Reuben Wheeler

52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks Week 5 (January 29-February 4): In the Census

Reuben was born around 1801/2 in Gloucestershire, England, and christened on 14 November 1802 in All Saints church, Bisley, Gloucestershire, England.[i] 

Photographer Philip Halling, Bisley Church, 3 May 2008. Gloucestershire, England  [CC BY-SA 2.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0)], via Wikimedia Commons https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File%3ABisley_Church_-_geograph.org.uk_-_786952.jpg 

His parents are thought to be Thomas WHEELER and Hannah EAGELS who married on 11 Nov 1800 in the same Parish the previous year.[ii]

Photographer Jongleur100 The village of Bisley, Gloucestershire, England with the church spire in the background, 2018 [https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File%3ABisley%2C_Gloucestershire%2C_a_village_in_the_Cotswolds.jpg] 

Reuben married Elizabeth THOMAS on 27 Jan 1833 in Pitchcombe, Gloucestershire, England.[iii]  Pitchcombe is the parish were Elizabeth was baptised on 28 July 1804.[iv] Where she and her two sisters grew up.^[v] It appears that the newly married couple moved to Rueben’s home town of Bisley to live. It is difficult to know what it must have been like for the Wheelers living in Gloucestershire. Although it does appear that time were difficult economically: 

“Bisley is situated in the County of Gloucestershire, England, on the Cotswolds plateau, approximately four miles east of Stroud. The decline of the wool industry in the nineteenth century caused great hardship throughout the Cotswolds.”[vi]

Census details for 1831 for the Stroud area according to the [Census] returns

Society for the Diffusion of Useful Knowledge (Great Britain), ‘Penny Cyclopaedia of the Society for the Diffusion of Useful Knowledge’. C. Knight, 1842 p.127 [online] Available at: Google Books https://books.google.com.au/books?id=Ad9PAAAAMAAJ&vq=bisley&dq=how+far+is+pitchcombe+from+bisley+in+gloucestershire&source=gbs_navlinks_s [Accessed 23 Jan. 2018].

The 1831 in Gloucester helps to give a sense of place for our ancestors from the size of the place, to the number houses and the number of people.  Reuben Wheeler came from a much larger town than his wife whose town had only 224 people compared to Bisley which was much larger in area and had 5859 people in 1264 houses. Rueben must have seemed very worldly to his intended wife Elizabeth Thomas whose small country town of Pitchcomb only had 43 houses.

Census Entry in 1841 for Reuben Wheeler's family

Ten years later in 1841 Reuben & Elizabeth appear in the census with two children in Gloucestershire, living in Bisley with a notation of Burley underneath which could possibly be referring to the name of house that they lived in.)[vii] They are listed as shown below including Peter Aldridge who appears to be living with them

1.  Reuben Wheeler, aged 35 no profession listed
2. Elizabeth Wheeler, aged 35
3. Selina Wheeler, aged 7
4. George Wheeler, aged 5
5. Peter Aldridge, aged 14 also born in Gloucestershire, England [how or if he is related to the family is unknown, however he is the only breadwinner in the household]

At the end of 1841 the family migrated as assisted passengers to Australia. They left at Plymouth on the 30 Oct 1841 aboard the Himalaya and arrived on the 26 Feb 1842 in Port Philip, Victoria, Australia.[viii]

The Ship records show that

1. Reuben was aged 38 and a labourer and the government paid a bounty of 19 pounds.
2. Elizabeth was aged 37, a housekeeper and the government paid a bounty of 19 pounds.
3. George was 5 and the government paid a bounty of 5 pounds.
4. Selina was 7.5 and the government paid a bounty of 10 pounds

Rueben died when he was living Napoleon St, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia in 1873.[ix]

Photographer Sandra Williamson,  Gravestone Reuben & Elizabeth Wheeler in Boroondara Cemetery, Kew, Victoria, Australia, circa 2003 [B024]

He died on 19 Jul 1873 in Victoria, Australia

Research notes:-

[On his son Reuben's death certificate his father was given as William. However although WHEELER is a common enough Gloucestershire, the name Reuben is unusual, therefore when I found a Reuben Wheeler baptized in Bisley, Gloucestershire on the 12 Nov 1802 whose father was Thomas. I came to the belief that this is my Reuben and he is the son of Thomas rather than William, it is unlikely that any of Reuben's children met their grandfather as adults and may have given the wrong name on the death certificate by accident.]
In 1834 Stroud was "a parliamentary borough in Gloucestershire. It includes an extensive district, comprehending the parishes of Stroud, Bisley, Painswick, Pitchcombe...”[x]

WikiTree Link for Rueben Wheeler's Family Tree on WikiTree on WikiTree (@WikiTreeOfficial)

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[i] Baptism of Reuben Wheeler Baptised 14 November 1802, Bisley Gloucestershire England Ancestry.com. Gloucestershire, England, Church of England Baptisms, Marriages and Burials, 1538-1813 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2014.

Original data: Gloucestershire Anglican Parish Registers. Gloucestershire Archives, Gloucestershire, England. Gloucestershire Archives; Gloucestershire, England; Gloucestershire Anglican Parish Registers; Reference Number: P47 IN 1/3

[ii] Ancestry, Marriage of Thomas Wheeler & Hannah Eagles married 11 November 1800 after Banns, Bisley Church Parish Register 1800-1812,  Gloucestershire England. 'Gloucestershire, England, Church of England Marriages and Banns, 1754-1938'. Citing: Gloucestershire Anglican Parish Registers; Reference Numbers: P47 IN 1/9  [page 6/image 8 of 64] Gloucestershire Archives; Gloucester, England.  Accessed 22 January 2018 [Transcript of Register entry - “28th and Oct 5^th Thomas Wheeler of this Parifh Batchelor and Hannah Eagels of this Parifh spinster were married in this church by Banns with confent of [blank] this 11th Day of Novb in the Year One Thoufand Eight Hundred by me John Green Curate.

This Marriage was foleminized between Us The mark of Thos Wheeler  The Mark of Hannah Eagels,

IN the Prefence of The X Mark of Wm Eagels  [&] Thomas Barradoll[?]”

[iii] Marriage of Rueben Wheeler & Elizabeth Thomas on 27/01/1833 Pitchcombe, Gloucestershire England Parish Church Register, page 16 entry #47. Ancestry.com. Gloucestershire, England, Church of England Marriages and Banns, 1754-1938 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2014. Original data: Gloucestershire Anglican Parish Registers. Gloucestershire Archives, Gloucestershire, England. [Transcript of Register entry - “Banns of Marriage between Thomas Wheeler and Hannah Eagels were published Sep 21st Marriages solemnized inthe Parish of Pitchcombe in the County of Gloucester in the Year 1833. Reuben Wheeler of this Parish and Elizabeth Thomas of this Parish were married in this Church by Banns this 27th Day of January in the Year One thousand eight hundred and thirty three By me George Grimstead Curate. This Marriage was solemnized between us Reuben Wheeler X [signed using his mark] [&] Elizabeth Thomas X [signed using her mark] In the Presence of Danl Estcourt [&] Ann Mills [signed using her mark]”

[iv] Ancestry, Baptism of Elizabeth Thomas baptized 28 July 1804 Pitchcombe Church Register #3 'Gloucestershire, England, Church of England Baptisms, Marriages and Burials, 1538-1813' Gloucestershire Archives; Gloucestershire, England; Gloucestershire Anglican Parish Registers; Reference Number: P250 IN 1/3 Year Range: 1778-1808 unpagination [image 17 of 33]

[v] Ancestry, Baptism of  Ann Thomas baptized 14 December 1806 Pitchcombe Church Register 'Gloucestershire, England, Church of England Baptisms, Marriages and Burials, 1538-1813' Gloucestershire Archives; Gloucestershire, England; Gloucestershire Anglican Parish Registers; Reference Number: GDR/V1/183 Year Range: 1639-1813 unpagination [image 260 of 276]; Ancestry, Baptism of Hannah Thomas baptzied 3 February 1812 Pitchcombe Church Register #3 'Gloucestershire, England, Church of England Baptisms, Marriages and Burials, 1538-1813' Gloucestershire Archives; Gloucestershire, England; Gloucestershire Anglican Parish Registers; Reference Number: P250 IN 1/4 Year Range: 1778-1808 unpagination [image 3 of 9]

[vi] Glosgen.co.uk. (2018). GlosGen - Bisley Genealogy. [online] Available at: http://www.glosgen.co.uk/records/bisley.htm [Accessed 22 Jan. 2018].

[vii] Ancestry, 1841 Census entry for Rueben Wheeler & family. 841 England Census. Original data: Census Returns of England and Wales, 1841. Kew, Surrey, England: The National Archives of the UK (TNA): Public Record Office (PRO). Class: HO107; Piece: 362; Book: 7; Civil Parish: Minchinhampton; County: Gloucestershire; Enumeration District: 8; Folio: 24; Page: 9

[viii] Ancestry, Shipping record for the Wheeler Family #35 on the Himalaya, February 1842 ‘Assisted Immigrant Passenger Lists, 1828-1896’. State Records Authority of New South Wales; Kingswood New South Wales, Australia; Persons on bounty ships arriving at Port Phillip (Agent's Immigrant Lists);Series: 5318; Reel: 2144; Item: [4/4814] Vessel Himalaya, p.236  [image 4 of 7] Accessed 25 January 2018. Accessed 25 January 2018.; Ancestry, Alphabetical entries #101-104 for Bounty Immigrants of the Wheeler family from the United Kingdom on the Himalaya 1842. ‘Victoria, Australia, Assisted and Unassisted Passenger Lists, 1839-1923’ Register of Assisted Immigrants from the United Kingdom. Microfiche VPRS 14. Public Record Office Victoria, North Melbourne, Victoria. p213 [image 420 of 753].

[ix] Death Certificate Rueben Wheeler died 19 July 1873, Registrar of Birth, Death and Marriages, Victoria, Australia. 6484/1873

[x] Society for the Diffusion of Useful Knowledge (Great Britain), ‘Penny Cyclopaedia of the Society for the Diffusion of Useful Knowledge’. C. Knight, 1842 p.127 [online] Available at: Google Books https://books.google.com.au/books?id=Ad9PAAAAMAAJ&vq=bisley&dq=how+far+is+pitchcombe+from+bisley+in+gloucestershire&source=gbs_navlinks_s [Accessed 23 Jan. 2018].