JOSEPH F. WILSON
Among
the esteemed pioneers of Wayne county, whose names are
enrolled among those of the nation’s honored sons who donned
the blue and went to the front in defense of their country’s
flag, appears that of Joseph F. Wilson. Self-educated and
self-made, the ambitious and thoughtful will find many
examples worthy of emulation in the life of this estimable
man, who as president of the State Bank and the owner of large
landed interests in now numbered among the substantial
business men and respected citizens of Allerton.
The
life record of Joseph F. Wilson was begun on a farm in Putnam
county, Indiana, on the 16th of September, 1844,
his parents being John and Susan (Bettis) Wilson. The father was a
native of King George county, Virginia, and of English
extraction, while the mother, whose birth occurred in Mason
county, Kentucky, was of Irish and English lineage. They were married
in the last named state and began their domestic life on a
Kentucky farm, but soon thereafter they migrated to Indiana,
locating in Putnam county.
There the father continued his agricultural pursuits
until 1854, when with his family he again started westward,
Wayne county, Iowa, being his destination upon this occasion. Upon his arrival
here he purchased a tract of prairie land and diligently
applied himself to its cultivation. Later he sold it and bought another
farm, which he operated for a time and likewise sold. The year 1884 was
marked by the death of both parents, the father passing away
at the age of seventy-two years, while the mother was
sixty-eight at the time of her demise. They are buried in
the Clinton township cemetery, this county. Their family
numbered ten, our subject being the fifth in order of birth.
The
son of a pioneer farmer of limited means Joseph F. Wilson
shared with his family all of the hardships and privations
incident to frontier life.
He was ambitious and enterprising from boyhood and
early in life began to provide for his own wants, having
earned every dollar he ever received. Realizing the
necessity of having an education if he desired to advance in
the world, when a lad of ten years he gathered walnuts and
carried them to Corydon in order to procure the money to buy a
second reader. In
common with the majority of farmer boys he early began to
assist about the work of the fields and care of the stock, his
duties in this connection preventing his attending school save
at irregular intervals during the winter session. He remained at home
with his parents until the 17th of February, 1862,
when he enlisted in Company K, Eighteenth Missouri Volunteer
Infantry and went to the front.
He was wounded by a rifle ball at the battles of Shiloh
on the 6th of April, that year, and was compelled
to suffer the amputation of his left arm. Many long weeks
were spent in a southern hospital and on the 18th
of August, 1862, he received his discharge and returned home. He remained on his
father’s farm, rendering such assistance as he was able, until
he was twenty-five. Appreciating
the necessity of a better education he devoted much of his
time to study and for one year attended school.
Upon
leaving the parental roof our subject engaged in buying and
selling stock, thus acquiring the money to enable him to buy a
farm of one hundred and twenty acres, which he cultivated for
eleven years. Agricultural
pursuits and stock buying engaged his undivided attention
until 1882, since which time he has followed various
activities. He
was chiefly engaged in the loan, real-estate and banking
business, however, in all of which he has met with a good
measure of success. He
owns his residence and a store building in Allerton, in
addition to eighty acres of land in Jackson township and his
farm of two hundred and forty acres in Howard township. He is also a
stockholder of the Allerton State Bank, one of the thriving
financial institutions of the county. A man of keen
discernment and foresight, Mr. Wilson’s judgment is seldom at
fault in matters of business, as has been plainly manifested
by the orderly progress of his career.
In
the year 1870, Mr. Wilson was united in marriage to Miss
Victoria Kniffin, a daughter of Daniel and Clarissa (Rusco)
Kniffin, natives of the state of New York but of English
lineage. They
removed to Iowa with their family about 1858, locating in
Wayne county, which was their place of residence for many
years. Subsequently
they went to Ohio, and there passed the remainder of their
years. Mrs.
Wilson, who is the youngest in a family of six, was born on
the 23d of July, 1853, and as she was only a child of about
five years when she came to Iowa with her parents has passed
the greater part of her life in this immediate vicinity. To Mr. and Mrs.
Wilson there were born three daughters, the youngest of whom,
Lillian F., died in childhood.
Their first born, Alma T., married Robert Woodcock, by
whom she has had one son, Robert Wilson, now a lad of ten
years, and is living in Milwaukee. Audrey L., their second daughter, became
the wife of Lloyd L. Livingston, also of Milwaukee, and they
have one daughter Victoria Louise, who is nine years of age.
Although seekers after truth, Mr. and Mrs. Wilson have never identified themselves with any religious organization but attend the services of all denominations. Fraternally he is affiliated with the Independent Order of Odd Fellows and the Grand Army of the Republic. In politics he is a democrat, and although he takes an active interest in all local affairs he has never been identified with the official life of the community. Nevertheless he is numbered among the enterprising and progressive citizens of Allerton, where during the thirty years of his residence he has never failed to accord his support to any movement which in his judgment would forward the intellectual, moral or material welfare of its citizens.