Wilson's birth date and place are disputed. He was either born in November 1803 or on November 6, 1800, in either
Staunton or
Abingdon, Virginia. In 1820, he moved to
Howard County, Missouri. He worked as an educator, later becoming Howard County's probate judge in 1825 and serving as a court clerk between 1829 and 1840. In 1837, was a brigadier-general in the
Missouri State Defense Force, as which he commanded troops in the
1838 Mormon War. In 1840, he was
admitted to the bar, after which he practiced law in
Huntsville. In 1852, he moved to
Andrew County. Wilson was a member of the Union Party, a
pro-slavery Unionist political party, though aligned with the
Whig Party. He served in the
Missouri House of Representatives in 1844, and in the
Missouri Senate in 1854. He participated in the 1861 Missouri State Political Convention, in which politicians discussed whether to secede from the Union. In the Convention, he was its vice president and later its acting president He was a member of the
United States Senate Committee on the Pacific Railroad. In 1866, he participated in a "National Union Convention", in Philadelphia. Following his career in politics, Wilson worked as a farmer in
St. Joseph. In 1826, he married Mrs. Snoddy, with whom he had six children. He died on May 10, 1870, aged 66, in
Marshall, Missouri, and is buried in
Mount Mora Cemetery. == See also ==