The Honorable Jonas Wheeler of Camden did not leave a long historical or political record for posterity to assess, dying at the young age of thirty-seven on May 1, 1826.
Wheeler, who was born in Concord, Massachusetts, February 9, 1789, was a graduate of Harvard College, class of 1810. In the year following his graduation he came to Camden and studied law under Erastus Foote, Esquire. While Colonel Wheeler (a Militia title) may have led a short life it appears that he led a full one.
One does not have to read too closely between the lines of his brief biographical sketch in Locke’s "History of the Town of Camden" to get the impression that this bachelor politician preferred the finer things of life in rather large quantities: "Sociable, generous and free in his manners, he fell in with the ideas that then obtained, in indulging in ‘flexible and convivial habits’, which was a detriment to his success."
No matter what Mr. Locke might have thought of Colonel Wheeler’s lifestyle there could be no question of his ability as a vote getter. During his short, and one expects happy life, Wheeler was a Justice of the Peace, the first Representative from Camden to the Maine Legislature and a member of the Senate.
The last two years of his life were spent as President of that body. He died without a great deal of success as a lawyer, but with a very large circle of friends.