Placer
County
Biographies
WILLIAM J. WILSON, SR.
The life record of William J.
Wilson, Sr., has not been one of unvaried monotony; circumscribed by the limits
of some narrow community where habits of thought and life largely remain
unchanged as the years pass by. He has
traveled extensively over the face of the globe and has that knowledge and
culture which only travel can bring. His
experiences have been varied and interesting, and if written in detail would
contain many an exciting chapter.
William Joseph Wilson, Sr., was born
near Lurgen, county Armagh,
Ireland, on the 15th of August, 1828, and is a son of Oliver Wilson,
an officer in the British Army. His wife
died at the birth of their first-born, the subject of this sketch, and there
was a second marriage and another family of children. The father attained the age of seventy-two
years. Mr. Wilson of this review was
educated in his native county and served as an apprentice on board the British
ship Thetis for four years. He left that
vessel at Quebec and became a member of the crew of the Arabia, of Belfast, on
which he sailed until 1854, receiving one hundred dollars per month. In that year he rounded Cape Horn as one of
the crew on the Thomas Watson. He also
served as quartermaster on the vessel Uncle Sam, acting in that capacity during
two of the voyages of that steamship, while during the two succeeding years he
was boatswain and finally promoted to third mate. He was on the vessel at the time the cholera
broke out. It was a never-to-be
forgotten trip, nine hundred people on board the ship dying of that dread
disease!
Mr. Wilson also sailed from
Philadelphia on board the ship Westmoreland, bound for Liverpool. After they had been out for a few days they
picked up the crew of the ship May T. Sterrit, of
Maine, which had been dismantled. They
then had to scuttle ship, as it was in the track of other vessels. The many voyages which Mr. Wilson has made
have brought many experiences into his life unknown to most people. He has touched at many ports, leaning much of
the different countries and their inhabitants.
For a time he served on the Sonora as quartermaster, and while
discharging his duties on that ship he became acquainted with Miss Mary
O’Malley, who gave him her hand in marriage on the 4th of November,
1856. Three children have been born unto
them, two of whom are living, namely:
William J., who is now a prominent fruit buyer and shipper of Newcastle;
and Mary Jane, the wife of J. F. Madden, of Newcastle. Mrs. Wilson departed this life on the 31st
of August, 1891. She was a faithful wife
and a kind of loving mother, and her loss was deeply mourned by her family and
numerous friends. In 1893 Mr. Wilson
married the lady who now bears his name, and who in her maidenhood was Miss
Mary Ann Agnes Shepherd. Their only
child died in infancy.
When Mr. Wilson decided to make
California his place of residence he located in Newcastle. He made considerable money there, but owing
to the continued illness in his family this money was rapidly expended. When he came to Newcastle in 1865 he had only
about two hundred dollars. His first
work in that town was for the noble pioneer, John H. Mitchell. He continued to engage in mining for nine
years, but in the meantime he became the possessor of a home and an acre of
ground in the town, and on his land he planted fruit trees which soon brought
him an excellent return, his fruit sales amounting to one thousand dollars per
year. His success in this venture led to
look for more land, and for two years he bought fruit from his neighbors,
paying cash, and packed it on his shoulders and wheeled it on a wheelbarrow for
over a mile, as he was not able to purchase a horse and wagon. This he did to keep the trade, as he had much
opposition, the neighbors seeing that he was making a success of the
business. At length he purchased eighty
acres of fruit ground which he now owns, built thereon a nice frame residence
and planted a large orchard, which is now producing. He was among the first to engage in shipping
fruit in this locality, and to him is due the credit of making the first
shipment of a car-load of fruit that left Newcastle. It was sent to Mrs. Astretta,
of Denver, and the freight on it was nine hundred dollars! The first boxes of fruit that were sent out
of the town went to V. Elliott, of Virginia, Nevada. Following an honorable and reliable business
course, he has built up a large trade, and his increasing business necessitated
the building of a packing house in Newcastle.
For a number of years the business was carried on under the firm name of
William J. Wilson, Sr., and Son, but more recently Mr. Wilson has given up the
shipping business to his son, while he devotes his entire attention to his
farm. He has made a splendid record as
an industrious and indefatigable worker, a successful fruit grower and an
honorable businessman. He is now the
possessor of a good property, does not owe a dollar, and rightly deserves the
prosperity which his industry and ability have brought to him.
Transcribed by
Gerald Iaquinta.
Source:
“A Volume of Memoirs and Genealogy of Representative Citizens of Northern
California”, Pages 698-699. Chicago Standard Genealogical Publishing Co. 1901.
© 2010
Gerald Iaquinta.