- Simeon Wheelock
Infobox Person
name=Simeon Wheelock
birth_date=birth date|1741|3|29
death_date=1784
caption=
occupation =blacksmith ,Massachusetts militia man
placeofbirth=Mendon, Massachusetts
placeofdeath=Springfield, Massachusetts Simeon Wheelock (
March 29 1741 – 1784) was ablacksmith fromUxbridge, Massachusetts , who served as aminuteman in theMassachusetts militia during thebattles of Lexington and Concord in theAmerican Revolutionary War . After the war he was accidentally killed while on militia duty duringShays' Rebellion .Life and career
Wheelock was born to Colonel Silas Wheelock and Hannah Albee of
Mendon, Massachusetts , on March 29, 1741.cite web|title="Historic Homes, Institutions, Genelologies and Personal Memoirs, p.343"|publisher=books.google.com|url=http://books.google.com/books?id=ByzhgLUOIRIC&pg=RA6-PA343&lpg=RA6-PA343&dq=simeon+wheelock&source=web&ots=Y_0KGMh-_R&sig=AkWkQcVzckhi2DJ8GTAcBQtkptU|accessdate=2007-12-23] His father was a colonel and a descendant of the Rev. Ralph Wheelock. Many of Simeon's brothers would also serve in the Revolutionary War.Simeon Wheelock served in the
French and Indian War in 1760. He married Deborah Thayer of Mendon on November 28, 1763. They settled in Uxbridge that year, and would have eight children. He worked as ablacksmith in a shop adjacent to his home, which still stands in Uxbridge. Wheelock served asTown Clerk of Uxbridge for five years.cite web |title= Walking tours - Uxbridge |publisher= Blackstone Daily |url= http://www.blackstonedaily.com/Outdoors&Nature/WTuxbridge.htm |accessdate= 2007-09-23]With the approach of the
American Revolution , Wheelock was a member of thecommittee of correspondence in Uxbridge in 1774. As first lieutenant in Capt. Joseph Chapin's company of minutemen, he answered the alarm onApril 19 ,1775 , and fought at the battles of Lexington and Concord.cite web|title= "Massachusetts Soldiers and Sailors of the Revolutionary War, surname Wheelock/Simeon Wheelock" |url=http://www.wheelockgenealogy.com/wheelockweb/pages/marevwar.htm|accessdate=2007-12-23] His term of service at this time was for 15 days.Later, he served as Lieutenant in Capt. Samuel Read's company, in a regiment commanded by Lieut. Col. Nathan Tyler, from the alarm of December 8, 1776 to January 21, 1777, at Providence, Rhode Island.
Simeon died in 1784 at the age of 43 when his horse slipped on the ice while engaged in the suppression of
Shay's Rebellion in Springfield. His son Jerry Wheelock was prominent in thetextile industry in Uxbridge, joining forces with early woolen mill pioneer,Daniel Day .Lieutenant Simeon Wheelock house
The home that Simeon and Deborah Wheelock built is now part of Uxbridge's many historic houses. It is located on North Main Street across from the Masonic Lodge building. Today, it is the local home of the
Daughters of the American Revolution and is named for Deborah Wheelock. The building is well preserved as a museum. It was built in 1768 and is located at 33 North Main Street.. There are a number of Revolutionary War soldiers and officers from this community. To find more on other soldiers, see the article on Uxbridge, Massachusetts. For more on historical sites in this area see theList of Registered Historic Places in Uxbridge, Massachusetts . This house is in the "Uxbridge Common Historic District" onMassachusetts Route 122 just north ofMassachusetts Route 16 .ee also
*
Uxbridge, Massachusetts Local stories of the Revolution
*List of Registered Historic Places in Uxbridge, Massachusetts Notes
Other references
* Wheelock, Simeon (Uxbridge), DAR Volume 16, p.1011
* entry in DAR Vol. 19, p. 113, by Mary Taft Wheelock, DAR ID 18297External links
*cite web|title="Massachusetts Soldiers and Sailors of the Revolutionary War, surname Wheelock" |publisher=wheelockgenealogy.com|url=http://www.wheelockgenealogy.com/wheelockweb/pages/marevwar.htm|accessdate=2007-12-23
* [http://books.google.com/books?id=ByzhgLUOIRIC&pg=RA6-PA343&lpg=RA6-PA343&dq=simeon+wheelock&source=web&ots=Y_0KGMh-_R&sig=AkWkQcVzckhi2DJ8GTAcBQtkptU Wheelock family genealogies website]
Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.
