John was born about 1533 at Cranfield, Bedfordshire, England. He was the son of Henry Wheeler and his first, unknown, wife. About 1558, he married Alice Sayre in Bedfordshire, probably in Odell, her home town. They had two children, Thomas and John. John Wheeler made his will on February 5, 1567 in Cranfield, Bedfordshire, England and died in April. He was buried in the churchyard of St. Peter and St. Paul's in Cranfield on April 16. In the will, he named his wife and his two minor sons. This is the only evidence that the father of Thomas Wheeler was this John, except that Thomas named one of his sons John. In his will, John asked to be buried in the churchyard at Cranfield. That would be the Church of St. Peter and St. Paul. Alice died within a day of John.

Information for this bio came from "Fifty Great Migration Colonist to New England and Their Origins" by John Brooks Threlfall; Descendants of Thomas Wheeler and Find-a-Grave