Ida's Obituary:
Toledo Blade, February 15, 1932:

Widow of Operator of Old Opera House Was Resident 74 years

Mrs. Ida Thomas Wheeler, 82, a member of the family which controlled old-time Toledo's most famous theatrical property, the Wheeler Opera house died Sunday in her home, 721 Grove Place. She was the widow of R.J "Jeff" Wheeler, who operated the theater until the fire which distroyed it March 17, 1893. Mr. Wheeler died 13 years ago.

The opera house stood for many years in Monroe St between St Clair and Superior streets. Its site is still in the possesion of the family. Mrs. Wheeler was born in Hudson, MI, came to Toledo as a girl of 8, and lived here since. Her family's home at Monroe and 16th street, near the old Brainard homestead, was the scene of many important events in the social life of the older city.

Mrs. Wheeler was a member of the 50-year Club, the League for the Hard of Hearing, and Trinity Episcopal Church.

Surviving are a daughter, Mrs. Clifford Swartzbaugh, Toledo; a son Lyman Wheeler, Staten Island, NY; grand children Mrs. Robert Linden Smith and Robert Wheeler Swartzbaugh, Toledo, and two grand children outside the city.

The body will be taken to the home early Tuesday from the Bennett Mortuary. Funeral services will be held Tuesday at 1:00 PM with Dr. R. Lincoln Long, pastor of Collingwood Avenue Presbyterian Church in charge. Burial will be in Woodlawn Cemetery.

Toledo Blade, February 16, 1932

Services for Mrs. Ida Thomas Wheeler, 82, widow of the man who managed Toledo's old-time Wheeler Opera House, and who died Sunday will be held at 1:00 PM today in the home, 721 Grove Place. The Rev. R. Lincoln Long, pastor of Collingwood Avenue Presbyterian Church will conduct the service.

Born in Hudson, MI, Mrs. Wheeler came to Toledo when she was a little a little girl and resided here for 74 years. Her husband, RJ "Jeff" Wheeler died 13 years ago. Mrs. Wheeler was a member of the 50-year Club, the League for the Hard of Hearing, and Trinity Episcopal Church. He leaves a daughter, Mrs. Clifford Swartzbaugh, Toledo; a son Lyman Wheeler, Staten Island, NY; grand children Mrs. Robert Linden Smith and Robert Wheeler Swartzbaugh, Toledo, and two grand children outside the city.

_________________________________________________________________

Ida's ancestry

Ida's father, Augustus, was a railroad contractor and owned a shipping business in Toledo. He was born on March 15, 1815 in New York and died on November 15, 1868 in Toledo, OH. Augustus married Eliza Maria Chamberlin Thomas (1817 - 1883). Their children:

Catherine Mary Thomas Brainard (1841 - 1925)
Dante Thomas (1843 - 1881)
Jerome Bonaparte Thomas (1845 - 1911)
Laura Marie Thomas Wood (1848 - 1911)
Ida Priscilla Thomas Wheeler (1850 - 1932)
Carrie L Thomas Lorenz (1856 - 1927)
Curtis Pierre Thomas (1857 - 1931)
Nina Louisa Thomas Milburn (1857 - 1889)

Toledo Blade November 16, 1868 Obit: Death of Another Old Citizen-Last night at a quarter past eight o'clock, death relieved the sufferings of Mr. Augustus Thomas, after his long combat with a very painful disease. A notice of the funeral arrangements will be given in this evening's Blade, when we will also note a few facts concerning the life of Mr. Thomas, during his long residence in Toledo.

Toledo Blade November 18, 1868 Obit: Funeral Ceremonies - The remains of the late Augustus Thomas, Esq., were yesterday followed to the grave by many of his masonic brothers, members of the Board of the Trade, and other citizens who had been friends of the departed.

Augustus's parents were Pierre Thomas, born in 1789 in Switzerland and died May 1, 1847 (place unknown) and Phebe Winfield, born in 1796 in USA and died March 9, 1822, in West Point, New York. Phebe is buried in United States Military Academy Post Cemetery at West Point (Plot: Sec A, Site 47, Row N, Grave 550).

Pierre and Phebe were married Feb 20, 1814 and had the following children:

Augustus 1815-1868
Mary Winfield 1816-?
Catherine Sarah 1818-?
Chas David 1819-1885

Pierre was the Master of Sword at United States Military Academy at West Point, where his tenure was from 1814 till 1825. After his wife Phebe's death, he married Harriet Bradford Brainard on August 9 (or possibly 6th), 1826 in Connecticut (Rev. Birdseye G. Noble). Pierre and Harriet had five children:

- Harriet E. b.____; d. ae 30 years; unm
- Louise H. b.____; m. Benjamin Pierson; She was left a widow at the age of 24 with four children, all of whom died young. In the year 1871, Louise went to Japan and established the American Missionary Home in Yokohoma.
- Pierre W. b____; d. ae 4 yrs
- Jane b____; d. young
- Charles b____; d. young

About Pierre Thomas:

Until recently, family folklore was the only source of information we had about Pierre Thomas, Ida's grandfather. According to folklore, Pierre was a Frenchman and he was brought to the US by Lafayette as a fencing instructor at West Point. His West Point service was terminated due to impropriety of conduct in dealing with the opposite sex. Recently, we found more information about Pierre thanks to us getting in touch with Kay Mitchell, one of Pierre's descendants, who had researched the family history. We visited West Point during the fall of 2013, thanks to our friends Suzzane and Kevin. Suzzane is one of the newest members of West Point civilian faculty!

In the West Point cemetery we found the grave stone of Phebe Thomas, Pierre's first wife who died on March 9, 1822, at the young age of 27.

According to recorded history, Pierre Thomas's ancestry was French, but he was born in Switzerland. He was appointed "Swordmaster", March 1st, 1814. Pierre was the first full time physical education instructor in any American college. He instructed cadets in sabre, short sword, broad sword, and foil. Two years into his tenure he added dancing to the training.

Pierre Thomas owned a barn near the West Point campus. He wasn't using the barn and therefore, let a poor couple (Mr & Mrs William Camp) live there. Camp and his family moved into the barn and "made it in a measure habitable". One Mrs Davies recorded her recollection of seeing the barn in 1815. She described it as "a little better than a hut, a smoky hut at that". Subsequently, the hut was "repaired and put into good condition". The Camp family lived there till 1829.

The area where Pierre Thomas's barn stood was originally a green meadow in which cows pastured; in some areas it was low and marshy. According to the recollection of one Miss Cox, who came to West Point in 1811 as a young girl, the first house she remembers there was occupied by one Dr. Watson and later on by his successor Dr. Perkins. Afterwards, the house was assigned to Pierre Thomas, who must have bought the barn near his West Point residence. The barn subsequently became the nucleus of the settlement which came to be known as Camptown, a name which doesn't seem to be prevalent today. We asked a West Point reference librarian, who hadn't heard of Camptown!

Pierre Thomas resigned his position as Swordmaster on December 12th, 1825. The annual report of the Board of Visitors to the Unites States Military Academy made to Congress and the Secretary of War for the year of 1823 has a section about an assessment of Pierre Thomas's job performance. The report says that the students are deficient in their knowledge of the of sword exercise and that it was taught in an irregular manner. The report goes on to say that the Sword Master does not appear to be competent to his duties. "If he understands the scientific part of his profession he either cannot or does not explain it to his pupils, nor is the general appearance and department of the Swordmaster exactly as it ought to be; let it also be observed that the Broad Sword Exercise (certainly very important to all mounted officers) is not taught in the Academy although the regulations positively require it".

We have no way of confirming whether the official report of the board of visitors is an accurate account of the facts that led to Pierre's resignation from West Point. Pierre had lost his young wife an year earlier. He had four young children to take care of. Pierre remarried a few months after resigning his position at West Point. It is interesting to note that his second wife was from Middle Haddam, CT, where our Wheeler ancestor Beriah Wheeler's family lived. Pierre took position as Swordmaster and professor of fencing at American Literary, Scientific, and Military Academy Academy of Middletown, Conn, which is near Middle Haddam.

Phebe, wife of Pierre, is buried at West Point cemetery, which is located at a beautiful part of the campus. We found her head stone in the old section, close to the edge of the cemetery that overlooks the Hudson river. It is a beautiful view.

The name of the position of Swordmaster was changed to "master of the sword", after Pierre's term at West Point and dryly renamed "director of physical education" in 1947. In 1953, fencing and horsemanship were discontinued, applied psychology and electronics were introduced in their stead. Fencing returned to the academy as a club sport in 1957.

John H. B. Latrobe, a West Point graduate who wrote his memoirs says the following about Pierre Thomas: This list of our teachers and masters at West Point would not be complete were I to omit the bright little man, active as a cat, who, with a padded shield on his right breast, with a scarlet star thereof, and a wire mask on his face, was our teacher of the art of fencing - Mr. Pierre Thomas, eke, the dancing master of the children in the families on the Point. I fancy that I see him now going through the formal salute in fencing, or sending the foil flying out of my hand, by way of teaching me to hold it firmly. References: