Mehitable P. Wheeler (maiden name: Perley) was born around 1808 in Salem, Massachusetts, to John and Mehitable Perley. She married Asa Wheeler on April 30, 1842, and they had at least two children: Louisa, born around 1843; and Francis, born around 1849. They lived in Salem, and her husband worked as a butcher. Her husband died on June 1, 1854. Afterward, she was reportedly “dependent upon [her step-son Richard] for support.” He “paid the rent of the tenement occupied by his mother and other bills for necessaries,” and he “sent his mother money many times.” Her step-son served in the Union army, and he died in June 1864. She applied for a mother’s pension soon afterward and eventually received $17 per month. She died of “congestion of [the] lungs” in Salem on November 22, 1873.