General Elbert Wheeler / US Army

Elbert Wheeler was born at Concord, MA, Sept. 18, 1849, the son of Edwin and Mary (Rice) Wheeler. His descendants can be traced to England in 1665. His great, great. Grandfather on his mother’s side, Captain Joseph Smith, participated in the Revolutionary War at Concord, MA, on April 19, 1775. 

Wheeler was educated in the local public schools of Concord, MA, and then at the United States military academy at West Point, where he graduated in the class of 1875. His assignment in the regular army, as a Lieutenant, was to the First United States artillery.

He was stationed first at West Point, then at Fort Adams, Rhode Island, then Fort Sill, Indian Territory, and later at Washington, D.C. 

Resigning from the army in 1877, he went into business at Laconia, NH, and during his residence there, organized a military company, the Belknap Rifles, and was commissioned as its Captain. In his History of Nashua, NH, the primary source for this material, author Judge Parker notes that this was when the NH National Guard was in its infancy.

Prior to this time, individual “militia companies” formed at sundry areas around the state by civic-minded men and operated independently of any state or national auspices. It wasn’t until around 1870 that these various units became collectively known as the NH National Guard, being under state control until or unless federalized by an act of Congress.  

Wheeler moved from Laconia to Nashua in 1881, just previous to which time the service he had rendered was recognized by the state authorities, by an appointment and commission as inspector-general, with the rank of Brigadier-General. 

He resigned his commission in 1891, greatly to the regret of those with whom he had been associated in the line of duty. Wheeler’s contemporaries noted, “No one man who has been in the service of the state since the Civil War has done more or better service in encouraging and maintaining a military spirit in young men and making the New Hampshire National Guard first among the similar bodies of the country.”

Wheeler is treasurer of several water supply companies and the Wheeler Reflector Company, with an office in Boston and residence in Nashua. He was a member of the First Congregational Church and treasurer of the New Hampshire Club. General Wheeler is the owner of a beautiful summer residence at Nanepashemet, MA., where he passes the summer months and is a member of the Eastern Yacht Club.

At home, in Nashua, he is an active and interested participant in society affairs. He is a member of the Fortnightly Club, a frequent and valued contributor to its programs. He was a member of the Board of Education from 1885 to 1887. He belongs to the Young Men’s Christian Association, in which he takes a deep interest, having expended freely of his time, money, and talents in assisting it in its philanthropic work. He is also recognized as an interesting and capable public speaker.

General Wheeler was united in marriage on June 22, 1875, with Clara M. Roby, daughter of Luther and Eliza (Campbell) Roby of Nashua. There were no children from this marriage.

General Wheeler died in Nashua on June 10, 1930, and is buried at the Edgewood Cemetery in Nashua, NH. His Nashua home stands today at the far north end of Concord St., just before Greeley Park.

Source: History of the City of Nashua, NH, from the Earliest Settlement of Old Dunstable to the Year 1895 by Judge Edward E. Parker / Published by Telegraph Publishing Company 1897

Edited for brevity and clarity and submitted by Gary Ledoux

US Service Personnel Profiles
 By Gary Ledoux February 13, 2026