As is the custom, the gravestone of Thomas Wheeler's wife, Mary is next to his.
I have not seen any documented evidence of Mary's maiden name but I am not a Wheeler scholar.
This thick brownstone grave matches her husband's gravestone as exactly as it can. It states that this is the grave of Mary, wife of Thomas Wheeler but then it says:
One of the early proprietors of the Ancient town of Stonington.
Honestly, I didn't think much about this when I took these photos but if these are stones placed here in the late 1680s or early 1700s, would they know that this couple was "ancient"?
I don't think so. I think this is a case of family placing stones here that might have been like the ones put here near the time of their death.
The vital records of Stonington at Ancestry.com are incomplete and I haven't found a way to tell them that the latter part of the alphabet is missing...
This is a good example of how a "reasonably exhaustive search" is not enough for proof.
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