William W. Wheaton (April 5, 1833 – November 11, 1891) was a wholesale grocer, mayor of Detroit, Michigan, chair of the Michigan Democratic State Convention, and state representative.
William W. Wheaton | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Mayor of Detroit | |
| In office 1868–1871 | |
| Preceded by | Merrill I. Mills |
| Succeeded by | Hugh Moffat |
| Personal details | |
| Born | April 5, 1833 New Haven, Connecticut |
| Died | November 11, 1891 (aged 58) Detroit, Michigan |
| Spouse | Maria Lavinia Ackerman |
| Profession | Wholesale grocer |
Biography
editWilliam W. Wheaton was born in New Haven, Connecticut on April 5, 1833, the son of John and Orit Johnson Wheaton.[1] His father died in 1844, leaving the younger Wheaton to care for his mother.[2] He attended school in New Haven and Hartford, Connecticut, and at the age of 16 began working at the wholesale establishment of Charles H. Northam & Co.[1]
After gaining some experience at Northam & Co. and rising to the position of bookkeeper and confidential clerk, Wheaton moved to Detroit in 1853 and joined Moore, Foote, and Co., wholesale grocers.[2] In 1855, he became the junior partner in Farrand & Wheaton, wholesale grocer and druggist, and in 1859 when Farrand & Wheaton was dissolved, he struck out on his own and formed Wheaton & Co.[1][2] Over the next few years, Wheaton took on different partners, becoming Wheaton & Peek in 1862, Wheaton, Leonard, and Burr in 1863, and Wheaton & Poppleton in 1869.[1] In 1873, he became treasurer of the Marquette & Pacific Rolling Mill Company.[1]
In 1866, Wheaton ran for state Senate, and lost by only 12 votes.[3] He later ran for mayor of Detroit, and was elected twice, serving two two-year terms from 1868 - 1871. He also served as chairman of the Democratic State Convention,[1] although the nomination of Horace Greeley for president later soured him on politics.[2] However, Wheaton returned to politics, and was elected state representative in 1889.[4]
Wheaton married Maria Lavinia Ackerman; the couple had two daughters: Ida (born 1856) and Maria (born 1859).[5][6]
William W. Wheaton died at Harper Hospital on November 11, 1891.[7]
References
edit- ^ a b c d e f Silas Farmer (1889), THE HISTORY OF DETROIT AND MICHIGAN, pp. 1045–1046
- ^ a b c d F. A. Barnard (1878), American biographical history of eminent and self-made men: Michigan volume, Part 1, Western biographical publishing co., p. 151
- ^ Charles Richard Tuttle (1874), General history of the state of Michigan: with biographical sketches, portrait engravings, and numerous illustrations, R. D. S. Tyler & Co., pp. 716–717
- ^ Michigan Dept. of State; Michigan Dept. of Administration; Michigan Dept. of Management and Budget; Michigan Legislative Service Bureau (1889), Michigan manual, p. 664
- ^ Daughters of the American Revolution (1914), Lineage book - National Society of the Daughters of the American Revolution, vol. 39, Daughters of the American Revolution, p. 40
- ^ Charlotte Goldthwaite (1988), Boardman genealogy, 1525-1895: the English home and ancestry of Samuel Boremaan, Wethersfield, Conn, Thomas Boreman, Ipswich, Mass., with some account of their descendants (now called Boardman) in America, Anundsen Pub. Co., p. 594
- ^ "DEATH OF EX-MAYOR WHEATON". The Detroit Free Press. November 12, 1891.