Birth occurred near Boston in Lincolnshire, England, March 6, 1793, and in his native country he was married. His two children were born prior to the emigration to the new world, which occurred in 1829. They took passage on a westward bound sailing vessel, which dropped anchor in the harbor of New York city and thence they proceeded by stage to Chicago and on to La Salle, Illinois, after which they made their way down the Illinois river to Griggsville Landing. They settled in Griggsville township, Pike county, where the father built a log house on land belonging to his brother-in-law, Robert Walker. Later he purchased ninety acres of land from Mr. Walker, which was partially wild prairie, while the remainder was covered with timber. Mr. Wilson was one of the frontier residents of this part of the state and shared in all the hardships, privations and dangers incident to pioneer life. Indians frequently visited the neighborhood, wild animals were killed in the forests and there was much wild game, including deer, turkeys and prairie chickens. The table of the early settler was thus often supplied with game if the man of the household could prove himself a good shot and the Wilson family board was often adorned by the fruits of the chase. As the years passed by Mr. Wilson prospered in his business undertakings and wisely invested in more land, becoming the owner of about four hundred acres, the greater part of which he reclaimed from its wild condition through his own labors and the assistance of his sons. He built a frame house and added other modern improvements, while his fields were brought under a high state of cultivation and returned to him good crops. While he led a busy life he also found opportunity to devote to the general good, served as school director for many years and assisted in the work of general development and progress. He helped to raise the first house built in Griggsville, it being a log structure which is still standing. He voted with the whig party and was a consistent and faithful member of the Methodist Episcopal church. His death occurred at the very advanced age of ninety-six years and eight months, while his wife passed away in 1876 in her seventy-sixth year. They were honored and worthy pioneer people and their names are inseparably interwoven with the annals of Pike county because of their activity in early days when this region was emerging from pioneer conditions to take on the improvements and advantages of civilization. After coming to this country the family circle was increased by the birth of eight children, the family record being as follows: Rachel; David; Louisa; Martha, who married John Scott and is living in Kansas; Jane Ann; Joseph; Isaac; Sarah; George, who married Julia Bell and died in Redlands, California, November 23, 1905; and Elizabeth.



SEE GRIGGSVILLE CEMETERY FOR HEADSTONE