Celia Buffington

1762 - 1843  (80 years)

• Name	Celia Buffington  [1]
  Birth	25 Aug 1762  [2]
  Gender	Female
  Alternate birth	26 Aug 1762	Massachusetts   [3, 4, 5, 6]
  Death	6 Mar 1843	East Bloomfield, Ontario, New York   [2, 3, 5]
  Burial	Wheeler Cemetery, East Bloomfield, Ontario, New York   [5]
  Person ID	I1349	Ancestry of PNH, TNH, and others | Ancestor of GFS
  Last Modified	14 Jan 2019

  
  

  Family	Benjamin Wheeler,   b. 7 Feb 1764, Rehoboth, Bristol, Massachusetts d. 6 Feb 1836, East Bloomfield, Ontario, New York (Age 71 years)
  Marriage	28 Jul 1782	Hornbine Church, about six miles from Rehoboth, Bristol, Massachusetts   [2, 3, 7, 8]
  Children	+ 1. Benjamin Daggett Wheeler,   b. 10 Apr 1789, Rehoboth, Bristol, Massachusetts d. 30 Sep 1818, East Bloomfield, Ontario, New York (Age 29 years)
  Family ID	F581	Group Sheet  |  Family Chart
  Last Modified	14 Jan 2019

  
  

• Notes

  Benjamin and Celia Wheeler's Bible record, deposited with Revolutionary War Records, National Archives, Washington, DC, #W 15484 (as cited by Harriette M. Wheeler, citation details below) give her date of birth as 25 Aug 1762, rather than 26 Aug as shown in other sources. From Harriette M. Wheeler, "The Family of Benjamin and Celia (Buffington) Wheeler" (citation details below): [T]he question of "Who were the parents of Celia (Sela, Selia) Buffington?" has been an ever re-occurring dilemma. The only primary evidence located to date are those of her birth, 25 Aug. 1762 (her own Bible record) and the recorded marriage to Benjamin Wheeler, 28 July 1782 (Rehoboth Marriages). However, a careful scrutiny of the names given her children point to a possible ancestry. Note that she gave a place of honor to some one by naming her first child (see below), a son, Elijah Knapp Wheeler and her second, a daughter, Phebe Haskins Wheeler. Her third and fourth children received their parents' names; her fifth, Sally Mason Wheeler, includes a name repeated often in this Wheeler family; her sixth, John Harvey Wheeler, has ancestral connotations; the last four, Mason Trueman, Christopher C., Frances Jarvis, and Cyrus Stebbins Wheeler, may be clues not yet realized. A search of records at Taunton, Bristol Co., Mass. show there was indeed a Phebe Haskins and Elijah Knapp who were married sometime before 31 Oct. 1782 (their marriage intention or record not located). On the above date "Elijah Knapp of Taunton, cordwainer, and Phebe Knapp, wife, for 28 pounds and ten shillings paid us by Peter Haskins of Taunton, yeoman, have granted ... sold to Peter Haskins the whole of the right, title, claim ... the said Phebe Knapp has in or unto the estate of her honored father, Samuel Haskins late of Taunton deceased, intestate." Witnesses: Henry Ingalls and Henry Burt. The above Phebe (Haskins) Knapp was the daughter of Samuel and Joanna (Harvey) Haskins. This family is fully established in an article appearing in The American Genealogist. [Florence Harlow Barclay, "Haskins of Taunton: Samuel2, Samuel3, and Their Families." The American Genealogist 28:252, 1952; addition 30:173, 1954.] There is now the problem of the identity of Phebe Haskins whose marriage intention to John Bufington (sic) of Dighton is recorded 17 April 1762, and marriage recorded May 1762 in Taunton. Is this Phebe Haskins the same one found later married to Elijah Knapp? Could she have been a niece, perhaps a daughter of Peter Haskins, whose child was raised by Elijah and Phebe (Haskins) Knapp? Did Phebe Knapp sell her inheritance 31 Oct. 1782, soon after the marriage of Celia Buffington on 28 July 1782 to Benjamin Wheeler, to provide a dowry for this child? The fact remains that Celia Buffington knew and loved these people--that she used their names, as well as the name Harvey, to perpetuate their memory. Who has the missing clue?

  
  

• Sources

  [S2875] Thompson Lineage, with Mention of Allied Families by William Baker Thompson. Harrisburg, Pennsylvania: Press of the Telegraph Printing Company, 1911. [S2879] Harriette M. Wheeler, "The Family of Benjamin and Celia (Buffington) Wheeler as Identified Through Their Heirs." The Detroit Society for Genealogical Research Magazine 30:9, Fall 1966; 30:57, Winter 1966. [S2775] The Genealogical and Encyclopedic History of the Wheeler Family in America ed. Albert Gallatin Wheeler, Jr. Boston: American College of Genealogy, 1914., date only. [S560] A History of Ontario County, New York, and Its People, Genealogical and Biographical by Charles F. Milliken. New York: Lewis Historical Publishing Company, 1911. [S2873] Find a Grave page for Celia Buffington Wheeler. [S2874] History of Ontario County, New York, with Illustrations and Family Sketches of Some of the Prominent Men and Families by Lewis Cass Aldrich, ed. George S. Conover. Syracuse, New York: D. Mason & Co., 1893. [S560] A History of Ontario County, New York, and Its People, Genealogical and Biographical by Charles F. Milliken. New York: Lewis Historical Publishing Company, 1911., date only. [S2874] History of Ontario County, New York, with Illustrations and Family Sketches of Some of the Prominent Men and Families by Lewis Cass Aldrich, ed. George S. Conover. Syracuse, New York: D. Mason & Co., 1893., date only.