William Wheeler,
who is now in the seventy-ninth year of his age and has been a resident of
Macoupin county since his infancy, was born in Rush county, Indiana, April
13, 1833. He is a son of John and Mary (Cameron) Wheeler, both of whom were
natives of Kentucky, the former born in 1804 and the latter in 1803. The
father removed to Ohio with his parents at the age of six years and grew to
maturity in the Buckeye state, where he was married to Miss Mary Cameron and
in 1835 arrived with his family in Macoupin county, Illinois. He located on
section 7, Bird township, and there continued during the remainder of his
life, which covered a period of over sixty years. He died on the old
homestead July 3, 1895, and his wife passed away May 25, 1898. Their remains
were interred in Shiloh cemetery, Bird township. In the family of Mr. and
Mrs. Wheeler were seven children, two of whom died in infancy. The others
are: William, of this review; Barbara, the wife of Jonas Rebble, of Hettick;
F. M., who is now engaged in farming in Bird township; Calvin, a resident of
Greenfield, Greene county, Illinois; and Huldah, who became the wife of John
R. Stewart and who is now deceased.
In the pioneer schools of
Macoupin county William Wheeler received his early education, his advantages
being extremely limited as teachers were few, schoolhouses were far apart
and the boys were needed at home to assist their fathers in redeeming the
wilderness to the uses of man. He remained with his parents until twenty-two
years of age and then located on the place where he has since resided, on
section 8, Bird township. The land was originally raw prairie but he applied
himself energetically and instituted many improvements, erecting a
comfortable residence and developing the property to a substantial paying
basis. He prospered in his work and is now the fortunate owner of three
hundred and two acres in this county and three hundred acres in Coffey
county, Kansas. Through his unremitting industry and careful management he
years ago became recognized as one of the successful men of Macoupin county,
a position which he has ever since retained.
In
1856 Mr. Wheeler was married to Miss Mary J. Lee and they have six
children living: J. N., a farmer of Bird township; A. C., who is living at
home; John, who is engaged in farming near Clinton, Missouri; Alvin, also of
Bird township; Elina, who married Allen Bear, of Clinton, Missouri; and
Ollie, who is the wife of J. W. Parker, of Bird township. Madore died at the
age of nineteen years and Edgar died at the age of five. Mr. Wheeler is in
thorough sympathy with the democratic party and as a patriotic and
public-spirited citizen has filled various offices of responsibility in his
township. He and his wife are members of the Shiloh Baptist church, in which
he has long served as trustee and deacon. He rightfully belongs among the
honored members of the community and as he approaches the age of four score
he looks back over a life of usefulness, in the course of which he has
encouraged many by his just and honorable course to persevere in the pursuit
of worthy aims. He and his estimable wife have many friends and are numbered
among the most respected residents of the county.
Extracted 18 May 2018 by Norma Hass from History of Macoupin County, Illinois: Biographical and Pictorial, by Charles A. Walker, published in 1911, Volume 2, pages 90-95.
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