My Genealogy Hound

CHARLES I. WILSON, numbered among the rising members of the Sedalia Bar, is now in partnership with H. K. Bente. His office is at No. 210 Ohio Street, and in addition to a regular law practice he is a notary public and claim collector. The firm has been very successful in collecting bills, employing a man for that purpose. A stenographer is also a requisite, as the correspondence is very extensive and constantly increasing. Our subject was appointed City Tax Collector by Mayor Hastain, and is a worker in the Republican party.

John K. Wilson, the grandfather, was for years a leading farmer in Ohio, but his parents were natives of North Carolina. Judge E. V., father of our subject, was born in Butler County, Ohio, February 17, 1824, and was a student at Miami University when seventeen years of age. Subsequently he studied law with John B. Weller, of Hamilton, Ohio, and in January, 1846, was admitted to the Bar, practicing in Hamilton until 1849, when he engaged in merchandising at Tully, Mo. His store was swept away by the Missouri River in 1851, and he next turned his attention to teaching in Knox County. While there he was for years actively engaged in the practice of law, and in 1856 was elected to the State Legislature on the Republican ticket. A strong Union man, he raised a company of home guards, and was elected Major of the Second State Reserve Corps in the winter of 1863-64. Afterwards he was in the Government employ as Assistant Provost-Marshal. In the fall of 1864 he was elected to the State Senate, and the following year was appointed to fill a vacancy in a Judgeship of the Fourth Judicial Circuit. A year later he was regularly elected for a full term of six years, and retired from the Bench in 1875. Though this was before the days of railroads in that section, and he was obliged to travel on horseback, he never failed to hold court at the regular time and was prompt in the discharge of his duties. In 1869 he was very active in the promotion of the building of the railroad running from Quincy, Ill., to Trenton, Mo., known as the Quincy, Missouri & Pacific Railroad, he becoming one of its Directors. He enlisted in the Mexican War, from Ohio, and rose to the rank of Corporal, but on account of illness contracted in the South was obliged to return home. In 1875 he retired from the Judgeship and resumed his law practice, but three years later was compelled to give it up on account of failing eyesight. At the time of his death, which occurred November 25, 1885, he was President of the Bank of Edina, which he helped to establish. In Masonic circles he was very prominent, and his funeral services were conducted under the auspices of the order, there being over two hundred and fifty of the brotherhood present. In his religious belief he was a Universalist.

In 1847 occurred the marriage of Judge Wilson and Jane Delaplane, who was born in Hamilton, Ohio. Her father, Josiah Delaplane, who was of French descent, was a dealer in and manufacturer of furniture. Mrs. Wilson received an excellent education in the female seminary at Hamilton, and has always devoted much attention to literary work. Her contributions, both prose and poetry, frequently appeared in leading magazines under the nom de plume of Mrs. Lawrence, and later she wrote under her true cognomen. Her articles have met with high commendation from the best critics, and as a local authoress she has won renown. Among her most popular stories are, “His Mother’s Songs” and “The One I Would Rather Meet.” The song, “Rolling To De Sea,” also one of her compositions, is a beautiful and popular air. Mrs. Wilson’s eldest daughters also have literary talent, and Mrs. Minnie Armstrong, of Edina, contributes articles, principally prose, to the “St. Louis Magazine,” “The Outing” and others. Sophy W. and Katie W. are residents of Denver; William, the eldest son, lives in Quincy, Ill., and is a dealer in live stock; Victor is the next in order of birth; George, a farmer of Reno County, Kan., was formerly Sheriff; Fred J. is Cashier of the Edina Bank, and in 1892 was a candidate for State Treasurer on the Republican ticket; and F. A., the youngest son, is a merchant of Edina.

C. I. Wilson was born in Edina, Mo., December 12, 1868, and was reared and educated there. For a year it was his privilege to attend the Manhattan Agricultural College, and later Chaddock College, of Quincy, Ill. Entering Cumberland University, at Lebanon, Tenn., he remained there until a senior, when he entered the law department, and graduated with the degree of Bachelor of Laws. Having passed an examination before Judge Turner in Scotland County, Mo., he was admitted to the Bar and came to Sedalia. For two years he was associated with G. W. Barnett, afterward was with Louis Hoffman, and in April, 1894, became a member of the firm of Bente & Wilson, practicing before all of the courts. He is a charter member of the Royal Tribe of Joseph and is a Knight of Pythias. Like his father before him, he is a loyal Republican. At present he is Treasurer of the Sunday-school and is a Deacon in the Cumberland Presbyterian Church.