BIO: John B. WILSON, Beaver County, PA Contributed for use in the USGenWeb Archives by Judy Banja & Joe Patterson Copyright 2005. All rights reserved. http://www.usgwarchives.net/copyright.htm http://www.usgwarchives.net/pa/beaver.html http://www.usgwarchives.net/pa/beaver/bios/bbios.htm Index for this bio book. _________________________________________________________________ BOOK OF BIOGRAPHIES. This Volume Contains Biographical Sketches of Leading Citizens of Beaver County, Pennsylvania. Buffalo, N.Y., Chicago, Ill.: Biographical Publishing Company, 1899, pp. 73-74. _________________________________________________________________ JOHN B. WILSON. Among the enterprising and reliable business men of Beaver, Pa., is the gentleman whose name appears at the opening of this biography, who is the senior member of the well known firm of J. B. Wilson & Son, the largest hardware merchants in the community. Mr. Wilson also deals largely in real estate, owning several houses and lots out in the east end of Third avenue, which is now considered the most beautiful residence portion of Beaver. His ancestors were of Scotch-Irish descent, and his grandfather was pioneer of the family in this country. Industry township, Beaver county, Pa., is the birthplace of our subject, his birth occurring on February 2, 1839. He is a son of Thomas and Jane (Burnsides) Wilson. George Wilson, grandfather of John B., was a native of the northern part of Ireland and was of Scotch ancestry; in 1819, he came to this country with his family of five children, and took up a tract of fifty acres in Industry township. He sold this property, which is now the James Jackson farm, and then bought two hundred and forty acres of timber land. He erected a log house and had resided upon his newly purchased land but a short time when death claimed him; he was then about sixty years of age. He was married to Elizabeth Lindsey, also a native of Ireland, and their children were as follows: Thomas; James, settled in Hannibal, Mo.; George, deceased; Margaret, wife of William Sutherland of Hannibal, Mo.; and Catherine, who was wedded to William Humphrey. George Wilson and his wife were buried in the old Beaver cemetery. Thomas Wilson was born in Ireland in 1808, but was reared to manhood on his father's farm in Beaver county, and upon his father's death he took charge of the homestead; after attaining an advanced age, his son, George Wilson, took charge of the farm, and is still in possession of it. He was wedded to Jane Burnsides, also a native of Ireland, and a daughter of John Burnsides, who came to this country and located in Dresden, Ohio, where he carried on farming. Mr. Wilson died when eighty-three years old, while his wife departed this life in 1872, aged fifty-five 74 BOOK OF BIOGRAPHIES years. They reared the following four children: George, who has the homestead; John B.; Margaret, the wife of C. A. Bowers of Beaver; and Eliza. Religiously, the family were Presbyterians; politically, Mr. Wilson was a Republican. John B. Wilson was reared on the old homestead and received his mental training in the public schools of that district; after teaching school two years, he went to Beaver to learn the plasterers' trade; he then engaged in contracting for about eight years, after which he located in Youngstown, Ohio, where he embarked in the grocery business for a period of ten years; on disposing of this he returned to Beaver and began the sale of agricultural implements; this was in 1875. The continual increase of his patronage made it necessary to seek large accommodations, and accordingly, in 1883, he bought the old Clark Hotel property, which is located on Third street. He turned the old building around and rebuilt it, putting on an additional story, and also building barns and a large warehouse. He stocked the concern with a complete line of hardware goods, and the business progressed satisfactorily until March 2, 1888, when the entire building was destroyed by fire. Mr. Wilson immediately built a brick building 30 by 100 feet, and also erected a warehouse. The other half of the lot he sold to Mr. Anderson. An extensive stock of hardware goods and implements was then put into the new structure and Mr. Wilson conducted the largest and best equipped store of its kind in the county. In 1897, the subject of our sketch took in his son as a partner, and the firm name was afterwards known as J. E. Wilson & Son; the capital stock of the firm has been increased to $10,000. Mr. Wilson purchased a square on Third and Wilson avenues, and on the corner lot erected a handsome brick residence; he has also built a double-house adjoining his home, and has sold many lots in the block. He is a progressive and loyal citizen; intelligent and well-read; and he has a host of acquaintances in the vicinity. Mr. Wilson and Matilda Eakin, a daughter of J. R. Eakin, were united in marriage, and they are parents of three children: Mary E.; Genevieve C.; and Royal Q.; the latter is connected with his father in the hardware business, and is one of the most promising young business men in Beaver; like his father, he has won the esteem and confidence of all. Mr. Wilson and family are all members of the Presbyterian church, the former having been a trustee of the church for the past twenty years; politically, he is a Republican.