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Charlotte S. Bridgman

Charlotte S. Bridgman was born September 23, 1807, in Wythe County, Virginia. She was the daughter of William Bridgman and Mariam Brown.

Charlotte married Richard Drummond Wheeler on September 16, 1826, in Campbell County, Tennessee. Richard Wheeler was born April 1, 1801, in Virginia, the son of Benjamin Wheeler.

Goodspeed's History of Campbell County, Tennessee, 1887, relates that Benjamin Wheeler migrated to Knox County, Tennessee, when Richard was about 6 years old, and moved to Campbell County, Tennessee and settled near present day Careyville about 1812. Benjamin Wheeler was said to have been one of the first settlers of Campbell County.

An article in the book Tennessee Cousins, A History of Tennessee People, by Worth S. Ray, page 186, states: "Richard D. Wheeler, the son of Benjamin Wheeler, married Charlotte Bridgman, who was born in Wythe County, Virginia, about the year 1805, the daughter of a William Bridgman".

The town of Careyville, in Campbell County, Tennessee, was established on lands owned by Richard D. Wheeler. The town was originally called "Wheeler's Gap".

According to Goodspeed's History of Campbell County, Tennessee, 1887, Richard Wheeler was "a prominent citizen of Tennessee...... and early in life served his county as its Sheriff. "

The 1850 Campbell County, Tennessee, 17th Subdivision, census shows Richard D. Wheeler, 49, farmer, real estate valued at $5000; Charlotte S., 42; Penelope A. M., 21; John R., 19, farmer; James F., 18, farmer; Benjamin C., 17, farmer; Hugh L., 14; Marquis D., 12; Epraim H. F., 10; Bell Elizabeth, 8; Eliza Jane, 7; Richard A., 3; and Joseph E., 2 years old.

Goodspeed's History of Campbell County, Tennessee, 1887, states that Richard "was a man of liberal and broad views, and was a man who assisted many charitable institutions. He commenced his life pursuits without capital, but by integrity and perseverance he scaled the height of want of a capital, and became one of the wealthiest men of his county, before his death. It is to his credit that, though he, at the outbreak of the civil war, owned more than 1,000 acres of land, he tilled, not by slave labor, but by free labor. He was a man who favored education, and accomplished, giving all his children a good education."

The 1880 Campbell County census, Jacksboro Township, shows 72 year old Charlotte living with her son, Richard Drummond Wheeler, Jr. Richard still single at that time.

The Goodspeed's History of Campbell County, Tennessee, 1887, relates that Richard and Charlotte had 14 children. Other sources say they may have had as many as 17 children, with some children dying as infants.