Notes |
- Benjamin Wheelock, b. 8 Jan 1639/40 in Dedham, Massachusetts, was
probably the first Wheelock born in the American colonies. The Dedham
Vital Records record the birth date of Benjamin as follows: "Benjamin
born 8 of the 1[0] Month of 1639". His baptism date is given as
follows: "ye 12 of ye 11th month 1639".
He lived for about ten years in Dedham, where his father, Rev. Ralph
Wheelock, was an active leader in town affairs. He moved with his
family to Medfield, MA in 1651, the year of its founding and first
settlement. He married Elizabeth Bullen in 1668. The Medfield Town
records indicates that he owned a house in that same year. [1]
In 1669 he received a small grant of land in Medfield "between his
house and the brook, taking in some part of the brook". [2] In 1675 he
is listed in the Medfield town records as a proprietor, along with his
brother Gershom, and his father, Ralph. [3]
Sometime around 1688 he removed with his family to Mendon. [8] The
first notice of him in the Mendon records is in 1688 when he aquired
land from Mathias Puffer: "Mathias Puffers forty Acre Lott Now
Benjemin whelocks with all the Rights and Priuelidges there unto
belonging or any wayes Appertaining: As appears by A Deed of Sale
baring Date Aprill 25: 1688". [4] A year later, he appears on a list
of those paying taxes to "defray Mr. Rawson's Salary." Benjamin
Wheelock's name appears as a proprietor on a historical plaque in the
center of Mendon, amongst the third group of settlers. In 1693
Benjamin served the town as a "Tything Man", along with two others.
According to the Annals of Mendon "tithing men were to present all the
idle and disorderly persons, profane swearers or cursors,
Sabbath-breakers and disorderly persons, that they may be duly
punished and discouraged." In 1696 he served as a Constable, in 1700
as a selectman, and in 1701 on a special committee to "give the
selectmen instructions".
In 1706, or thereabouts, Benjamin Wheelock acquired posession of the
"ancient" Benjamin Alby corn mill, which he purchased from Mathias
Puffer. In 1713 he deeded mill priveledges to his sons Obadiah and
Benjamin, Jr. Later, in 1719, all three deeded the mill to Josiah
Wood. [6] Benjamin is reported to have lived on the "Old Rehoboth
Road, near where Andrus Wheelock lived and died". [6,7] According to
the proprietors records, "The House Lott being forty Acres Laid out
upon the East side of the Road Leading to Rehoboth Nere the Round
Medow : and bounded as followeth Weasterly on the Aboue sd Road
Northerly upon the Land of Samuel Thayer Easterly Partly upon the Mill
Riuer : and Partly on Medow and southerly upon Comon Land -- Laid out
by Joseph White --" [4]
There is some uncertainty about the second wife of Benjamin. The
Mendon Vital Records indicate that his first wife, Elizebeth, died in
1689, yet show two additional children born to "Benjemen and
Elizebeth" in 1693 and 1695. There is no marriage record for Benjamin
indicating a second marriage. Walter T. Wheelock, in "The Wheelock
Family in America, 1637-1969" asserts that Elizabeth French, widow of
Jonathan Thayer, was "probably" his second wife, but cites no sources.
Charles Pope, in his book "The Pioneers of Massachusetts" indicates
that "John French [father of Elizabeth French] died 1692, age 80
years. Division of estate was made to Dependence, Thomas, Samuel, to
Temperance, wife of John Bowditch, to Elizabeth Wheelock of Mendon,
and the child of Mary Lamb, deceased." The Elizabeth referenced here
was probably his daughter, Elizabeth French. By process of
elimination, it seems likely that Elizabeth French must have married
Benjamin Wheelock. Torrey agrees with this conclusion, and lists the
marriage in "New England Marriages Prior to 1700".
No record of death is found for Benjamin, nor has any record been
found for the settlement of his estate.
(Written by Roderick B. Sullivan, Northborough, MA, Nov 1998)
Notes and References
[1] "History of the Town of Medfield, Massachusetts, 1650-1886",
William S. Tilden, 1887, Boston, George Ellis Publishers, pg 507.
[2] ibid, pg 508
[3] ibid, pg 84
[4] "The Proprietors Records of the Town of Mendon, Mass., 1667-1816",
Boston, Rockwell and Churchill Press, 1899, pg 221.
[5] "The Annals of the Town of Mendon, Mass.", John G. Metcalf, 1880,
Providence, RI, E. L. Freeman and Company, pg 83.
[6] "History of the Town of Milford, Worcester County, Mass, From Its
First Settlement to 1881", by Adin Ballou, published by the Town of
Milford, 1881, Boston, Franklin Press.
[7] A map of Mendon, dated 1890, shows that "A. Wheelock" lived on
Providence Rd., easterly side, just south of the intersection with
Quisset Rd. This map, found in an old Almanac of Worcester County,
places "A. Wheelock" near Round Meadow Brook, not far from Mill River,
fully consistent with the proprietors records of Benjamin's house lot.
[8] Eliazer Wheelock, Benjamin's brother, removed to Mendon at an
earlier date. The town records take first notice of him in 1681. But
he later moved back to Medfield, where he died and is buried.
[9] "The Pioneers of Massachusetts, A Descriptive List Drawn from
Records of the Colonies, Towns, Churches, and other Contemporaneous
Documents", Charles Pope, Boston, MA, 1900
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