Lemuel Wheeler, who served his country faithfully during the whole of the Revolutionary war, was born in Concord, Mass., in 1755. He reared a family of 12 children, most of whom came to Jefferson County and located in the town of Lorraine, about 1816, and together took up a large tract of land. Eli died at Port Ontario; James died in Adams in 1863; Charlotte died in Adams in 1880; David died on the homestead at the age of 32 years; Mary (Mrs. Willard Wilder) died in Sandy Creek; Nancy died soon after attaining maturity.
Deacon James Wheeler, born in 1800, located in Lorraine, and about 1852 removed to Adams, where he was engaged in the boot and shoe trade until his death, in 1863. He married Celinda, daughter of Nehemiah and Sarah (Henry) Tucker, born in 1822, by whom he had seven children, viz.: Samatha S., deceased; William H., who resides in Adams; Ashley H. and Freeman, who reside in Illinois; Catharine S., who died in Minnesota; Daniel, who served in the late war and was killed in the battle of Lookout Mountain, in 1863; and Celinda (Mrs. Foster Thomson), who resides in Adams. Mrs. Wheeler, who was a lineal descendant of Patrick Henry, died in 1879.
William H. Wheeler, mentioned above, was born in Lorraine, August 17, 1824. He was reared upon a farm, and at the age of 22 years went west and taught school. In 1849 he came to Adams and engaged in the trade of carpenter and builder and dealer in lumber. He married, first, Sarah E. Wright in 1849. Their two children are deceased, and his wife died in 1853. For his second wife he married, in 1856, Innocent, daughter of Manning Blackstone, by whom he had a daughter, Clara Blackstone Wheeler, born in 1863. The latter was educated at Hungerford Collegiate Institute and in the art school in Syracuse. She was also a student in the Art League, in New York city, and became quite proficient in water colors, oil, portraits, and crayons. She died September 9, 1886, just as her hopes were brightest. Mr. Wheeler’s second wife died in 1864, and for his third wife he married, in 1868, Annie, daughter of Nelson Green. He has been president of Adams village, and has been extensively engaged in building in Watertown, Adams, and in other villages.
Daniel Wheeler, who was born in Lorraine, married Maria Gould, by whom he had six children. His son, Judson, was born in Lorraine, and at the age of 19 years went to California, where he amassed a large fortune, and where he now resides, in Placer County. Arvilla Wheeler married G. E. Penney and they have one son and two daughters, and reside at Ottawa, Illinois.
Source: Child, Hamilton. Geographical gazetteer of Jefferson county, N.Y., 1685-1890, part one, p. 235. Syracuse, N.Y.: The Syracuse journal company, printers and binders. 1890.