Thankful Cleland

Not the wife of James Cleveland (died young)

Biography

From the Edmund Rice Association:

http://www.edmund-rice.org/era5gens/e6a38.htm

Thankful WILDER [QQ1921] (Sarah4 WHITE, Mary3 RICE, Thomas2, Edmund1) , born 15 Apr 1715 at Lancaster, MA53 {p49},2 {12, 45}, daughter of John WILDER and Sarah WHITE.

She married James CLELAND 22 Feb 1738/39, (literally 1738) at Lancaster, listed as James of Lyme, CT53 {22, 27},2 {12, 45}.

He was born about 1713 at Lynn, MA, (not found in the published records)2 {p45}. They declared their intention to marry 4 Feb 1738/39 at Lancaster, MA53 {p28}.

Children of Thankful WILDER and James CLELAND:

• i Helen CLELAND [QQ15709], born 25 Dec 1739 at Lancaster53 {p68}.
• ii Thomas CLELAND [QQ15710], born 11 Nov 1741 at Lancaster, (at Bolton per Rice Gen'l Register)53 {p68},2 {45, 134}. He was in the military as a corporal on 3 April 1777, promoted to Sgt., served 44 months 28 days during the Revolutionary War (military annals of Lancaster)2 {p134},385. He married Anna RUGG 28 Feb 1765 at Lancaster, performed by Revd John Mellen53 {p101},2 {45, 134}. She was born 18 May 1744 at Lancaster53 {p69},2 {p134}, daughter of Reuben RUGG and Lydia ROSS.
• iii Hannah CLELAND [QQ15711], born 17 Feb 1742/43 at Lyme, CT53 {p22},2 {p45}.
• iv Samuel CLELAND [QQ15712], born 27 May 1744 at Lyme53 {p22},2 {p45}.
• v James CLELAND [QQ15713], born 12 Oct 1745 at Lyme53 {p22},2 {p45}.
• vi Jonas CLELAND [QQ15714], born 1 Aug 1748 at Lyme53 {p22},2 {p45}.
• vii John CLELAND [QQ15715], born in 1750 at Lyme53 {p22},2 {p45}. He died young2 {p45}.
• viii Mary CLELAND [QQ15716], born 7 Sep 1751 at Lyme53 {p22},2 {p45}.
• ix Thankful CLELAND [QQ15717], born 5 Dec 1754 at Lancaster, MA53 {p80},2 {p45}.
• x John CLELAND [QQ15718], born 22 Jan 1758 at Lancaster53 {p82},2 {p45}.

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We first see James Cleland in the Colonies 1738 marrying Thankful Wilder at Bolton Massachusetts.[3] Early Mass Vital records shows him as James Cleland of Lyme CT.[4]

Origins

Massachusetts Births and Christenings, 1639-1915 [1]
Thankfull Wilder
Birth Event Date: 15 Apr 1715
Event Place: Lancaster, Middlesex, Massachusetts Bay, British Colonial America
Gender: Female
Father's Name: John Wilder
Mother's Name: Sarah

Massachusetts: Vital Records, 1620-1850 (Online Database: AmericanAncestors.org, New England Historic Genealogical Society, 2001-2016). [2]
Thankful WILDER
Baptism 1715
Location Lancaster, Worcester, Massachusetts, United States
Original Text 1715, [May], 22. Thankful daughter of John Wilder
Town Info Lancaster
Volume Name Lancaster - V1 Page 275
Massachusetts: Vital Records, 1620-1850 (Online Database: AmericanAncestors.org, New England Historic Genealogical Society, 2001-2016). [3]

Thankfull WILDER
Intention 1739
Location Lancaster, Worcester, Massachusetts, United States
Original Text James Cleland of Lime entered his Entention of marriage with Thankfull Wilder of Bol___ February ye 4 1738-9
Town Info Lancaster
Volume Name Lancaster - V1 Page 28

References

1. WikiTree contributors, "Thankful (Wilder) Cleland (1715-1792)," WikiTree: The Free Family Tree, (https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Wilder-2190 : accessed 04 February 2024).
   1. North American Family Histories 1500-2000; American Genealogical Biographical Index; Massachusett's Compiled Marriages 1633-1850.
2. WikiTree contributors, "Thankful (Wilder) Cleaveland (1715-1792)," WikiTree: The Free Family Tree, (https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Wilder-2457 : accessed 04 February 2024). “James Cleaveland, Husband of Thankful (Wilder) Cleaveland — married 1 Jan 1738 in Bolton, Worcester, Massachusetts Bay.” cites
   1. Massachusetts, U.S., Town and Vital Records, 1620-1988 for Thankfull Cleland, Lancaster, Vital Record Transcripts. Ancestry Record 2495 #82185159 * Ancestry Sharing Link
   2. Wilder-2190 (Already a rejected match) is shown as born on the baptism date of Wilder-2457. No evidence was provided for preferring James Cleland of Edinburgh as spouse of a bride from Lancaster/Bolton when VR specifies Lime/Lyme.
3. Cleveland, Edmund Janes, and Horace Gillette Cleveland, comps. The Genealogy of the Cleveland and Cleveland Families. Vol. 1. Hartford: The Case, Lockwood, & Brinard Company, 1899. Archive. Boston Public Library, 18 Aug. 2009. Web. 13 Jan. 2017. Page 92. < Archive.Org >
4. "Massachusetts, Town Clerk, Vital and Town Records, 1626-2001", , FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:QP8K-HM4X : Wed Oct 25 20:03:30 UTC 2023), Entry for James Cleland and Thankful Wilder, 1 Feb 1738. Name James Cleland Spouse's Name Thankful Wilder Event Type Marriage Event Date 1 Feb 1738 Event Place Lancaster, Worcester, Massachusetts, United States
5. "Massachusetts, Town Clerk, Vital and Town Records, 1626-2001," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:QP8K-C2CZ : 31 October 2019), James Cleland and Thankfull Wilder, 22 Feb 1738; citing Marriage, Massachusetts Bay, British Colonial America, Massachusetts Secretary of the Commonwealth, Boston; FHL microfilm 007011028.
6. https://www.familysearch.org/tree/person/collaborate/L8PT-X3H We have lots of genealogical history of Thankful and her forbearers but little knowledge of what they did. They came To MA with the Wintrope group to Boston early but then gradually moved out into western MA. Thankful was a very common name in those years and we have two Thankful as direct forbearers. Her birthdates and her father's BD are under suspicion as she would have been impossibly young to have had her children.
7. Genealogy of the Descendants of John White of Wenham and Lancaster, Massachusetts : 1638-1900. Page 32. (document attached). Children of Sarah White3 (# 44) and John Wilder … 147. Thankful Wilder4, +
8. Cleveland, Edmund Janes, and Horace Gillette Cleveland, comps. The Genealogy of the Cleveland and Cleveland Families. Vol. 1. Hartford: The Case, Lockwood, & Brinard Company, 1899. Archive. Boston Public Library, 18 Aug. 2009. Web. 13 Jan. 2017. Page 92. < Archive.Org > 81. JAMES3 CLEVELAND (Enoch2, Moses1) , b. Sudbury, Mass., Oct. 31, 1706, m. Bolton, Worcester co., Mass., 1738, Thankful Wilder of Bolton. By reason of name and location it is thought that following was a ch: + 281 ? James* Cleveland, b. ab. 1741, also thought to be ch. of Josiah^, +185. James3 Cleveland was prob. the "James Cleveland of Lyme, Conn., married to Thankful Wilder of Bolton, 1738 " — entry on Bolton, Mass., town rec.
9. archive.org cites Bolton, Mass., Marriage Records — While said records indicate Thankful Wilder married “James Cleland”, 1738, Bolton, Mas.
10. History of Chautauqua County, New York, and its people. Boston|||New York: American Historical Society, 1921. Page 572 - 573. < AncestrySharing >; (document attached) (I) James (2) Cleland, the founder of his family in America, was the son of James (1) Cleland, a man of wealth and education, who married Miss Bruce, and at the time of the birth of his son, James (2), was living in Edinburgh, Scotland. James (2) Cleland left his native land in 1750 and came to New England, settling in Boston, where he later married Thankful Wilder. They were the parents of seven children …
11. Descendants of Deacon Edmund RICE . . . . . . . . . . . . 23 Aug 2023 Compiler: John F. Chandler, Historian, Edmund Rice (1638) Association < link >
12. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bolton,_Connecticut Bolton is a small suburban town in the Capitol Planning Region, Connecticut, United States. .. Bolton was removed from Hartford County when Tolland County was originally formed on 13 October 1785. The northern half of Bolton was set aside in 1808 to form the town of Vernon.