Person Page - 322

     Christian Wheeless was born a 1750. She was the daughter of Joseph Wheeless II and Mary "Molley" (Unknown). Christian Wheeless married William Alsey Bruce a 1771.

     William Alsey Bruce was born a 1746. He married Christian Wheeless, daughter of Joseph Wheeless II and Mary "Molley" (Unknown), a 1771.

     Lavinia Cox was born in Oct 1767 at North Carolina. She married Sion Wheeless, son of Joseph Wheeless II, c 1782 at Halifax Co, North Carolina. Lavinia Cox married Thomas Chappell a 1797 at Wilkes Co, Georgia. Lavinia Cox died on 11 Apr 1851 at Twiggs Co, Georgia, at age 83.

     Thomas Chappell was born a 1775. He married Lavinia Cox a 1797 at Wilkes Co, Georgia.

     Joseph Wheeless I was born c 1683 at Prince William Co ?, Virginia. He was the son of Unknown Wheeless. Joseph Wheeless I married Mary (Unknown) a 1732. Joseph Wheeless I died a 16 Apr 1761 at Halifax Co, North Carolina. His estate was probated in Jun 1761 at Halifax Co, North Carolina.

      Data recounted here may be for other men named Joseph Wheless or may intermingle data about the generations because of the frequent use of the same given names in the family. The surname was spelled, among other possibilities, as Wheelas, Whelas, Whelass, Whealass, Wheales, Whealis, Wheeles, Wheless, Wheeless, Whelis, Wheelis, Whellous, Whelous, Whelus, Wheelus, Wheels, Whellr and Wheeler.

A Joseph Wheelis lived in King William Co, VA in 1704 where he was on the quit rent payment rolls for paying property tax on 130 acres in King William Co, VA; to pay tax and own this land Joseph would have to be born by 1683 to be of age to pay this tax.

A Joseph and Benjamin Wheless were reportedly living in Surry Co, VA in the 1740s. Albemarle Parish in Surry Co, VA was created in 1738 from parts of Southwark and Lawne's Creek parishes on the southside of the Blackwater River. The earliest christenings are from 1738, and "many families upon entering the births of a child in 1738 or thereafter also registered the birth dates of chlidren born prior to 1738." Children for Joseph and Mary are Joseph, John, Eliz., James and Christopher. The entries for them are as follows: Joseph, 8.14/33 [sponsors not named]; John, 12/11/34 [sponsors not named]; Eliz., 12/27/37 [sponsors not named]; James, 2/2/39, sponsors Thomas Oliver, Wm. Abbott, Mary Bobbett; and Christopher, 3/23/41, sponsors Edward Jackson, Mary Parsons, Eliz. Passmore.

Joseph purchased land in Surry Co, VA in 1741 which he sold in 1748, the sale being recorded 17 Jan 1748/9. John Battle of Surry Co, VA (sold) to Joseph Wheeles, "now of Edgecombe Co., NC, for £45 VA a tract on a swamp known as Rocky Swamp although formerly and in the patent called Rodgers Creek, beginning ... in Rodgers' line but now Edwards' line ... to a red oak in the Cattail Branch then down it to the Rocky Swamp & down the said swamp to the first station, containing 236 acres, John Battle (mark), wit[nesses] Wallis Jones, Robt Reves Jones, Thomas Spell. Joseph's grandson Hardy also later owned land on Rocky Swamp.

A Joseph Wheelus and a Benjamin Wheelus, said to be brothers (or related in some other close way), apparently moved first to Halifax Co, NC (a border county with VA) and then moved to Edgecombe Co, NC in the 1740s where they settled along Swift Creek near Taylor's Store in an area which later became part of Nash Co, NC, and on which many Drake family members owned land. The Drake family living there is important because Joseph senior's grandson married a Drake.

Will of Joseph Whelas: North Carolina, Halifax County. In the Name of God AMEN. I Joseph Whelas of this sd province and County Being sick and Weak of Body but of Perfect mind and memory .... I Give Demise and bequeath in manner and form following: Inprimis I Give and Bequeath to my loving son John Whealass one heifer, one narrow ox and a parcil of Old Casks — Item, I Give to my son James one White Heifter and one pewter Dish and three Plates; Item, I Give and Bequeath to my Daughter Elizabeth one cow and calf and a Yearling one pewter dish and two Basens, one Linnen wheel two Woollen Do., One pair of cards and a loom with a box iron and heatirs[?], and also, one feather Bed and Furniture; Item, My further Will and Desire is that my son Joseph Wheelass may have and enjoy all the remaining part of my Estate which is not therein mentioned, to him and his heir forever; Lastly I nominate Constitute and Appoint my sd Son Joseph Wheelass to the whole and sole Executor of this my Last Will + Testament; In Witness whereof I have hereunto set my hand + seal this sixteenth day of April 1761.
Test (his mark) Mattw. Duan, May (X) Dockirill, Joseph Wheelass (Seal)
Halifax County, do----June Court 1761
This Will was Exhibited in open Court on Oath and Proved by the Oath of Mary Dockerill one of the Subscribing Witnesses there to and at the same time, Joseph Wheelass the Executor therein Named came into Court and was Duly Qualified acording to Law. And on Motion Ordered to be Recorded.
Test J. Moutfort CC (transcribed by James H. Maloney)


Other sources:

--James Bennett Boddie; Births, Deaths and Sponsors 1717-1778 from the Albemarle Parish Register of Surry and Sussex Counties, VA, Clearfield Company, Genealogical Publishing Company, Baltimore, MD 1998.
--"The Pieced Together Early Wheelus Family of VA, NC and GA," by Gerry Hill, Albany, GA; http://www.genealogy.com/forum/surnames/topics/wheelus/26/, 1 Apr 2005 with 9 detailed responses (Joseph Wheless & his descendants)
--David Gammon, Estates of Halifax Co 1759-1805, Vol 2, p. 73.
--John M. Whealus, Tucker and Wheeless Families, Vol 1 C, 1984.
--Abstracts of Halifax Co NC 1758 to 1824 Wills, Will Book 2, 361, p. 119.
--John M. Whealus, Tucker, Wheeless Families, Vol I, C, 1984, Washington Memorial Library; Macon, GA.
--Halifax Co, NC Will Book 1, p. 38, 15 Apr 1761 (will of Joseph Wheelass; names spelled Whelas and Wheelass)
----Jeannette Holland Austin, The Austin Collection vol 2, copyright 1990; Halifax Co, NC Will Book 33, p 38, Jun 1761 (will of Joseph Wheeless)
--James Maloney; Maloney, Hendrick and Many Others, http://wc.rootsweb.ancestry.com/cgi-bin/igm.cgi?op=GET&db=jhmjr&id=I59638, maloney at maloneylaw.com, accessed in 2016.

     Abner D. Wheeless II was born c 1805. He was the son of Abner Wheeless I and Nancy Kimbrough. Abner D. Wheeless II married Margaret Gray on 11 Jul 1832.

     Elizabeth Wheeless was born a 1764. She was the daughter of Joseph Wheeless II and Mary "Molley" (Unknown).

     Joseph Wheeless III was born on 12 Nov 1760 at Halifax Co, North Carolina. He was the son of Joseph Wheeless II and Mary "Molley" (Unknown).

      The parentage of Joseph Wheeless III is uncertain. James Mahoney pointed out that the will of Joseph II (died ca. 1786) does not refer to a son Joseph (notwithstanding Internet postings to the contrary). His will refers to daughter Christian, sons Hardy and Sion, and to "My beloved children begotten of Molley Wheeles." The phrase "begotten of Molley" may mean that Christian, Hardy and Sion were the children of a first wife -- the children of Molley being unnamed. It appears some of his sons migrated to Jones Co, GA. If Joesph III (d. 1844) is not the son of Joseph II, other candidates for his father would be the brothers of Joseph II: Isaac, John, James and Christoper. There is also the possiblity of his father being Lemuel Wheeless, with whom Joseph witnessed a deed in Halfiax in 1802, who might be a brother or counsin.

     James Wheeless was born a 1762. He was the son of Joseph Wheeless II and Mary "Molley" (Unknown).

     Unknown Wheeless was born a 1679.

     Benjamin Wheeless was born in 1715 at Surry Co, Virginia. He was the son of Unknown Wheeless. Benjamin Wheeless married Elizabeth Sturdivent a 1740. Benjamin Wheeless died in 1790 at Nash Co, North Carolina.

      Benjamin Wheeless purchased land close to Joseph Wheeless senior in Surry Co, VA about 1743 and sold it several years later. He is thought to have moved from Virginia with his brother Joseph to Halifax Co, NC and then to Edgecombe Co, NC. Benjamin reportedly had children named Benjamin, Isham and William; the Albermarle Parish register lists children Isam and William.

     Margaret Gray was born c 1816. She married Abner D. Wheeless II, son of Abner Wheeless I and Nancy Kimbrough, on 11 Jul 1832.

     Abner Wheeless I was born c 1760. He was the son of Joseph Wheeless II and Mary "Molley" (Unknown). Abner Wheeless I married Nancy Kimbrough c 1803 at Greene Co, Georgia.

     Nancy Kimbrough was born a 1783. She married Abner Wheeless I, son of Joseph Wheeless II and Mary "Molley" (Unknown), c 1803 at Greene Co, Georgia.

     Issac Wheeless was born a 1736. He was the son of Joseph Wheeless I.

      The birth of Issac Wheeless was not recorded either retroactively or at the time in Albemarle Parish in Virginia. Although there is a gap among the births when Issac could have been born there or he may have been born after the family moved in 1741.

     John Wheeless was born on 11 Dec 1734 at Virginia. He was the son of Joseph Wheeless I and Mary (Unknown).

     Elizabeth Wheeless was born on 27 Dec 1737 at Surry Co, Virginia. She was the daughter of Joseph Wheeless I and Mary (Unknown).

     James Wheeless was born on 2 Feb 1739 at Albemarle Parish, Surry Co, Virginia. He was the son of Joseph Wheeless I and Mary (Unknown).

     Christopher Wheeless was born on 23 Mar 1741 at Albemarle Parish, Surry Co, Virginia. He was the son of Joseph Wheeless I and Mary (Unknown).

     William A. Bird was born in 1815 at Meriwether Co, Georgia. He was the son of Hiram Bird and Temperance "Tempy" A. Wheeles. William A. Bird married Priscilla Dollar, daughter of Joseph Dollar and Hannah Prather, on 9 Mar 1837 at Marion Co, Georgia. William A. Bird died c 1845 at Meriwether Co, Georgia.

      William A. Bird was living in Meriwether Co, GA in 1840 with the following in his household: William and his Priscilla age 20 - 29, reportedly the daughter of Joseph Dollar, and a daughter under age 5. William was residing next to his father Hiram and the John Dollar, age 20-30, and Hiram Harden families; William's siblings married into the latter two families. Samuel Bowen, a Revolutionary War veteran age 83, was living in the John Dollar household. Hiram Harden was age 30-40 and was living with females aged 20-30, less than 5, 5-9, and 15-19.

     Priscilla Dollar was born on 19 Apr 1816 at South Carolina. She was the daughter of Joseph Dollar and Hannah Prather. Priscilla Dollar married William A. Bird, son of Hiram Bird and Temperance "Tempy" A. Wheeles, on 9 Mar 1837 at Marion Co, Georgia. Priscilla Dollar married Joseph Tucker on 20 Apr 1851 at Meriwether Co, Georgia. Priscilla Dollar died on 25 Apr 1890 at age 74. She was buried at Rock Hill Cemetery, Yantis, Wood Co, Texas.

     James "Jim" Madison Bird was born in 1818 at Georgia. He was the son of Hiram Bird and Temperance "Tempy" A. Wheeles. James "Jim" Madison Bird married Eletha Rosaline Oliver on 19 Jan 1841 at Troup Co, Georgia. James "Jim" Madison Bird died in 1890 at Meriwether Co, Georgia.

      James Madison Bird and his wife Eletha Rosaline Oliver had a child every single year between 1842 and 1860 except for four years, so they must have been using wet nurses for the children because all the known children appear to have survived. The children were matched as best as possible based on the 1860, 1870 and 1880 censuses although it was not necessarily clear from decade to decade what birth order was provided to the census taker. In 1870 the family had a 11-year-old black servant Elizabeth in the household; the family was living in an area with many black families so Elizabeth was likely from close by. In 1880 the family had living with them Hector Strozier, 11, a mulatto servant; Thomas Miller, 70, a mulatto farm hand and his black wife Mariah; Jim Gates, 14, a black servant; and Mary Gates, 10, whose position was undesignated.

     Eletha Rosaline Oliver was born c 1820 at North Carolina. She married James "Jim" Madison Bird, son of Hiram Bird and Temperance "Tempy" A. Wheeles, on 19 Jan 1841 at Troup Co, Georgia. Eletha Rosaline Oliver died in 1885 at Meriwether Co, Georgia.

     Alfred D. Bird was born c 1819 at Jasper Co, Georgia. He was the son of Hiram Bird and Temperance "Tempy" A. Wheeles. Alfred D. Bird married Sarah Harden on 27 Sep 1840 at Marion Co, Georgia. Alfred D. Bird died in 1896 at Conecuh, Alabama.

      Alfred D. Bird, son of Hiram and Temperance, is thought to be the who married in Marion Co, GA next to where his natal family resided in Meriwether Co; he named one of his sons Hiram. By 1850 he was residing in Tallapoosa Co, VA with his family.

     Sarah Harden was born a 1825. She married Alfred D. Bird, son of Hiram Bird and Temperance "Tempy" A. Wheeles, on 27 Sep 1840 at Marion Co, Georgia.

     Sarah Ann Bird was born on 16 Jan 1825 at Habersham Co, Georgia. She was the daughter of Hiram Bird and Temperance "Tempy" A. Wheeles. Sarah Ann Bird married Simpson Gray a 1840. Sarah Ann Bird died on 19 Jun 1886 at Habersham Co, Georgia, at age 61.

     Simpson Gray was born c 1813 at Georgia. He married Sarah Ann Bird, daughter of Hiram Bird and Temperance "Tempy" A. Wheeles, a 1840.

     Richard H. Bird was born in Jan 1823 at Georgia. He was the son of Hiram Bird and Temperance "Tempy" A. Wheeles. Richard H. Bird married Elizabeth Dollar, daughter of Joseph Dollar and Hannah Prather, on 2 Jul 1846 at Meriwether Co, Georgia. Richard H. Bird died in 1910 at Faulkner Co, Arkansas. He was buried at Copperas Springs Cemetery, Guy, Arkansas.

      By 1850 Richard Bird age 23, a farmer, and his wife Elizabeth Dollar were living in Militia District 698, Troup Co, GA and by 1860 they had moved to DeSoto, Tallapoosa Co, AL.

Although the 1850 and 1870 census reported Richard's wife Elizabeth was born in South Carolina, the 1860 and 1900 census stated she was born in Georgia; there were many Dollar familes living near the Bird family in Meriwether Co, GA. The 1900 census reported Elizabeth's father was born in South Carolina and her mother born in North Carolina.

At the time of the 1860 census there was a Mary Bird age 16 born in Georgia listed after Richard's children with Elizabeth who was also living in the household. This Mary Bird was not their niece Mary, the daughter of William and Priscilla Bird, who was older and already married. This Mary may have been their niece Mary Ann Bird who was the daughter of Alfred Bird and Sarah Harden who was would have been about age 18 but did not marry until 1865. Alternatively the Mary living in the household in 1860 could have been a daughter of Richard or Elizabeth's from a prior relationship.

By 1870 the family had moved to Clay, White Co, AR, and Sylvester, Fernando and Dora were noted as being unable to write. There was also a John Bird born in Alabama and age 22, too young to be Richard's younger brother, living with them. Mary Bird was no longer in the household.

By 1900 Richard H. and Elizabeth Byrd were in Big Creek, White Co, AR living with their daughter Sophronia's family, the Stahles.

     Elizabeth Dollar was born in Feb 1819 at Laurens Co, South Carolina. She was the daughter of Joseph Dollar and Hannah Prather. Elizabeth Dollar married Richard H. Bird, son of Hiram Bird and Temperance "Tempy" A. Wheeles, on 2 Jul 1846 at Meriwether Co, Georgia. Elizabeth Dollar died in 1910 at Guy, Arkansas.

     Matilda D. Bird was born c 1830 at Georgia. She was the daughter of Hiram Bird and Temperance "Tempy" A. Wheeles. Matilda D. Bird married Daniel F. Wadsworth on 11 Jan 1853 at Meriwether Co, Georgia. Matilda D. Bird died c 1873.