Jacob Oakes

Spouse: Polly Wheelock
Marriage: 14 Aug 1816

• "Captain Ralph Wheelock of Sturbridge, His Ancestry and Some of His Descendants", by Henry J. Clarke, Esq., Quinabaug Historical Society Leaflets, Vol 1, No. 15.

David Richard Regan

Birth: 29 Dec 1940, Bellows Falls, VT

• Records of Arlene (Jeronime) Fitzgerald, granddaughter of Omar Wheelock and Hattie Collier, Mar 2000.

Father: Leslie Howard Regan
Mother: Ida Viola Wheelock

Spouse: Carmel Marie Courchesne
Marriage: 26 Feb 1972, Charlestown, NH

• Records of Arlene (Jeronime) Fitzgerald, granddaughter of Omar Wheelock and Hattie Collier, Mar 2000.

Marilyn Stebbins

Birth: 1926

Spouse: Roderick Wheelock
Marriage:

• Headstone Record, Lakeview Cemetery, Burlington, Chittenden Co, VT, FindAGrave.com memorial number 46265171, created 3 Jan 2010 by Barb Destromp.

George Wheelock

Birth: about 1866

• 1870 Federal Census, Moriah, Essex Co, NY

Father: John S. Wheelock
Mother: Almira (--?--)

Paul Wheelock

Birth: 8 Mar 1785, Charlton, Worcester Co, MA

• Charlton Vital Records to 1850

Death: before 16 Jan 1822

• Worcester County, MA, probate case 63784, Paul Wheelock (1818), nomination of guardian, 16 Jan 1822; Worcester County Probate and Family Court, Worcester, MA; database with images "Worcester County, MA: Probate File Papers, 1731-1881," AmericanAncestors.org (https://www.americanancestors.org/databases/worcester-county-ma-probate-file-papers-1731-1881 : accessed 9 Dec 2019), case 63784, image 3 of 5.

Father: Paul Wheelock
Mother: Beulah Johnson

Partner: Betsy Converse

1. Paul Wheelock, born about 1807

Notes:

Paul Wheelock had an out of wedlock child with his cousin Betsey Converse in 1807. This is revealed by two records, the first being the will of Paul's aunt, Lydia (Davis) Wheelock, dated 1 Oct 1818, in which she left money to "Paul Wheelock 3rd, an illegitimate child born to Betsey Converse now deceased".¹ While this doesn't directly name this particular Paul Wheelock (i.e. Paul Wheelock, 2nd) as the father, the implication is clear.

The second record is more direct. It is found in the Worcester County probate records, in the guardianship file for his out of wedlock son, Paul Wheelock. In a note dated 16 Jan 1822 the probate judge wrote: "Personally appeared Paul Wheelock a son of Paul Wheelock late of Charlton deceased being over fourteen years of age and declared that he wished to remain under the guardianship of Adams Wheelock who was [previously] appointed by the judge of probate."² The same guardianship file contains a record of the earlier appointment of Adams Wheelock as the guardian of Paul, dated 23 Apr 1818, calling him "Paul Wheelock aged 11 years an illegitimate child of Betsy Converse".³ These records confirm that Paul was the out of wedlock son of Paul Wheelock and Betsy Converse.

The 16 Jan 1822 record cited above refers to "Paul Wheelock late of Charlton deceased", implying Paul's death prior to that date. But no matching death record for Paul has been found in Charlton or anywhere in Massachusetts.

It is likely, though, that Paul was not deceased by that date. The evidence is outlined below.

The diary of his aunt, Polly (Converse) Wheelock, implies that Paul was somewhat troubled. On 16 March 1806 (months before Betsy became pregnant) she visited Paul and wrote that she "found him poorly enough". A month later Paul stopped by her house and she wrote he "was very much cast down and quite unwell." On 23 Oct 1806, when her sister Betsy was four months pregnant she wrote "I heard about Betsy Converse. Very disagreeable indeed." Three days later she wrote "Paul Wheelock ran away." It was more than a year before she wrote "Paul Wheelock returned."

Polly's diary also identifies the birth date of the out of wedlock son. The entry, dated 11 March 1807, reads as follows: "Betsy had a fine boy born, with but little difficulty thank to God the giver of good and evil too."⁴

There was a Paul Wheelock, Jr. of Boston who married Pamela Davenport 11 Nov 1810 in Portsmouth, New Hampshire.⁵ He died at the McLean Institution, a mental hospital in Charlestown, 27 Feb 1833, aged 48, implying he was born about 1785, presumably the son of Paul Wheelock.⁶ His death records states that his family was "from Charlestown", which possibly should have read "Charlton".⁷ His wife, Pamela W. Wheelock, was administrator of Paul's estate. Among many creditors, she made payments to the McLean Asylum for the insane, presumably to settle the bill; and to Ephraim and Martin Wheelock for money they lent to Paul. These were amongst the largest debts of all his creditors.⁸ Martin and Ephraim were likely Paul's brothers. There was also a large payment to Mrs. E. C. Davis. This might be a relation of his aunt, Lydia (Davis) Wheelock, who left a bequest to his out of wedlock son.

The facts about this man align well with those of the man born 8 Mar 1785 in Charlton. He was born about 1785, his father's name was Paul, and he was close to Martin and Ephraim Wheelock (since they lent him large sums).

No other information about the Paul Wheelock who married Pamela Davenport in 1810 has surfaced to disprove the two men are the same, nor has there been any record found for the Paul Wheelock of Charlton to distinguishhim from the man who married Pamela Davenport. He was last recorded in Charlton 19 January 1808, when his cousin Polly wrote "Paul Wheelock returned". After that, no record has been found in Charlton or surrounding towns. He certainly had motivation to leave Charlton for a clean start somewhere else, which would have happened before 1810, when he married Pamela Davenport. And the connection between the Paul Wheelock who died 1833 in Boston to Martin and Ephraim Wheelock renders it very likely he was their brother.

Sources:

1. Worcester County, Massachusetts, probate case 63748, Will of Lydia Wheelock, 1824; database with images, AmericanAncestors.org (https://www.americanancestors.org/DB1635/i/33901/63748-co4/56208393 : accessed 23 Apr 2024).
2. Worcester County, Massachusetts, probate case 63784, Paul Wheelock gaurdianship, 1818; database with images, AmericanAncestors.org (https://www.americanancestors.org/DB1635/i/33901/63784-co3/56209000 : accessed 23 Apr 2024).
3. Worcester County, Massachusetts, probate case 63784, Paul Wheelock gaurdianship, 1818; database with images, AmericanAncestors.org (https://www.americanancestors.org/DB1635/i/33901/63784-co5/56209002 : accessed 23 Apr 2024).
4. Mary (Converse) Wheelock, "Polley Converse Journal," 11 March 1807; Manuscript, 1804-1809 (Charlton, Massachusetts); MSS 1280, Subgroup 2 Wheelock Family, Series C, Polly (Converse) Wheelock, New England Historic and Genealogical Society, Boston, Massachusetts, 2020.
5. "New Hampshire Marriage Records, 1637-1947", database with images, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:FL64-TMD : accessed 23 April 2024), Paul Wheelock and Parmelia W. Davenport (1810); FHL 1001315.
6. Death Notice for Paul Wheelock, The New-England Palladium and Commercial Advertiser (Boston, Massachusetts), 1 Mary 1833, p. 4, col. 6; GenealogyBank.com, accessed 23 April 2024; also "11 Famous People Committed to McLean Mental Hospital," New England Historical Society (https://newenglandhistoricalsociety.com/11-famous-people-committed-mclean-mental-hospital/ : accessed 23 Apr 2024); also Suffolk County, Massachusetts, Probate records, case 30159, dated 11 Mar 1833, Pamela Wheelock petitions to administer the estate of her deceased husband, Paul Wheelock, and makes payment to McLean Asylum for the Insane; online at AmericanAncestors.org (https://www.americanancestors.org/DB2735/i/55244/30159-co3/73447709 : accessed 23 Apr 2024.
7. "Massachusetts, U.S., Town and Vital Records, 1620-1988," database with images, Ancestry.com (https://www.ancestry.com/search/collections/2495/ : accessed 23 Apr 2024), Boston, Index Deaths 1810-1848 Vol P-Z, image 155 of 197; Boston City clerk.
8. Suffolk County, Massachusetts, Probate records, case 30159, dated 11 Mar 1833, Pamela Wheelock petitions to administer the estate of her deceased husband, Paul Wheelock, and makes payment to McLean Asylum for the Insane, Martin Wheelock, and Ephraim Wheelock; online at AmericanAncestors.org (https://www.americanancestors.org/DB2735/i/55244/30159-co28/73447734 : accessed 23 Apr 2024.

Sarah Wheelock

Birth: 1794

• "History of the County of Annapolis", by W. A. Calnek, and A. W. Savary, M.A., published in Toronto by William Briggs, 1897.

Father: Benjamin Wheelock
Mother: Elizabeth Jacques