vital records sources
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Obadiah's mark on his will

bio in progress

Obadiah was born in Cranfield, Bedfordshire, England, and baptized there on 5 December 1609. The church register calls him "Obedyas," son of John. Cranfield records refer to him as being of "Town End" or "Town's End." Much of Cranfield is divided into "ends." "Town's End" was likely the far southwest area of the village on High Street, now called West End. 19th century Ordnance Survey maps show "Townsend Farm" here, but most of this area has been redeveloped.
     Obadiah's mother may have been Elizabeth, since she is named in John's will as his wife. While she could have been a second wife and not the mother of his children, there is no parish record for such a later marriage. Based on the children named in the will, they likely married about 1595 before extant parish records for Cranfield. It has been speculated that he was the John who married Elizabeth Bread in Westoning, Bedfordshire, in 1584. This connection was probably made without the realization that the Cranfield records don't go back far enough for a more likely married in that parish. In any case, this Elizabeth certainly couldn't have been the mother of all of John's children, being too old, and there was a Wheeler presence in Westoning in the late 16th and early 17th centuries that has no apparent close connection to the one in Cranfield.
     Elizabeth was married about 1595 and had her last child of record in 1619. In order to accomodate a reasonable age at marriage and a plausible end of a woman's fertility in their mid 40s, she was born about 1574-76.
     Obadiah married Susan Wheeler of and in Cranfield in 1634. She was undoubtedly a cousin. Cranfield was a small town. There were six Wheeler family groups in Cranfield with children her age, give or take about five years. They were headed by John, Obadiah's father; Thomas, Susan's father; Richard; two more Johns, and another Thomas.
     Obadiah and Susan had their first known son Joshua baptized in Cranfield in August 1637. Hudson's history of Concord may be the origin of the assumption that Obadiah came over in 1635-36, and was one of the first settlers there. He doesn't give a reason to think so, nor has anyone else cited any evidece to support it. Since it would be beyond coincidence for a different couple named Obadiah and Susan to have had a son name Joshua in Cranfield about 1637, their immigration year was certainly no earlier than 1637.
     Many of Obadiah's siblings immigrated to New England. They were Mary (Wheeler) Barrett, Elizabeth (Wheeler) Halsey, Sarah (Wheeler) Nash and Isaac Wheeler.

"We think some quantity of land may be granted the Wheelers of Concord & the rest in that petition provided that within two years they make some good improvement of it." Records of the Governor and Company of the Massachusetts Bay in New England, vol. 2 (Boston: William White, 1853), 51.

     "Susana" died on 24 March 1648/9. He probably remarried not long after, having very young children to raise. No record has been found that gives the name of his second wife. She died before Obadiah wrote his will in 1671.

     In his will, Obadiah makes bequests to his sons. He names Joshua first and calls him is eldest. He names Josiah last as his youngest. Between them came Samuel, Obadiah and John, in that order. He gives additional bequests to Obadiah, John and Josiah, in that order. There is no reason to think that this doesn't follow the custom of naming children in order of birth in probate records, unless the bequests are complicated by other factors. The son of Obadiah, Sr., named John born in 1640 wasn't this John, otherwise he would have been the second son and Samuel the third. This means he died young and another son was named for him. This second John is often slotted between Samuel and Susannah because of the gap in years between them, giving John the birth year of about 1647, and including him among the children of Susannah. This is evidently incorrect. If any of the younger sons might be put here it's Obadiah. John was appointed co-executor of his father's will in December 1671, so would have to have been 21 by then. Some have said this is evidence he was the son of Susannah, which doesn't stand to reason. Susannah died in March 1649. If Obadiah married his second wife in the middle third of 1649, John could have been born early enough in 1650 to have been of age in late 1671. There aren't many records for Obadiah, Jr., and nothing obvious for John other than his being appointed an executor, so shuffling them slightly out of the established order of birth isn't radical. For these reasons, the children of his second wife are most likely only John and Josiah, in that order.

children of Obadiah Wheeler and Susannah Wheeler:

i. Joshua, bap. 25 Aug. 1637, Cranfield Bedfordshire parish registers (p. 5).
ii. John, b. 27 Jan. 1639/40 Concord, Massachusetts births, marriages, and deaths, 1635-1850 (Boston, MA: 1895?) (p. 3)
iii. Ruth, b. 23 Apr. 1642 (p. 3)
iv. ?son, b. "25:10m:1643" (25 Dec. 1643), d. "29:9m:1643" (29 Nov. 1643), so one of these records is incorrect. In either case, they conflict with Samuel's birth.
v. Samuel, b. 22 Feb. 1644/4 (p. 4)
vi. Obadiah, possibly b. abt. 1647
vii. "Susana", b. 17 March 164-, perhaps 1648/49, since Susan (Wheeler) Wheeler died 24 March 1648/49, Concord, Massachusetts births, marriages, and deaths, 1635-1850 (Boston, MA: 1895?), p. 6. The new year at this time started on 25 March making the dual year in this case 1648/9. It's possible that Susana died from complications of childbirth with Obadiah's daughter Susana. Her birth year is damaged in the original record, but it was in the 1640s after her brother Samuel. She was born on 16 March and the elder Susana died on 24 March.

children of Obadiah Wheeler and his unidentified second wife:

viii. John
ix. Josiah

vital records sources: his death is in , 15. His marriage to Susan: F. G. Emmison, ed., Bedfordshire parish registers (Bedford, Eng: 1943), p. 39.

1. F. G. Emmison, ed., Bedfordshire parish registers (Bedford, Eng: 1943), 39.