Silas was born in Charlton, Mass, on 20 Apr 1781, son of Edward Wheelock and Martha (Daggett) Wheelock [1]. He was probably born in his grandfathers house, which still stands on Gould Road in Charlton.

In the very early 1800's, a huge tract of land in western New York was aquired by the Holland Land Company and made available for settlement. The Holland Purchase encompassed many towns in Niagara and Erie counties, including Batavia, Hamburg, Holland, Concord, and others. Many from New England were drawn by this opportunity [2].

Among them were Silas, his brother, Reu, and perhaps the entire family of Edward Wheelock and Martha (Daggett) Wheelock.

Reu jointly purchased land in Batavia, Genesee Co, NY with Eli Wheelock (relation unknown, but possibly brother) [4,5]. Silas and his wife Rena appear to have been in Batavia in 1807, per the obituary of their son, Lewis Wheelock [10], who was born there on that date. Also, Silas' sister, Relief, appears to have been living in Batavia in the early 1800s [3].

Silas then purchased land in present day East Hamburg 5 Apr 1810, township 9, range 7, lot 34. He must have been one of the earliest settlers of Hamburg, which was founded in 1812. He made further land purchases in the general vicinity in 1826, 1830, and 1833 [4,5].

Silas fought in the War of 1812 ("Index of Awards on Claims of the Soldiers of the War of 1812", published in 1969 in Baltimore by the Genealogical Publishing Company), though records of his service are not to be found at the National Archives.

In 1817, Silas and Rena became founding members of the First Presbyterian Church of Orchard Park. Silas was chosen as the first Deacon of the church [6].

Silas first appears in the New York Census in 1820, residing in Hamburg, with 6 male children, 3 female children, and one adult female - no doubt his wife Rena Baldwin.

In 1833, Silas purchased 100 acres of land (lot 38, township 7, range 6) in or near present day Concord, NY. He apparently gave this to his son, Lewis, who built a mill and set up farming operations [7].

Rena died in 1833 (per headstone), after which Silas married Sarah Hurlbut in Hamburg, N.Y. [8]

Silas next appears in the New York Census in 1850. At this time he is living with his son Silas B., and his wife, Sarah. He died in 1851. His headstone (Prospect Lawn Cemetery, Hamburg, NY) reads as follows:

"Silas Wheelock, d. Oct 30, 1851, in the 71st year of his age. Blessed are the peacemakers for they shall be called the children of God."

The administration of his estate (Erie County Surrogate Court File # 24251) refers to children Albert Whelock, Olive Lynds(?), Lewis Whelock, Silas B. Whelock, John H. Whelock, Harmon Whelock, Joseph Whelock, and Sophronia Schmitt. The document is signed by his wife, Sarah, and indicates "that he left no will, so far as your petitioner has heard or been able to discover".

(Written by Roderick B. Sullivan, Jr., Northborough, MA, Dec 1997, updated Jan 2015; land transaction research supplied by Theresa Anne Crowell Bickhart, Apr 2000)

Notes and Sources

1. Charlton Vital Records.
2. William Hultgren, Charlton Northside Historian, member of the Charlton Historical Society
3. "Gazetteer and Biographical Record of Genesee County, NY, 1788-1890", Edited by F. W. Beers, Syracus, NY, J. W. Vose and Co, Publishers, June, 1890; on pg. 289 Relief Wheelock, wife of Jabez Howe is mentioned.
4. "Western New York Land Transactions, 1804-1824, Extracted from the Archives of The Holland Land Company", Karen E. Livsey, Published 1991, Genealogical Publishing Co, Inc.
5. "Western New York Land Transactions, 1825-1835, Extracted from the Archives of The Holland Land Company", Karen E. Livsey, Published 1991, Genealogical Publishing Co, Inc
6. "History of the City of Buffalo and Erie County, 1884", editted by H. Perry Smith, Syracuse, NY; D. Mason and Co., publishers, 1884; page 533, Vol I, and page 522.
7. "History of the original Town of Concord, being the present towns of Concord, Collins, N. Collins, and Sardinia, Erie County, New York", by Erasmus Briggs. Index by June P. Zintz. Published by Picton Press, Camden, Maine, 1992; pg 162.
8. "Hurlbut Genealogy", by Henry H. Hurlbut, Published by Joel Munsell's Sons Publishers, Albany, NY.
9. Headstone records taken by Roderick B. Sullivan, Jr., Aug 1999.
10. Obituary of Lewis Wheelock, Buffalo Daily Courier Newspaper, 1 Dec 1881.
11. "Index of Awards on Claims of the Soldiers of the War of 1812", published in 1969 in Baltimore by the Genealogical Publishing Company.