Congregational clergyman, missionary, inventor, businessman, b. Shrewsbury, Mass. He studied for the ministry at Andover Theological Seminary, and in 1841 came to Wisconsin as Congregational missionary to the Chippewa Indians at La Pointe. In 1845 he founded an agricultural settlement at Odanah, an area used by the Indians to plant spring gardens. There a school and chapel were erected, and civil government was instituted in an attempt to teach the Chippewa the rudiments of civilization. Although Wheeler's primary purpose was to bring the gospel to the Indians, much of his time at Odanah was spent in supervising Indian farming, providing seed, and generally aiding in their agricultural pursuits. Wheeler was also instrumental in helping the Chippewa settle difficulties with the U.S. government, especially in preventing the government from removing the tribe to lands near the hostile Sioux. He also succeeded in getting annuities restored, and in having the Odanah settlement made an Indian reservation in 1854. Wheeler was chairman of the board of county commissioners, served as a doctor for the Odanah settlement and La Pointe, and for many years conducted religious services for white settlers in the Ashland and Bayfield area. In 1866 he was forced to retire from active missionary work because of ill health, moved to Beloit, and in 1867 secured a patent on an improved type of windmill. He spent his last years in Beloit successfully manufacturing his invention under the firm name of L. H. Wheeler and Son. Colls. State Hist. Soc. Wis., 12 (1892), 13 (1895); J. N. Davidson, In Unnamed Wis. (Milwaukee, 1895); WPA MS.

The Wisconsin Historical Society has manuscripts related to this topic. See the catalog description of the Wheeler Family Papers for details.

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[Source: Dictionary of Wisconsin biography]