Bill Anderson’s (great) “Uncle Will,” for whom he was named, was a superstar. At the age of 16 he attended a newly formed Mass College of Agriculture (what is now University of Massachusetts) in Amherst and graduated second in his class. He studied civil engineering and even was a substitute Math teacher his senior year. There is a dormitory named for him at the University.
He was part of a team from the College that went to Hokkaido, Japan to set up an Agricultural College. He eventually served as President there for two years and oversaw engineering projects in the country. For his service he was awarded by the Japanese government the Order of the Rising Sun, Fifth Order. (Bill’s wife, Mary Anderson’s grandfather George Mansbridge was in Nagasaki Japan at roughly the same time and also received the Order of the Rising Sun from the Japanese government - a remarkable coincidence and honor.)
William Wheeler, upon his return to Concord, was a successful and productive civil / hydraulic engineer (See the Concord Water Works at the top of Nashawtuc Hill and bridges in the town). He held many engineering patents. A history of fiber optics starts with a Wheeler patent to light a house by bending light through tubes. This coincided with Thomas Edison’s invention of the light bulb and therefore was not realized at the time. He was a significant contributor to town committees and also helped his niece, Esther Wheeler Anderson, with the finances of the Frank Wheeler Farm. He married Eleanor “Fannie” Hubbard and settled into the first house on Nashawtuc Hill which he named Maru-Yama Kwan. They did not have children.
There is a significant archive on William Wheeler at both University of Massachusetts and Special Collections at Concord Free Public Library. His importance in Concord and Japan can not be overstated. In 2004 a full biography was written by Tetsuo Takasaki and again, well worth reading.