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When JOHN TILLMAN WILSON III was born on 9 Oct 1897, in Ridgway, Gallatin County, Illinois, his father, JOHN WILLIAM 'BILLY' WILSON, JR., was 44 and his mother, ELETHA LUCY DOWNEN, was 42. He was the 10th out of 11 children, with 9 older sisters including twins who died as infants, and 1 younger brother who died after only a few months of age:
• Grace L 'Gracie' Wilson Schmidt 1877-1941
• Mary Ann Wilson Rowe Joseph 1879-1956
• Emma Lou ‘Emmy' Wilson Vickery 1881-1967
• Ada (Twin) Wilson 1883–1884
• Ida (Twin) Wilson 1883–1884
• Lura May ‘Luri' Wilson Brown 1885-1962
• Rachel Catherine Wilson Grojean 1887-1923
• Florence E Wilson Grace Reed 1890-1974
• Lois Edna Wilson Eaton 1892-1988
• John Tillman Wilson III 1897-1960
• Frank Wilson 1899-1899
On 5 Apr 1915, he married MARY ELSIE BROWN (1897–1966) in Essex, Stoddard County, Missouri, and they had 1 son together:
•Delmar Eugene ‘Curly' Wilson 1916-1972, WWII Veteran, US Army, SSgt
On 15 Sep 1920, in Elk, Stoddard County, Missouri, he married LILLIE MELINDA SNIDER, and they had 6 children together between 1921 and 1936:
•Vernon Charles Wilson, WWII Veteran, US Army, PFC
•Amna Louise Wilson Wolfe, WWII Veteran, US Navy WAVE, S1C
•Dorothy ‘Skip' Wilson Cook 1925-2014
•Calvin (—) Wilson 1927-1959, WWII Veteran, US Navy, S2C
•Norman (—) Wilson 1932-2009, Korean War Veteran, US Army, Sgt
•Marion Joyce Wilson Whitaker
Jobs were hard to find in Missouri and JOHN drove an oil truck and had other jobs, but General Motors sent recruiters to towns like Dexter, Missouri, to sign people up who wanted to come to Michigan to work. So JOHN signed up and first went by himself to secure a job in the Michigan factory. Then in 1928, he came back and moved his family from Missouri to Michigan, where he worked at the Chevrolet plant in Flint, Genesee County, Michigan, for more than 30 years.
JOHN didn't tell any of his 6 children with LILLIE about his first marriage and son, Delmar. The second family didn't find out about Delmar until the 1930's when Delmar was a teen-ager and came to live with them in Michigan. Delmar had several jobs during the 4 years that he lived with them, but the best one according to the other children was his job as manager of the local roller skating rink, until he joined the U.S. Army in 1936.
JOHN's family attended church on the other side of Frisco, Stoddard County, Missouri; while LILLIE's family all went to the Brethren Church that they had all helped build in Essex, Stoddard County, Missouri. JOHN's wife LILLIE had become deaf from scarlet fever in 1915 when she was 17 years old. She could still speak normally, and later her children communicated with her by hand.
His wife LILLIE died at age 40 following a miscarriage of their 7th child, when she developed a fatal blood poisoning (septicemia), leaving her husband to care for 6 children ages 2, 6, 11, 13, 16 and 17. Traveling from Michigan to Missouri for LILLIE's funeral, their youngest child, 2-year old Joyce, was then left in Essex, Stoddard County, Missouri, for her maternal grandparents to raise.
JOHN had depended so much on LILLIE with their children that he was lost when she died and he always blamed himself, so the children felt like they had to raise themselves and learned to be responsible at early ages. That is one reason all 4 sons (Delmar, Vernon, Calvin and Norman) and 1 daughter (Amna) each signed up and served in the military (World War II and Korea); and the other 2 daughters (Dorothy and Joyce) both worked full-time government careers, Dorothy for a U.S. Senator in Washington DC, and Joyce for the U.S. Navy in Chicago, Illinois.
JOHN died of a heart attack at the age of 62 on 5 Jul 1960, in Flint, Genesee County, Michigan, and is buried there in the Sunset Hills Cemetery.
When JOHN TILLMAN WILSON III was born on 9 Oct 1897, in Ridgway, Gallatin County, Illinois, his father, JOHN WILLIAM 'BILLY' WILSON, JR., was 44 and his mother, ELETHA LUCY DOWNEN, was 42. He was the 10th out of 11 children, with 9 older sisters including twins who died as infants, and 1 younger brother who died after only a few months of age:
• Grace L 'Gracie' Wilson Schmidt 1877-1941
• Mary Ann Wilson Rowe Joseph 1879-1956
• Emma Lou ‘Emmy' Wilson Vickery 1881-1967
• Ada (Twin) Wilson 1883–1884
• Ida (Twin) Wilson 1883–1884
• Lura May ‘Luri' Wilson Brown 1885-1962
• Rachel Catherine Wilson Grojean 1887-1923
• Florence E Wilson Grace Reed 1890-1974
• Lois Edna Wilson Eaton 1892-1988
• John Tillman Wilson III 1897-1960
• Frank Wilson 1899-1899
On 5 Apr 1915, he married MARY ELSIE BROWN (1897–1966) in Essex, Stoddard County, Missouri, and they had 1 son together:
•Delmar Eugene ‘Curly' Wilson 1916-1972, WWII Veteran, US Army, SSgt
On 15 Sep 1920, in Elk, Stoddard County, Missouri, he married LILLIE MELINDA SNIDER, and they had 6 children together between 1921 and 1936:
•Vernon Charles Wilson, WWII Veteran, US Army, PFC
•Amna Louise Wilson Wolfe, WWII Veteran, US Navy WAVE, S1C
•Dorothy ‘Skip' Wilson Cook 1925-2014
•Calvin (—) Wilson 1927-1959, WWII Veteran, US Navy, S2C
•Norman (—) Wilson 1932-2009, Korean War Veteran, US Army, Sgt
•Marion Joyce Wilson Whitaker
Jobs were hard to find in Missouri and JOHN drove an oil truck and had other jobs, but General Motors sent recruiters to towns like Dexter, Missouri, to sign people up who wanted to come to Michigan to work. So JOHN signed up and first went by himself to secure a job in the Michigan factory. Then in 1928, he came back and moved his family from Missouri to Michigan, where he worked at the Chevrolet plant in Flint, Genesee County, Michigan, for more than 30 years.
JOHN didn't tell any of his 6 children with LILLIE about his first marriage and son, Delmar. The second family didn't find out about Delmar until the 1930's when Delmar was a teen-ager and came to live with them in Michigan. Delmar had several jobs during the 4 years that he lived with them, but the best one according to the other children was his job as manager of the local roller skating rink, until he joined the U.S. Army in 1936.
JOHN's family attended church on the other side of Frisco, Stoddard County, Missouri; while LILLIE's family all went to the Brethren Church that they had all helped build in Essex, Stoddard County, Missouri. JOHN's wife LILLIE had become deaf from scarlet fever in 1915 when she was 17 years old. She could still speak normally, and later her children communicated with her by hand.
His wife LILLIE died at age 40 following a miscarriage of their 7th child, when she developed a fatal blood poisoning (septicemia), leaving her husband to care for 6 children ages 2, 6, 11, 13, 16 and 17. Traveling from Michigan to Missouri for LILLIE's funeral, their youngest child, 2-year old Joyce, was then left in Essex, Stoddard County, Missouri, for her maternal grandparents to raise.
JOHN had depended so much on LILLIE with their children that he was lost when she died and he always blamed himself, so the children felt like they had to raise themselves and learned to be responsible at early ages. That is one reason all 4 sons (Delmar, Vernon, Calvin and Norman) and 1 daughter (Amna) each signed up and served in the military (World War II and Korea); and the other 2 daughters (Dorothy and Joyce) both worked full-time government careers, Dorothy for a U.S. Senator in Washington DC, and Joyce for the U.S. Navy in Chicago, Illinois.
JOHN died of a heart attack at the age of 62 on 5 Jul 1960, in Flint, Genesee County, Michigan, and is buried there in the Sunset Hills Cemetery.
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When JOHN TILLMAN WILSON III was born on 9 Oct 1897, in Ridgway, Gallatin County, Illinois, his father, JOHN WILLIAM 'BILLY' WILSON, JR., was 44 and his mother, ELETHA LUCY DOWNEN, was 42. He was the 10th out of 11 children, with 9 older sisters including twins who died as infants, and 1 younger brother who died after only a few months of age:
• Grace L 'Gracie' Wilson Schmidt 1877-1941
• Mary Ann Wilson Rowe Joseph 1879-1956
• Emma Lou ‘Emmy' Wilson Vickery 1881-1967
• Ada (Twin) Wilson 1883–1884
• Ida (Twin) Wilson 1883–1884
• Lura May ‘Luri' Wilson Brown 1885-1962
• Rachel Catherine Wilson Grojean 1887-1923
• Florence E Wilson Grace Reed 1890-1974
• Lois Edna Wilson Eaton 1892-1988
• John Tillman Wilson III 1897-1960
• Frank Wilson 1899-1899
On 5 Apr 1915, he married MARY ELSIE BROWN (1897–1966) in Essex, Stoddard County, Missouri, and they had 1 son together:
•Delmar Eugene ‘Curly' Wilson 1916-1972, WWII Veteran, US Army, SSgt
On 15 Sep 1920, in Elk, Stoddard County, Missouri, he married LILLIE MELINDA SNIDER, and they had 6 children together between 1921 and 1936:
•Vernon Charles Wilson, WWII Veteran, US Army, PFC
•Amna Louise Wilson Wolfe, WWII Veteran, US Navy WAVE, S1C
•Dorothy ‘Skip' Wilson Cook 1925-2014
•Calvin (—) Wilson 1927-1959, WWII Veteran, US Navy, S2C
•Norman (—) Wilson 1932-2009, Korean War Veteran, US Army, Sgt
•Marion Joyce Wilson Whitaker
Jobs were hard to find in Missouri and JOHN drove an oil truck and had other jobs, but General Motors sent recruiters to towns like Dexter, Missouri, to sign people up who wanted to come to Michigan to work. So JOHN signed up and first went by himself to secure a job in the Michigan factory. Then in 1928, he came back and moved his family from Missouri to Michigan, where he worked at the Chevrolet plant in Flint, Genesee County, Michigan, for more than 30 years.
JOHN didn't tell any of his 6 children with LILLIE about his first marriage and son, Delmar. The second family didn't find out about Delmar until the 1930's when Delmar was a teen-ager and came to live with them in Michigan. Delmar had several jobs during the 4 years that he lived with them, but the best one according to the other children was his job as manager of the local roller skating rink, until he joined the U.S. Army in 1936.
JOHN's family attended church on the other side of Frisco, Stoddard County, Missouri; while LILLIE's family all went to the Brethren Church that they had all helped build in Essex, Stoddard County, Missouri. JOHN's wife LILLIE had become deaf from scarlet fever in 1915 when she was 17 years old. She could still speak normally, and later her children communicated with her by hand.
His wife LILLIE died at age 40 following a miscarriage of their 7th child, when she developed a fatal blood poisoning (septicemia), leaving her husband to care for 6 children ages 2, 6, 11, 13, 16 and 17. Traveling from Michigan to Missouri for LILLIE's funeral, their youngest child, 2-year old Joyce, was then left in Essex, Stoddard County, Missouri, for her maternal grandparents to raise.
JOHN had depended so much on LILLIE with their children that he was lost when she died and he always blamed himself, so the children felt like they had to raise themselves and learned to be responsible at early ages. That is one reason all 4 sons (Delmar, Vernon, Calvin and Norman) and 1 daughter (Amna) each signed up and served in the military (World War II and Korea); and the other 2 daughters (Dorothy and Joyce) both worked full-time government careers, Dorothy for a U.S. Senator in Washington DC, and Joyce for the U.S. Navy in Chicago, Illinois.
JOHN died of a heart attack at the age of 62 on 5 Jul 1960, in Flint, Genesee County, Michigan, and is buried there in the Sunset Hills Cemetery.
When JOHN TILLMAN WILSON III was born on 9 Oct 1897, in Ridgway, Gallatin County, Illinois, his father, JOHN WILLIAM 'BILLY' WILSON, JR., was 44 and his mother, ELETHA LUCY DOWNEN, was 42. He was the 10th out of 11 children, with 9 older sisters including twins who died as infants, and 1 younger brother who died after only a few months of age:
• Grace L 'Gracie' Wilson Schmidt 1877-1941
• Mary Ann Wilson Rowe Joseph 1879-1956
• Emma Lou ‘Emmy' Wilson Vickery 1881-1967
• Ada (Twin) Wilson 1883–1884
• Ida (Twin) Wilson 1883–1884
• Lura May ‘Luri' Wilson Brown 1885-1962
• Rachel Catherine Wilson Grojean 1887-1923
• Florence E Wilson Grace Reed 1890-1974
• Lois Edna Wilson Eaton 1892-1988
• John Tillman Wilson III 1897-1960
• Frank Wilson 1899-1899
On 5 Apr 1915, he married MARY ELSIE BROWN (1897–1966) in Essex, Stoddard County, Missouri, and they had 1 son together:
•Delmar Eugene ‘Curly' Wilson 1916-1972, WWII Veteran, US Army, SSgt
On 15 Sep 1920, in Elk, Stoddard County, Missouri, he married LILLIE MELINDA SNIDER, and they had 6 children together between 1921 and 1936:
•Vernon Charles Wilson, WWII Veteran, US Army, PFC
•Amna Louise Wilson Wolfe, WWII Veteran, US Navy WAVE, S1C
•Dorothy ‘Skip' Wilson Cook 1925-2014
•Calvin (—) Wilson 1927-1959, WWII Veteran, US Navy, S2C
•Norman (—) Wilson 1932-2009, Korean War Veteran, US Army, Sgt
•Marion Joyce Wilson Whitaker
Jobs were hard to find in Missouri and JOHN drove an oil truck and had other jobs, but General Motors sent recruiters to towns like Dexter, Missouri, to sign people up who wanted to come to Michigan to work. So JOHN signed up and first went by himself to secure a job in the Michigan factory. Then in 1928, he came back and moved his family from Missouri to Michigan, where he worked at the Chevrolet plant in Flint, Genesee County, Michigan, for more than 30 years.
JOHN didn't tell any of his 6 children with LILLIE about his first marriage and son, Delmar. The second family didn't find out about Delmar until the 1930's when Delmar was a teen-ager and came to live with them in Michigan. Delmar had several jobs during the 4 years that he lived with them, but the best one according to the other children was his job as manager of the local roller skating rink, until he joined the U.S. Army in 1936.
JOHN's family attended church on the other side of Frisco, Stoddard County, Missouri; while LILLIE's family all went to the Brethren Church that they had all helped build in Essex, Stoddard County, Missouri. JOHN's wife LILLIE had become deaf from scarlet fever in 1915 when she was 17 years old. She could still speak normally, and later her children communicated with her by hand.
His wife LILLIE died at age 40 following a miscarriage of their 7th child, when she developed a fatal blood poisoning (septicemia), leaving her husband to care for 6 children ages 2, 6, 11, 13, 16 and 17. Traveling from Michigan to Missouri for LILLIE's funeral, their youngest child, 2-year old Joyce, was then left in Essex, Stoddard County, Missouri, for her maternal grandparents to raise.
JOHN had depended so much on LILLIE with their children that he was lost when she died and he always blamed himself, so the children felt like they had to raise themselves and learned to be responsible at early ages. That is one reason all 4 sons (Delmar, Vernon, Calvin and Norman) and 1 daughter (Amna) each signed up and served in the military (World War II and Korea); and the other 2 daughters (Dorothy and Joyce) both worked full-time government careers, Dorothy for a U.S. Senator in Washington DC, and Joyce for the U.S. Navy in Chicago, Illinois.
JOHN died of a heart attack at the age of 62 on 5 Jul 1960, in Flint, Genesee County, Michigan, and is buried there in the Sunset Hills Cemetery.
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