Phillip Henry Wheeler

Phillip H. Wheeler was a foreman at the Illinois Watch Company in Springfield, Illinois.

In 1881, he was arrested for rape after a female employee at the watch factory accused him of using his authority to force her to have a non consensual relationship [Chicago Tribune, 10 March 1881].

After being ousted from the Illinois Watch Company, Wheeler workedas the superintendent at the Columbus Watch Company in Columbus, Ohio.

In 1889, Wheeler accepted a position as superintendent of the new Otay Watch Company in Otay, California. In December 1890, newspapers report that the Wheeler family moved from Otay to San Diego.

After the Otay Watch Company failed, Wheeler had hopes to create a new watch factory in San Francisco using the old Otay machinery. He created a partnership, Wheeler & Wilson Manufacturing Co., and offered $25,000 to M.D. Hamilton to purchase the machinery. This arrangmeent eventually became the San Jose Watch Company. After recognizing the opporutnity for cheaper labor, Wheeler moved the watch company to Japan [San Diego Union, 11 February 1895].