Burton E. Wilson

As printed in 1915

BURTON E. WILSON.

Burton E. Wilson, a real-estate and insurance agent of Waterloo, in which city he has made his home for eleven years, is a native of Illinois but has been a resident of Black Hawk county through four decades. His father, Samuel Wilson, became one of the pioneer settlers of this county and is still living at Hudson at the venerable age of eighty-two years. He was born in Herkimer county. New York, in 1832 and in early manhood wedded Mary A. Sutton, whose birth occurred in Oswego county, New York, in 1835 and who is also yet living. At the time of the Civil war he became a member of Company F, Eighty-second Regiment of New York Volunteer Infantry, and was in the service for three years and four months, after which he was honorably discharged because of physical disability. In the meantime, however, he had participated in a number of hotly contested engagements and had proven his valor and loyalty on various battlefields. Following the war Mr. Wilson brought his family to the middle west. He lived for a time in Illinois and then came to Black Hawk county, where he carried on general farming.

Burton E. Wilson, brought to Iowa during his early boyhood, was reared in Black Hawk county and acquired his education in its public schools until he left the Waterloo high school. Later he entered Til ford Academy and in early manhood taught school in both Black Hawk and Benton counties. He then turned his attention to general farming and stock-raising and was thus closely associated with the agricultural interests of the county for a considerable period, but in 1903 left the farm and removed to Waterloo, where he established a real-estate and insurance office and is still engaged in that business in addition to carrying on his farming interests. He has largely owned the real estate in which he has dealt in Waterloo and Black Hawk county, making purchases outright rather than selling on commission. Lie is likewise greatly interested in western lands. Each year he has built a few houses in Waterloo for sale or rent and his business is thus proving an element in the improvement and adornment of the city. He also conducts a general business in all branches of insurance and the policies which he writes represent a large figure annually. He likewise has other business connections. Fie is financially interested in still other lines which contribute to his individual success and at the same time are factors in public prosperity.

In 1898 Mr. Wilson was united in marriage to Miss Celia Glenny, a daughter of Alexander Glenny. They hold membership in the First Congregational church of Waterloo, of which Mr. Wilson is now clerk. He belongs to the Knights of Pythias and Odd Fellows lodges, the Modern Woodmen camp and the Sons of Weterans. He is also identified with the Chamber of Commerce, with the Waterloo Club, the Town Criers Club and the Waterloo Traveling & r.business Men's Association. Flis interests and activities have been constantly broadening in their scope and in their usefulness. He finds time for all of the duties that devolve upon him in different relations and in connection with his fellow townsmen attempts to meet the public needs while at the same time he carefully conducts his business affairs. He is a self-made man and one who is deserving of much credit for what he has accomplished, for personal energy and industry have been the foundation upon which he has builded his success.

As printed in History of Black Hawk County, Iowa, and its people (1915). See the original pages. Wording is the original; obvious scanning errors have been corrected, and a few may remain.