J. Russell Wheeler was primarily a small town banker, and as such had an interest in land speculation and the development of the lumbering industry in Wisconsin. In general, the correspondence in these papers is concerned with services for bank customers and business associates, financial data and records, abstracts of titles, and land indentures. Because of his interest in agriculture and the foods industry, there are many letters relating to farm loans, canning companies, and lumber operations--the latter in Jackson and Clark counties at the turn of the century.
Prior to 1900, papers of John S. and Lester R. Rockwell, and of Julius L. Edwards of Walworth County, Wheeler's maternal grandfather, appear with the correspondence. These are concerned with land speculation in southeastern Wisconsin, especially in the vicinity of Oconomowoc and Elkhorn, and are in the collection due to the family relationships; in fact, John Edward Wheeler served as Lester Rockwell's executor. Within this early correspondence there are about sixteen letters, 1860-1862, from Nelson Dewey to Lester R. Rockwell dealing with monies Dewey collected in Rockwell's behalf.
Correspondence after 1900 chiefly concerns the business enterprises of J. Russell Wheeler himself. In the 1930s and early 1940s he dealt in securities for firms in Chicago; and in 1949 he was commissioned to sell mutual fund stock from his home in Evanston, although he had retired from active trading some years before. His letters show that after moving back to Milwaukee in 1950, he managed small investments for himself and relatives.
Although most are personal account books, the volumes listed in the contents list below give some indication of the Wheelers' involvement with the Columbus bank. This is particularly true of the first five. The volumes do not cover consecutive years, but show something of the bank's early development and of the financial affairs of the Wheelers.
Also in the collection are recorded and transcribed reminiscences, July 31, 1963, of J. Russell Wheeler, including references to architect Louis Sullivan and his designing of the Farmers' and Merchants' Bank of Columbus.
