Benjamin BRUCE & Philadelphia WHEELER

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Diana, Goddess of the Hunt — for Ancestors!

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Benjamin BRUCE
Philadelphia WHEELER

Husband: Benjamin BRUCE
Birth: 19 Aug 1759, Bolton, Worcester Co., MA
Death: 11 Sep 1839, Jay, Essex Co., NY
Disposition: buried Central Cemetery, Jay, Essex Co., NY
Occupation: shoemaker
Military Service: Revolutionary War: Pvt., Capt. Daniel Barnes's Co., Col. Timothy Bigelow's Rgmt., Massachusetts Line
Military Battles: "Stillwater at the taking of Burgoyne," among others
Father: Timothy BRUCE
Mother: Susannah JOSLIN

Intent to Marry: 22 Mar 1781, Berlin, Worcester Co., MA
Marriage Ceremony: 10 May 1781, First (Unitarian) Church, Bolton, Worcester Co., MA
Migration: 1804, settled in Jay, Essex Co., NY

Wife: Philadelphia WHEELER
Birth: 11 Jul 1758, Hopkinton, Middlesex Co., MA
Death: 13 Sep 1838, Jay, Essex Co., NY
Disposition: buried Central Cemetery, Jay, Essex Co., NY
Father: Joshua WHEELER II — descendant of Resolved WHITE, Mayflower passenger
Mother: Elizabeth BARNEY

Children — born in Bolton, Worcester Co., MA:

1. [Mary?] "Pollie / Polly" BRUCE, b. ca. 1783/4
2. Jonah BRUCE, b. ca. 11 Apr 1785
3. Anna BRUCE — said to be Thankful Ann BRUCE, b. 1787/8
4. Philadelphia "Phila" BRUCE, b. by 1790
5. Hannah BRUCE, b. ca. 1794/5
6. Joseph BRUCE, b. Jul 1796

Some secondary sources give our subject this daughter:
. Catharine BRUCE, b. 29 Aug 1791, MA
But the biographical sketch in the History of Essex County (see below) does not mention a daughter, Catherine. Also, there's no room for her in our subject's census records.

Keywords for search engines: genealogy; USA, US, United States, Massachusetts, New York

Sources:

1a. LDS. Family Search: Internet Genealogy Service: IGI - International Genealogical Index (online at FamilySearch.org).

Benjamin BRUCE
Spouse: Philadelphia WHEELAR
Marriage: 22 Mar 1781, Berlin, Worcester, Massachusetts
Source: Vital Records of Berlin, Massachusetts, to the End of the Year 1899. Eaton, Frances L. 1935, Newcombe & Gause, Salem, MA

Benjamin BRUCE
Spouse: Philadelphia WHEELER
Marriage: 10 May 1781, Bolton, Worcester, Massachusetts
Source: patron submission

The former is an "intention to marry"; the latter is the marriage itself.

1b. Frederic W. Bailey, 1897-1914. Early Massachusetts Marriages Prior to 1800. 3 vols. Bureau of American Ancestry, New Haven, CT (online at Ancestry.com):

Jun 24, 1738, Part of Lancaster established as Bolton. First (Unitarian) Church organized 1740. Friends, 1799. Officiating clergymen mentioned: Rev. Thomas Goss, Rev. John Walley...
Benjamin Bruce, Jr., & Philadelphia Wheeler, May 10, 1781

2. 1790 Census Index/Images (online at Ancestry.com; Image #1 of 2; extracted by Diana Gale Matthiesen):NR

1790 MA Worcester Co. Bolton Roll M637_4 p. 91/214 Ln. 30R Benjamin Bruce 1-1-4-0-0

These data indicate:

Gender and Type Age Class Therefore Born Individuals Inferred

1 free white males 16 or over in or bef. 1774 = Benjamin (b. 1759)

1 free white males 15 or under 1774-1790 = Jonah (b. 1785)

4 free white females all ages in or bef. 1790 = Philadelphia (b. 1758)
= Polly (b. ca. 1783/4)
= Ann (b. ca. 1788)
= Philadelphia (b. ca. 1790)

Listed four lines from brother, Timothy BRUCE.

3. 1800 Census Index/Images (online at Ancestry.com, Image #1 of 2 — indexed "Benjn Bruce"; extracted by Diana Gale Matthiesen):NR

1800 VT Windsor Co. Baltimore Roll 52 p. 294 Ln. 3 Benj^a Bruce 10001-22011-00

These data indicate:

No. & Sex Age Class Therefore Born Individuals Inferred

1 male 9 or under 1790-1800 = Joseph (b. 1796)

1 male 45 or over in or bef. 1755 = Benjamin (b. 1759)

2 females 9 or under 1790-1800 = Hannah (b. 1794/5)
= Philadelphia (b. ca. 1790)

2 females 10-15 1784-1790 = Ann (b. ca. 1788)
= Polly (b. ca. 1783/4)

1 female 26-44 1755-1774 = Philadelphia (b. 1758)

1 female 45 or over in or bef. 1755 = mother? mother-in-law?

Where's Jonah? He would be only 15, though I suppose that makes him old enough to be "working out." Could not find Benjamin's brother, Timothy. Obadiah, Asa, Moses, Abraham, Daniel, Joshua, and Peregrine WHEELER are still in Bolton. This is a "re-bound" county, so I've little confidence that no pages were lost, and for which reason I did a page-by-page search of entire Worcester Co., MA. The Benjamin BRUCE (husband of Nancy McBRIDE) who was in Berlin in 1790 is still there, just as he is still there in 1810, so he is clearly not our subject (he is in association with Hugh BRUCE in both years).

4. 1810 Census Index/Images (online at Ancestry.com; Image #4 of 4; extracted by Diana Gale Matthiesen):NR

1810 NY Essex Co. Jay Roll M525_27 p. 22 Ln. 5 Benj Bruce 01001-01001-0-1-200

These data indicate:

No. & Sex Age Class Therefore Born Individuals Inferred

1 male 10-15 1794-1800 = Joseph (b. 1796)

1 male 45 or over in or bef. 1765 = Benjamin (b. 1759)

1 female 10-15 1794-1800 = Hannah (b. 1794/5)

1 female 45 or over in or bef. 1765 = Philadelphia (b. 1758)

1 Looms

200 Yards of Cloth

Listed one line below son, Jonah BRUCE.

5. 1820 Census Index/Images (online at Ancestry.com; Image #1 of 7 — indexed "Bruer"; extracted by Diana Gale Matthiesen):NR

1820 NY Essex Co. Jay Roll M33_69 p. 419 Ln. 19 Bruce Jonah 410021-21111-0-400

These data indicate:

No. & Sex Age Class Therefore Born Individuals Inferred

4 males 9 or under 1810-1820 =

1 male 10-15 1804-1810 =

2 males 26-44 1775-1794 = Jonah (b. 1785)
= ?

1 male 45 or over in or bef. 1775 = Benjamin (b. 1759)

2 females 9 or under 1810-1820 =

1 female 10-15 1804-1810 =

1 female 16-25 1794-1804 =

1 female 26-44 1775-1794 = Sally

1 female 45 or over in or bef. 1775 = Philadelphia (b. 1758)

4 persons engaged in agriculture

Our subjects appear to be living with their married son, Jonah.

6. 1830 Census Index/Images (online at Ancestry.com, Image #19 of 20; extracted by Diana Gale Matthiesen):NR

1830 NY Essex Co. Jay Roll 114 p. 298 Ln. 12 Jonah Bruce 321 110 000 100 - 001 000 100 100

These data indicate:

No. & Sex Age Class Therefore Born Individuals Inferred

3 males 4 or under 1825-1830 =

2 males 5-9 1820-1825 =

1 male 10-14 1815-1820 =

1 male 15-19 1810-1815 =

1 male 20-29 1800-1810 =

0 males 40-49 1780-1790 = Jonah (b. 1785)

1 male 70-79 1750-1760 = Benjamin (b. 1759)

1 female 10-14 1815-1820 =

1 female 40-49 1780-1790 = Sally

1 female 70-79 1750-1760 = Philadelphia (b. 1758)

Our subjects appear to be living with their son, Jonah, and his family, but was Jonah mis-tallied or omitted? Jonah's wife is there (or at least someone her age is).

7. Abstract of Graves of Revolutionary Patriots, Vol. 1, p. __ (online at Ancestry.com):

Benjamin BRUCE Jay Cem Jay NY 15

8. Email from Janet (Bruce) Nelson, including:

Benjamin and Philadelphia signed a quitclaim deed 15 August 1804 at Springfield, Vermont... They were "of Baltimore, Windsor County, VT" on the quitclaim.

9. H.P. Smith. 1885. History of Essex County [New York]. D. Mason & Co., Publ., Syracuse, NY (online at Ancestry.com). On p. 717:

Bruce. The Bruce family is among the first families of Jay. Their ancestor, Benjamin Bruce, first settled in Jay in 1804. He was a shoemaker by trade and a soldier of the Revolution. He died September 11th, 1839, leaving six children: Joseph, Jonah, Anna, Polie, Phila, and Hannah. Joseph was married to Rebecca Houghton, a native of Vermont...

A lot is riding on whether this bio is accurate, at least with regard to our subject's children. At best, the informant was our subject's grandson, Joshua F. BRUCE, or may even have been Joshua's wife or one of his children, in which case an error is possible. The most questionable child here is "Phila." What other evidence do we have of her existence?

10. WorldConnect / Ancestry World Trees (online at RootsWeb.com/Ancestry.com).

11. Messages posted to the Bruce Family Genealogy Forum (online at GenForum.com). A message there from Susan J. Mulvey clears up the mystery about two marriage dates (the one in Berlin is an "intent" to marry). The Benjamin BRUCE in the 1790 census of Berlin is the one who married Nancy McBRIDE (in 1768 in Bolton). There are no birth records for children of Benjamin & Philadelphia in Berlin or Bolton.

12. Messages posted to the Wheeler Family Genealogy Forum (online at GenForum.com).

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