John Wilson (Pittsylvania)
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John Wilson | |
|---|---|
| Member of the Virginia House of Delegates for Pittsylvania County | |
| In office May 1782 – May 4, 1783 Serving with Constant Perkins] | |
| Preceded by | Benjamin Lankford |
| Succeeded by | Benjamin Lankford |
| In office May 4, 1778 – April 30, 1780 Serving with Abraham Shelton, Benjamin Lankford | |
| Preceded by | Peter Perkins |
| Succeeded by | Thomas Terry |
| Personal details | |
| Born | John Wilson circa 1740 Colony of Virginia |
| Died | circa 1820 Dan's Hill, Pittsylvania County, Virginia, U.S. |
| Spouse | Mary Lumpkin |
| Children | Robert Wilson |
| Military service | |
| Allegiance |  United States |
| Branch/service | Virginia militia |
| Rank | colonel |
| Battles/wars | American Revolutionary War |
'John Wilson (circa 1740 – 1820) was an American patriot, planter, merchant and politician who represented Pittsylvania County, Virginia three times in the Virginia House of Delegates as well as at the Virginia Ratifying Convention, and later helped found the town of Danville which now owns a home erected by his son[1]
Early and family life[edit]
Born possibly in North Carolina, else in then-vast Halifax County, he was the son of Peter Wilson who patented land on Sandy Creek in 1746 what was then vast Halifax County and became Pittsylvania Countyin this man's lifetime.
Career[edit]
Wilson became a justice of the peace, and soon captain in the local militia, both at a relatively early age. He also held various local offices at times, including sheriff, vestryman of Camden parish, and overseer of the poor.[2] When his father died in 1764, Wilson inherited a 300 acre plantation, which he would expand.[3] His successful business ventures included a ferry and a store.[4] By 1782 Wilson owned 4070 acres[5] In 1787, Col. Wilson owned 18 teenaged slaves as well as 28 enslaved adults, 14 horses, 51 cattle and a four-wheeled state in Pittsylvania county.[6]
In 1775, Wilson became a member of the local Committee of Safety, and also signed a local resolution against importing British goods, as well as helped found the town of Danville.[7] During the American Revolutionary War, Wilson served as Pittsylvania county lieutenant, essentially the highest executive office in the county, and so controlled the militia and obtained provisions for them and the Continental Army. In the decade following the conflict, Wilson served as the county secretary.[8]
Pittsylvania County voters elected Wilson as one of their (part-time) delegates to the Virginia House of Delegates in 1778, and re-elected him in 1779, then other men served as part-time legislators, perhaps because Wilson's other county offices were considered a conflict of interest.Cite error: A <ref> tag is missing the closing </ref> (see the help page). In 1788, Pittsylvania voters elected Wilson and lawyer Robert Williams (the commonwealth attorney i.e. county prosecutor) as their representatives to the Virginia Ratifying Convention.[9] Both men (perhaps following the lead of the original Pittsylvania County's other leading man until the split-off of Henry County, Patrick Henry voted (unsuccessfully) against adoption of the federal Constitution.[10] That narrow adoption vote may have led James Madison to draft the Bill of Rights pursuant to an earlier document drafted by another prominent anti-Federalist, George Mason, the Virginia Declaration of Rights.
Personal life[edit]
Wilson married Mary Lumpkin, who survived him, as well as bore children.
Death and legacy[edit]
Wilson's precise death date, like his birth date, are unknown. However, his last will and testament, which bequeathed Dan's Hill and other property to his son Robert, upon the condition that the houses not be transferred until after the death of his wife, was recorded in 1820. Robert Wilson entered into a contract with a prominent local builder, DeJarnette in 1823. However Mary Wilson's will was recorded in 1827, and the property appreciated significantly around 1830, thus some historians presume that was when the current historic building was finished.[11]
- ^ https://www.victorianvilla.com/sims-mitchell/local/articles/phsp/039/
- ^ https://www.victorianvilla.com/sims-mitchell/local/articles/phsp/039/
- ^ https://www.dhr.virginia.gov/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/108-5066_Dans_Hill_1979_Final_Nomination.pdf
- ^ https://www.victorianvilla.com/sims-mitchell/local/articles/phsp/039/
- ^ NRIS p.3 of 8
- ^ Schreiner-Yantis p. 473. Complicating matters, Wilson owned land and presumably enslaved people in other locations, but his was a common name, and there were more than a dozen men of that same name in the Commonwealth.
- ^ NRIS p. 3 of 8
- ^ NRIS p.3 of 8
- ^ Leonard p. 173
- ^ https://www.victorianvilla.com/sims-mitchell/local/articles/phsp/039/
- ^ NRIS pp.3, 5 of 8