John Wheatley (1830-?) was born at Badsey in 1830, the fifth of nine children of William Wheatley, an agricultural labourer, and his wife, Elizabeth (née Morris). He was baptised at St James' Church, Badsey, on 31st October 1830.
At the time of the 1851 census, John was still at home at Sharps Row, Badsey, working as a farm labourer. Several of his neighbours at Sharps Row were also to emigrate to America in the 1870s: John Hicks and his daughter, Mary Anne Sears, William and Elizabeth Edgington, William and Elizabeth Knight, John Knight, Edwin Knight.
John’s whereabouts in 1861 are unknown. At some stage between 1851 and 1871, John married Elizabeth from Ireland. In 1871 they were living in a cottage at The Parks Farm, Aldington, where John worked as an agricultural labourer. There is no trace of them in the 1881 British census or in subsequent census returns. It is likely that they are the John and Elizabeth Wheatley who were living in Troy, Geauga, Ohio, USA, in 1880. Given that so many residents of Badsey (particularly from Sharps Row) emigrated to America in the 1870s, and specifically to Geauga County, Ohio, this seems a distinct possibility.
No further information is known of them after this date.