Simeon Wheelock
Encyclopedia
Simeon Wheelock was a blacksmith
from Uxbridge, Massachusetts
, who served as a minuteman in the Massachusetts militia
during the battles of Lexington and Concord
in the American Revolutionary War
. After the war he was killed while on militia duty protecting the Springfield Armory during Shays' Rebellion
.
, on March 29, 1741. 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 a blacksmith
in a shop adjacent to his home, which still stands in Uxbridge. Wheelock served as Town Clerk of Uxbridge for five years.
With the approach of the American Revolution
, Wheelock was a member of the committee of correspondence
in Uxbridge in 1774. As first lieutenant in Capt. Joseph Chapin's company of minutemen, he answered the alarm on April 19, 1775, and fought at the battles of Lexington and Concord. 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 September of 1786 at the age of 45 when his horse slipped on the ice while engaged in the suppression of Shays' Rebellion
in Springfield. His son Jerry Wheelock
was prominent in the textile industry
in Uxbridge, joining forces with early woolen mill pioneer, Daniel Day
. Shays' Rebellion had its opening salvos in Uxbridge, a year before. Shays' Rebellion was an uprising of farmers related to currency disarray after the 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 the List of Registered Historic Places in Uxbridge, Massachusetts. This house is in the "Uxbridge Common Historic District" on Massachusetts Route 122 just north of Massachusetts Route 16
.
Blacksmith
A blacksmith is a person who creates objects from wrought iron or steel by forging the metal; that is, by using tools to hammer, bend, and cut...
from Uxbridge, Massachusetts
Uxbridge, Massachusetts
Uxbridge is a town in Worcester County, Massachusetts, in the United States. It was first settled in 1662, incorporated in 1727 at Suffolk County, and named for the Earl of Uxbridge. Uxbridge is south-southeast of Worcester, north-northwest of Providence, and southwest of Boston. It is part of...
, who served as a minuteman in the Massachusetts militia
Massachusetts militia
Militia of the Colony and later Commonwealth of Massachusetts.-List of Massachusetts militia units of the American Revolution:*Ancient and Honorable Artillery Company of Massachusetts *Cogswell's Regiment of Militia...
during the battles of Lexington and Concord
Battles of Lexington and Concord
The Battles of Lexington and Concord were the first military engagements of the American Revolutionary War. They were fought on April 19, 1775, in Middlesex County, Province of Massachusetts Bay, within the towns of Lexington, Concord, Lincoln, Menotomy , and Cambridge, near Boston...
in the American Revolutionary War
American Revolutionary War
The American Revolutionary War , the American War of Independence, or simply the Revolutionary War, began as a war between the Kingdom of Great Britain and thirteen British colonies in North America, and ended in a global war between several European great powers.The war was the result of the...
. After the war he was killed while on militia duty protecting the Springfield Armory during Shays' Rebellion
Shays' Rebellion
Shays' Rebellion was an armed uprising in central and western Massachusetts from 1786 to 1787. The rebellion is named after Daniel Shays, a veteran of the American Revolutionary War....
.
Life and career
Wheelock was born to Colonel Silas Wheelock and Hannah Albee of Mendon, MassachusettsMendon, Massachusetts
Mendon is a town in Worcester County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 5,839 at the 2010 census.Mendon is very historic and is now part of the Blackstone River Valley National Heritage Corridor, the oldest industrialized region in the United States.- Early history :The Nipmuc people...
, on March 29, 1741. 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
French and Indian War
The French and Indian War is the common American name for the war between Great Britain and France in North America from 1754 to 1763. In 1756, the war erupted into the world-wide conflict known as the Seven Years' War and thus came to be regarded as the North American theater of that 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 a blacksmith
Blacksmith
A blacksmith is a person who creates objects from wrought iron or steel by forging the metal; that is, by using tools to hammer, bend, and cut...
in a shop adjacent to his home, which still stands in Uxbridge. Wheelock served as Town Clerk of Uxbridge for five years.
With the approach of the American Revolution
American Revolution
The American Revolution was the political upheaval during the last half of the 18th century in which thirteen colonies in North America joined together to break free from the British Empire, combining to become the United States of America...
, Wheelock was a member of the committee of correspondence
Committee of correspondence
The Committees of Correspondence were shadow governments organized by the Patriot leaders of the Thirteen Colonies on the eve of American Revolution. They coordinated responses to Britain and shared their plans; by 1773 they had emerged as shadow governments, superseding the colonial legislature...
in Uxbridge in 1774. As first lieutenant in Capt. Joseph Chapin's company of minutemen, he answered the alarm on April 19, 1775, and fought at the battles of Lexington and Concord. 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 September of 1786 at the age of 45 when his horse slipped on the ice while engaged in the suppression of Shays' Rebellion
Shays' Rebellion
Shays' Rebellion was an armed uprising in central and western Massachusetts from 1786 to 1787. The rebellion is named after Daniel Shays, a veteran of the American Revolutionary War....
in Springfield. His son Jerry Wheelock
Jerry Wheelock
Jerry Wheelock was an early industrial pioneer in the Blackstone Valley of Massachusetts, a region that incubated the early American industrial revolution.-Family:...
was prominent in the textile industry
Textile industry
The textile industry is primarily concerned with the production of yarn, and cloth and the subsequent design or manufacture of clothing and their distribution. The raw material may be natural, or synthetic using products of the chemical industry....
in Uxbridge, joining forces with early woolen mill pioneer, Daniel Day
Daniel Day
Daniel Day was an American pioneer in woolen manufacturing.-Family:Daniel Day was born in Mendon, MA and was the son of Joseph Day and Deborah Taft...
. Shays' Rebellion had its opening salvos in Uxbridge, a year before. Shays' Rebellion was an uprising of farmers related to currency disarray after the Revolution.
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 RevolutionDaughters of the American Revolution
The Daughters of the American Revolution is a lineage-based membership organization for women who are descended from a person involved in United States' independence....
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 the List of Registered Historic Places in Uxbridge, Massachusetts. This house is in the "Uxbridge Common Historic District" on Massachusetts Route 122 just north of Massachusetts Route 16
Massachusetts Route 16
Route 16 is an east–west state highway in Massachusetts. It begins in the west at an intersection with Route 12 and Route 193 in Webster, just north of the Connecticut state border...
.
See also
- Uxbridge, MassachusettsUxbridge, MassachusettsUxbridge is a town in Worcester County, Massachusetts, in the United States. It was first settled in 1662, incorporated in 1727 at Suffolk County, and named for the Earl of Uxbridge. Uxbridge is south-southeast of Worcester, north-northwest of Providence, and southwest of Boston. It is part of...
Revolutionary Period - List of Registered Historic Places in Uxbridge, Massachusetts
Other references
- Wheelock, Simeon (Uxbridge), DAR Volume 16, p. 1011
- entry in DAR Vol. 19, p. 113, by Mary Taft Wheelock, DAR ID 18297