| Notes |
- He was Thomas Wheeler, born 1816, one of an interminable family of Wheelers who lived in Worcester. He was an auctioneer. And he died, I eventually discovered, at the ripe old age of fifty-six. And when Auntie Wee was no longer there to tell the story, we heard another version: that he preferred to sit back, rather than try to earn again, and use his first wife's money, intended for her daughters, to raise ten more children.
His first marriage was to Sophia Walter, whose twin sister was Louisa, and of this far far away grandmother the only thing we certainly know is how much she loved her mama, for in Her Book -a sort of autograph album, the only thing we have of hers - is this excruciating poem ....
The Bride's Farewell
Mother I quit thy pious care, the thoughtful maiden said,
And I am his, the stranger's now, Till numbered with the dead.
Oh! He has sworn to cherish me and smooth my path of life.
And Mother, I must leave thee now to be the stranger's wife.
'Tis even so, my youth has passed, so jocund and so free
I mourned in spirit to believe I might be torn from thee.
Yet now, my Mother, willingly, I quit thy side
And turn to him who leads me forth, a trembling tearful bride.
It may be he will never cheer my youth as thou has done
It may be he will alight at last the being he has won,
But I am his, the stranger's now, and I am thine no more
And I must onwards on my path as thou has done before.
It may be he will cherish one who leaves her home of rest
To solace him, the one beloved, and she may yet be blessed;
I may not think - emotions rise which I must strive to quell,
Another pang and it is o'er - embrace me - and farewell.
It reduces me to tears as still comes through the spirit of someone tremulous, young, hopeful, and very much beloved. She died, aged twenty-seven, of influenza when my grandmother Mary was a few months old and Auntie Wee not yet two years.
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| Children |
| | 1. Louisa Elizabeth Wheeler, b. 28 Aug 1845, Leicester, LEI  , d. 1928, Croydon, SRY (Age 82 years) [Natural] |
| | 2. Mary Sophia Caroline Wheeler, b. 04 Apr 1847, Leicester, LEI , d. 21 Jan 1912, Les Ombrages, Meylan, Isère (Age 64 years) [Natural] |
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1820 - 1847 (27 years)