Wilson, William (IL State Representative)

Born: 1790-05-12 Virginia

Died: 1850-02-12 Palestine, Illinois

Flourished: Palestine, Illinois

Wilson moved from Virginia to Crawford County, Illinois Territory, in 1816. He and his wife, Elizabeth (Kitchell), settled in Palestine, Illinois, where he was a farmer. They had nine children, although three died in infancy. A Democrat, Wilson represented Jasper and Crawford counties in the Illinois House of Representatives for two terms, 1840 to 1842, and 1842 to 1844. From 1845 to 1849, he was the receiver at the Land Office in Palestine.

William H. Perrin, ed., History of Crawford and Clark Counties, Illinois (Chicago: O.L. Baskin, 1883), 130, 143, 259; John Clayton, comp., The Illinois Fact Book and Historical Almanac, 1673-1968 (Carbondale: Southern Illinois University Press, 1970), 209, 211; Theodore C. Pease, ed., Illinois Election Returns, 1818-1848, vol. 18 of Collections of the Illinois State Historical Library (Springfield: Illinois State Historical Library, 1923), 338, 373; Gravestone, Palestine Cemetery, Palestine, IL.