Born in New York, John B. Wheeler moved to Kansas Territory in 1856, settling in Palermo to operate a hotel before moving to Troy in Doniphan County. In 1858, Wheeler represented Doniphan County in the Territorial Legislature in the Kansas Territory. On September 20, 1862, Wheeler mustered in as lieutenant colonel of the 13th Kansas Infantry. Wheeler mustered out with the regiment on June 26, 1865. After the war, Wheeler returned to Troy. At some point, Wheeler received training as a medical doctor, for in 1868 he was advertising his services as a “Practical and Operative Surgeon.”
Kansas Adjutant General, Report of the Adjutant General of the State of Kansas, 1861-’65, 445.
Wilder, The Annals of Kansas, 205.
Smith, R. F., ed. Doniphan County, Kansas, History and Directory for 1868-9, 113.