January, 1866, Gen. Wilson was for four years engaged in the improvement of Mississippi river. He was commissioned lieutenant-colonel of the 35th infantry, 28 July, 1866, and brevetted to the grade of major-general, U. S. army, "for gallant and meritorious services " in the capture of Fort Pulaski, the battles of Chattanooga, the Wilder- ness, and Nashville, and capture of Selma, respect- ively. He was honorably discharged, at his own request, 31 Dec, 1870. He has been largely engaged in railroad and engineering operations since his retirement from the army. He is the author of "China: Travels and Investigations in the Middle Kingdom" and "Life of Andrew J. Alexander" (New York, 1887) : also, in conjunction with Charles A. Dana, " Life of Gen. U. S. Grant " (Springfield, Mass., 1868). — His brother, Bluford, served during the civil war as assistant adjutant-general of vol- unteers, and afterward was solicitor of the U. S. treasury during the " whiskey- ring" prosecutions.
WILSON, James Jefferson, senator, b. in Es-
sex county, N. J., in 1775 ; d. in Trenton, N. J., 28
July, 1824. He received a common-school educa-
tion, was for many years clerk of the New Jersey
legislature, of which he was a member in 1809-'ll,
and edited the " True American " at Trenton. He
was also adjutant-general of the state in 1810— '12
and 1814, and captain of a company of infantry in
service on the coast of New Jersey during the war
of 1812-'15. . He was elected to the U. S. senate,
and served from 4 Dec, 1815, till 1821, when he re-
signed on being appointed postmaster at Trenton.
He sat in the legislature in 1822, and in December
of that year he sustained severe injuries while he
was delirious from illness.
WILSON, John, clergyman, b. in Windsor,
England, in 1588; d. in Boston, Mass., 7 Aug.,
1667. He was the son of Dr. William Wilson,
prebendary of St. Paul's, of Rochester and of
Windsor, who had been chaplain to Edmund Grin-
dall, archbishop of Canterbury, and grandnephew
of Sir Thomas Wilson, secretary of state to Queen
Elizabeth. Young Wilson was educated at Eton
and at Cambridge, where he was graduated about
1606. He studied law three years at one of the inns
of court, and took orders in the Church of Eng-
land, but soon became conspicuous for his Puritani-
cal leanings. He preached at Mortlake, Henley,
Bumstead, Stoke, Clare, and Candish, and for sev-
eral years was minister of Sudbury, Essex, where
he was repeatedly suspended or silenced by the
bishop's court for his opinions, but was befriend-
ed by Robert Rich, Earl of Warwick. Becom-
ing interested in the colonization of Massachu-
setts, he and many of his neighbors embarked
on 8 April, 1630, in the great fleet with John
Winthrop and his associates of the Massachu-
setts company. He landed at Salem on 12 June,
and soon afterward removed to Charlestown,
where he preached under a tree, and on 30 July
organized what was subsequently the 1st church in
Boston, to which place the majority of the mem-
bers soon removed. He was ordained teacher of
the church on 27 Aug. by imposition of hands by
the several communicants. In 1631 he sailed for
England, where he remained until May, 1632, and
was ordained pastor in November of the latter
year. He again visited England in the autumn of
1634, and remained absent a year. Soon after his
return the Antinomian controversy arose in his
congregation, and Gov. Winthrop and Wilson
fought stoutly against the faction that was led by
Anne Hutchinson. While this discussion was
pending, an expedition was sent against the Pe-
quots, and Mr. Wilson was selected by lot as its
chaplain. For this service he received a grant of
1,000 acres of land in what is now Quincy. He
also accompanied the Indian apostle, John Eliot,
in his visit to the native settlements, and labored
among the savages. He outlived two colleagues in
the ministry, John Cotton and John Norton, and
was left at the age of seventy-six with the entire
charge of his congregation on his hands. He con-
tinued in the active discharge of his duties until
finally disabled by a fatal disease. Of his charac-
ter Cotton Mather has said : " Indeed, if the pic-
ture of this good and therein great man were to be
exactly given, great zeal with great love would be
the two principal strokes that, joined with ortho-
doxy, should make up his portraiture." Besides
many occasional productions, the titles of which
are unknown, Mr. Wilson published " Some Helps
to Faith," a theological treatise (London, 1625) ;
" Famous Deliverances of the English Nation," a
poem (1626; new ed., Boston, 1680); a Latin poem
to the memory of John Harvard ; and a tract, " The
Day Breaking, if not the Sun Rising, of the Gospel
with the Indians in New England" (1647; new ed.,
New York, 1865).
WILSON, John, printer, b. in Glasgow, Scot-
land, 16 April, 1802; d. in Cambridge, Mass., 3
Aug., 1868. Although of humble birth and enjoy-
ing but meagre educational advantages, he became
later in life a learned man, having mastered He-
brew, Greek, Latin, French, German, and other lan-
guages. He was apprenticed to a printer, and in
1846 removed to Boston, Mass., where he established
himself in business, and became widely known for
his excellent work. He subsequently removed to
Cambridge, Mass., and was the founder of the pres-
ent firm of John Wilson and Son, that, for several
years, has had charge of the University press.
Wilson was also a sturdy champion of Unitarian-
ism, and wrote several books in its defence that
have been highly commended. His principal pub-
lication is connected with his art, being a "Trea-
tise on Grammatical Punctuation " (Belfast, 1826 ;
new ed., entitled "A Treatise on English Punc-
tuation," Boston, 1850). Of this work, of which
over twenty editions have been issued, it has
been said that it " places punctuation on a clear
and intelligible grammatical basis, and so com-
pletely exhausts the subject as to leave nothing to
be desired." He received the degree of A. M. from
Harvard in 1866. He also prefixed an " Essay on
the Character and Writings of Robert Burns" to
an edition of that poet's works (Belfast, 1837), and
delivered an " Address on Burns," which is con-
tained in the "Report of the Burns Centenary
Meeting " (Boston, 1859). His other publications
comprise "Scripture Proofs and Scripture Illus-
trations of Unitarianism " (1833; 3d ed., London
and Manchester. 1846; abridged, Boston, part i.-;
new ed., New York, 1847); "The Concessions of
Trinitarians" (Manchester, 1842; Boston, 1845);
" Unitarian Principles Confirmed by Trinitarian
Testimonies" (Boston, 1855-7); and "The Ele-
ments of Punctuation," an abridgment of the
first-named work (1856).
WILSON, John Allston, civil engineer, b. in Phcenixville, Pa., 24 April, 1837. He was graduated at the Rensselaer polytechnic institute in 1856, and in 1857-8 served as topographer on surveys in Central America for the Honduras interoceanic railway. In 1858 he entered the service of the
Pennsylvania railroad as assistant engineer, and in 1861-4 he was principal assistant engineer in charge of construction, after which he was chief
engineer for the Pennsylvania railroad company on their main line or on affiliated roads until 1875.
