In the book's own words, not ours, with obvious scanning errors fixed. Families often supplied these stories to the publisher, so check key dates.
Born 1822, Fleming county
From History of Ray County, Mo. (1881)
W. T. WILSON.
This gentleman was born in Fleming county, Kentucky, on the loth day of July, 1822. There he was educated, and lived upon a farm until he was twenty years old. In 1842 he came to Ray county, Missouri, and settled on a farm about two miles south of Richmond. He was living there during the flood of 1844, and sustained great damage from the overflow of the river. In the month of March, 1855, he moved to his present farm, section thirty-four, township fifty-three, range twenty-six, and has continued to live there ever since. He owns one hundred and fifty-seven acres of good land, well fenced and improved. It is watered by the Wakanda. He has a large orchard of some seven hundred bearing trees. This orchard yields an immense and valuable crop. Mr. Wilson was married July 4, 1844, to Miss Nancy E. Pritchard, a native of the state of Tennessee, but came to Missouri early in life. They became the parents of seven children: Sarah J., Robert (died in 1872, aged twenty-five years), Virginia F., the wife of George W. Temple; Mary E. (died in May, 1878), Ida, Lee, and Oleita. Both Mr. Wilson and his wife are leading members of the Christian Church, and he is also lecturer of Prairie Grange, No. 1084, P. of H. Mr. Wilson's farm is particularly well adapted to raising tobacco and hemp. He has produced some as large crops of these commodities as have ever been grown in the county. Mr. Wilson is a leading, prosperous farmer, and an influential and valuable citizen of Grape Grove township.
As printed in History of Ray County, Mo. (1881). See the original pages. Wording is the original; obvious scanning errors have been corrected, and a few may remain.
The printed record stops around 1881. We trace your line from there down to you, with every source cited.