Jerry Wheelock

Jerry Wheelock
Born	September 19, 1784(1784-09-19) Uxbridge, Massachusetts, USA
Died	October 10, 1861(1861-10-10) (aged 76) Uxbridge, Massachusetts, USA
Occupation	Textile pioneer at Uxbridge
Spouse	Sukey Day
Children	Charles A Wheelock
Parents	Simeon Wheelock and Deborah (Thayer) Wheelock

Jerry Wheelock was an early industrial pioneer in the Blackstone Valley of Massachusetts, a region that incubated the early American industrial revolution.

Family

He was the son of Simeon and Deborah Thayer Wheelock of Uxbridge, MA. He was born September 19, 1784 at Uxbridge. He was a sixth generation descendent of the first Wheelock settler, Rev. Ralph Wheelock. The Rev. Ralph Wheelock of Dedham, MA who had been a contemporary of John Milton at Oxford University and who was a Puritan minister in the 1630s, had been the first to establish public education in America.^[1] Jerry was the youngest of eight in the Wheelock family at Uxbridge and was born just after the end of the Revolutionary War. His father had been a blacksmith, the town clerk, and a Lieutenant at Lexington and Concord in the Massachusetts Militia which preceded the more organized Continental Army. At an early age he was “put out to learn a trade” ^[1] as a maker of tubs, and pails.^[1]

An industrial incuabator and early work experiences

There was plentiful “bog” iron ore in Uxbridge, and at least three local forges for metal working and a working triphammer established by Caleb Handy at Ironstone, Massachusetts. In 1810/1811 Daniel Day completed the first woolen mill at Uxbridge, a town that one day would be headquarters to America’s largest woolen company. Jerry married Sukey Day, the daughter of Daniel and Sylvia (Wheelock) Day in January 1811. Jerry soon became a full partner with Daniel Day &vCo. in the carding machine company first established near the junction of the West and Blackstone Rivers. After a few years, Jerry worked for Artemus Dryden of Holden, MA, which manufactured carding machines near Worcester, MA the county seat.^[1] Carding machine manufacture in Worcester County began with Pliny Earle I at Leicester, MA, (near Holden), as early as the 1780's. Jerry then was employed with the newly formed Rivulet Manufacturing company in North Uxbridge in 1814, and worked his way up to Superintendent.^[1] He later struck out on his own and manufactured his own machinery at Uxbridge until 1833 (age 49).^[1] He and his son Charles A. Wheelock then entered into a manufacturing business known as Jerry Wheelock and Son. His grandson Silas Wheelock joined the business in the 1840s.^[1]

Historic Significance

The Blackstone Valley would later be known as a historic corridor of national significance to America’s earliest industrialization. The woolen mill started by Daniel Day and Jerry Wheelock continues today, two centuries later, under the name of Berrocco Inc. a yarn distribution company, with headquarters in the Elmdale section of Uxbridge, where Daniel and Jerry started the first woolen mill.^[1]

Death

Jerry died at Uxbridge on October 10, 1861 at the age of 77.

1. ^ ^{a b c d e f g h} [ The New England States, etc., Google Books, page, 268 New New England States,. DH Hurd, Boston, 1897. http://books.google.com/books?id=svU_AAAAYAAJ&pg=PA268&lpg=PA268&dq=Jerry+Wheelock&source=bl&ots=-uTsiGK_2o&sig=dZREcjc-RNgjkTi4wHmq0nOnlwE&hl=en&ei=V4YBTbPqMIf2tgOlscj8Ag&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=7&ved=0CCYQ6AEwBjgK#v=onepage&q=Jerry%20Wheelock&f=false The New England States, etc., Google Books, page, 268. 

Persondata
Name	Wheelock, Jerry
Alternative names
Short description
Date of birth	September 19, 1784
Place of birth	Uxbridge, Massachusetts, USA
Date of death	October 10, 1861
Place of death	Uxbridge, Massachusetts, USA