A Timeline for Reuel Joseph Wheeler

It's been a while.

I've finally gotten some military records for Reuel Joseph Wheeler. Not the full-meal deal - those full military folders for Grandpa Wheeler were burned in the 1973 fire in St. Louis or have been lost. What I got were the final pay vouchers as he was discharged from his enlistments. They usually show name, rank, serial number, date of enlistment (but not unit) and date of discharge and unit. (In one case the discharge unit is not shown.)

So here is the 5 cent version, combining the guardianship papers, the Oregon National Guard Enlistment papers, the final pay vouchers, a couple of census records, the Civilian Conservation Corps discharge papers, Grandma and Grandpa Wheeler's marriage license and certificate, Colleen's birth certificate and Grandpa Wheeler's death certificate and funeral card into one time line:

Timeline for Reuel Joseph Wheeler
Date	Locality	County	State	Notes
1914-09-30		Lane	Oregon	Guardian appointed
1916-06-19	Salem	Marion	Oregon	Enlisted in Co 'M', 3rd Oregon Infantry
1916-10-07	Salem	Marion	Oregon	Enlisted in US Regular Army (unit unknown)
1920-01-08	Camp Kearney		California	Discharged from Co 'H' 32nd Infantry
1920-01-09	Camp Kearney		California	Enlisted in US Regular Army (unit unknown)
1920-01-15	Camp Kearney		California	1920 Us Federal Census (Co 'H' 3rd Infantry US Army)
1923-01-08	Vancouver Barracks		Washington	Discharged from Co 'C' 7th Infantry
1923-01-09	Vancouver Barracks		Washington	Enlisted in US Regular Army (unit unknown)
1923-06-16	Vancouver Barracks		Washington	Discharged from Co 'C' 7th Infantry (Dependency AR 615-360)
1923-12-14	Los Angeles		California	Enlisted in US Regular Army (unit unknown)
1926-12-13	Ft McDowell		California	Discharged (unit unknown)
1926-12-15	San Diego		California	Enlisted in US Regular Army (unit unknown)
1929-02-09				AWOL (2 days)
1929-11-05	Salt Lake City	Salt Lake	Utah	Marriage to Elva Ruby Brady
1929-11-07				AWOL (4 days)
1929-12-20	Ft Douglas	Salt Lake	Utah	Discharged from Co 'L' 38th Infantry
1929-12-23	Ft Douglas	Salt Lake	Utah	Enlisted in US Regular Army (unit unknown)
1930-03-27				AWOL (14 days)
1930-04-10				Confined (46 days)
1930-04-16	Ft. Douglas	Salt Lake	Utah	1930 US Federal Census
1931-01-05	Salt Lake City	Salt Lake	Utah	Birth of daughter Colleen Elva Wheeler
1931-04-17	Ft Douglas	Salt Lake	Utah	Discharged from Co 'L' 38th Infantry (Section VIII AR 615-360 Lack of adaptability for the military)
1933-07-15	Cedar City		Utah	Enrolled in Civilian Conservation Corps
1935-09-06	Bryce Canyon		Utah	Discharged from Civilian Conservation Corps
1975-07-13	Salt Lake City	Salt Lake	Utah	Died

Perhaps a breakthrough....

We are here in Salt Lake City to attend the First Annual RootsTech Conference. We came early so that we could do some family history research. My area of concentration, of focus, was to be Reuel Joseph Wheeler (or Joseph Reuel Wheeler).

First thing this morning, I looked up the addresses of the various government office to get his death certificate and his marriage certificate. I also got copies of his obituary. These are useful things for me to have because they keep me honest and grounded in what the records say.

Tonight I was doing some on-line searching in the Oregon State Archives. One of the things I thought I knew was that he joined the Army during World War I. I thought that I had an enlistment paper showing that he had joined the Oregon National Guard in 1916. Since I have not been able to find it, I have been thinking that it never existed. So I went to the Oregon State Archives to see how I might obtain such a paper if it existed.

While there, I started doing a bit of searching in Oregon Historical Records Index. I searched for Wheeler across all record collections and all time periods. There were 658 matches. So I paged through them. On page 23 out of 27 pages, I found the following entries:

Wheeler, Reuel J.	12/31/1914	Guardianship	Lane	County	2582
Wheeler, Reuel Joseph	1916	Enlistment	Marion	Military

Here is the detail on the second index entry:

Case#
Name Wheeler, Reuel Joseph
Date 1916
Record Type Enlistment
County Marion
Source Military
Identifier
Remarks

So clearly, there is reason to believe that grandpa Wheeler joined the Oregon National Guard in 1916. But what about that first entry? Here are the details:

Case# 2582
Name Wheeler, Reuel J.
Date 12/31/1914
Record Type Guardianship
County Lane
Source County
Identifier
Remarks

What is a guardianship record? According to the Oregon State Archives,

About the Oregon Historical Records Index

index search page | records description list

Probate Records - including estate and guardianship

Probate records have consisted of several subsets over the decades. While these records may include actions related to change of name, abandonment, apprenticeship, and indenture, the following two types are most often found in this index:

Estate case files consist of the papers filed with the county's probate court during an estate proceeding. Typical files may include: the deceased's will; the petition to settle the estate in probate court; an inventory and appraisement of the deceased's property; the final order; various orders from the court pertaining to the case (for example, the appointment of an executor or appraisers; or the fixing of a date and time to hear the final order); bonds; citations; creditors' claims and vouchers relating to charges to the estate; and other items.

The volume of material in these files can vary from only a handful of pages to some that number in the hundreds. Many researchers who examine these records are primarily interested in listings of the deceased's heirs. If you wish to specify in your request we can limit the copying to certain types of key documents, or we can provide you with copies of every item in the file.

Guardianship cases concern situations in which the court determines if and how a person should hold the lawful power and duty to care for the person, property, and rights of another individual considered incapable by reason of age, understanding, or self-control. Records may include petitions, affidavits, accountings, reports, orders, bonds, receipts, and related documents.

Who is incapable? Reuel JosephWheeler? His parents? Someone else? Why?

The archives are closed right now. I am waiting to see what this might mean.

Reuel Joseph Wheeler - Some other things that might be true

As I was thinking about grandpa Wheeler, I came up with some other things that (at one time) I thought were true:

• Grandpa's brother Howard Emmett Wheeler worked for a major oil company in Los Angeles, California in the 1930s.
• Grandpa's sister Rosalind Rochelle Wheeler married a veterinarian named Roller (or Rowler) and lived in Kansas City (Kansas? Missouri?) in the 1930s.
• Grandpa spent some summers in North Powder, Oregon, but his main residence was Salem, Marion County, Oregon.

So here's the question: is any of this true? Does any of this remind you of things you once knew about Reuel Joseph Wheeler?

Next time: how I searched.....

Reuel Joseph Wheeler - What I Thought I Knew

Here is what I thought I knew about him from the stories he told me when I was growing up.

Name: Reuel Joseph Patrick Sarsfield Desmond O'Neil Wheeler
Birthdate: 3 August 1893
Birthplace: Wellington, Sumner, Kansas
Father: Joseph Reuel Wheeler
Mother: Marion Desmond
Sibling 1: Howard Emmett Wheeler
Sibling 2: Rosalind Rochelle Wheeler
Married: Elva Ruby Brady
Marriage Place: Salt Lake City, Utah
Marriage Date: 5 November 1929
Death Date: 13 July 1975
Death Place: Salt Lake City, Utah

Moved from Kansas to Oregon when he was young.
Had an Uncle Moody who took him back home when he ran away. Uncle Moody lived in Washington state and Oregon state.
Had an Aunt Ella who married Quincy Rockwell. They lived in Nez Perce County, Idaho.
Served in the United States Army in World War I. He was in France during the war.
Stayed in the United States Army after the war, and was in the Army when he got married.
His mother died about 1920.
He did not tell me when his father died.
Joined the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in 1930. This took place in Utah. His family broke off all relationships with him when joined the Church.
Worked in the National Parks in southern Utah during the 1930s.
His wife was ready to locate the family in the 1950s, but he did not want to contact them.
Was descended from Irish royalty.

One of the last things he said to me was "Kenny, find my family."