Holbrook line: Benjamin Wheelock 1678-1746

 Earlier this week I wrote about Jonathan Thayer, of whom I could find little or nothing.  Now I'm writing about his son in law, Benjamin Wheelock, who lived in the same small town, and I've found a ton of information about him.  His father, also Benjamin Wheelock, was a founder of the town of Mendon, Massachusetts Bay Colony, and was respected in the town.  This Benjamin also was respected, sometimes being given the title of "Mr." in the town records, and his son Benjamin, who is not our direct ancestor, carried on the family tradition.

This Benjamin was the son of Benjamin and Elizabeth Bullen Wheelock and a grandson of Ralph Wheelock, the immigrant.  He was born December 12, 1768 and was one of at least five children.  He came to Mendon as a young boy and lived his whole life in this frontier village.

On December 9, 1700 he married his step sister, Huldah Thayer, who was the daughter of Jonathan and Elizabeth French Thayer (Elizabeth had married Benjamin's father, after they were both widowed).  Since it's reasonable to suppose that the two knew each other well, we can assume this marriage was a happy one.  They had at least eight children together, and the family, or at least Benjamin, seems to have prospered.

In The Annals of the Town of Mendon, it is often hard to differentiate between the three (at least) Benjamin Wheelocks.  But in 1707 ours is identified as Benjamin Wheelock Jr., as a selectman, so we are willing to consider the possibility that some of the remaining references to Benjamin between then and 1716, when his father died, could be our Benjamin.

 In 1705, Benjamin Wheelock and his successors were granted use of the "mill pond" for as long as they kept in in repair and serviceable for the town's use. The mill pond was used as a reservoir with water released as necessary to run the mill. I don't know if this signifies that the mill was run by the Wheelocks, or whether there is something else significant about this.  If someone knows, please let me know!

I didn't find anything specific about Benjamin in the military, but it seems likely he was in the training band, if nothing else.  I did find that he was appointed to a committee to oversee the building of the town meeting house in 1720.  It was to be 50 ft long, 45 ft wide, 20 ft high, and to be a "studded house", as differentiated from a log cabin, I suppose.  He also was appointed to a committee to sell the "pew rooms" in 1737.  I'm not clear on the meaning of this, either.

He was the recipient of several grants of land that the town made, and two of the three times I noted he drew a low number, so he chose some of the best of the land that was being divided.  In another grant, he drew lot 122, so this was probably mediocre at best.

Benjamin was a selectman several times, starting in 1707 and probably ending in 1739, when he was also chosen to be the representative to the general court in Boston.  He refused to serve, but it's not stated why he chose to stay home.  He was already 61 years of age, and may have not felt up to the task.  Just as likely, Huldah died July 7 of that year and he probably wanted to stay home, to care for her and watch after the family.

Benjamin remarried on August 21, 1740, to Rebecca Nurse Kinney.  (No, I haven't checked to see if she was connected to the Nurses of Salem).  He died 6 years later, on September 13, 1746.  His will is quite extensive.  He left twenty pounds each to the daughters of his deceased daughter, Mary Thayer, and some personal belongings beside.  His will specifies that all bequests are to be in the "old tenor", which is a reference to a fairly recent change in currency.  He wanted them to be given the money as he had known it all his life, and that carried more value than the more recent currency.

I was also fortunate enough to locate his inventory.  It is quite specific, including the value of items devised in the will.  His inventory was valued at over 1120 pounds, again in the "old tenor".  I think we would classify him as"well to do", if not wealthy.  Benjamin Wheelock was a family man, a civil servant, a member of the church, and a leader in the community.  We can be proud of him!

The line of descent is

Benjamin Wheelock-Huldah Thayer
Mary Wheelock-Ebenezer Thayer
Abigail Thayer-Jesse Holbrook
Amariah Holbrook-Molly Wright
Nahum Holbrook-Susanna Rockwood
Joseph Holbrook-Mary Elizabeth Whittemore
Fremont Holbrook-Phoebe Brown
Loren Holbrook-Etta Stanard
Gladys Holbrook-Richard Allen
Their descendants