Rulof W. Wheeler

of the

16th NY Heavy Artillery

Herkimer County, NY

Contributed by David Wheeler.

Rulof W. WHEELER was from Herkimer County, from a family who seem to have been paupers/labourers/itinerant farmers. Rulof was in Company "H", 16th New York Heavy Artillery during the Civil War. He enlisted at the age of 18 on Dec. 26, 1863 at Utica, NY, was honourably discharged on Aug 21, 1865 in Washington, DC, and applied for his invalid pension on January 12, 1891.

The Army listed his birthplace as Russia, Herkimer County, Aug. 19, 1845. His father was George and probably from Dutchess County. His mother's name was probably Diana HOWARD. Rulof married his first wife, Margret HALEY, born in Canada, on June 7, 1867. She died in Northwood in 1883, but the record of her death was destroyed by fire. Children by that marriage were: Jerome born 1868, George 1871, May 1875, and Maggie 1881, who died in 1911. In the 1870 census, Rulof and family resided in the Town of of Russia. In 1880, they were in the Town of Wilmurt. In 1860, Rulof's family may have been in Oneida County. They were itinerate farmers and probably moved around alot.

Rulof's second wife's maiden name was Arris GROWER. She became Arris Sweet when she married James SWEET, and after he died she married my great-greatgrandfather Rulof Wheeler.

A Justice of the Peace by the name of Joshua Farr seems to have done a thing or two for Rulof, and Josh seems to have lived in Wilmurt. Many of the government documents about his Army pension list his post office and residence as Northwood, Herkimer County N.Y. They also show him having lived in Remsen, Forrestport, Middleville, Ohio and Cold Brook, but almost always in this place called Northwood. Yahoo Maps shows it just inside Herkimer at the border with Oneida County on Hwy. 365, and it shows Wheelertown just north of it. Wheelertown is where my grandfather, George Arthur Wheeler, was born on April 9, 1900. Wheelertown also went by the name of Wheelerville.

I think Rulof's immediate family were practically hillbillys. Rulof was illiterate and one of his medical records at the age of 56 describes him as poorly nourished. Rulof lived and probably died in Northwood, Herkimer County, January 1927, and was survived by second wife Arris Wheeler. In the 1930 census, widow Arris resided in the Town of Remsen, Oneida County, NY.

Does anyone know where all those Wheelers came from? Rulof's mother's maiden name was HOWARD and his wife's name was HALEY, so I'm interested in them too.

Dave Wheeler
Niagara Falls, Ontario

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