The Cape Girardeau Democrat. (Cape Girardeau, Mo.) 1876-1909, 1891-06-27
THOMAS FRANKLIN WHEELER.

THOMAS FRANKLIN WHEELER.
= HIS Death Has Caused Asay Aeasts
TO Throb in sadness In this City.
t Died, in this city, June 21st, 1891
2 Thomas Franklin Wheeler. aged Al
, years, 5 months and 20 DAYS.
I After LIES ftful fever he sleeps well"
, The Sable wings Of Death have
, Swallowed It's once MORE. and n noble
, soul has joined the many in his Faith.
er's House. The drum-bcats sound nc
; longer. The war is over, the flags are
: furlcd, the last great battle has been
fought, and Thomas r. Wheeler has
, at last surrendered to Him who o
|, quers all.
:; lie needs no requiem. The solemn
hcartbcats of many loyal friends make
saddcst music. lie believed i'm the
brotherhood Of Man and had a kindly
word for all. Ills friends we're legion
and his enemies were none. lie loved
little children and talked with them
for hours. lie added TO the sum of
human joy, and were every u for
whom he did some loving service TO
bring a blossom TO his grave, he would
sleep beneath q wilderness Of flowers.
lie was a brave. courageous man.
lie did not bubble over words, bur
boldly toll his thoughts. Nobly
proud and generously just, true TO his
friends as is the needle TO the Polar
star. with heart rs big As ever beat
within the body OF a man. with a SYM
pathy that almost cJualled woman's
he vas a manly man, polished with
the trucst graces of a gentleman.
lie was brainy, bright and witty.
His humOr was rs fresh As summer
winds upon a sultry day. and he has
made the hcart>ick laugh until they
lbEpUl iltlE SClIO"S.
1t may he bcst-whO knows? Just
when his life was reaching to its noon
wcarily he laid his head upon the lap
of Mother Earth and fell into "that
ORGANIZES sleep that kisses down his
eycIids STILL" In the night of death
hope sees a star and listening love can
hear the rustic of a wing.
We who write this notice knew
him well, and VIC never knew a kind
licr-gcntler, trucr man.
Rcquiescdt ia pace.
BIOGRAPHICAL
Thomas Franklin Wheeler was born
December %, 1913. in Cape Girardeau,
Mo. lie was the son of Benjamin F.
and Mary (W~athen)Wheelcr, and when
a child removed with his parents to
Columbus, Ky. Later they removed
to St. Louis. and then returned to
Cape Girardcau. lie was educated in
the schools of his native
county. and began life for himself
when about eleven years of age. On
June 81, 1861. he enlisted at Jackson,
Mo-, in Capt. VIM. l.. Jefrrey's COM
pany of Missouri State Guards, known
as the swamp Hangers and served
six months. In the spring OF 1862 he
re-enlistcd in Capt. Jeffrey's company,
and aftcrward, at Little Rock, Ark,
was transferred to Col. Charles H..
Matlock's regiment of Arkansas In
fantry. in which he served as second
lieutenant of Company X, until the
depletion, by death and capture, COM
PEELED the reorganization of the regi-
ment: then he was put on recruiting
duty Ill North Arkansas, where he re-
manned until Gen. Prices raid through
Missouri, when he joined Col. Jeffrey's
regiment and was appointed adjutant
in place of Lieut.. Joe Hunter, of Cape
! county. Mo-. who was killed at IRON
ton. Mo-. in which capacity he served
until he reached jefferson City, Mo.
lie was then placed on Gov. Thomas
c. Reynolds staff. remaining until the
raid ended, in Texas, when he was
again detailed for recruiting duty in
North Arkansas, where he served un-
til the war closed. He was surren-
dercd and paroled at Wittsburg. Ark.
in May, 1863. and returned to Missouri
in the fall of that year. and in 1866
went to Grand Tower. ILL.,, to fill a pO-
siiion with an engineer corps under
Col. Il. I. Van Frank. on the Grand
Tower & Carbonate Railroad. In
1867 he returned TO Cape Girardeau
county and engaged with his brother,
Will II. Wheeler. and John V. Priest.
in the dry goods business at White
water until 1870. lie returned TO
Cape Girardeau the next year. where
he has ever since resided. lie was
editor and publisher of the Southeast
ern Champion during one campaign.
and he owned an interest in and was
local editor of the Daily Herald, of
Dallas. Texas. in 1876. On February
ID. 1871 he was united in marriage
with Isabella y. Medley. a daughter of
Col. John 5. and Barbary A. Medley.
of Marion county, Ky. Their union
has been blessed by two children, viz:
Christina l.. and Charles Henry Medley
Wheeler. Mr.. T. +. Wheeler was q
member OF the Catholic Church. Po-
litically, Gen. Wheeler was a Demo-
crat, and has been chairman of the
Central Committee of this county.
lie served four years rs deputy sheriff,
and eight years as deputy county
III II ~ D Z.