Eleazar Louis Ripley Wheelock

https://cemetery.tspb.texas.gov/pub/user_form.asp?step=1&pers_id=23

Eleazar Louis Ripley Wheelock, soldier and surveyor, was born on March 31, 1793, in Hanover, New Hampshire, the son of Col. Eleazar Wheelock, Jr., a Revolutionary War veteran, and Thankful (Pennock) Wheelock. At the age of thirteen he moved with his family to Boat Run, Ohio. After the deaths of his parents he entered the United States army and served first in the Ohio Militia and later as an ensign in the New York Twenty-first Infantry Regiment, seeing active duty during the War of 1812. After the war he settled in Illinois, where he became a successful businessman and in 1818 married Mary Prickett. Their daughter and four sons were all born in Illinois, but as early as 1820 Wheelock began to invest in Texas real estate. In 1823 he made his first visit to Texas, where he spent a year surveying the town of Tampico. During a second visit in 1823 he met Sterling C. Robertson in San Felipe and returned home determined to settle his family in Robertson's Colony. In 1832 he answered the call of Governor Reynolds of Illinois for volunteers and served in the Black Hawk War. Throughout his adult life he was active as a militiaman in several states and had risen to the rank of colonel by 1833, when he brought his family to Texas and established the town of Wheelock in what is now Robertson County. There he served as a surveyor, land agent, lawyer, rancher, farmer, and soldier.

During the Texas Revolution he organized and captained a company of Texas Rangers. During the years of the Republic of Texas he served as a regional land commissioner. From 1836 through 1845 he was either advisor or leader on all expeditions that went out from Robertson and Milam counties against the Indians. During one of these raids his son-in-law was killed and he and his daughter taken prisoner, but like his friend Sam Houston, he was a defender of Indian rights. Toward the end of the Republic he served as Indian commissioner under President Anson Jones. In 1837 he organized the Texas University Company and gave land generously for its support. The coeducational institution died aborning due to Indian raids. In the spring of 1845 the Mercer Colony contracted with Wheelock as subagent to aid in surveying sixteen townships on the west side of the Trinity River. By September he had traveled nearly 1,700 miles within the grant and had been captured by Indians several times. He supported Robertson in his winning dispute with Stephen F. Austin over the control of Robertson's Colony. After statehood Wheelock expanded his business interests to include plans for silver and copper mining and traveled to Washington, D.C., to gather financing and support for this venture. In 1847 Sam Houston and the other members of the Texas delegation to Congress wrote to President James K. Polk on his behalf. On his way home Wheelock died unexpectedly in Edwardsville, Illinois, on May 14, 1847, at the home of his brother-in-law.

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GEDCOM Note

BIRTH: His birth record names his father, but not his mother.

MARRIAGE: Immigration to TX records, 1880 Census, Robertson Co., TX, both gravestones. Also, there is a Widown's Pension application for Mary Prickett in which a variety of persons swear that she is the one and only wife of Col. E.L.R. Wheelock. In it she states that she and ELR were married in St. Clair Co., IL in March of 1819. No record exists there.

1) His Will names his beloved wife, Mary. 2) His immigration to TX papers name wife, Mary. 3) Her tombstone says "Mary P. Wheelock." 4) On the back of the gravestone for George and Sarah Prickett is found an inscription, "Here also rest the remains of Col. E.L.R. Wheelock of Wheelock, Texas. Son-in-law of George and Sarah Prickett." 5) There is a Widow's Pension application (War of 1812) in which numerous persons swear that Mary P. Wheelock is the one and only wife (now widow) of Col. E.L. R. Wheelock. In it she states that she and ELR were married in St. Clair Co., IL in March of 1819. This marriage is not on record in St. Clair county. 6) Sarah [Anderson] Prickett's Will says, "to my beloved children...Mary Wheelock."

"When the Rev. William Kinney [Baptist Minister] rode out to George and Sarah Priskett's farm in St. Clair County [IL] on March 22, 1818, to join together Mary Pope Prickett and Eleazar Louis Ripley Wheelock..." From - 'Texian Odyssey' by Mary Foster Hutchinson, pg 20.

CHILDREN: Listed in McLean, Papers Concerning Robertson's Colony in Texas, Vol IX, p. 319, from the immigration records and E.L.R.'s Will, which says, "...to be equally divided into five shares and paid over to my beloved wife, Mary, and my five children by her..." and names "Wm H Wheelock," "David P. wheelock," "George R. Wheelock," and Annett W. Killough." The document fails to name the youngest son, Thomas, who died in 1837 at the age of five years old.

MILITARY: War of 1812. Sworn in to Ohio Militia on 4 Sep 1813. Served until Mar 1814. Honorably discharged as a Sergeant Major. (from Pension application) Re-enlisted in 21st US Infantry (NY) Mar 1814 - Jun 1815. Started as Ensign, promoted to 3rd Lt. Honorably discharged.

PHYSICAL DESCRIPTION: Six feet tall, black hair, gray eyes. From the military records.

PERSONALITY: A man of laws. He hated to see the people around him flaunt the law and get away with it. It caused him pain his entire life. From - his personal writings.

LAND:

1815 - Was in Mason, KY on 13 Oct 1815 (witness on a land transaction) and stood Bond for his sister, Nancy Marie Wheelock's wedding to James Hillman (2 Oct 1816).

1817 - Bought land in Madison Co., IL.

1830 IL Census - Quincy, Adams Co.

1835 - Established Wheelock, TX in 1835 when he received a land grant in Robertson Colony, TX from the Nashville Company [the State Government of Coahuila and Texas]. Wheelock was the county seat between 1850-1854. Received Bounty land Certificate No. 1636 for 640 acres of land for having served in the Army from March 16 to Nov 7, 1836. 25 Labors of land (TX), 19 Jan 1835. From - "An Abstract of the Original Titles of Record in the GLO" Mary Lewis Ulmer, 1964. One League in Robertson Co., TX - ELR - 19 Jan 1835. From - Sapnish Archives of the GLO in TX by Virginia Taylor.

CENSUS: 1818 - Bond Co., IL E.L.R. Wheelock -

1830 - Quincy Adams Co., IL

IMMIGRATION: E.L.R. Wheelock's immigration record (to TX) says he was age 41, from IL; had a wife named Mary, age 37; and the following children: Geo. R., age 17; Annett, age 13; Wm. H., age 7; David P., age 5; and Thos., age 2.

DEATH: The date of death is from a letter dated April 29, 1847 written by Elisha Prickett, to his sister, Mary Prickett Wheelock. "Dear Sister: I sit down to perform a painful duty...the death of Col. Wheelock, who departed this life at Edwardsville on the 20th day of this month."

WILL: His Will is dated 12 Nov 1844 and is recorded in Vol D, p. 220 Probate Minutes of Robertson Co., TX.

BURIAL: He has a grave marker just outside the Prickett family plot in Edwardsville, IL. On the back of the stone for his father-in-law, George Prickett, is found an inscription, "In this grave also rest the remains of Col. E. L. R. Wheelock of Wheelock, Texas. Son-in-law of George and Sarah Prickett."

Find A Grave Memorial # 73312893

NOTE: It is not known if the Prickett family disinterred the bodies of George and Sarah Prickett, and ELR Wheelock in the early 1900s and moved the three of them to Woodlawn.

CEMETERIES AND TOMBSTONE INSCRIPTIONS OF MADISON COUNTY, ILLINOIS, VOLUME 11, "History of Lusk Cemetery," June 1999, p. 62 (Compiled by Leigh Sills):

1905 - "A large number of bodies are being removed from old Lusk cemetery to Woodlawn and to other cemeteries. Last week there were half a dozen disinterments at the burying ground on Second street."

1912 - It was not until 1912 that the city of Edwardsville took steps to acquire this "first place of interment' and Lusk by condemnation to be known by the city as "Lusk Memorial Park." Subsequently, in 1913, there were legal notices in the Edwardsville Intelligencer requesting that families move more graves of their loved ones. All graves were not removed.

There is also a Cenotaph in the Texas State Cemetery, Austin, Travis Co., TX dedicated to him. [http://www.cemetery.state.tx.us/pub/user_form.asp] Find A Grave Memorial # 10707576

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Birth Certificate Wheelock, ELR's birth certificate Hanover, Grafton Co., NH records Wheelock, ELR's birth cert 3 Y

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Probate File Probate Minutes of Robertson Co., TX, Vol D Will dated 25 Jan 1846 Probate Minutes of Robertson Co., TX, Vol D, p. 220. 3 Y Y

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Cemetery Marker ELR Wheelock's gravestone Buried outside the Prickett family plot. Inscription on the back of the stone for George Prickett Wheelock, ELR's gravestone 3 Y Y

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Letter Ltr from Elisha Prickett to Mary P. Wheelock Ltr from Elisha Prickett to Mary P. Wheelock 3 Y

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Cemetery Marker ELR Wheelock's gravestone Buried outside the Prickett family plot. Inscription on the back of the stone for George Prickett Wheelock, ELR's gravestone 3 Y Y

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133 3