James Wilson

James Wilson Aubrey H. Baldwin, III M R. WILSON RANKS AMONG THE FOREMOST in legal and political knowledge" . thus did Major William Pierce, a Georgia delegate to the Constitutional Convention characterize James Wilson. has joined to a fine genius all that can set him off and show him to advantage. He is well acquainted with Man, and understands all the passions that influence him. Government seems 10 have been his peculiar study, all the political institutions of the world he knows in detail, and can trace the cause of and effects of every revolution from the earliest stages of the Grecian commonwealth down to the present time. No man is more clear, copious, and comprehensive than Mr. Wilson, yet he is no great orator. He draws the attention not by the charm of his eloquence, but by the force of his reasoning". James Wilson was born 14 September 1742 in the little village of Carskerdo, near St. Andrews, Scotland. His parents, William and Aleson (Landale) Wilson, had pledged their first-born to the Lord's work in carrying forth the true doctrine. The family was desperately poor, but sacrificed to give the boy a sound education. In grammer-school he avidly studied Virgil, Euclid, mathematics, penmanship and rhetoric. He entered the University of St. Andrews in November 1757, having completed a competitive examination for a bursar hip. There he studied more Latin, Greek and mathematics, as well as logic, moral philosophy and ethics. While at St. Andrews he studied natural and political philosophy at St. Salvatoris Hall, and theology at St. Mary's College. His father's sudden death put an end to his advanced studies. In the spring of 1765 he went to Edinburgh where he studied bookkeeping and merchant accounting. After a very short time he was on his way to America. His brother, William Wilson and his brother-in-law, John Balfour, advanced him money for the trip in the fall of 1765. He presented a letter of introduction to the Reverend Richard Peters, Anglican minister and a trustee of the College of Philadelphia. He secured a position in the college as a tutor of Latin in February 1766. On 19 May he was granted an honorary M.A. degree. Seeing that the law, not the academic pursuit, was the path of advancement, he entered the law office of John Dickinson where he 149 150 The Pennsylvania Genealogical Magazine remained for about two years. He was admitted to the bar in 1767, and began practice in Reading, Pennsylvania in the summer of 1768. There he was near Rachel Bird, of Birdsboro, for whom he had formed an attachment while he was living in Philadelphia. He soon decided to transfer his law practice to Carlisle, Pennsylvania, amid the Scotch-Irish whom he found more congenial than the conservative German farmers of Berks County. His home was in Carlisle for the next ten years, bringing his bride Rachel Bird there in 1771. Three of their six children were born in Carlisle. Wilson's law practice flourished, and it was estimated that by 1774 he was handling half of all Cumberland County cases, most of them being land disputes. As he prospered he bought several large farms, building lots and stock; he built a home worth .61500. He served Dickinson College, from its founding to his death, as a member of the board of trustees. Many years later he served in like capacity for the University of Pennsylvania. When news of the Boston Port Bill and the "non-importation agreement" reached Carlisle, a public meeting was held on 12 July 1774 at the First Presbyterian Church. As a result of the patriotic fervor, Wilson was named chairman of a Committee of Thirteen citizens to correspond with similar boards in Philadelphia and throughout the States. His fellow citizens elected him to the First Provincial Conference in Philadelphia. In 1768, Wilson had written an attack on the powers of Parliament, in 1770 he turned this into an essay, "Consideration of the Nature and Extent of the Legislative Authority of the British Parliament". Here he developed the theme that: All Power is derived from the People; that their happiness is the end of Government. Later he published this tract in time for distribution to members of the first Continental Congress. It was widely read in America and England, The Pennysivania Assembly in May 1775 added Benjamin Franklin, Thomas Willing and James Wilson to the state delegation to the second Continental Congress. He first appeared in Congress 15 May 1775 and served throughout the session until September 1776. On 2 July 1776 he was one of the nine Pennsylvania delegates to sign the Declaration of Independence. When a new constitution for the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania was drafted to replace the time-honored charter under which the Propriatory colony had operated, Wilson bitterly fought it, thus breaking with his frontier constituents. This resulted in his removal from the Congress on 4 February 1777, but the difficulty in finding a succes- James Wilson 151 sor, caused him to be re-instated on 22 February. However, he continued his attack, and his final removal on 14 September was inevitable. In 1778 Wilson moved to Philadelphia, where he soon became a familiar figure . . "a tall, solid man, thick-muscled, inclining a little to stoutness, with a ruddy complexion with auburn hair either powdered or hidden by a near white wig, and big blue eyes where nearsightedness compelled thick-lensed glasses". He never outgrew his Scottish heritage, the soft burr in his speech, his rather dour earnestness and unbending stiffness of manner with an occasional social gaucheness which revealed his humble background to the snobbish persons he encountered. Wilson soon established himself as one of the ablest of "Philadelphia lawyers". In June 1779, the French government appointed him Advocate General for Maritime and Commercial Causes, a position he held until 1783. He acted as legal advisor to Robert Morris in the formation of the Bank of Pennsylvania in 1780; a year later Congress selected him as one of the original delegates to the Bank of North America. With the defeat of the Whigs, and the return to power of the conservatives in 1782, he was again elected to Congress, serving from 1785 to 1787. Late in 1782 Wilson successfully defended Pennsylvania's claims to northern sections of the state against the boundary claims of Connecticut. This set the precedent that a state territory had to be contiguous. For Wilson, the decision was of far greater significance as it marked the first time the disputes between states had been settled in the new and uneasy United States by a judicial body.. It strengthened his ideas about a high court of last appeal in matters affecting the states. In the Constitutional Convention he was to work tirelessly to promote the concept of a federal judiciary. His designation as delegate to the Convention by the Pennsylvania Assembly in December 1786 afforded the full scope of his genius. James McMaster, one of America's foremost historians said: "James Wilson was undoubtedly the best prepared by deep and systematic study of history and science of government for the work that lay before him. None except Gouverneur Morris was so often on his feet and none spoke with more purpose. I believe him to be the most learned lawyer of his time. As a statesman he was ahead of his generation in foresight". On 29 September 1789, George Washington appointed James Wilson associate justice of the Supreme Court. He was a lecturer in 152 The Pennsylvania Genealogical Magazine a course in law at the College of Philadelphia. His later days, like those of Robert Morris, were affected by business trouble due to his vast land speculation. By 1797 he had moved to New Jersey to avoid arrest for debt, but still retaining his place on the Supreme Court. In 1798, while on a visit to his fellow jurist, James Iredell, in Edenton, North Carolina, he died of a "violent nervous fever" on 28 August. 1. JAMEY WILSON was born 14 September 1742 in the small village of Carskerdo, Fifeshire, Scotland. He was the son of William and Aleson (Landale) Wilson. After coming to America in 1765, he married in 1771, RACHEL BIRD, the daughter of William ge Bridgette (Hulings) Bird of Douglasville, Berks County, Pennsylvania. She was born 22 January 1747. Rachel (Bird) Wilson died on 14 April 1786, in Philadelphia. [Philadelphia Gazette, 19 April 1786.] She was buried at Christ Church, Philadelphia. James Wilson married second, on 19 September 1793, HANNAH GRAY of Boston. She was born about 1775, the daughter of Ellis Gray. Alter Wilson's death in 1798, she married Dr. Thomas Bartlett of Boston. She died before 1812, in Europe. James Wilson died in Edenton, North Carolina, at the home of his friend, Judge James Iredell, on 28 August 1798. He was buried in Edenton, but on 22 November 1906 his remains were removed, by action of "The Governor and People of Pennsylvania" to Christ Church, Philadelphia, where a tablet was dedicated to his memory. Children of James & Rachel (Bird) Wilson: MARY2 WILSON was born on 23 September 1772 in 2, 1. Carlisle, Pennsylvania. WILLIAM2 WILSON was born about 1775 in Carliii. sle. He died, unmarried, in Kaskaskias, Indiana. BIRD2 WILSON was born in Carlisle, 8 January iii. 1777. He was a graduate of the College of Philadelphia in 1792, and was admitted to the Philadelphia bar in 1797. He served as President Judge of the 7th Circuit Court, 1806-1817. He then studied for the ministry in the Episcopal Church. From 1821 to 1850 he was a professor at the General Theological Seminary in New York City. He died, unmarried, in New York on 14 April 1859. JAMES BIRD2 WILSON was born 10 November iv. 1779 in Philadelphia. He was appointed a First James Wilson 153 Lieutenant in the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers on 26 May 1800. He resigned this commission as a Captain about 1805. He died at Cape Francis, Dominican Republic, West Indies on 1 December 1807, where he was engaged in business. [Poulson's Daily Advertise, 8 January 18081 W. EMILY BIRD2 WILSON was born in Philadelphia on 11 May 1782, and was baptised at Christ Church, 15 August 1782. She died, unmarried, at Norristown, Pennsylvania in 1809. vi. CHARLES BIRD2 WILSON was born in Philadelphia on 3 August 1785, and was baptised at Christ Church, 11 March 1786. He died at Havana, Cuba in 1810. Child of James & Hannah (Gray) Wilson: vii. HENRY2 WILSON was born in Philadelphia on 12 May 1788; he died in Philadelphia on 22 August 1796. 2. MARY2 WILSON (James') was born in Carlisle, Pennsylvania on 23 September 1772. She married on 31 March 1812, at Christ Church, Philadelphia, PASCHALL HOLLINGSWORTH. He was the son of Levi & Hannah (Paschall) Hollingsworth, born in Philadelphia on 23 February 1773. Mary (Wilson) Hollingsworth died in Philadelphia on 2 June 1832; he died in Philadelphia on 17 May 1852. Child of Paschall & Mary (Wilson) Hollingsworth: i. EMILY HOLLINGSWORTH was born in Philadelphia on 9 July 1815. In 1885, Miss Emily Hollingsworth replied to a letter from Frank Willing Leach, a Philadelphia genealogist, who wanted information about her descent from James Wilson. She answered his query: "None of his [James Wilson's] children married, except my mother, his eldest child, named Mary". She verified the dates of birth and death for this family that he had sent to her, and are the same as those used in this article. She added: "My mother, Mary Hollingsworth, died when I was entering my 17th year; I was born July 9, 1815, and am my parents only living child, and the only descendant of James Wilson • ." Emily Hollingsworth died, unmarried, 8 August 1895 in Philadelphia.