Wheelock, John , 1754-1817
Biography
John Wheelock was born on January 28, 1754, in Lebanon, Conn.He was the eldest son of Eleazar Wheelock who was the founder and first president of Dartmouth College; John Wheelock succeeded his father as the College’s second president.
Wheelock began his higher education at Yale, then followed his father to Hanover, NH when his father founded Dartmouth and completed his studies there, where he was a member of the College’s inaugural graduating class in 1771.
In 1776, Wheelock became a leader of the United Committees, a group of disgruntled New Hampshire citizens angry at their lack of representation in the state legislature and the distance of the state capital; in retaliation for these slights, Wheelock and others led twelve New Hampshire towns to secede from the state and attempt to join Vermont. The next year, 1777, as the Revolutionary War raged, Wheelock briefly served in New York and Vermont as a lieutenant colonel in Colonel Bedel's Regiment.
Upon his father's death in 1779, John Wheelock assumed the presidency of the College, despite the fact that he was neither an academic nor a minister.
During his almost forty years as Dartmouth's president (1779–1815), Wheelock oversaw the construction of Dartmouth Hall and the founding of Dartmouth Medical School, the fourth-oldest medical school in the country; he also maintained the College’s fiscal solvency throughout the Revolutionary War, mainly through the Vermont legislature’s grant of 23,000 acres (93 km²) in Wheelock, Vermont.
During the latter half of Wheelock's tenure, he became embroiled in a dispute with Dartmouth’s Board of Trustees. Wheelock proceeded to convince the governor of New Hampshire to fill the Board with supporters and turn Dartmouth College into a state-controlled Dartmouth University. The original, private Board resisted and eventually sued. The case, Dartmouth College v. Woodward, went through various judicial courts, before the United States Supreme Court decided in the Board's favor in 1819, the result of a brilliant peroration by Dartmouth alumnus Daniel Webster, class of 1801, who had, ironically, graduated under Wheelock's tenure. However, by this time, Wheelock, who had been forced out of the presidency in 1815 by failing health and poor relations with the Board, had died.
Found in 673 Collections and/or Records:
John Wheelock letter
Two-page letter from John Wheelock at Dartmouth College to Rev. Jedidiah Morse informing him that the latter's geography is used here and that there is a movement against the distilling of ardent spirits.
John Wheelock letter
Letter from John Wheelock of Dartmouth College to Jon. Freeman informing him that in this country the people are more united against the conduct of France than ever before in any cause.
John Wheelock letter
Two-page letter from J. Wheelock in Hanover to Senator Nicholas Gilman informing him that the hard feeling between the north and south. Discontent at "an unjust war, conducted in weakness and folly." Constituiton violated. Propsect of the growth of a military aristocracy.
John Wheelock letter
Letter from John Wheelock of Dartmouth College to Jon. Freeman informing him that the damage of the College in the fire was $100.00. Desires addressee to get engine and see insurance Companies about insuring the college. "It seems we have no alternative left but to defend ourselves with arms or resign our sovereignity as a nation to French."
John Wheelock letter
Letter from John Wheelock of Dartmouth College to Jon. Freeman informing him that the instruction of the Executive of France and management of our envoys will probably weaken the Jacobin's and unite the U.S.. Discusses fire engine.
John Wheelock letter
Letter from John Wheelock in Hanover, NH to Dartmouth College Trustees, recommending that deserving students from Moor's Charity School be admitted to Dartmouth College.
John Wheelock letter
Two-page letter from John Wheelock in Hanover, New Hampshire to Rev. Jedidiah Morse, Secreary, and Mr. Elijah F. Willey, the bearer of the letter. The two Indians who returned to Canada have not been heard from.
John Wheelock letter
Letter from John Wheelock of Dartmouth College to Jonathan Freeman of Philadelphia informing him that it seems impossible to make an immediate payment on an engine. Writer thanks Freeman for Harper's speech.
John Wheelock letter
Letter of recommendation from John Wheelock of Dartmouth College (Hanover, N.H.) for Lyman Spalding, testifying to Spalding's moral character and his abilities as a lectures.
John Wheelock letter
In English.
John Wheelock letter
In English.
John Wheelock letter
In English.
John Wheelock letter
In English.
John Wheelock letter
In English.
John Wheelock letter
In English.
John Wheelock letter
In English.
John Wheelock letter
Photocopy of a letter from John Wheelock in Haverhill, NH to General Gates, informing him that he has intimated to Col. Bedel Gates dispatches to Congress regarding supplies he is to guard; expects the Committees of Safety to meet soon; mention Capt. Travers and Major Childs.
John Wheelock letter
Photocopy of letter from John Wheelock in Dresden to Gen. Gates informing him that due to the illness of his father he has been somewhat confined: expects Capt. Travers in a few days.
John Wheelock letter
Photocopy of two page letter from John Wheelock to the President and Delegates of the United States Congress. Wheelock solicits support for four Canadian youths from the tribes of Lorette, St. Francis and Caughnawaga, presently enrolled in Dartmouth.
John Wheelock letter
John Wheelock certifing that Seth Williston is a Bachelor of arts and of good moral character and recommending him for a teaching position.
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