Elizabeth Blakeman, married Hezekiah Dickinson, son of the prominent immigrant Nathaniel Dickinson. (See his Wikipedia article).
7. Abigail and Hezekiah Dickinson had six children, including my 7th great grandfather, Adam Dickinson. Two of Adam's brothers, Jonathan and Moses Dickinson, were distinctly influential clergymen. Jonathan was the first president of Princeton College. A number of sermons, tracts, and essays by Jonathan and Moses still readily available.