The Wilson Families of Lee County, Iowa

JAMES X. WILSON.

For more than seventy years the Wilson family has been associated with the annals of Lee county, Iowa, and during that long period its record has been an honorable one. Its various members have been noted for their industry and integrity; and while these characteristics have given them standing in the business circles of the community, their kindly disposition and general good fellowship have made and retained for them a host of friends. Men can not live the friendly life without finding friends; and those who live neighbors, find neighbors everywhere. "We see what we are." The Wilsons have been good neighbors, kind friends and honorable men for long years, and they have delighted in the friends they found and the neighbors that abounded.

While these principles are true of all, they seem especially illustrated in the career of the Wilson whose name heads this article.

James X. 'wilson, son of Thomas and Mary Gilkey (Justice) Wilson, was born on the farm where he is now living. February 13, 1847. His education was secured in the local schools, and he was reared a farmer. In politics he was a Democrat, and at one time served as trustee. In religion he is a member of the Methodist Episcopal church, and has led a consistent ("christian life.

Mr. Wilson was married October 7, 1870. to Miss Hannah Elizabeth, daughter of Granville and Adaline (Langford) ' Arnold, a union that has proved in every wa happy and fortunate. It has been blessed by the birth of four children: Clayborn, Elnuis. Rhoda Elzira, Sabert C. and Susan, all of whom are now living. Mrs. Wilson died October 8, 1899, and Mr. Wilson was married again, February 24, 1904, when Esther Susanna Cogburn became his wife. She is a daughter af Abner and Elizabeth (Byers) Cogburn. and the widow of Tames Henr' Mason, by whom she had two children: Alonzo. who died when seventeen months old, and Laura Isabelle.

Thomas Wilson, the father of James X., came to Lee county from Hancock county. Illinois, in 1833, having previously lived in Missouri. Mr. Wilson secured a quarter section of land by government entry, and preceded to improve it as a farm home. Hughey Wilson, the father of Thomas, also took up land, and the entire tract of land as secured by father and son is now held by the two Wilsons, James X.

As printed in the source¹. Wording is the original; obvious scanning errors have been corrected, and a few may remain.

THOMAS VALENTINE WILSON.

Thomas Valentine Wilson, whose name is familiar to the old residents of Lee county as native to the soil and reared in the community in which he was born, has seen the county transformed from a sunny and flowers prairie to the settled home of a great ]3epulation, a result which his industrial habits and many vigor have helped advance. In the history of a nation a period of fifty years has no great importance; time is an element of national greatness. In the making of the West, however, time has not been so important. In 1849 Iowa was but a fringe of settlement with promise as to the future; in 1904 it is an imperial state, with a splendid development not elsewhere accomplished in hundreds of years. Then Lee county was mostly uncultivated prairie with little towns and hamlets that hardly hinted future prosperity; now it is a rich and fertile part of a magnificent commonwealth. And all this easily within the life of the man whose name appears at the opening of this article. He has seen it, and has been a part of it.

[This passage is too damaged in the scanned book to reproduce. See the original book.]

Mr. Wilson was married to Miss Henrietta Schlagenbusch November 23, 1871. She was a daughter of John and Henrietta (Eppers) Schlagenbusch, and as a wife and mother is beyond criticism. To her union with Mr. Wilson have come eight children: William Alva, born October 3, 1872. married Miss Mary Buhner; Wa!ley Lovinia, born May 30, 1876, she is now Mrs. Eugene Smith; Ethel Ottie, born February 15. 1878. She is Mrs. Granville L. Arnold, and the mother of two children, L'\a Orvia and Orville Valentine; Geneva Salome, born.August II, 1880, and Thomas Valentine, born March 10, 1883. Ollie Ann, born March 3, 1885, is the wife of Louis Weisbruch. Her-

2/4 bert Elmer, born September 9, 1886; the next died an infant; Hazel Edna, born August 22, 1892, and Delbert Bi-yan, born July 22, 1896, are the two younger children.

Mrs. Wilson's father came to Lee county from Germany in 1852, but she was born in Braunsweig, Germany, February 3, 1853. The father settled in Jefferson township, where he died when Mrs. Wilson was thirteen years of age. Her mother entered into rest July 22, 1879. They were the parents of two children, one of whom is Mrs. Wilson, and the other a son, John, who was born February 23, 1858.

Mr. and Mrs. Wilson are quiet and unpretentious people, little given to display, but of genuine worth and character, to which their many friends bear ready testimony. They pay their debts, help the poor, speak the truth, and are always kind and generous. We write them among the solid and substantial citizens of the town, and commend their history as worthy of study.

As printed in the source¹. Wording is the original; obvious scanning errors have been corrected, and a few may remain.

In so new a country as the world west of the rolling waters of the Mississippi may be considered, it is somewhat difficult to form a proper idea of how young the old families may be. Such a term in Europe would mean hundreds of years, and many generations in New England. In Lee county it means perhaps the span, or less than that, of a human life. It is measured by what has been done rather than by what time has been required in the doing of it. Judged in this way, the Wilsons and the Drollingcrs are old families. They have seen a wonder-working in the planting of civilization in the wilderness accomplished, and in the doing of it they also helped.

George Wilson, the son of Hugh and Susan (Skyles) Wilson, was born on the banks of the Cumberland river in Tennessee, in 1809, and coming to Lee county in 1834, secured a tract of government land comprising 160 acres. From time to time he added to this until he owned 400 acres. His marriage occurred in Schuyler county, Illinois, July 22, 1832, and his wife died June 2, 1878, and he, March 20, 1891. Their eleven children were as follows: James, Susan, Elizabeth, Sarah, Jane, Louisa, George, Hannah, John and others who died in infancy. George Wilson was a Democrat and a member of the Methodist church. He bore arms in the Black Hawk War, and was remembered by those who knew him best and in his prime as a man of resolution and activity.

The Drollinger F.\mily came to Lee county from Illinois and settled on the place which has been the family.homestead since their marriage. Of this family all are now deceased with the exception of Benjamin Wesley, who is a son of Samuel and Rachel (Cook) Drollinger. He was born in Indiana December 4, 1830, where he was reared to the life of a farmer. His marriage to Miss Susan Laura Wilson occurred December 14, 1 85 1. She was born in Commerce, Illinois, January 13. 1834. and was brought into Iowa when only three months old. Here she has since maintained her home. To this union have come nine children: George Monroe; Burrle Perry; Rachel Rebecca, who died at the age of four years; Emma Louise; Laura Caroline, who died at the age of two years; Frances Ellen; Mary Malvina; Benjamin Franklin, and Anna Luticia.

As printed in the source¹. Wording is the original; obvious scanning errors have been corrected, and a few may remain.

Walter Wilson, a resident of the township of Montrose, Lee county, Iowa, for more than forty years, donned the Union blue almost immediately on the outbreak of the Civil War, and was long a gallant soldier at the front, ever bearing himself bravely, and writing a record of which his many friends are justly proud. A generous government well remembers his sickness and privation, and his name is on the roll of those it loves and honors, ever ministering to their needs with a liberal hand.

Mr. Wilson was born in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, October 2, 1835, a son of John and Rebecca (Walker) Wilson, both natives of that state. Soon after his birth his parents removed to Athens, Tennessee, where they maintained a home some years, after which they moved to Lowell, Iowa. In 1844 they came to Lee county, where their remaining years were spent.

Walker Wilson secured his schooling in the log structures then the common type of the educational temple in Tennessee and Iowa, and early took charge of the parental homestead. On the formation of the First Iowa Cavalry he became a member of Company A, June 13, 1861, and participated in the long and honorable career which was had by the members of that gallant organization, a record that was a credit to the state and an inspiration to all who loved the starry banner they so gallantly followed. The captain of the company in which he went out to the front was a Mr. Torrence, who afterward became a colonel. Many of the other officers rose to high command, the entire body of troops being noted alike for its bravery on the field, general efficiency in all the details of war, and self-reliant action in the face of danger and surprise. It was organized at Keokuk as an independent command, and went into service with its own horses, arms and general equipment. Mr. Wilson was in the regiment for three years and four months, and during that time did duty in Missouri, Arkansas, Texas, and several other states, participated in a number of severe engagements, mainly at Prairie Grove, Little Rock and Camden. Much of the time the regiment was engaged in fighting guerrillas, principally those under Price and Ouantrell. WHiile in the service he contracted rheumatism, chronic diarrhea and hemorrhoids, and on account of their after effects, is the recipient of a handsome pension from the government.

After returning to the pursuits of peaceful life Mr. Wilson was engaged in cooking on the steamboats for some twenty years, being employed both on government boats and the Northern Line steamers. At different times he was also employed in this capacity on rafters, and every-where was regarded as an efficient and reliable man. For the past seven years he has been incapacitated for any kind of active work. He is a cheerful and genial character, and has many friends in the community, with whom he loves to recount his old-time experiences and memories. The nearest he came to being wounded during the Civil War, was when his horse was struck on the neck by a spent Minie ball, that glanced from the brass pommel on his saddle, and ranging upward, gave him a close call for time and eternity. Mr. Wilson is a member of Tip Best Post, No. 75, Grand Army of the Republic, and is now holding the position of chaplain in that organization. Once when the State Encampment was held at Cedar, he was appointed commander. In politics he is a Republican.

Mr. Wilson was married in 1856, at Sand Prairie, Lee county, to Miss Mary Jane Douglass, who died in 1858, leaving one child, James, who is now a resident of Fort Madison. Her remains were interred on Sand Prairie.

In his youthful days, Mr. Wilson heard

Joe Smitli, "the prophet," preach in Nauvno Temple many times duringthe period that the Mormons field sway in that region, and he well remembers the destruction of the Temple Infire. He knew many of the reputed bandits that flourished along the river in the early days, among them being Hodges, Barney, and perhaps eight or ten more. They lived in cabins about eighty rods from his early home, and there were quiet enough. 'hen the_\- finally left the neighborhood young 'ils(-in and his chums thought they might have left something, perhaps some coin in their cabins, thoroughly overhauled the buildings, but only seventy-five cents rewarded their labors. He remembers when the Mormons were driven out of Nauvoo, and the subsequent arrival of the Icarian fraternity from France: and it is his opinion that many of the crimes and depredations charged to the Mormons were in reality wrought by the bandits that then enjoyed such imniunify on the river. He saw the hanging of the two Hodges at Burlington in 1848. vi'ho had been condemned for murder at Davenport. At an early day he was a member of the Anti-Horse Thief Association, and was a very active defender of law and order. Mr. Wilson has a good standing in the community for his manifest honor and genuine integrity.

As printed in the source¹. Wording is the original; obvious scanning errors have been corrected, and a few may remain.

CAPTAIN WILLIAM WILSON.

Capt. William Wilson, an honored veteraii of the Civil 'ar. who for more than half a century has been a resident of Keokuk, arrived in Lee county, February 22. 1852. He was born in Gallia county, Ohio, on llie loth of May, 1829. His father. Robert G. Wilson, was born in Washington, Pennsylvania, and was a representative of an old Pennsylvania Dutch family. He died at Point Pleasant, Virginia, and his widow, who bore the maiden name of Laura Barnes, afterward came to the West, and passed away in Iowa, in 1880. They were the parents of five sons and four daughters: James L., who served in the Civil War in the Second Iowa Infantiy. and is now l)ridge engineer with the Keokuk & Hamilton Company; Matilda, now Mrs. Mason, who has been three times a widow, and lives in Keokuk; Maria, who is the widow of John Douglas and resides with her brother. Ca'plain Wilson; Lucretia, the widow of John Richart. of Montana, and Mary, the wife of Robert Harrington, and a resident of Boone, Iowa; Charles, Henry Clay are both deceased as is also George \V., who was a private in the Regular Army and died in Omaha and is buried at Keokuk, Iowa.

[This passage is too damaged in the scanned book to reproduce. See the original book.]

In that year he put aside all business and personal considerations and responded to his country's call for aid, his patriotic spirit prompting his enlistment with the boys in blue, of Company C. Third Iowa Cavalry. He enlisted as a private, was made orderly sergeant when the regiment was organized and successively became second and first lieutenant, while at Helena. Arkansas, on the resignation of Captain Anderson, He was promoted to the command of the company. He continued in that rank until No- Aember. 1864. when he was mustered out through special order issued by General Grant, that all officers who had served for three years should be released from duty, if they so desired. Captain Wilson was offered the position of major, if he would remain, hut lie decided to return home, hax'ing already served for three years and four months. He participated in the battle of Pea Ridge, and went on the march from the mouth of the Black river to Helena, Arkansas, which was known as the "lost army." They fora'ged through the country, obtaining all their provisions in that way, and were upon the march for about five weeks, during which time the regiment was lost from the department, in fact being cut off from all communication with the outside world. They celebrated the 4th of July, 1862, at

Augusta, Arkansas. Following the engagement at Helena the regiment went to Vicksburg, and following the capitulation of that city, to Jackson, Mississippi. Later they returned to Vicksburg and destroyed all the stock on the railroad from Yazoo to Memphis. At length the regiment was reunited at Little Rock, Arkansas, and was stationed at the Benton outpost until December, when it was ordered back to Little Rock. Captain Wilson returned home on a veteran furUiugh, in February, 1864. and at thi- time the regiment was recruited to its full strength in Keokuk. Captain Wilson afterward went to St. Louis and thence by steamboat to Memphis, Tennessee. Only on one occasion did the regiment suffer defeat, and that was at the first battle of Guntown. They met reinforcements, however, at Collirsville, then entered Memphis and went out under Gen. A. J. Smith, again meeting the Rebels under Forrest, at Guntown, and this time scoring a splendid victory. Later the troops returned to Memphis and Captain Wilson was detailed to bring the non-veterans home. This closed his military service, he arriving in Keokuk, November 1, 1864, after more than three years of active duty in defending the stars and stripes. He was never wounded, but was twice seriously ill and on one occasion he was ordered home, it was thought to die, but he refused to leave the front and ultimately recovered his health.

After his return from the war Captain Wilson filled several civic offices. He was police judge for four years, city collector two years, clerk of the district court two years, and in his election to the last office he overcome a usual Democratic majority of between 800 and 900, being elected by a majority of twenty-seven. For a second term, however, he was defeated. In 1875 " turned his attention to the grocery business, in which he engaged for twenty-five years. Later he served as justice of the peace for two years, and is now living retired.

In Keokuk, Iowa, in 1852, Captain Wilson was united in marriage to Miss Lydia Barrett, who was born in Ohio, and died February 9, 1903, her remains being interred in Oakland cemetery. They had but one child, James R., who was born in April, 1854, and died in infancy, age two months and nine days. However, they reared Mrs. Wilson's niece, who lived with them twelve years, and then became the wife of Joseph Tanner, a cousin of the late Governor of Illinois. She died in Evansville, Indiana. Mrs. W'wilson was a member of the Methodist Episcopal church, and he contributes to the support of the church, although he is not a member. His political support has always been given to the Republican party, and in matters of citizenship he is as true and loyal to his country as when he followed the old flag upon Southern battlefields.

As printed in the source¹. Wording is the original; obvious scanning errors have been corrected, and a few may remain.

STEPHEN S. WILSON.

Stephen S. Wilson is one of that steadily decreasing company of veterans, who in their youth offered their strength and their lives if need be to secure the perpetuity of the LInion. He has resided in this county for twenty-four years and holds the unreserved respect of those who know him. His paternal grandfather, James F. Wilson, came from England and first settled in Virginia, being one of the early residents of that state and later removing to Kentuckv when it was on the western frontier. His son, James F., Jr., was born in Kentucky and was a farmer by occupation. He married Elizabeth Stewart, likewise a native of the Bluegrass state, and later removed to Illinois, where both he and his wife passed away. Both were laid to rest at Carthage.

As printed in the source². Wording is the original; obvious scanning errors have been corrected, and a few may remain.