Page:Appletons' Cyclopædia of American Biography (1889, volume 6).djvu/484

From Wikisource
Jump to navigation Jump to search
This page needs to be proofread.
452
WHEDON
WHEELER

ford, which was consecrated in 1829. At the time, perhaps, it was the best specimen of Gothic archi- tecture in the country. On the retirement of Bishop Brownell from the presidency of Washing- ton college in 1831, Dr. Wheaton was chosen his successor. He labored untiringly for the good of the institution, making liberal gifts and securing the endowment of two professorships, besides large additions to the general funds. Under his direc- tion the college campus — the site that is now occu- pied by the state capitol — was carefully laid out and planted with trees. In 1837 Dr. Wheaton ac- cepted the rectorship of Christ church, New Or- leans, La., where he remained seven years, his cour- age and faithfulness being especially shown in his unremitting attention to his duties while the city was ravaged by the yellow fever. Resigning in 1844, he again visited Europe, and then resided for a short time in Hartford, unable, by reason of feeble health, to undertake regular duties. He soon withdrew to his native town, where he resided for the rest of his life, officiating in different places in the neighborhood as he was able. At his death he left to Trinity college his valuable library, be- sides a legacy in money, part of which was desig- nated as the nucleus of a chapel fund. The large window in the new chancel of Christ church, Hart- ford, is in his memory. He received the degree of D. D. from Yale in 1833. The journal of his trav- els abroad in 1823-'4 was published in one volume (Hartford, 1830), and he also issued " Remarks on Washington College " (anonymous) and a " Dis- course on the Epistle to Philemon." WHEDON, Daniel Denison, author, b. in Onon- daga. N. Y., 20 March, 1808 ; d. in Atlantic High- lands, N. J., 8 June, 1885. After graduation at Ham- ilton college in 1828 he studied law in Rochester, N. Y., taught in the Conference seminary, Cazeno- via, N. Y., in 1830-'l, and was a tutor in Hamil- ton in 1831-'2. From 1833 till 1843 he was pro- fessor of ancient languages and literature in Wes- leyan university, Middletown, Conn. In 1836 he was ordained a clergyman in the Methodist Epis- copal church, and he held pastorates in Pitts- field, Mass., in 1843-'5, and Jamaica, L. I., in 1855. From 1845 till 1852 he was professor of logic, rhetoric, and history in the University of Michi- gan, where he served as president of the faculty in 1847-8. From 1856 till 1884 he was editor of the " Methodist Quarterly Review," and he was also general editor of the publications of the Methodist book concern. The degree of D. D. was conferred on him by Emory and Henry college, Emory, Va., in 1847, and that of LL. D. by Wesleyan univer- sity in 1868. In addition to single sermons and contributions to the " Bibliotheca Sacra " and other f>eriodicals, he published " Public Addresses, Col- egiate and Popular" (Boston, 1856): "Commen- tary on Matthew and Mark " (New York, 1860) ; " The Freedom of the Will, as a Basis of Human Responsibility, elucidated and maintained in its Issue with the Necessitarian Theories of Hobbes, Edwards, the Princeton Essayists, and Other Lead- ing Advocates " (1864) ; " Commentary on the New Testament" intended for popular use (5 vols., 1860-75) : and " Commentary on the Old Testa- ment " (7 vols., 1880-'6). Two additional volumes of his collected writings appeared in 1886.


WHEELER, Andrew Carpenter, journalist, b.-in New York, 4 July, 1835. He began his career in journalism as a reporter on the New York " Times," under Henry J. Raymond, but soon afterward went to the west. After several years he settled in Milwaukee, Wis., as city editor of the " Sentinel." Soon after the opening of the civil war he became a war-correspondent for several eastern and western papers. At the close of hos- tilities he returned to the east and served on the New York " Leader," and then on the " World." With the latter paper he has been connected ever since, excepting an interval of a few years. On the " World " he first adopted the pen-name " Nvin Crinkle." He is best known as a dramatic and musical critic, in which capacity he has served on most of the New York papers. He has written " The Chronicles of Milwaukee " (Milwaukee, 1861), and " The Twins," a comedy, which was produced by Lester Wallack in 1862.


WHEELER, Charles Stearns, scholar, b. in Lincoln, Me., 19 Dec, 1816; d. in Leipsic, Ger- many, 13 June, 1843. He was graduated at Har- vard in 1837, served as tutor there in 1838-'42, and in the latter year went to Leipsic to study, but died after eighteen months' residence. He published an edition of Herodotus, with notes that evince remark- able learning (2 vols., Cambridge, Mass., 1843).


WHEELER, David Hilton, clergyman, b. in Ithaca, N. Y., 19 Nov., 1829. He was graduated at Rock River theological seminary, Mount Mor- ris, 111., in 1851, was professor of ancient languages in Cornell college, Iowa, in 1853-'5, and assumed the chair of Greek in 1857, which he held till 1861. He edited the " Carroll County Republican " in 1855-'7, and at the same time was county superin- tendent of public schools. In 1861-'6 he was U. S. consul at Geneva, Switzerland. He was professor of English literature in Northwestern university in 1867-'75, edited the " Methodist," in New York city, for the subsequent seven years, and became president of Alleghany college, Pa., in 1883, hold- ing office till 1887. Cornell college gave him the degree of D. D. in 1867, and Northwestern univer- sity that of LL. D. in 1881. He has written for publication since 1855, is the author of " Brig- andage in South Italy " (2 vols., London, 1864), and "By- Ways of Literature" (New York, 1883), and has translated, from the Italian, Celesia's " Con- spiracy of Fieschi " (1866).


WHEELER, Dora, artist, b. in Jamaica, L. I., 12 March, 1858. She is a daughter of Mrs. Candace Wheeler, who is well known for her interest in the development of art needle-work in the United States. She studied with William M. Chase in New York, and William Adolphe Bouguereau and others in Paris. Though devoting herself mainly to decorative designing, she has also painted sev- eral pictures. Among these are a series of por- traits of English and American authors, includ- ing Thomas Bailey Aldrich, James Russell Lowell, Walt Whitman, Charles Dudley Warner, John Burroughs, Austin Dobson, and Walter Besant.


WHEELER, George Montague, soldier, b. in Grafton. Mass., 9 Oct., 1842. He was graduated at the U. S. military academy in 1866, and assigned to the corps of engineers. From October, 1866, till September, 1868. he was assistant engineer on the survey of Point Lobos and vicinity, and in the construction of the defences of Fort Point, San Francisco harbor, Cal. He was promoted 1st lieutenant on 7 March, 1867. and in September, 1868, became engineer on the staff of the commanding general of the Department of California. In 1869 he was sent to make a geographical reconnoissance in central Nevada, and in 1871 he took the field with a force of surveyors and scientists. His organization assumed the title of the " Geographical survey of the territory of the United States west of the 100th meridian," of which he became superintending engineer. Money was annually granted by congress for the continuance of his work, and a