Benjamin Wheelock

Male 1639 -


Personal Information    |    Event Map    |    All    |    PDF

  • Name Benjamin Wheelock 
    Birth 8 Jan 1638/1639  Dedham, Norfolk Co., Massachusetts, USA Find all individuals with events at this location 
    Gender Male 
    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
    Person ID I19897  OurNorthernRoots
    Last Modified 29 Aug 2011 

    Father Reverand Ralph Wheelock,   b. 14 May 1600, Dorrington, Shropshire, England Find all individuals with events at this locationd. 11 Jan 1684, Medfield, Norfolk Co., Massachusetts, USA Find all individuals with events at this location (Age 83 years) 
    Mother Rebecca Clarke,   b. 26 Aug 1610, Banham, Breckland Borough, Norfolk, England Find all individuals with events at this locationd. 1 Jan 1681, Medfield, Norfolk Co., Massachusetts, USA Find all individuals with events at this location (Age 70 years) 
    Marriage 17 May 1630  Wramplingham, Norfolk Co., England Find all individuals with events at this location 
    Family ID F4041  Group Sheet  |  Family Chart

    Family Elizabeth Bullen,   b. 3 Feb 1645/1646, Dedham, Norfolk Co., Massachusetts, USA Find all individuals with events at this locationd. 22 Oct 1689, Mendon, Worcester Co., Massachusetts, USA Find all individuals with events at this location (Age 43 years) 
    Marriage 21 May 1668  Medfield, Norfolk Co., Massachusetts, USA Find all individuals with events at this location 
    Children 
    +1. Benjamin Wheelock,   b. 12 Dec 1678
    Family ID F5517  Group Sheet  |  Family Chart

  • Event Map
    Link to Google MapsBirth - 8 Jan 1638/1639 - Dedham, Norfolk Co., Massachusetts, USA Link to Google Earth
    Link to Google MapsMarriage - 21 May 1668 - Medfield, Norfolk Co., Massachusetts, USA Link to Google Earth
     = Link to Google Earth