Note 283 — Chapter VIII

Mr. Wheelwright was born at Newburyport, Massachusetts, U.S., in 1798, where his ancestors from Bilsby, in Lincolnshire, had settled so early as the year 1629. His first visit to South America was in command of one of his father’s vessels, where he was wrecked at Cape Corrientes in 1821. In the following year, he sailed as supercargo in a vessel to Valparaiso and thence proceeded viâ Peru to Guayaquil, where he established himself as a commission merchant and was, in 1824, appointed United States’ Consul. Having frequent occasion to make voyages along the Pacific coast, he saw the advantages to be derived from steam communication, which subsequently led to the formation of the Pacific Steam Navigation Co. His intimate connection with that company, as one of its most active managers and directors, continued until 1855, when he directed his attention more especially to the construction of railways in South America, his first line between Caldera and Copiago proving so great a success that “in a few years the dividends paid to its shareholders amounted to double the entire cost.” Subsequently, he, in association with Messrs. Brassey and Wythes, constructed the line between Cordoba and Rosario, which was opened in 1870, when the President, addressing him, said, “The Argentine Republic have not wherewith to acknowledge the greatness of your works.” Mr. Wheelwright died in London, 16th September, 1873.