Wilson was born in
Washington County, Pennsylvania, on July 19, 1828, and attended
Washington College and was a student and teacher at the
Western Theological Seminary (now
Pittsburgh Theological Seminary) in
Allegheny City, Pennsylvania, for over 25 years, serving as chair of sacred and ecclesiastical history. After his death from typhoid in 1883, he was called "one of the abelest and most learned ministers in the Presbyterian Church." ==Collected works==