Russel Wheeler & Son
In 1898 Russel Wheeler & Son merged with other firms to create The International Heater Company with a principal place of business was in Utica. The merged firms included; Russel Wheeler & Son (est. 1842), the Carton Furnace Company (est. 1847), J. F. Pease Furnace Company, (est. 1870), Howard Furnace Company (est. 1888), and Kernan Furnace Company (est. 1890).
Certificate Vignette [Ref.]
Frank E Wheeler was the only son of Russel Wheeler, who was born in Rome, N.Y., August 7, 1820, and died in Utica January 5, 1899. George Wheeler, father of Russel, was born in Glastonbury, Conn., in February, 1791, came to Oneida county with his father, and died on the homestead near Rome September 2, 1882. He had one daughter and seven sons, of whom Russel was the third. Russel Wheeler came to Utica in 1838 and entered the hardware store of John Mairs, where he remained four years.
In 1842 he became bookkeeper for Joel C. Bailey, who had just purchased the Chester Dexter Foundry on Columbia street. In 1844 he formed a partnership with Mr. Bailey, as Bailey, Wheeler & Company, which continued until 1855, when Mr. Wheeler bought his senior partner's interest. In 1865 he secured that of S. Alonzo Bailey and in 1887 he took his son, Frank E., into the business; two years later Francis Kernan, Jr., became a partner, but on January 1, 1890, the Wheelers again became sole owners, the firm name being Russel Wheeler & Son. They manufacture stoves, furnaces, hot water heaters, etc. and employed 150-200 men.
Mr. Wheeler was alderman in 1849-1850, a director in the Oneida National Bank, a trustee of the Savings Bank of Utica, for many years vice-president of the Utica Steam Cotton Mills, the Globe Woolen Mills, the Utica Willowvale Bleaching Works, and the Utica and Black River Railroad Company.
He was also for many years a trustee of Colgate University. He was an extensive traveler, a man of unswerving integrity, and an influential, respected citizen. August 5, 1845, he married Amanda, daughter of Joel C. Bailey, of Utica, who died at Saratoga Springs, N.Y., August 29, 1884, leaving one son, Frank E., who was born in Utica in 1853.
On November 10, 1887, Mr. Wheeler married, second, Mrs. Katharine K. Anderson, of New York. Frank Wheeler was graduated from Yale College in 1876, and for several years has managed the business of the firm. In 1878 he married Louise Vanette, daughter of Hon. Cheney Ames, of Oswego, N.Y.
1872 - Foundrymen take a break: You have to be tough to work in a foundry in 100-degree temperatures next to blazing furnaces, pouring hot metals into molds. In 1872, the Russel Wheeler Foundry was on Columbia Street near Genesee Street in downtown Utica. Wheeler also manufactured stoves. Its hard-working employees stopped long enough one day to pose for this photo [Ref.]...
The following profile is from page 89, of a 1883 edition of Commerce, Manufactures And Resources, Oneida County.
RUSSEL WHEELER, SON & CO.,
Manufactuhers op Stoves and Hot-Air
Furnaces, Columbia, Fayette and
Cornelia Streets.
In this work, on the commercial and mechanical industries which centre in Utica, more than passing mention is due to the above firm, both on account of its well known reputation and the promotion of the city's industrial thrift by its furnishing emj^loyment to a large number of skilled workmen.
The house was originally founded in 1843, as Bailey, Wheeler & Co.; it has been since subject to various changes of style until, in 1880, it was finally constitiited as Russel Wheeler, Son & Co.
The premises occupied comprise buildings covering nearly 100,000 square feet of surface, with a frontage of about 200 feet on Fayette street, and about 240 feet frontage on Columbia street. Here all the latest and most improved machinery is called into operation, to perfectly carry on the manufacture of stoves, while a 100-horse power steam engine supplies the motive force necessary, and employment is found for from one hundred and fifty to two hundred operatives.
The stoves, ranges, furnaces, &c., made by this firm, are remarkable for their beauty of finish, solidity of construction, simplicity of arrangement, economy in the use of fuel, and moderation in the price at which they are placed upon the market. The facilities that enable the firm to offer superior inducements to their customers are such as are embraced in their long experience and thorough knowledge of the wants of the trade. That their products are held in public favor may be at once inferred when we mention that their tiada extends throughout the United States, and large quantities of their goods are exported to Great Britain and South America.
The individual members of the firm, as at present constituted, are Messrs. Russel Wheeler, Frank E. Wheeler, and Francis Kernan, Jr. All these gentlemen are well known to the community. The senior member of the firm has been identified with its interests from its inception, and to him and Mr. Frank E. Wheeler, the large success of its operations are due.
With the facilities which we have briefly enumerated, the great success of the house is not at all mysterious, especially when the reputation for fairness and liberality in dealing is taken into consideration; and as the products have no superior, either in style or workmanship, dealers would conserve their own interests by placing their orders with Messrs. Russel Wheeler, Son & Co. before closing contracts elsewhere.
Per a 1893 issue of Digest of Trade Marks for Machines, Metals, Jewelry, & the Hardware & Allied Trades, page 133, Trademarks by Wheeler & Kernan, the "Palace King" and "Palace Queen" furnances...
A January 4, 1896 advertisement from trade magazine, Palace King Furnace, Utica, NY...
Make Downtown Utica better and create a Better Hospital Neighborhood! Learn about many other Utica Boiler and Furnace Manufacturers and their fasinating history.