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Name: George Bledsoe Wheeler, Sr. Date: ca. 1970 Image Number: AWPB01cdAWPB01 Comments: George Bledsoe Wheeler, Sr., was born on July 12, 1928 in Schuyler, Virginia. He was the son of William Ira
Wheeler (b. 1871) and Julia Etta (Goin) Wheeler (b. 1882). In the 1940 U.S. Federal Census of Albemarle County, Virginia, George was
12 years old and residing with his parents and 3 siblings (Percy Wheeler, Marie Wheeler, and Lydia Wheeler) on Alberene Road in the Scottsville
Magisterial District.  Secretly Married But It's Lasted 60 Years!
Most people in Scottsville know Lucinda Wheeler as a forthright, honest person, willing to stand up for herself and what she believes in,
and unafraid to speak her mind. It wasn't always so.By Sue Wheeler Ruddock and Pam Wheeler Breeden Scottsville Monthly, January 20, 2012 In the fall of 1950, teenager Lucinda lived in Maryland with her sister, Elsie and Elsie's husband, Nicholas, and visited her mother in Buckingham every few weeks. Bernard Powell, a friend of George Wheeler, introduced George to the lovely young girl on one of those visits. Whether it was love at first sight, we don't know, but George began visiting Lucinda in Maryland and while at a parade amid the floats and fire engines on July 4, 1951, asked her to marry him. The engagement ring came in August. Both came from very large families (13 and 9 siblings). It would have been a huge wedding if the family alone attended but on January 1, 1952, the two found the home of the Methodist minister, the Reverend Daniels, on Harris Street in Scottsville and were quietly married. Then they both resumed their respective pre-marriage lives in Maryland and Scottsville without telling a soul.  Elma Lucinda Baird and George Bledsoe Wheeler, who were married on January 1, 1952. George had already purchased a home in Scottsville in the new "Paulett Town" so he'd have a home to bring his bride to - whenever they got up the courage to tell everyone their secret. Ah, but young love won't be denied. One weekend about a month after their secret elopement, George visited Lucinda and her sisters in Maryland, and the group went to a dance. George and Lucinda went outside together - not at all respectable behavior in the eyes of at least one sister, Temple, who "lit into Lucinda." Unable to bear the reprimand, the truth was blurted out: Elma Lucinda Baird and George Bledsoe Wheeler were, in fact, married. Of course, the sisters demanded proof, and a call was made, and the marriage certificate was located among Lucinda's belongings, and the couple's official "honeymoon" and sixty-year marriage began that night. The couple moved into the Paulett Town home George had bought, and they lived there for more than 20 years. In 1974, they moved into the beautiful native brick house - Cliff View - in the heart of Scottsville. George was a precision machinist for Uniroyal/Goodrich in Scottsville for 45 years, but his talent and hobby was building and renovating their homes. He was also a volunteer for the Scottsville Fire Department. Lucinda was self-employed at Wheeler Beauty Salon, and she made every lady and gentleman who left the shop more lovely or handsome. Lucinda volunteered for the Scottsville Rescue Squad and years later served on the Scottsville Town Council. Both have been members of the Scottsville Baptist Church all their married life.  In 2012, George Bledsoe Wheeler and Elma Lucinda Baird Wheeler had been happily married for 60 years. But even though their married life began in secret 60 years ago, its rewards are many and well known. They have 4 children, 14 grandchildren, and 3 great-grandchildren - with one great grandson to be born April 2012. Happy 60th anniversary, Lucinda and George! Copyright © 2019 by Scottsville Museum References: |
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Scottsville Museum · 290 Main Street · Scottsville, Virginia 24590 · 434-286-2247 www.avenue.org/smuseum · [email protected] Copyright © 2019 by Scottsville Museum |
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George Bledsoe Wheeler quietly
married Elma Lucinda Baird on 1 January 1952 in the home of Scottsville's Methodist Minister, Reverend
J.E. Daniels. George and Lucinda moved to the home he had purchased before their marriage in the 'Paulett Town' area of Scottsville.
They became the parents of four children (Pamela Wheeler, Sue Wheeler, Roberta Lynn Wheeler, and George Bledsoe Wheeler, Jr.).