Sarah Ann Wheeler (seated in center above), my wife's Great Great Grandmother, and mother of Charles E. Allen was born in New York in 1841 and was raised in Galen, NY which is west of Syracus, NY. Galen was settled in 1800 as a tract of land set aside for physicians and Surgeons who participated in the continental army during the American Revolution. The town was named after Galen who was a founding father of medicine from the classic era of ancient Rome.
Her parents and 4 siblings moved to Iosco, Minnesota around 1855. She was 20 years old when the Civil War began and her future husband John Frederick Allen joined the union army in 1861. He was discharged in 1864 and the two were married Christmas of 1864. They raised four children, Jane, George, Charles, and Clara. Twenty years later the family moved to Kansas (1885), then to Rich Hill, MO (where I believe her son Charles Allen met Jessie Kimbrough), and then to the panhandle of Idaho. John passed away in 1908. Sarah continued to live in Idaho with her son Charles and his wife until after 1920. She received a lifelong pension from the US government for her husband's service in the civil war. Eventually she moved to Spokane, WA with her son and his wife. She lived until the age of 89 years. She is buried with John in Spokane.
Below is a letter from Sarah Wheeler to her family while she was living in Missouri (the spelling errors are original)
P.O. Box 921, Rich Hill, Bates Co, MO
Dec 19th, 1899
Dear Brother and Family,
Recieved your letter today. was glad to hear from you, but verry sorry to hear of the loss of your dear babe but we know that she is in the arms of our Savior for he has said suffer little children to come unto me and forbid them not, what a consolation to a father and a mother. May God help you to so live that your may all meet her in Heaven. This leaves us all well as usual, we are having nice weather here most of the time. we are living in Rich Hill have rented our land and rented a ten acre place near town. will put in a big garden in the spring. Charlie had in a good lot of garden on our place last summer and sold the proseeds in the mines. he is still running a wagon in the mines sells butter and eggs and all kinds of produce. does verry well at the business. he sold sixty-five bushels of tomatoes last summer. they avaraged sixty cts per bushel. Janie and Charlie are in Elysian, Minn. Janie had been over to Mrs Bruces said she looked young as ever. George has been verry sick with tifoid fever this fall. he was able to be out last letter she wrote. weare looking for him home every day. Grute lives in Sprague, Bates Co about six miles from us. they are all well. Evie is not verry well. poor girl she begins to look old. Mother proved up on her land before they left. there is a years tax due on the land. Grute won't pay it. He thinks we had aught to help pay the tax after he has had all the property but that he wanted me to sighn over my right to him. I told him I would if you and William would if he would secure Evies support while she lived. it is to bad to let the land go for taxes but we have our tax to pay there and that is all we can do.
William is in California. Elisa came near being killed by a team running away a few weeks ago. Their adress is Coyote P.O. Santa Claria Co, Cal. they enquire after you but I had lost your adress. I would like to see you all but I never could come so far west as that. I suppose the children are nearly all grown up by this time. Clara is as tall as I am. She is going to school this winter is in the sixth grade. well I will close for this time hoping to hear from you soon. love to all from your sister Sarah Allen
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