Daily AncestorWheelsman
A wheelsman was the crewman who steered a ship or steamboat, especially on the Great Lakes and rivers.
The wheelsman stood at the wheel and steered under the orders of the captain or mate. The term was especially common on Great Lakes freighters and river steamboats.
Elsewhere the same job was called helmsman or quartermaster. A wheelsman was a crew member, not an officer, and took his orders from the deck officers on watch.
As seen in a recordOccupation column of the 1880 to 1920 census
Ole Hansen, 27, Wheelsman, Mich.
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Daily Ancestor. "Wheelsman." Dictionary of Old Record Words. https://dailyancestor.com/dictionary/occupations/wheelsman. Last checked 2026-10-01.