Benjamin Wilson | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Member of theU.S. House of Representatives fromWest Virginia's1st district | |
| In office March 4, 1875 – March 3, 1883 | |
| Preceded by | John James Davis |
| Succeeded by | Nathan Goff |
| Personal details | |
| Born | April 30, 1825 Wilsonburg, Virginia, US |
| Died | April 26, 1901(1901-04-26) (aged 75) |
| Political party | Democratic |
| Profession | lawyer, politician |
Benjamin Wilson (April 30, 1825 – April 26, 1901) was an American lawyer andDemocraticpolitician[1] who served as aUnited States Representative fromWest Virginia) (1875–1883) and as an assistant attorney general during the administration of PresidentGrover Cleveland (1885 to 1893).[2]
Born inWilsonburg inHarrison County, Virginia (now West Virginia) to Mary Martin (1804-1831) and her husband, Josiah D. Wilson (1796–1868), Benjamin was named for his paternal grandfather, the patriot Col. Benjamin Wilson Sr. (1747-1827), a lieutenant in Lord Dunmore's Army. After fighting Native Americans, in 1774 Col. Wilson moved across the Allegheny Mountains, settled in the Tygart valley and founded "Wilson's Fort" (which he defended during the American Revolutionary War)[3] and later represented what was thenMonongelia County in theVirginia General Assembly and became first clerk of the Harrison County court.[4] This Benjamin Wilson's maternal grandfather, William Martin (1763–1851), had been a patriot as well, serving as commissary for New Jersey troops before settling in Harrison County.[5]
Although Benjamin Wilson did not own slaves, his father Josiah Wilson owned seven or eight slaves in 1850,[6] and ten slaves in 1860.[7]This Benjamin Wilson attended the Northwestern Virginia Academy inClarksburg, Virginia (nowWest Virginia). He then traveled toStaunton, Virginia, to attend the law school which JudgeBriscoe Baldwin had begun in 1831.
Wilson married Susan Marsh in 1848, and they had a son, Stonewall Jackson Wilson (1862–1887), who survived to adulthood, as did three daughters: Buena Wilson Brown (1849–1930), Mary Drusilla Feeny (1851–1876), and Virginia Lee Wozencraft (1865–1893).
Admitted to the Virginiabar in 1848, Wilson began his legal practice in Clarksburg. He was elected as commonwealth attorney for Harrison County following adoption of a new Virginia state constitution in 1851, and served from 1852 to 1860.
Voters elected Wilson along with UnionistJohn S. Carlile as their delegates to theVirginia Secession Convention of 1861.[8] Unlike Carlile, who voted against secession during both votes, Wilson abstained from the second vote, though he did sign the ordinance of secession.[9] Later, he and JudgeGideon D. Camden (who owned slaves in both censuses) moved southward into Virginia after Union forces captured much of Harrison County.
Wilson was a member of West Virginia's State constitutional convention in 1871.After the adoption of West Virginia's second Constitution in 1872 (which re-enfranchised Confederates, among other changes), Wilson was a delegate to theDemocratic National Convention that year. Also in 1872 he lost a bid for election to the43rd Congress fromthe 1st Congressional District.[10] In 1874, however, Wilson won the seat. Re-elected three times, he served in the44th and the next three Congresses (March 4, 1875 – March 3, 1883). During the firstGrover Cleveland administration and the administration ofBenjamin Harrison, Wilson was Assistant Attorney General of the United States (from 1885 to 1893).
Benjamin Wilson died on April 26, 1901, in Clarksburg and was buried in the Odd Fellows Cemetery there.[1]
| U.S. House of Representatives | ||
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| Preceded by | Member of the U.S. House of Representatives fromWest Virginia's 1st congressional district 1875-1883 | Succeeded by |
| International | |
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| National | |
| People | |
| Other | |
