Portrait and Biographical Album of Fulton County,
Illinois: containing full page portraits and biographical sketches of
prominent and representative citizens of the county: together with
portraits and biographies of all the presidents of the United States,
and governors of the state; Biographical Pub. Co., Chicago, IL; 1890;
page 434-435; Transcribed by Margaret Rose Whitehurst
James M. Wilson, bookkeeper of the London Clay Company, is one
of the most prominent citizens of London Mills, and well-known in this
vicinity as an educator and business man. His paternal ancestry is
Irish and his maternal Scotch, facts which would readily be guessed by
a student of national characteristics, as he combines the acute
perceptions and vivacious energy of one with the prudence and
determination of the other.
The birth of our subject took place June 27, 1855, near
Bloomfield, Ind. His early days were passed on the farm and he attended
the district school until nineteen years old. He then engaged in
teaching, his first term being in the home district, and his calling
being afterward pursued at various places. After teaching one term he
spent a year in study at the Indiana State Normal School at Terre
Haute, after which he pursued his chosen vocation, taking part in
county institutes, etc., until 1876. He then took a teacher's course in
the Normal School at Bloomington, following it with a two years
attendance in the High School at Worthington. During the last year of
this time he taught two classes in the High School, and the next year
he took charge of the grammar department. He was a member of the first
class which was graduated from the Worthington High School, took the
second honors and was valedictorian. The class numbered eight students
and the lady who took first honors stood but one-half per cent above
young Wilson.
Mr. Wilson retained his position in the Worthington grammar
school two years, then taught at Switz City one year. He then returned
to Worthington, established his home there and labored in that
vicinity, most of the time traveling for different firms, until the
fall of 1884. On account of the ill-health of his wife he then came to
this county, where he resumed his former occupation in the Bryant
school. He had taught but a month when his wife became so much worse
that he returned to Worthington. He received a call from Plymouth to
take charge of a certain department in the High School there, in which
the pupils were very unruly, so much so that the young man in charge
had been unable to keep order. In December Mr. Wilson assumed the
position, determined to conquer or die, and he succeeded in
establishing peace and order, although at the cost of several knock
down arguments. He received the highest testimonials from the
Superintendent and leading citizens, who declared that the work he had
done was the best ever accomplished there.
Mr. Wilson resigned the position as soon as possible, as his
wife was failing, and returned to her side. The loving couple were
forced to part February 23, 1885, after a wedded life of less than five
years. Their marriage had taken place in Worthington September 15,
1880. Mrs. Wilson bore the maiden name of Gussie Crook and was a native
of Worthington, daughter of Frank and Sarah C. Crook. Her father was a
merchant at Sholes, and also Treasurer and Sheriff of Martin County.
In June 1885, Mr. Wilson, in connection with two other teachers,
organized a teachers' summer Normal School at Worthington and has a
large attendance. At the close of the second term, in October, he
wished to make a change and wrote to Mr. Boyer, Superintendent of
Fulton County Schools, regarding a position. Mr. Boyer held an
interview with the Director at London Mills and our subject was sent
for to take charge of the school in that town. He held his position
until the spring of 1887, when he was elected Police Magistrate. While
discharging the duties of this office he drifted into legal work on
petty cases, and a business as Collecting Agent, and these he still
continues. In the spring of 1890 he was elected President of the
Village Board and resigned from the Police Magistracy. In July, 1890,
he became bookkeeper for the London Clay Company, the largest firm of
the kind in the county.
The second marriage of Mr. Wilson was solemnized in London Mills
April 1, 1886, his bride being Miss Ellen Reed. That lady was born in
Orange Township, Knox County, reared there, and well educated, being
also instructed in useful habits and noble principles. She is the fifth
child of William and Malinda (Randall) Reed, who are still living, the
former being sixty and the latter fifty-eight years of age. Mr. Reed
was born in Ohio, but reared in Illinois from the age of seven years.
He followed farming in Knox County a number of years, then sold his
property and removed to London Mills, entering the employ of the London
Clay Company. He is an active worker in the Methodist Episcopal Church.
Mrs. Reed was born near Lebanon, Ind., and was in her teens when
she became a resident of Knox County. Her father, Jedediah Randall, a
native of the Empire State, followed the profession of teaching, in
which he had a high reputation for his disciplinary ability and skill
in imparting knowledge. The children of Mr. and Mrs. Reed are nine in
number. James W. is a grocer in London Mills; Mrs. Mary Rosenbury lives
in Galesburg; Mrs. Charlotte A. Downard in London Mills; Mrs. Emma J.
Struble in Galesburg; Martha Ellen is the wife of our subject; Margaret
H. is with her parents; Mrs. Alice A. Schanning lives in Peoria; Mrs.
Harriet A. Moore in Galesburg; Franklin still lives with his parents.
By his first marriage Mr. Wilson became the father of three
children, two of whom died when about three months old. Madge is with
her father, and the home is further gladdened by the presence of a
daughter, Nettie, the offspring of the second marriage. Mr. Wilson is a
stanch Republican and has been a delegate to the county convention. His
bright mind and fine education fit him for more than ordinary
usefulness, and his talents are turned to good account, not only in the
different lines of business in which he is engaged, but in various
matters which will advance the status of the community in morals and
finances. He is an active member of the Methodist Episcopal Church, in
which he holds the office of Trustee, and an efficient teacher in the
Sunday-school, of which he was Superintendent one year.
Grandfather Wilson, whose given name was Josiah, was born in
Ireland and upon emigrating to America located in Allegheny County, Pa.
He cleared a farm and became well-to-do. His religious faith was that
expressed by the Presbyterian creed. His son Joseph, who was born in
Allegheny County, removed to Indiana soon after his marriage. He
purchased land in Greene County from the Erie Canal Company, and
beginning at the foundation, had a successful career. He cleared his
land, made various improvements, and surrounded his family with comfort
and plenty. He died in 1888, at the age of sixty-five years. He was a
radical Abolitionist until the Emancipation Proclamation was issued,
and in later years staunchly supported the Republican party. He
belonged to the Presbyterian Church.
Joseph Christy, the maternal grandfather of our subject, was
born in Scotland and emigrated to Columbiana County, Ohio. He was a
merchant in Calcutta, actively engaged in his vocation until his death.
His daughter Hannah, who became the wife of Joseph Wilson, was born in
Columbiana County, and since the death of her husband has made her home
with our subject. She has one other child, a son, William C., who is
farming near Pawnee City, Neb.
