Dora V. Wheelock

Pedora (nickname, "Dora") Velina Palmer was born in Calais, Vermont, August 26, 1847.[1][2] Her parents were of New England background, with French ancestry. Her great-grandfather was a captain in the American Revolutionary War. Her father, a Christian minister,[3] died when she was three years old, leaving a family of small children, of whom she was the youngest. She became involved in church and Sunday school work at the age of thirteen.[3]

In 1865, Wheelock graduated from the high school of Berlin, Wisconsin.[4][5]

On July 20, 1865, in Berlin, Wisconsin, she married Oren Newell Wheelock (1841–1930),[1][6][7] a merchant of that city, who became a State Banker. They lived first in Iowa, and then in Wisconsin, till 1873, when they settled in Beatrice, Nebraska, where Oren went on to become mayor.[8]

Wheelock was interested in church, foreign missionary and school work. From 1883, she became involved in the Woman's Christian Temperance Union (WCTU).[3] In 1885, she compiled a pamphlet of 216 pages, constituting the 20th Annual WCTU Report of Nebraska.[9] She served for several years as local president and three years as president of Gage County, Nebraska.[4] In 1899, she was state vice-president.[10]

In the spring of 1889, Wheelock was elected to a position on the board of education of Beatrice. She served as State superintendent of press work, and reporter for the Union Signal for Nebraska. She wrote much; her articles appeared in the Youth's Companion, Union Signal, and various other publications. Wheelock was a strong advocate of woman's enfranchisement, though not known as a special worker in the field. She championed the cause of woman's progress.[4]

In 1906, after having served as president of the Nebraska state WCTU for the past five years, she removed to Loveland, Colorado.[11]

Wheelock's hobbies included music, both vocal and instrumental; she was also a painter.[4]

The Wheelocks had three sons, Oren (b. 1866), Charles (b. 1876), and Herbert (1880–1880); and two daughters, Della (b. 1870) and Mary (1874–1875).[1] In May 1917, it was reported that Wheelock was critically ill at her home in Loveland.[12] She died February 3, 1923, at her home in Loveland. Funeral service were held at Beatrice's Centenary Methodist Episcopal Church. Burial was held in the Beatrice cemetery.[3]

Wikisource has original text related to this article: Woman of the Century/Mrs. Dora V. Wheelock

• Works by or about Dora V. Wheelock at Internet Archive