Sedgwick County KSGenWeb

Portrait And Biographical Album of Sedgwick County, Kan.

Chapman Brothers 1888

Pages 605 - 606 

JOHN SCOTT WILSON owns a snug farm of eighty acres, pleasantly located on section 13, Afton Township, where he has been operating successfully since the spring of 1885. With the exception of a moderate legacy left by his parents, he has been the architect of his own fortune, and has never been afraid of putting his shoulder to the wheel whenever necessary. He has brought his land to a high state of cultivation, largely by the labor of his own hands, and is in possession of a comfortable set of farm buildings, to which each year he adds something to enhance the beauty and value of his property.

              It is claimed that the great-grandfather Bennett once owned half the land upon which the city of Philadelphia now stands. They are of Scotch and English ancestry, and were first represented in this country during the Colonial days. James S., the father of our subject, served in the Black Hawk War, and John, of this history, has in his possession the powder-horn carried by his honored sire during that exciting time.           

            John Scott Wilson was born in Preble County, Ohio, on the 2d of May, 1844, and is the son of James S. and Nancy (Bennett) Wilson, natives of Ohio. James S. Wilson was born March 19, 1815, and departed this life at his home in Preble County, Ohio, Dec. 19, 1845. He was a farmer and distiller by occupation, and, as will be seen, passed away when his son John was a child a little over two years of age. The mother survived her husband a period of twenty-nine years, her death taking place in 1873, in Montgomery County, Ind. They were the parents of two children only, John of our sketch being the elder. His sister, Sarah Elizabeth, was the wife of James Loucks, a brick manufacturer of Montgomery County, Ind., and died in 1873; she had been the mother of one child, who died in infancy. 

              Our subject, at the age of sixteen years, commenced life on his own account, and was thereafter employed at farming until the time of his marriage, on the 2d of June, 1883. His wife, formerly Miss Dena Jackson, was born in Miami County, Ind., Feb, 7, 1863, and is the daughter of James and Elizabeth (Ailshire) Jackson, natives of Virginia. James Jackson was born in 1821, and died at his home in Pratt County, Ill., in 1865, when his daughter Dena was but two years of age. The mother is still living, and makes her home with our subject. She is now in the sixty-fifth year of her age, having been born Nov, 20, 1823. 

            To James and Elizabeth Jackson, the parents of Mrs. Wilson, there were born nine children, recorded as follows: Abram died in Miami County, Ind., when eleven years of age; Elizabeth lived but three weeks after her birth; Cynthia Ann is the wife of J. G. Yargen, a miller by trade ; they have five children, and reside in Scott County, Ind., James I. married Miss Sarah Capp, a farmer of Scott County, Ind., and they have three children living; five are deceased. Sadie is the wife of Isaac Ritter, a farmer of Montgomery County, Ind., and the mother of five children, three of whom ate deceased; Jacob was first married to Miss Ellen Pinkston, who became the mother of one child, and died; he was subsequently married to Miss Levona Baldwin; they have one child and are living on a farm in Montgomery County, Ind. Hannah is the wife of James Miller, a farmer of Montgomery County, Ind., and the mother of seven children, three of whom are deceased; Margaret died when seven years of age. 

            To Mr. and Mrs. Wilson there were born three children: Nancy Elizabeth, May 29, 1884; Simon Jacob, Feb, 27, 1886; and Lydia Belle, Dec. 25, 1887. They continued residents of Montgomery County, Ind., until their removal to this State in March, 1885. Our subject is a gentleman in the prime of life, and there is every prospect that with the industry and enterprise for which he is proverbial, he will before many years be able to gradually retire from the active labors of life, and spend his later days in the ease and comfort to which he is justly entitled,

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