Complex sentence: Wheeler used the device for nearly two decades, unknown to the larger technological world, but when in 1866 health issues forced him to move to Beloit, a bustling industrial city, he was persuaded to patent the basic function of the device.
Split into simpler sentences: Wheeler used the device for nearly two decades, unknown to the larger technological world. In 1866 health issues forced him to move to Beloit, a bustling industrial city, and he was persuaded to patent the basic function of the device.