Notes for Benjamin WHEELOCK
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 [minister] Salary." Benjamin Wheelock's name appears as a proprietor on a historical plaque in the center of Mendon, though his name does not appear on the original list of proprietors in 1660.
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 foty 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.
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