Gershom Wheelock Sr. (1691 - 1770)

Born 1691 in Marlboro, Middlesex, Massachusetts Bay Colony

Ancestors

Husband of Abigail (Flagg) Wheelock — married 1 Jan 1719 (to 17 Oct 1762) in Sudbury, Middlesex, Massachusetts Bay

Husband of Elizabeth (Taylor) Wheelock — married 19 May 1764 (to 16 Mar 1770) in Shrewsbury, Worcester, Massachusetts Bay

Descendants

Died 16 Mar 1770 at about age 79 in Shrewsbury, Worcester, Province of Massachusetts Bay

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Biography

[Please note: Edits to bio in progress] Gershom was born about 1693/4 in Marlboro, Massachusetts. He was the son of Samuel Wheelock and Lydia Rice. ^[1]

Gershom was on the board of selectmen in the years 1731 and 1736.^[1]

Gershom marreid Abigail Flagg 1 Jan 1718 in Subury (or Marlboro). ^[2][3] Gershom and Abigail had the following known children (all born in Shrewsbury):

1. Abigail b 23 January 1720 d 5 October 1804 m Daniel Potter (4 children) removed to Brookfield
2. Patience b 13 February 1722 died young
3. David b 14 September 1724 d 1804 m Phebe ________ (5 children) removed to Hardwick
4. Gershom b 8 March 1726 d 1 January 1806 m Susannah Knowlton (7 children)
5. Jonathan b 18 September 1727 d 21 October 1798 m Anna Drury (7 children) removed to Cavendish, Vermont
6. Gideon b 5 March 1729 died young
7. Grace b 7 Jul 1730 died young

Abigail died in 1762. Gershom remarried to Elizabeth Taylor, the widow of Daniel Rice.

Gershom passed away 16 March 1770, Shrewsbury, Massachusetts ^[4][5]

Research notes

Ward, Elizabeth. 1892. Old times in Shrewsbury, Massachusetts Gleanings from history and tradition. [New York]: [McGeorge Print. Co.]. Pages 12-15.

'One of the first names that appears to us on the records is that of Gershom Wheelock, who for his enterprise and cheerful disposition, deserves especial mention. He is said to have been the first man to build a house in the new settlement and spent one winter in its erection. This house was situated on what is now the old road to Worcester in the valley near 'Middlebrook.' He labored alone that winter, keeping up his spirits through the cold, dreary days by his merry whistling, sleeping in the loft and pulling the ladder up after him at night, always whistling his morning song before putting it down again. His courage never failed until the spring birds sang to him while he whistled, and the house was done; then he married Abigail Flagg of Marlboro, and housekeeping began in Shrewsbury. In 1720 his father Samuel Wheelock, who owned the land, gave him a deed of eighty acres and the house, 'In consideration of Love, Good will and affection which I have and do have towards my dutiful Son Gershom Wheelock!' The first house built in town was the first to be burned; nothing was saved from the fire but a few pieces of furniture. Being dissatisfied with his ventures in that part of the town, he next built a house on the Boylston road, the one which is now occupied by his great-grandson Erastus Wheelock.' 'Gershom appears to have been quite an important man in the new town, holding at different times several town offices. He was ensign in the first military company here and afterwards commissioned Captain. The Wheelock house as shown in the engraving is a low, ancient house, shingled on the outside, with narrow windows and quaint, low rooms. It has not been added to, but remains much the same as when built more than a century and a half ago.' The following is excerpted from 'History of the Town of Shrewsbury, Massachusetts, From Its Settlement in 1717 to 1829, With Other Matter Relating Thereto Not Before Published, Including An Extensive Family Register', by Andrew H. Ward, Member of the New England Historic and Genealogical Society, Boston, Published by Samuel G. Drake; J. Howe, Printer, 1847; in reference to Captain Gershom Wheelock:

'He is said to have been the first of the family, who settled here [Shrewsbury], if not the first settler in this town. He erected a house between where the houses now are of Joseph Nurse and the late Daniel Maynard, and on the same side of the road. There he made improvements and spent one winter alone. He is said to have been of a cheerful disposition, and, that while here solitary and alone, he slept aloft in his log house, drawing the ladder up after him at night, and whistling a tune in the morning before leaving his bed.' 'His father with his family moved there, from Marlboro, the next spring, and being owner of the land, he was accounted the first settler. Having been burnt out there, they removed to house lot No. 26, of which he received soon after a deed of gift from his father, bearing date in 1720.' 'He was one of the four first appointed sergeants in the military company when he first organized in this town. He was afterward Ensign, Lieutenant, and in 1742, commissioned a Captain in the Regiment commanded by Col Nahum Ward.'

His will is on file at the Worcester County Probate office, case 63686, recorded 1770."

Note

Captain Gershom Wheelock...

http://trees.ancestry.com/rd?f=document&guid=6d9dbb20-24de-432e-adef-95325873c7a7&tid=9264082&pid=1373

Sources

1. ↑ ^{1.0 1.1} "History of the Town of Shrewsbury, Massachusetts, From Its Settlement in 1717 to 1829", Andrew H. Ward, Published by Samuel G. Drake, Printed by J. Howe, Printer, 1847
2. ↑ Middlesex, Vital Records of Sudbury, Massachusetts to the year 1850, p. 284, in Sudbury "of or Near Joyning to Worcester",
3. ↑ Worcester, Vital Records of Worcester, Massachusetts to the year1850, p.442: :in Sudbury"
4. ↑ "Massachusetts, Town Clerk, Vital and Town Records, 1626-2001," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:FHZR-V5K : 3 November 2017), Gershom Wheelock, 16 Mar 1770; citing Death, Shrewsbury, Worcester, Massachusetts, United States, , town clerk offices, Massachusetts; FHL microfilm 864,064.
5. ↑ "History of the Town of Shrewsbury, Massachusetts, From Its Settlement in 1717 to 1829", Andrew H. Ward, Published by Samuel G. Drake, Printed by J. Howe, Printer, 1847

• Sullivan, Rick "Gershom Wheelock" on Wheelock Genealogy website.

• Worcester County, MA: Probate File Papers, 1731-1881. Online database. AmericanAncestors.org. New England Historic Genealogical Society, 2015. (From records supplied by the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court Archives.) Case 63686: Will . Will names wife Elizabeth, children David, Jonathan, Abigail Potter, Gershom. Gershom was appointed executor. Written Jan 12, 1770. Probated April 9, 1770.

Acknowledgments

• Thank you to Ed Burke for creating WikiTree profile Wheelock-393 through the import of Burke Brooks Tree 2010.ged on Feb 18, 2013.
• Thank you to Barbara Corley for creating WikiTree profile Wheelock-432 through the import of export-BloodTree.ged on May 12, 2013. Click to the Changes page for the details of edits by Barbara and others.