USA > Massachusetts > Worcester County > History of Worcester County, Massachusetts, Vol. III > Part 29
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Arms-Argent, a chevron between three catharine- wheels sable.
In the early days there was a marriage between the Wheelocks and the Leversages, and the two families have since been associated in the village of Wheelock. The Leversage arms are as follows :
Arms-Argent, a chevron between three plough- shares sable.
Crest-A leopard's head, face jessant a fleur-de-lis.
(I.) The American ancestor, Ralph Wheelock, was born in Shropshire, England, in 1600, and died in Med- ford Massachusetts, in November, 1683. He was a graduate of Cambridge, A. M., 1631, and was ordained a clergyman of the Church of England. He, however, became a non-conformist, and in 1637, with his wife, Rebecca, and his daughter, came to New England, lo- cating first in Watertown, going thence to Dedham, and there founded, with others, the town and church. He was admitted a freeman of Dedham on March 13, 1638, served as Selectman, 1651-1655; and for several years sat in the General Court as a Deputy from Dedham. Ralph Wheelock, a man learned, devout, unselfish, and practical, opened and taught the first public school in Dedham in 1655. He was also a commissioner to end causes ; a local Magistrate, and had authority "to join persons in marriage." He built a house in Dedham in 1652, but became one of the founders of Medfield in 1649, and several years later moved there, building his home at the corner of North and High streets. He was one of the signers of the famous "Dedham Covenant," was on a committee to solicit funds for Harvard Col- lege, and held various positions of honor and trust. He never resumed preaching after coming to New England, but taught school all of his active years, except the two that he served as a member of the General Court. Descent in this line is through Benjamin Wheelock, third son of Ralph and Rebecca Wheelock.
(II.) Benjamin Wheelock, son of Ralph and Rebecca Wheclock, was born in Dedham, Massachusetts, January 8, 1639-40, but his youth was largely spent in Medfield. He settled in Mendon in 1685, and there died. He mar- ried, in 1688, Elizabeth Bullen, and they were the parents of Benjamin, second of their sons, of further mention.
(III.) Benjamin Wheelock, son of Benjamin and Elizabeth (Bullen) Wheelock, was born in Medfield, Massachusetts, in 1678, and died in Mendon, Massa- chusetts having been a farmer of Mendon all his active life. He married, December 9, 1700, Huldah Thayer, and they were the parents of eight children, the seventh a son, Silas, of further mention.
(IV.) Silas Wheelock, son of Benjamin and Huldah (Thayer) Wheelock, was born in Mendon, Massachu- setts, in March, 1718, and there spent his life. He mar- ried, May 20, 1740, Hannah Albee. Their children num- bered ten, their first born a son, Simeon, of further mention.
(V.) Simeon Wheelock, son of Silas and Hannah
(Albee) Wheelock, was born in Mendon, Massachusetts, March 29, 1741. He served as a soldier in the French War of 1760, being orderly to Colonel Christopher Harris, of a Rhode Island regiment, stationed at Crown Point. In 1763 he settled in Uxbridge, Massachusetts ; was on the Uxbridge Committee of Safety and Corre- spondence in 1774; and marched with the "minute-men" of Uxbridge on the "Lexington Alarm," April 19, 1775, as first lieutenant of Captain Joseph Chapin's company and remained in active service afterwards. He joined the government in suppressing Shay's Rebellion, and was in business in Uxbridge as a blacksmith, his shop said to have been opposite his house in Uxbridge, about where the Academy stands. In 1773-1777 he was Town Clerk. Shortly before his death he sold his house in the village and moved to a larger house three miles away. He died in Springfield, Massachusetts, during Shay's Rebellion, in September, 1786, his death caused by a fall while ascending Arsenal Hill. He married, November 28, 1763, Deborah Thayer, of Mendon, a descendant of Ferdinando Thayer, one of the pioneers. Lieutenant Wheelock left a wife and eight children, descent following through the youngest child, Jerry Wheelock, the founder of woolen manufacturing in the family, of further mention.
(VI.) Jerry Wheelock, son of Simeon and Deborah (Thayer) Wheelock, was born in Uxbridge, Massachu- setts, September 19, 1784, and there died, after a long illness, October 10, 1861. He was but two years of age when his father died, leaving his family in straitened circumstances, but with a well educated, capable mother, who kept her family together and educated them herself to a large extent. The lad, Jerry Wheelock, learned a' trade now superseded by machinery, later learned wood turning, made spools and bobbins, and later made chairs. In 1810 the first woolen mill came to Uxbridge, and in 18II machinery was installed and set in motion by Daniel Day, the owner and builder. Jerry Wheelock became interested in this mill, and being a son-in-law of the founder, was admitted a partner in the firm of Daniel Day & Company. Mr. Wheelock was a natural me- chanic, preferring to build a machine to operating them, so after a few years engaged in manufacturing he re- tired from the company and engaged as an "erector" with Arthur Dryden, of Holden, a manufacturer of wool carding machines. In 1814 the Rivulet Manufacturing Company was organized at Uxbridge, Jerry Wheelock a shareholder, mechanical engineer, and mill superinten- dent during the first four years of its existence. In 1818 he began to build woolen mill machinery under his own name and continued a successful maker of machinery until 1834. He invented many devices and improve- ments in woolen mill machines and established the highest reputation for excellence in workmanship and material, many mills placing their plants under his care to be kept in repair so far as machinery was involved. He became widely known throughout New York and New England, but after 1834 he retired from manufac- turing machinery and entered into partnership with his sons to make woolens. This continued until 1846, when he retired and spent the last fifteen years of his life free from business cares, but was practically an invalid for several years. He held many positions of trust that were faithfully executed, and he was one of
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HISTORY OF WORCESTER COUNTY
the men who wrought mightily for the upbuilding of Uxbridge.
Jerry Wheelock married, January 24, 1811, Suky Day, daughter of Daniel and Sylvia (Wheelock) Day, of Uxbridge. They were the parents of six children, the third a son, Silas Mandeville, of further mention.
(VII.) Silas Mandeville Wheelock was born at Ux- bridge, Massachusetts, November II, 1817, and died at his home in Uxbridge October 18, 1901. His attend- ance at the district school winter and summer terms gave him twenty weeks of schooling each year, and this was later supplemented by a few terms at private school. At the age of nine he began at that child's job, "piecing rolls for the billy," earning fourteen cents daily. From that age until his retirement sixty years later, he was almost constantly engaged in some form of work con- nected with the manufacture of woolens. He learned the business thoroughly in the old-fashioned way; was superintendent of some mill departments; was manager ; agent; and at one time managed the wool department of commission houses in New York and Boston. In 1846, when his father retired, Charles A. and Silas M. Wheelock formed the firm C. A. & S. M. Wheelock, and manufactured satinets, plaid linseys, and tweeds. They prospered, and the business is yet carried on in the family. In 1870 Silas M. Wheelock bought the plant of the Harris Woolen Company at Putnam, Connecticut, of which he became treasurer and manager. This became a very profitable plant, but owing to his other interests Mr. Wheelock, in 1887, retired from its man- agement.
In 1883 he bought the Central Mill in Uxbridge, and formed The Calumet Woolen Company to operate that extensive plant. In 1886 that company bought the Uxbridge Woolen factory (now the Hecla Mill), which they operated in connection with the Calumet Mill until 1905. From 1846 until 1891, Mr. Wheelock was owner of Waucantuck Mills, as the plant of the C. A. & S. M. Wheelock Company was called. For over sixty years Mr. Wheelock was connected with woolen companies and i always proved himself a wise and resourceful manager. Every debt he contracted he paid, and though conserv- ative, he never lacked courage to follow his judgment in entering into new enterprises or in meeting emergencies. He held the good will and respect of his men, and was highly regarded as a business man and a citizen. For forty-three years, 1858-1901, he was a director of the Blackstone National Bank.
Mr. Wheelock was originally a Whig in politics, and voted for William Henry Harrison and for Henry Clay for President. He joined in the movement that brought the Republican party into being; served Uxbridge as Selectman for three years; and represented the Second Worcester Senatorial District in the Massa- chusetts Legislature, 1888 and 1889. He was a delegate to the Republican National Convention of 1900, held at Philadelphia, that nominated William Mckinley for the Presidency. He was a member of the First Congre- gational Church and of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, holding all chairs of the local lodge.
Silas M. Wheelock married, May 5, 1841, Irene Taft, born in Uxbridge, September 19, 1816, died January 26, 1900, a woman of strong religious faith and character. She was a daughter of Luke Taft, son of James, son of
Moses, son of Captain Joseph, son of Robert Taft, the ancestor of the family in New England. Silas M. and Irene (Taft) Wheelock celebrated their golden wedding day, and nine years later the wife passed away, followed the next year by her husband, he dying at his home in Wheelockville, Uxbridge, October 18, 1901, in his eighty- fourth year. They are buried in Prospect Hill Ceme- tery, Uxbridge. They were the parents of five children : I. Ellen Maria, born September 2, 1842, died in 1871, wife of Eben B. Haywood. 2. Eugene Augustus, born February 15, 1846, a manufacturer of woolens; married Sarah Smith Taft. 3. Alice Augusta, born January 22, 1849, died in September, 1891, wife of Henry R. Smith. 4. Arthur, of further mention. 5. Henry, born January 14, 1857, died November 13, 1881, a woolen manufac- turer. He married, November 3, 1880, Jennie G. Taft.
(VIII.) Arthur Wheelock, son of Silas M. and Irene (Taft) Wheelock, was born in Uxbridge, Massachusetts, March 26, 1851, and there resides (1923). He was edu- cated in Uxbridge grammar and high schools and at Wilbraham Academy. He began business life at the age of seventeen, with the firm of C. A. & S. M. Wheelock, continuing as bookkeeper and assistant buyer until 1883, when he became agent and a director of the Calumet Woolen Company, and succeeded his father as treasurer in 1889. In 1905 he liquidated the Calumet Woolen Company and bought their Calumet Mill, and the same year he organized the Stanley Woolen Company, and has been president of same since that time. He is now president of the Putnam Woolen Company; vice-presi- dent and director of the Blackstone National Bank; life trustee of the Uxbridge Savings Bank, and a trustee of the Prospect Hill Cemetery Corporation. He was a promoter and first president of the Uxbridge and North- bridge Electric Company; and is a life trustee of the Uxbridge Free Public Library.
In politics Mr. Wheelock is a life-long Republican ; an ex-director of the Home Market Club of Boston, and is an ex-Selectman and School Committeeman. His fraternal order is the Independent Order of Odd Fel- lows, he being a Past Grand. His religious faith is Unitarian, and for half a century he has been a member of the Uxbridge church.
Arthur Wheelock married (first), October 15, 1873, Emogene Atchinson, born in Wilbraham, Massachusetts, died in Uxbridge, April 12, 1898, daughter of Daniel Atchinson. Mr. Wheelock married (second), June 12, 1900, Harriet E. Fuller, of Springfield, Massachusetts. To Arthur and Emogene (Atchinson) Wheelock two children were born: I. Stanley H., of further mention. 2. Anne, a graduate of Uxbridge High School, the Burn- ham School of Northampton, and Smith College. She married Donald G. Robbins, of Springfield. She died October 5, 1918, leaving two children : Donald G., Jr., and Arthur W.
(IX.) Stanley H. Wheelock son of Arthur and Emo- gene (Atchinson) Wheelock, was born in Uxbridge, Massachusetts, July 15, 1879, and there resides (1923), fourth of his name in direct line to bear prominent part in woolen manufacture in Uxbridge. After public school study he finished college preparations at Phillips Academy, Exeter, New Hampshire, graduating in 1898, and passing thence to Williams College, and there re- ceiving his A. B. with the class of 1902. He then pur-
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BIOGRAPHICAL
sued a technical course at Lowell Textile School, pre- paratory to entering the family business, finishing with graduation in 1905 and completing the three-year course in two years.
During these educational years he had the advantage of association with his father in his textile manufac- turing concern, which fact made his course through textile school both easier and more valuable to him. In 1905 the Stanley Woolen Company was organized by Arthur Wheelock and his son, Stanley H., and with this corporation both are yet connected, Stanley H. Wheelock, the present secretary-treasurer and a member of the directorate. The Stanley Mill has the distinction of being the first American mill to manufacture domestic woolens for men's wear. Mr. Wheelock is also a trus- tee of The Uxbridge Savings Bank.
Like his father and grandfather, Stanley H. Wheelock is a Republican in politics, and has for five or six years been a member of the State Republican Committee. He served as a member of the Town Republican Committee for many years, a large part of the time as secretary; has been for several years a trustee of the Uxbridge Free Public Library; and for three years president of the board and therefore a member ex officio of the Taft Memorial Park Association. He has been a member of the Uxbridge School Commission for a number of years. He is a member of King Solomon's Lodge, Free and Accepted Masons; Uxbridge Lodge, Independent Order of Odd Fellows, of which he is Past Grand; the Williams Club of New York, and the Tatnuck Country Club of Worcester. He is also a member and acting president of the Worcester County Manufacturers' Tex- tile Association, and one of the directors of the Black- stone Valley Agricultural Society for many years.
During the World War he served as chairman of the local Food Conservation Commission and also served on the Public Safety Commission, and had charge of several of the war drives for funds, including the Young Men's Christian Association, and had charge of the Red Cross and Salvation Army drives, and served on the Liberty Loan committees.
Stanley H. Wheelock married, December 18, 1915, Harriet F. Tobey, born September 13, 1887, daughter of Walter and Mary (Baber) Tobey, both her parents born in New York State. Mr. and Mrs. Wheelock are the parents of three sons: I. Philip Stanley, born in Boston, August 31, 1916. 2. Arthur Kingsland, born in Boston, September 19, 1918. 3. Walter Tobey, born in Boston, July 4, 1923. The family home is in Uxbridge, Massachusetts, a town to which the Revolutionary an- cestor, Lieutenant Simeon Wheelock led the Wheelocks in 1763.
C. BERTRAM GAY, M. D., a leading physician and surgeon of Fitchburg, Massachusetts, eminently suc- cessful in his chosen calling and prominent in all en- deavors for community and benevolent advance, is a broadly representative figure in the professional world of Worcester County. Coming of old New England stock, he is a son of Henry Gordon Gay, who was born in Lebanon, Connecticut, and was a widely known clergyman of the Baptist church. Rev. Mr. Gay was a graduate of Brown University, of the class of 1865, and served in the Civil War as a member of the 26th
Regiment, Connecticut Volunteer Infantry. He was mus- tered out of the service with the rank of second lieu- tenant. He became one of the widely prominent min- isters of the Massachusetts Conference, a man revered and loved by all that knew him and a force for good in every field in which he labored. He died in April, 1917, in the eighty-second year of his age. Rev. Mr. Gay married Hattie A. Marshall, who was born at Hudson, New Hampshire, and died in August, 1917, at the age of seventy-six years.
Dr. Gay was born at Hudson, Massachusetts, Febru- ary 5, 1873. His education was begun in the public schools of Southboro, Massachusetts, and he was grad- uated from Peter's High School in the class of 1890. Subsequently entering Worcester Academy as a junior of the class of 1892, he was graduated from that institu- tion, then later covered his pre-medical studies in a two years' course at Brown University. Finally entering the medical department of the University of Pennsylvania, at Philadelphia, he was graduated from that institution in the class of 1899. Meanwhile, in June, 1898, Dr. Gay enlisted in the Medical Corps of the United States Army for service in the Spanish-American War and was active in this connection until the following October, when he resumed his medical studies at the University of Pennsylvania. In the autumn following his gradu- ation from medical school, Dr. Gay entered Rhode Island Hospital, at Providence, as a surgical interne, and was thus engaged until the summer of 1900. He was later made assistant physician at the Butler Hospital of Providence, an institution for the treatment of nervous and mental diseases. For four years he filled this im- portant position, then in 1904 came to Fitchburg and entered upon the private practice of his profession. Be- ginning along general lines of medicine and surgery Dr. Gay has placed himself very high in the ranks of the profession, and has won extensive fame as a sur- geon. For the past nine years he has been a member of the surgical staff of the Burbank Hospital of Fitchburg, and now handles scarcely any except surgical cases. Dr. Gay is a member of the Fitchburg Medical Society, of which he was formerly president; a member of the Worcester North District Medical Society, the Massa- chusetts State Medical Society, a life member of the Rhode Island State Medical Society, and a member of the American Medical Association. He is further a member and vice-president of the Clinical and Surgical Association of Massachusetts. In civic and other pro- gressive activities of a local nature Dr. Gay takes a leading part. He served as President of the Common Council of Fitchburg during 1915 and 1916, and was for three years a member of that body. For many years he has been active in the work of the Young Men's Christian Association, and for the past three years has served that organization as president. He is a member of Aurora Lodge, Free and Accepted Masons, of Fitchburg; the Masonic Club; the Fay Club, of which he was elected president in 1922, and now (1923) is still serving in that office, and is also a member of the Oakhill Country Club. He is a member of the First Baptist Church of Fitchburg.
Dr. Gay married, on July 3, 1917, Mettie Estella Holder of Lenoir, North Carolina, and they have two children : Gwendolyn and Lorene Maude.
Wor-13
194
HISTORY OF WORCESTER COUNTY
HON. WILFRID J. LAMOUREUX-In a very practical line of mercantile endeavor, Wilfrid J. Lamoureux is winning large success in Southbridge, Massachusetts, and in his progress is definitely contrib- uting to the public welfare. Mr. Lamoureux is a native of this community, a son of George J. Lamoureux, who was born at St. Ours, Canada, and was engaged as a carpenter until his death. He came to Southbridge as a young man and became one of the prominent citizens of this community, serving as Overseer of the Poor for a period of eleven years and bearing a worthy part in all forward movements until his death, which occurred in 1908. The mother, Domitilde (Bourdeau) La- moureux, was born at Leicester, Massachusetts, and died in 1906.
Wilfrid J. Lamoureux was born in Southbridge, Massachusetts, December 13, 1869. His education was begun in the local public schools, and as a young man he attended Grand Seminary, at Montreal, and also St. Joseph's Academy, at Watertown, New York. Upon the completion of his education Mr. Lamoureux re- turned to Worcester County, Massachusetts, and for about six years he was employed by the American Op- tical Company of Southbridge. Then in the year 1900 he purchased the business formerly owned and conducted by Charles S. Ayers, who carried on a house furnishing business. Mr. Lamoureux has been at the head of this interest continuously since and has developed it exten- sively, adding new lines of stock from time to time, and in every way keeping step with the advance of the moment in his general field. With headquarters at No. 86 Main Street, he now has one of the foremost enter- prices of its kind in this section, and especially in the furniture department is doing a' very extensive and lucrative business. Mr. Lamoureux is a member of the Southbridge Chamber of Commerce, and is one of the foremost figures in civic advance in this community. From his majority a supporter of the Democratic party and a worker in its ranks, Mr. Lamoureux has served in many public offices of large responsibility. He was first made a member of the Democratic Town Com- mittee in the year 1908 and has served on that body con- tinuously since, acting as chairman of the committee for four years. Since the year 19II he has been a Selectman of the town and its chairman since 1913, and for nine years he has acted as Sewer Commissioner. Serving on the Finance Committee for twelve years, he has acted as chairman for one-half of the time, and for six years has been a member of the Library Com- mittee. These local offices, however, are only a part of the public service which has given Mr. Lamoureux a leading position in the community. In the year 1909 he was elected to the Massachusetts State Legislature and served through two successive years, 1910-II, inclusive, and again in 1918-19 served this community as repre- sentative to the same body. His work as a' legislator was marked with many constructive phases, and while the did much for his home community and this general section, he nevertheless gave his best efforts to those interests which affected the welfare of the entire Com- monwealth. In the year 1920 Mr. Lamoureux was sent as a delegate to the Democratic National Convention in San Francisco. In all his public service he has dis- played the breadth of mental vision and the progressive-
ness of spirit which count for permanent well-being in the community and the State. Mr. Lamoureux has done much for Southbridge in various ways, particularly in encouraging those institutions which give the people an opportunity to plan for their future and establish them- selves in positions of dignity and responsibility. He was one of the founders and was the first president of the Southbridge Cooperative Bank, and was one of the in- corporators and is still a' director of the People's National Bank. He has served as Notary Public for twenty-seven years. Fraternally Mr. Lamoureux is affiliated with the Knights of Columbus; the Catholic Order of Foresters, of which organization he is at the present time (1923) State Treasurer ; the Fraternal Order of Eagles; the Improved Order of Red Men; and the Societe St. Jean de Baptiste. He is also a member of the Circle Canadien, and attends the Notre Dame Roman Catholic Church.
Mr. Lamoureux married, on October 1, 1894, Georgi- ana Berthiaume, who was born at Southbridge, and they are the parents of two children : Leo G., who was born August 22, 1895, served in the United States Army during the World War as a member of the Military Police, and married Mabel Nichols, of Brimfield; and Annette L., born on February 2, 1898, married Wilfrid C. Granger, D. D. S., of Worcester, and has one son, Wilfrid Richard, born December 23, 1922.
CHESTER B. KENDALL, in the commercial activ- ities of the city of Gardner, Massachusetts, is a figure of more than usual prominence, standing at the head of a long established coal and ice business, and although more than four score years have passed since his birth, he is still active in he management of this interest and alert to the progress of the times, and is found at his desk every day. Mr. Kendall is a son of Cruso and Minerva' (Gates) Kendall, both natives of Hubbardston, Massachusetts. Cruso Kendall was during his lifetime engaged in the manufacture of churns in Hubbardston, but was cut down in the flower of his manhood, when the subject of this sketch was only an infant. The mother subsequently married Silas Joslin, but is long since deceased. Chester B. Kendall was born at Hub- bardston, Massachusetts, October 18, 1842. His educa- tion was acquired in the graded schools of that com- munity and his stepfather being a man of humble means the boy was compelled to leave school at an early age and to provide for his own needs. He worked in Hub- bardston for a time at such odd jobs as he could secure, then, in 1861, at the breaking out of the Civil War, he came to Gardner and secured a position in the chair factory of Derby & Knowlton. About a year and a half later he changed to the plant of Wright & Moore, with which firm he remained for about four years. Then with this experience behind him and little more than his own courage and faith in himself, Mr. Kendall struck out for himself, buying and operating a stage and express line between Gardner and Hubbardston. This interest he operated successfully for about eight years, its operation meaning much to the communities along the route, before the present day of easy and convenient transportation. Meanwhile, in 1872, Mr. Ken- dall established his present coal and ice business, be- ginning in a small way, with one horse and wagon. He
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