Ralph Wheelock

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Ralph Wheelock (1600–1683) was an English Puritan minister, American colonial public official, and educator. He is known for having been the first public school teacher in America.

Early life and education

Ralph Wheelock was most likely born on 17 May 1600 in Shropshire, England. He was educated at Clare Hall, Cambridge University alongside John Milton and John Elliot. He enrolled in 1623, obtained a Bachelor of Arts degree in 1626, and a Master of Arts in 1631.^[1] He participated in the radical Puritan movement that was centered at Cambridge University at the time.

Marriage and family

On 17 May 1630, Wheelock married Rebecca Clarke.^[2] The two had three children in England: Mary, baptized in Banham, County of Norfolk, 2 Sep 1631; Gershom, baptized in the village of Eccles, County of Norfolk, 3 Jan 1632/33; and Rebecca Wheelock, baptized in Eccles as well, on 24 Aug 1634.^[3]

The family sailed to the Massachusetts Bay Colony in 1637, 7 years after the settlement of Boston, and at the peak of the "Great Migration".^[4] He and his family settled in Watertown, Massachusetts upon arrival. After moving to the town of Dedham, which Wheelock had a major role in establishing, children Benjamin, Samuel, Record, and Experience were born. The family lived there for over a decade.

In 1651 Wheelock and his family moved to Medfield, which he founded and where he spent the remaining 32 years of his life. Eleazar Wheelock was born to Ralph and Rebecca at Medfield. One of Eleazar's grandchildren, also named Eleazar, would go on to become the founder of Dartmouth College, in New Hampshire.

Career

Ralph Wheelock joined the dissenting religious movement known as Puritanism while at Cambridge University. On 6 May 1630, he was ordained priest by Francis White, Bishop of the Norfolk Diocese.^[5] It is probable that Wheelock served clerical duties at the parish in Eccles where his children Gershom and Rebecca were baptized.^[5]

Wheelock participated in a plan to create a new settlement further up the Charles River from Watertown, Massachusetts, to be called Contentment (later renamed Dedham). In 1638 Wheelock became one of the earliest settlers and a founder of Dedham. He lived there with his wife for over a decade, and played a leading role in the affairs of the town. In July 1637, Wheelock signed the "Dedham Covenant", effectively the founding constitution of Dedham. In 1639 he and six others were chosen to be town selectmen. He was also appointed to assist in the surveying the boundaries of the town.

On 13 Mar 1638/9, Wheelock was declared a freeman.^[6] In 1642, he was appointed the clerk of writs at the General Court, which was the central court of the Bay Colony with powers granted by the British Crown. Two years later, in 1645, he was appointed one of the commissioners authorized to "solemnize" marriages, which at the time was a civil rather than religious duty.

On 1 Feb 1644 a Dedham town meeting voted for the first free (public) school in Massachusetts, to be supported by town taxes. Ralph Wheelock was the first teacher at this school, and hence the first tax-supported public school teacher in the colonies. Three years later, in 1647, the General Court decreed that every town with 50 or more families must build a school supported by public taxes.^[7]

As Dedham became increasingly populous in the late 1640s, it was decided to forge a new township up the Charles River out of a tract of land that was then part of Dedham. Wheelock was appointed leader of this effort, and in 1649 he and six others were given the duties of erecting and governing a new village, to be called New Dedham, later renamed Medfield. Wheelock almost certainly wrote the document called "The Agreement" which, for a time, every new settler of Medfield had to sign. The Agreement stated that the signatories were to abide by the town ordinances and laws, maintain orderly conduct, and resolve differences between themselves peaceably. Ralph Wheelock was granted the first house lot in Medfield (12 acres), and served on the first Board of Selectmen (1651). He subsequently served on the Board of Selectmen in 1652-1654, and again in 1659. In 1653 he took up a collection for Harvard College. Wheelock held the position of representative to the General Court in Massachusetts for Medfield in the years 1653, 1663, 1664, 1666, and 1667. Ralph Wheelock was the first schoolmaster of the public school in Medfield, which was founded in 1655. He remained schoolmaster for around 8 years.^[8]

Death and legacy

Wheelock died in 1684, the 84th year of his life. His wife, Rebecca Clarke Wheelock, died on 1 Jan 1680/1 in Medfield.^[9]

Ralph Wheelock played an active and important role in the settling of the Massachusetts Bay Colony. He was instrumental in establishing two new towns, and held virtually every office of importance in both of them. Furthermore, he was at the forefront of establishing the educational foundations of the country.

His descendants would also prove to play an important a role in settling New England and the rest of America. His son, Benjamin, was a founder of the Town of Mendon. Among his great-grandchildren were founders of several New England towns, as well as Eleazar Wheelock, the founder of Dartmouth. Succeeding generations would push farther west, settling the frontiers in New York, Michigan, Illinois, Nova Scotia, and Texas, establishing impressive credentials as teachers, writers, soldiers, founders of towns, and creators of business.^[10]

References

External links

• Biography of Reverend Ralph Wheelock
• Unsolved questions regarding the Wheelock family
• Last Will and Testament of Reverend Ralph Wheelock