Family Tree Maker's Genealogy Site: User Home Page Book: A History of Wilson Springs and the Wilson Family of Virginia: The Family

Prev Page

Prev Item

Contents

Index

Go to Page

Home Page

Next Item

Next Page

Page 12 of 33

The Wilson Family of Wilson's Springs

There are at least six Wilson families in Rockbridge County. The branch from which the Wilsons of Wilson's Springs are descended begin with ROBERT WILSON, who was born in Ireland and died in 1745. JOHN WILSON was one of his surviving sons, and he married twice and died in 1754. Two of his four children were named JAMES and WILLIAM WILSON, and they on May 16, 1760, emigrated to Philadelphia, Pa. and thus began the Wilson clan in America.

The First Generation
Not much is known about these two brothers, except to say that they were part of the great migration of the Scots-Irish from Ulster. Much has been written about the waves of settlers who came into the port of Philadelphia and gradually poured down the Valley to inhabit the Shenandoah. They were a hardy and self-sufficient group, and they came to America to forge a new life with opportunities that had been denied them in England. JAMES and WILLIAM WILSON continued their journey south until they reached Virginia, and by 1760 JAMES owned 382 acres on Kennedy's Mill Creek, a part of the Borden Land Grant. On October 30, 1798, he purchased land on Buffalo Creek. He married Nancy Hall and they had seven children. He died in 1824.
WILLIAM WILSON was the founder of the branch of the family that settled in the Shenandoah and eventually became owners of the Wilson's Spring Hotel. In the early 1790's, WILLIAM purchased a large farm at the Forks of Buffalo Creek. His log cabin stood in a meadow upstream from Hall's Dam, and was near a spring. The property now rests beneath a county road. He married and became the father of six children, but the name of his wife is not known. His children were:
1. John Wilson, who was born in 1773 and married twice. His first wife's name was Anne Davidson and his second wife's name was Hannah Shields;
2. Samuel Wilson, born in 1776;
3. Joseph Wilson, born in 1779 and died in 1847;
4. William Wilson, born in 1782,
5. THOMAS WILSON, born in 1785
6. James Wilson, born in 1791 and died in 1864. He married Sallie McCorckle on March 31, 1814, and she was the daughter of Alexander and Mildred McCorckle who died at the battle of Cowpens in 1781.
Of these six sons, THOMAS progressed to carry the name of Wilson to Rockbridge County.

The Second Generation
THOMAS WILSON (1785-1821) married Rachel Welch of "Fancy Hill" Plantation. She was the daughter of Thomas and Sarah Welch, and together she and Thomas had five children. They were:
1. WILLIAM ALEXANDER WILSON II-who was born Feb. 1, 1811.
2. Thomas Wilson-born in 1812
3. Sally Wilson-born in 1813, died in 1831
4. Margaret Jane Wilson-born in 1811 and died in 1890 at the age of 79. She married Robert H. Gold, and they are both buried at Old Oxford Church.
5. Nancy Welch Wilson-born in 1820 and died in 1902. She married William T. Moore in 1840.

Rachel Welch married again after the death of Thomas Wilson. Her second husband's name was John Hague,and they were married in 1825. They evidently had children, because William A. Wilson III told a story regarding some of his grandfather's half-brothers:

They say my grandfather had some half-brothers, because after his father died, his mother married again and had several boys with her next husband. They in turn went west, and my Grandfather went out to visit them. When he came back, he had a pair of overshoes made out of buffalo-hide. I found those old shoes up there in the attic, and I hid them in the corner, but I didn't hide them good enough because somebody stole them.

Of the two sons of Thomas Wilson and Rachel Welch, WILLIAM ALEXANDER WILSON II purchased the property at Wilson's Springs from the Strickler family.

The Third Generation
WILLIAM ALEXANDER WILSON II was born on Feb. 1, 1811 and died on Feb. 16, 1882. He married Mary Ann Hull, who was born in 1817 and died in 1904. Mary Ann Hull was the daughter of Phillip and Elizabeth Hull.
Her grandson, William A. Wilson, had a dim recollection of her, though she died when he was only four years old:

The only thing I remember about my grandmother was that she smoked a clay pipe. It had a long stem to it, and she did a lot of mending, and she kept all kinds of balled yarn on the mantle, and that kind of attracted my attention. She gave me a dollar one time; I remember that. I took the dollar and bought a lamb. (from 1986 interview)

William A. Wilson II purchased the property at Wilson's Springs from the executors of the Strickler estate in 1843 and operated the Wilson's Springs Hotel during the peak years in which the Spring Hotels of Virginia were popular.

After the death of Daniel Strickler, William A. Wilson bought the property for $7000 on Nov. 16, 1843...at which time it was renamed "Wilson's Springs" . During the years when both Strickler and the Wilson family owned the "Hotel" crude cabins were built on the property. These cabins contained two rooms; one for males and one for females..Most of the patrons of Wilson's Springs were local farm folk, and when local farmers were not using their cabins, the Hotel would rent them to other visitors. The Hotel accommodated approximately fifty to seventy overnight guests, but usually had well over a hundred guests who participated in daily recreations and were especially attracted by the fine country dinner served by the Hotel. (from "A General History of Rockbridge Baths and its Community", a thesis by John R. Risch, 1980)

William A. Wilson II was active in his community as well, having served for many consecutive terms as Justice of the Peace for his neighborhood and upon the County Board of Supervisors for two years as the regularly elected representative from the Kerr's Creek District.
William A. Wilson II and Mary Ann Hull had six children, and they are listed as follows:
1. John Thomas Wilson-also known as "Uncle John", was born in 1839, and during the Civil War he served in Co. H 25th Virginia Infantry and made a fine record.
2. Sarah Martha Wilson-born in 1844, married John Whitmore
3. Elizabeth Jane Wilson-born in 1846, married Hugh Adams
4. William Montgomery Wilson-born in 1848, married Fannie E. Hull. His son's name was William A. Wilson III, who inherited the Wilson's Springs Hotel from his uncle, DO Wilson
5. David Orville Wilson- born in 1854, he married Virginia Webb and operated the Wilson's Springs Hotel from 1882 until 1920.
6. Harris Alexander Wilson-"Uncle Harry", was born in 1859 and he married Emma Ramsey

William A. Wilson died in 1882, and his will reads as follows:

The Will of William A. Wilson II
dated March 1, 1881
(original document in the possession of Catherine Gauldin)

In the name of God, amen, I WILLIAM A. WILSON, of the county of Rockbridge and state of Virginia, being of sound mind and memory and considering the uncertainty of this frail and transitory life, do make this my last will and testament. First after my death, I direct that all my just debts shall be paid, the residue of my estate, real and personal, I give and bequeath and dispose of as follows to wit: Second, after my wife's death, if she should survive me, I direct that the farm on which I now reside, and all the personal property that is on it, I give and bequeath to my three sons, namely, this is John T. Wilson, David O. Wilson and Harry Wilson., allowing John T. Wilson $100 per year for services rendered after they become of age, which amount, I allow them over and above Harry's third in the farm. Third, after my death, I direct that my half interest in our Pocahontas farm on the water of Elk, including a piece of land bought from John Varner, shall be sold, by my executor, and the proceeds to be paid to William M. Wilson, Sallie Whitmore and Elizabeth Adams. I direct that my two daughters and William shall be equal, so as to include the amounts already paid them. I have paid Sallie Whitmore $1000. I gave to William M. Wilson $900. I have given to Elizabeth Adams a lot near to the bridge and the old Schoolhouse, which is worth $400. I now appoint John Whitmore and my son John T. Wilson, as my executors in this my last will and testament, given under my hand, this 1st day of March, 1881.
William A. Wilson

William A. Wilson II's grandson, William A. Wilson III recollected on the distribution of the property:

My grandfather owned a big farm here. I understood that at one time he sold two thousand acres of this mountain that he owned. He kept 150 acres up in the Pass that I now own, and I suspect that he had about 600 acres that he could farm. He bought all the land and just kept buying. When my grandfather died, my Uncle Harry took 117 acres, and that's where Marjorie Tucker and Boyce live now. Mary Turnbull got it through Uncle Harry, who was her father. My grandfather also owned a grazing farm in West Virginia (Pocahontas County) of about 500 acres, and that's where I was born. Uncle Orve and Uncle John kept the rest of the farm, and they paid off the two sisters, Aunt Sallie Whitmore and Aunt Lizzie Adams. They were probably paid off in money. I don't know whether their father had money when he died that they could use to pay them off or not, but anyway the two sisters didn't get any part of the farm or the estate.

David Orville Wilson eventually bought out the interests of his brothers and became the sole owner and proprietor of the Wilson's Springs Hotel, and managed the said property until his death in 1920.

The Fourth Generation

The fourth generation of the Wilson family of Wilson's Springs comprised the sons and daughters of William A. Wilson II and Mary Ann Hull.

John Thomas Wilson was also known as "Uncle John". He was born in 1839, and was a farmer and merchant as a young man. During the Civil War he served in Co. H 25th Virginia Infantry.
Brief History of the Regiment:
The history of the 25th Virginia Infantry spanned the entire period of the war. The regiment was nearly destroyed after the Battle of Rich Mountain in July 1861, when nearly half of the men were surrendered. The following spring, the 9th Battalion and a company from the 31st Virginia Infantry were added to the 25th Regiment to bring it to full strength.During 1862 the 25th Regiment participated in Jackson's Valley Campaign and in the battles of Second Manassas, Sharpsburg, and Fredericksburg.In 1863 the regiment was temporarily assigned to Brig. General John D. Imboden's command, with which it participated in the Jones-Imboden Raid into Western Virginia. The regiment then took part in the Gettysburg Campaign and in the Mine Run Campaign.In the spring of 1864, disaster once again struck the 25th Virginia Infantry. At the battle of the Wilderness and Spotsylvania Court House, all but a handful of the regiment were taken prisoner. The remnants of the regiment hung on like a bulldog, and took part in Jubal Early's Shenandoah Campaign that fall.During 1865, the regiment participated in the fighting at Hatcher's Run, Petersburg, and Appomattox Court House. At the surrender on April 9, 1865, only one officer and fourteen men were left of the once proud regiment. These were paroled and sent home.
Companies:
A (2nd) - Capt. John A. Robinson's Co. (formerly Co. A, 9th Bn.)
B (2nd) - Upshur Grays (Upshur County)
C (2nd) - Capt. Willis T. Lawrence's Co. (formerly Co. C, 9th Bn.)
C/D - Augusta Lee Rifles (Augusta Co.)
D (2nd) - Augusta Lee Rifles (Augusta Co.
E (1st) - Pendleton Rifles (Pendleton Co.)
E (2nd) - Capt. George H. Smith
F (1st) - Franklin Guards (Franklin Co.) (later Co. F, 62nd Virginia Inf.)
F (2nd) - Highland Rangers (Highland Co.)
G (1st) - Bath Grays (Bath Co.) (Remnants transferred to Co. A, 62nd Va. Inf. and 18th Va. Cav.)
G (2nd) - Capt. William H. Mollohan's Co. (formerly Co. B, 9th Bn.)
H (1st) - Hardy Blues (Hardy Co.) (afterwards Co. B, 62nd Va. Inf.
**H (2nd) - Rockbridge Guards (Rockbridge Co.)
I (1st) - Mt. Crawford Cavalry/Valley Rifles (Rockingham Co.)
I (2nd) - Capt. Daniel Stofer's Co. (formerly Co. C, 9th Bn.)
K (1st) - South Branch Riflemen (later Co. L, 1st Va. Partisans; afterwards 62nd Va. Inf. ; afterwards Co. E (2nd), 18th Va. Cav.)
K (2nd) - Pendleton Minute Men (Pendleton Co.) (formerly Co. B (1st), 31st Va. Inf.)

In 1882, he was made deputy sheriff of Rockbridge County, a position that he held until 1893. John Wilson never married, and died at Wilson's Springs in 1901 after a long illness. William A. Wilson III said this about Uncle John's military service;

Uncle John was in the battle of McDowell. The Yankees won in that battle, and the Confederates retreated into West Virginia. The battle was fought in Highland County, on top of Chief Mountain. Highland County is the county that joins Rockbridge County. There was a little village there that they called McDowell and there's a Presbyterian Church there that was used as an infirmary during the battle.
The Battle of McDowell was fought in the fall of the year, and it was a very cold winter. My grandfather and grandmother hauled in food to him in the buggy, and also took him heavy clothes so that he wouldn't freeze to death. The Confederate soldiers didn't have much, and they weren't too well protected. It was a distance of about a hundred miles. THE BATTLE OF MCDOWELL
MAY 8, 1862

On May 8, 1862, 137 years ago about 9,000 Rebel soldiers and an almost equal numbers of Yankees converged on Robert Sitlington's farm and the little village of McDowell. 1862 had opened with Union and Confederate forces jockeying for position throughout the western part of Virginia and West Virginia. the Shenandoah Valley, known as "Breadbasket of the Confederacy," held provisions for the southern army, and also had Staunton, a major supply center and transportation network where two major roads and a railroad crossed. Months earlier Gen. "Stonewall" Jackson had statead: "If this Valley is lost, Virginia is lost." It was in McDowell, on the slopes of Sitlington's Hill, that Federal troops (under Milroy and Schenck) moving towards Staunton were successfully repelled by the Confederates (under "Allegheny" Johnson, reinforced by the brigades of Taliaferro and Campbell [under Jackson]). In a little more than four hours, 180 men lay dead, and many of the more than 600 wounded were being tended in makeshift hospitals quickly established int he Presbyterian church and in local homes. Federal troops retired beyond McDowell, and Jackson';s army took up the pursuit the next day (leaving behind a detachment of cavalry and the VMI Cadet Battalion to guard Federal prisoners - mostly wounded), chasing the Federals through Monterey, and up the South Branch valley to West Virginia. This battle was the first Confederate victory in Jackson's brilliant Valley Campaign. It forced Milroy and Schenck out of the Valley, preventing them and the rest of Fremont's command from uniting with Banks' force, thus relieving the pressure on Richmond; it kept "the Breadbasket" for the South, and it left Jackson free to operate against his enemies separately - a key to his phenomenal sucess in the Shenandoah Valley in the months to come. On May 9, he announced the outcome with a one-sentence message to General Cooper in Richmond: God blessed our arms with victory at McDowell yesterday." McDowell remains the last undeveloped, unspoiled battlefield area from the Balley Campaign, allowing a unique chance to understand and experience what took plave there on May 8, 1862. The Presbyterian Church stands today as it did then, and still bears the scars of a canonball hit and the names and dates which were carved into the bricks on the front of the church by the soldiers.

Sarah Martha Wilson was born Feb. 22, 1844. She was also known as "Aunt Sallie Whitmore". She married John Whitmore of Natural Bridge on her birthday in 1866. They had four children, Mary Susan Whitmore, born in 1866, Mattie Price Whitmore, born in 1868 , Lizzie Alexander Whitmore, (also known as "Aunt Lizzie") born in 1873 and William Wilson Whitmore, born in 1876. Sarah Martha Wilson died in 1918.

Elizabeth Jane Wilson was born in 1846, and married Hugh Adams on Oct. 11, 1876. They had three children:
Mary Judith Adams, also known as "Cousin Mary Adams", born in 1878 (who died in 1980 at the age of 102); Hugh Wilson Adams, born in 1883 and died in 1943 and Elizabeth "Cousin Bess" Adams, who was born in 1885 and married M. Steele Wright. Cousin Bess and Mr. Wright first moved to Baltimore and then to Nacogdoches, Texas where they founded "Lone Star Feed and Fertilizer Company". The first plant was started in Jan of 1930, and was in operation by late February. Cousin Bess died in 1975 at the age of 90. Her mother, Elizabeth Jane Wilson died in 1926.

William Montgomery Wilson was born on August 10, 1848. He served in the First Rockbridge Artillery during the Civil War, and afterwards came back and enrolled in Washington and Lee College where he studied law.
A Brief History of the First Rockbridge Artillery
This famous battery fired the first cannon shots in the Shenandoah Valley at Hainesville on July 2, 1861. The Rockbridge cannoneers shed their first blood in the Confederate victory at Bull Run. under Stonewall Jackson they endured the Bath-Romney campaign during January 1862. In the Valley campaign they fought with distinction at Kernstown, Winchester and Port Republic. The Stonewall Battery earned new honors at Malvern Hill, Cedar mountain, Second Manassas, Harper's Ferry, Sharpsburg and Fredericksburg. The Rockbridge gunners defended the heights of Fredericksburg during the Chancellorsville campaign, aided in the capture of Winchester, bombarded the Union lines on Culp's Hill at Gettysburg, defended the river crossing at Rappahannock Station, and helped drive back Meade's forces at Mine Run in 1863. In 1864 the Rockbridge Battery aided Lee in stopping Grant's advance at Spotsylvania Court House and Cold Harbor. During the defense of Richmond the First Rockbridge Artillery frustrated Federal attacks on that city and in so doing lost its guns at Deep Bottom. Quickly rearmed, the battery continued to man the defenses of Richmond until April, 1865. On the retreat to Appomattox Court House the Rockbridge Artillery made a heroic stand at Cumberland Church. Captain Archibald Graham surrendered 101 officers and men on April 9, 1865.

At some time after 1872, he left home and boarded a train for Los Angles and the California gold fields. He ended up in Farmersville, Ca., and while there wrote this letter back home to his brother Orville;

Farmersville, Oct. 8, 1872

Dear Brother,

I will attempt to answer your letter that was received with much pleasure. I was glad to hear that you were so near a man, and destined to be such a large fine looking one I will have to flatter you Orville by surmising that you are the finest looking boy that Squire Wilson has. I have almost forgotten what Master Harry looks like if you and him will send me your photographs I will send each of you a gold specimen besides my photograph in return I suppose. This will do preliminaries now I will tell you something about California or at least the mining portion of it you can imagine yourself 100 miles from anyplace in the mountains and under the ground three hundred feed digging for the precious glittering metal our California God that is what we worship in this country we know no other God and I think by the way from my short experience it has become the Idol unanimously. Sometimes I am placer mining and sometimes quartz mining. At present I am quartz mining in Kern County adjoining Tulare. The quartz lays in ledges varying in size from six inches up to seven feet thick. It is a red iron looking rock and somewhat decomposed we of course dig it out of the ground and extract the gold from it through different processes that would be too tedious to mention. Mining is a very nice business in case you have good luck and if you have not good Luch it is a very unpleasant business. I am flattering myself by thinking that so far my luck has been good. I have had perfect health all the time and a sufficient quantity of (?). anyway to induce me to stay a while longer. I am anxious and very anxious to go home and see you all, but I can't stand the idea of going until I am in proper circumstances to meet you all with a clear conscience knowing that I am independent of any person for a living, this is my theme and shall be until I go. Tell Father that I will write to him soon, I want to inform him of the condition of the Frank Firebaugh estate or the peculiar disposition made of it since he wrote to him concerning the Dave Firebaugh estate.
Tell Mother that I will also write to her just as soon as I possible can tell them not to be alarmed about my welfare. I have learned to russel and am extremely careful of my health. My standard weight is 173 lbs. Orville, tell Mrs. Whitmore the first time you see her for me to just keep on that I can live without ever knowing wether she is or not if she has her back up about anything. She can just get it down again.

Present my kindest regards to all this family,
I remain as ever your devoted brother
William Wilson

I received a note in your letter from Lizzi. Tell her I will anser it soon and give her all the desired information on the subject that prompted her to write. Oh, I like to have forgotten Johny, tell him that I heard he was going to let a horn grow out of his head advise him for me to abandon that idea if such be the case tell him to come to California and marry a fortune. There are plenty of girls in this county who are worth a hansome pile and he can get one of them if he will come and just keep his nose clean. W W

Family tradition states that William lived with the Navaho Indians for a number of years. His son, William Wilson III related a story about his father's return to Rockbridge after an absence of nearly twenty years.

My father stayed out west for twenty years, and never did come back. They never did hear from him. He dug gold out in California, and spent it all, I reckon. His mother said when he came back "Here comes Bill, and all he's got is on his back." He brought back some nuggets, and Mother had those. She took some ofthem in there to a jeweler in Lexington, and he melted them down and made me a little ring and a stick-pin. I was just a little boy at the time. That ring was so soft, that the least little thing would mash it up and pinch your finger. I don't know what ever happened to that ring.

He evidently came home for a short period of time between 1879 and 1880, because he is listed in the Alumni Register of Washington and Lee as having attended classes there during that time:
෽ William Montgomery Wilson, Rockbridge Co. Va., Farmer: Rockbridge Baths, Va.

William M. Wilson married Fannie E. Hull on September 12, 1898 and they had one son, William Alexander Wilson III, who was born on June 28, 1899 and died in December of 1988. When he and Fannie Hull were married, they went to live there in Linwood, W. Va., on the farm that William inherited as his part of his father's estate. Fannie wrote back to Mary Wilson in 1898 of their hopes for a new life;

I hope Cousin Harry got home safely and told you all the news. We have both been real well and busy, boarded with the Beals, a few days until we got more stove-pipe, get along fine in one room, have everything close and handy....The best news I can tell you is the saw-mill will be here today, the men came to log yesterday we will build right in front of this house, have the doors and windows now it not take so long, I hear a tree fall now. ..I am better contented, think we can make it all right if we have patience and persevere. Remember me to Cousin Emma and Cousin E., tell them to write I will write to them when we et settled...Will sends his love to mother, much love to all,
Lovingly, Fannie

Unfortunately, they did not have the opportunity to enjoy the new home they built in West Virginia, as William Wilson was taken sick and had to be brought home to Rockbridge Baths. William and Fannie brought with them their new son, who had been born in Linwood. William M. was admitted to Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore to try and find a cure for his illness, but there proved to be none. His brother, John T. Wilson wrote this letter from his boarding house across from the hospital.

Baltimore, Nov. 14th, 1899

Dear Mother,

I would have written before now, but only got settled down in the Hospital yesterday evening. So much red tape that Will was very hard to become reconciled, but I got him in a ward yesterday and he seems very well satisfied. The Doctor's examination said they could not determine what his trouble was until further examination. He is so nicely fixed that I think he is in a fair way to get well. I am boarding just opposite the hospital at one dollar per day, a real nice place, and so comfortable. I think I will run up to New York today, and will be at home the last of this or next week. Don't worry about us, we are doing as well as is possible for us to do at home, and not spending much money. I will tell you all or more when I come home. We are boarding with such nice people that I feel at home. The hospital is the nicest place I ever saw, tell Orve that I will phone from Goshen for my buggy and horse when I get there and to get Charly Vandever or someone to bring it up. Will write again from New York.
Good by--John T.

William Wilson died March 20, 1901 from the complications from a fatal illness that he probably contracted while living in California. His son was sixteen months old at the time of his father's death.

David Orville Wilson was born in 1854. He married Virginia "Aunt Jenny" Webb and was the proprietor of the Wilson's Springs Hotel from 1883 until his death. He willed the property to his nephew, William A. Wilson III on the provision that Aunt Jenny Wilson be allowed to live there until her own death. Before D O Wilson assumed ownership of Wilson's Springs, he taught school in the County Schools of Rockbridge.

The Commonwealth of Virginia
County of Rockbridge

It is hereby certified that D O Wilson, having passed an examination on Orthography, Reading, Writing, Arithmetic, Grammar and Geography, and having furnished satisfactory evidence of capacity, morals and general fitness, is hereby authorized to teach in the Public Free Schools of Rockbridge County during the year ending August 31, 1874, unless this certificate be annulled.
Given under my hand this 8th day of Nov. AD 1873
J L Campbell, Co. Superintendent Schools for the County of Rockbridge

David Orville Wilson died in 1920, and his obituary was published in the Lexington Gazetter. ;

The death of Mr. David Orville Wilson, proprietor of Wilson's Springs was not an unexpected even, and occurred July 8, 1920, after a long illness from Heart trouble, aged sixty six years. Mr. Wilson was the son of William Alexander and Mary A. Wilson, both of them belonging to well-known families in Rockbridge. Since his mother's death, Mr. Wilson has been sole owner and proprietor of the Springs. He was polite and accommodating as a host and was highly esteemed among a wide circle of friends, with all of whom he was very popular. The funeral services Were conducted by Rev. E W McCorkle, D D from Bethesda Church on the 10th, and he was buried in the cemetery there. He is survived by his widow and one sister, Mrs. E H Adams and one brother, Mr. H A Wilson. Below are the names of the pallbearers: active--Hugh Adams, Alex. Wilson, John Gibson, Page Shoulder, J G VanDerveer, Robert Stuart, Webb Shoulder, Silas McCown. Honorary--J G STuart, J L McCurdy, A M Anderson, Col. Beverly Tucker, E A Fulwider, John McGuffin, Henry Kirkpatrick, William Shaw, Frank Moore, John P.Welsh, William A. Adair, Woods Culton, Major E A Sale, J A Conner, George Miley, T A Senabaugh, John Welch, Frank Carson and John K Patterson. The flower girls were Misses Josephine Blair, Frances Hileman, Mrs. William Sterrett and Miss McCowan. Mr. Wilson was married in 1903 to he sweetheart of his youth, Miss Virginia A. Webb of Rockbridge Baths, and after an engagement of 25 years. For some years, he was the successful teacher of the school at that place. At one time, he was associated with Mr. W I McCorkle, when as a young man he taught there.

Harris Alexander Wilson- also known as "Uncle Harry", was born in 1859 and married Emma Elizabeth Ramsey, the daughter of John Odell and Margaret Ramsey. They had one daughter, Mary Gamble Wilson, also known as "Cousin Mary Turnbull". Mary Wilson married Robert Currie Turnbull. His nephew, William A. Wilson III, had fond recollections of him;

Uncle Harry was a great fellow. He married a Ramsey, and they had one child, Mary, who married a Turnbull. He also raised another boy named Jack Ramsey. He was a magistrate for years, and he liked to enforce the law. He felt that he was a great authority on the law, and the county would hire him to keep peace up here in the summertime, to keep people from doing things that they oughtn't to be doing. He enjoyed that, and it was sort of his hobby, seeing that other people behaved themselves.
Of course, when my father died, he was kind of a father to me in a way. I looked up to him a lot, and I used to stay over here with him. He and I used to go places together. We went to the Chicago fair together in 1935, and drove out there in the car. I was with him an awful lot, so I quote Uncle Harry a lot. He lived about two or three years after I moved over here, and he used to come up and stand in the living room and he'd say "I was born right there", and then he'd cry. I thought he was terribly old. He was 82, and I'm 84 now (in 1983).