GALESTOWN, Md. - A grave marking ceremony to recognize a Dorchester County Revolutionary War soldier is slated for October.
According to historians, William Wheatley was born in 1757 in Dorchester County’s Fork District. Wheatley’s father, Edward, was a trustee of the Wheatley Methodist Episcopal Church, records reportedly show. Today, the Wheatley Methodist Church continues to house an active congregation over 240 years later.
Church historian Suellen Wheatley Wilkins says Pvt. William Wheatley joined the 2nd Maryland Regiment during the Revolutionary War on April 20, 1778. During his time in the Continental Army, Wilkins says Wheatley was at White Plains, NY in the summer of 1778, the encampment of Middlebrook, NJ in the winter of 1778-1779, and the Washington Encampment at Morristown, NJ from winter of 1779 to 1780.
Following his three-year commitment, Wheatley’s military pension record shows he married Rhoda Tull around 1782. He died in 1811, according to Wilkins, but no record of his burial location has been found.
Because of his father’s involvement with the Wheatley Methodist Episcopal Church, Wilkins says it is assumed William Wheatley was also a member of the congregation. The Sons of the American Revolution say it would be appropriate to recognize Wheatley at his family church, and a grave marking ceremony is scheduled for Saturday, Oct. 18 on Wheatley Church Road at 11 a.m.