Among the one hundred and forty-five new members were some men who afterwards became widely and favorably known to the country.
-- William A.Wheeler, who had been a member of the Thirty-seventh Congress, now returned from his native district, the most northerly of New York.

He possessed admirable traits for a legislator; being a conscientious worker, intelligent in the business of the House, and implicitly trusted by his fellow-members.

He was a lawyer and a man of affairs,--engaged at one time in banking, and for many years president of an important railroad company.

He was well trained for legislative duty,--having served with distinction in both branches of the New-York Legislature and having been a member of the State Constitutional Convention of 1867.

Not prominent as a debater, he yet spoke with directness and fluency, and was always listened to by the House.