Santa
Clara County
Biographies
WILLIAM
A. WILSON
W. A. WILSON. Among the energetic, capable and highly respected
residents of San Jose W. A. Wilson holds an assured place, his
industry, upright character and manliness having won for him the confidence and
good will of the entire community. He is
connected with the Enterprise Laundry as chief engineer, a position for which
he was qualified through the cultivation of his native mechanical ability and
ingenuity, and is now considered one of the best engineers in the city. The only child of William and Lizzie
(Barrett) Wilson, he was born February 22, 1837, on the Atlantic ocean,
beneath the stars and stripes that floated over the good steamer Adriatic, on
which his parents were passengers.
A native of Leeds, England, William
Wilson learned the machinist’s trade when young, and having completed his
apprenticeship, entered the employ of the Middleton Brewing Company, with which
he was connected for nineteen years as chief engineer. Nine years of this time he was in New Jersey,
where he superintended the erection of a brewing plant for them, and served as
chief engineer. Returning from there to
his native land, he continued with the company until his death, while yet in
manhood’s prime. His wife was born in
England, near Leeds, lived in New Jersey a few years, and like her husband died
in the country which gave her birth.
Spending the larger part of his earlier
life in Leeds, England, W. A. Wilson obtained a practical education
in the public schools of that city.
After the death of his parents he came to America, and in 1870, with his
uncle, James E. Edwards, located in Plumas county,
Cal., where he worked at placer mining for three years. Turning his attention then to engineering, he
became chief engineer at the Dutch Hill mine.
From there Mr. Wilson went to Nevada, where he remained for some
time, being employed the first nine weeks as engineer at the Nevada Asylum,
while for two years thereafter he carried on a good business in Wadsworth as a
stock buyer. Returning to California in
1893, Mr. Wilson located in San Jose, where he bought a meat market, the
Alameda, which he ran for nine months.
Disposing of that, he purchased the Log Cabin bakery, which he managed
with success for a year and a half.
Resuming his trade as soon as he sold out his bakery, Mr. Wilson
was engineer at the packing house of W. W. Cozens for several
years. In January, 1903, he accepted his
present position with the Enterprise Laundry Company, as chief engineer, and is
filling it most satisfactorily. He has
made some changes of importance in the plant, remodeling the oil burners, and
making other improvements in the running gear of the works.
In Quincy, Cal., Mr. Wilson married
Alice Chapman, the daughter of an honored pioneer of Plumas county,
and into their home four children have been born, namely: Henry, Chester, Irma and Ray. Politically Mr. Wilson is an adherent of
the Republican party, which he sustains by voice and
vote. Fraternally he belongs to the
Independent Order of Odd Fellows; to the Ancient Order of United Workman; to
the National Association of Stationary Engineers; and to the International
Union of Stationary Engineers, with which he is officially connected, being a
member of the executive board of the Local Union of San Jose. Religiously he is a member of the Christian
Church.
[Inserted by D. Toole]
W.
A. Wilson
1931
Jun 29, Oakland Tribune, P10, Oakland, California
San
Josean Victim of Blood Poisoning
San
Jose, June 29 – Chester Wilson, 44, employee of a local planning mill, was dead
today, victim of blood poisoning which set in after he was injured a week ago. Blood transfusions at the San Jose hospital
failed to save his life. Wilson was
unmarried. He was a native of Plumas county, son of the late Mr. and Mrs. W. A. Wilson, pioneers
of that district.
Transcribed by Donna Toole.
Source: History
of the State of California & Biographical Record of Coast Counties,
California by Prof. J. M. Guinn, A. M., Page 1395. The Chapman Publishing
Co., Chicago, 1904.
© 2017 Donna
Toole.