Almira Wheeler Hansen was a 19th-century woman of African American descent whose life is traced through census records in Essex and Clinton counties in northern New York. First documented in the 1840 U.S. Census, Almira lived in Willsboro with her parents, Chester and Margaret Wheeler, and eight free people of color—including six brothers.
By 1850, Almira was a teenager living with her family in Peru, New York. Records list her as “mulatto,” born around 1834 in Vermont, and residing with her parents and younger siblings. By 1855, she had married Emery Hanson (also recorded as Hansen), and the couple lived in Elizabethtown, Essex County. Although the census noted she had two children, none were listed in that particular entry.
In the 1865 New York State Census, Almira and Emery were living in Lewis, New York, with their children, Nancy and John. Over the decades, Almira’s recorded race varied—from Black to mulatto to white—reflecting common inconsistencies in 19th-century census documentation for free African American families.
Almira’s final census appearance came in 1870, under the name “Edmira.” Living in Lewis with her husband, son, and elderly father, she was listed as white and unable to read or write. This record completes the available documentation of her life.
Almira Wheeler Hansen’s story offers valuable insight into African American family history in Essex County, New York, highlighting migration patterns, racial classification, and community life in the decades before and after the Civil War. Her journey connects directly to the broader history of free Black settlements and early African American communities in the Adirondack region.