A housewright by trade, Josiah Wheeler oversaw the construction of many projects in his life.
Though prior to this, he was involved in an infamous destruction, the Boston Tea Party. He would join his brother-in-law, John Crane, in the “destruction of the tea” on the night of December 16, 1773. After his participation, Wheeler reportedly carried tea leaves home in his boots. His wife, Lucy “Rhoda”, quickly swept them into the fire, calling them “cursed stuff.”
During the Revolutionary War, Wheeler served in the Continental Army. As a housewright, he joined the men ordered by General George Washington to erect fortifications on Dorchester Heights near the end of the Siege of Boston in 1776. He continued with the army until December 1779. After the war, Wheeler was employed as part of the crew building the new State House in Boston.
Josiah Wheeler died on August 9, 1817, and is buried in Boston’s Central Burying Ground.
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