Edward Wheelock(Say 1754 - ???)
Like his siblings, no record of birth for Edward is to be found in the Vital Records of Massachusetts. Edward grew up on his fathers farm in Charlton. The house he lived in, and one barn, are still standing on present day Gould Road. He married his neighbor [1], Martha Daggett, on Independence Day, 4 July 1776. A few months later, his father died, leaving the bulk of his estate (including farmhouse and lands) to his eldest sons, Seth, Edward, and Paul. The three were also charged with the care of their mother, Abigail (Chapin) Wheelock. [10] At the time, Edward was the only one of the three married, his wife pregnant. His older brother, Seth, was a soldier in the Revolutionary War, having by this time already marched on the 1775 Lexington Alarm, and served in several campaigns in 1776. Perhaps because of the obligations of war, Seth sold his portion of the inheritance to Edward and Paul for 140 pounds [2]. The two remaining heirs then divided the land and buildings [3], living together with their mother and the younger children. A few months later (Sep 1777), Edward's wife gave birth to their first child, Relief; and his brother, Paul, joined the war effort, marching to reinforce the Northern Army under General Gates. Though most of his brothers fought, no record of Edward's enrollment has been found; it may be that he relinquished service to care for the family and farm. Edward remained on the inherited estate for 17 years. Deeds indicate that his brother Paul also remained, sharing the house with Edward. [4] Edward appears in the 1790 Census, residing with 4 males under age 16, and 5 females. One of the females is his wife, Martha; one may be his mother, Abigail; the other three are his daughters. Of the four sons, two are accounted for in the Charlton Vital Records, Silas and Reu. Marcus Waite in his "papers" refers to additional male children Eli and Paul. Of the four females, three are accounted for in the Charlton Vital Records, Hannah, Relief, and Cynda. The fourth may be his mother, Abigail (Chapin) Wheelock, known to be living in the same house at the time. In Dec 1793, Edward sold his portion of the estate to his brother, John Wheelock of Spencer. [5] On the same date, his mother released him from his obligation to care for her. [6] In 1781, Jacob Davis and 64 others purchased the township of Salem in Caledonia Co, VT, and were given a charter. Edward Wheelock was probably one of these; in 1798 his name appears on a list of proprietors for the town, delinquent in their payment of taxes. [7] Other names on the list were Jacob Davis, Nehemiah Stone, Abijah Lamb, Paul Wheelock, and others from Charlton, MA. The boundaries of Salem were held in dispute for many years, delaying it's settlement. [13] It's unlikely that Edward Wheelock ever established residence there. In 1806 Edward Wheelock appears in the Oneida County, NY Index of Deeds as a Grantor, deeding land (with his wife) to John Goodhue (book 12, pg 123). He appears again in 1809, granting lands to Reu Wheelock (book 19, pg 122), and again in 1811 and in 1822. [11] Given that Edwards' daughter, Relief came to Augusta, Oneida Co, NY about 1800 with her husband, Jabez Howe [12], it is likely that Edward, Martha, and the entire family settled near there at about that time. Other children of Edward and Martha appear in Batavia, Genessee County, NY, (in the 1805-1810 time frame). [8, 9] No death record or headstone for Edward or Martha has yet been found. (Written by Roderick B. Sullivan, Jr., Aug 2000, Dec 2006)
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