Born in
Ballston, New York, Wheeler moved to Illinois in 1852 with his parents, who settled near Grant Park, Kankakee County. He attended public and private schools in Kankakee County, and then studied law and gained
admission to the bar in 1871, commencing practice in the city of Kankakee. He served as member of the
Illinois State Senate in 1884. Wheeler was elected as a
Republican to the
Fifty-third Congress (March 4, 1893 – March 3, 1895). He was not a candidate for renomination in 1894 to the
Fifty-fourth Congress. He resumed practicing of law in
Kankakee, Illinois, serving as delegate to the Republican National Conventions in 1896 and 1900. He died in
Kankakee, Illinois, July 19, 1918, and was interred in Mound Grove Cemetery. ==References==