The Republican journal., 1874-12-31
we'd; he afterwards married Miss


Hancock and Washington, as well as at
home. until 1924 when in consequence of
exposure to severe storm he was attacked
with fever from the effects of which he
never wholly recovered lie was mem
Der OF the 18th and the 18th Congress
and that, it is believed. was the only pub
lie office he ever held his inclinations did
not naturally tend in that direction. lie
vas an able lawyer, occupying position
IN the front rank Of his profession. an in
genious, not an eloquent advocate, an i'll
| ileXibly upright man. No shadow of dis
| honesty or chlcanerv rests on his memory.
He was a man Of popular manners and a
universal fayorite He was one OF Nature
noble men and in whatever situation he
might be placed he was ever the courteous
gentleman. He had natural fondness
| Tor agriculture and always took a deep
interest in the agricultural welfare Of the
surrounding country His personal efforts
IN That direction, although they failed to
add to his material wealth had the effect
70 stimulate others to good works whose
reverence for 1.-The Almighty Dollar was
| greater than his He was one Of the earli-
est and most persistent advocates for the
erection OF our county, and was the first
one, 50 Tar as known, to suggest the name
it bears. Wilson's Hill and Wilson's
Stream, two OF the ancient landmarks in
our city, are indebted to him for their an
| pellatlons.
minute biographical notice OF Mr..
| Wilson, one that would do ample Justice
to him, would require more space than can
be spared from these brief annals. A few
anecdotes, selected at random, NAV suffice
| toslllustrate the character and peculiarities
Of the man more wildly, perhaps, than
can be done in any other mode within the
power of the compiler.
| lie was man OF fine physical orgauiza-
ton, of great physical strength when a
young man, cool and deliberate in all his
actions and OF untlinching courage Soon
| after he commenced practice he had occa-
| SION IN the argument of cause to com
| ment with more than ordinary severity Oh
| the conduct and character of prominent
| witness The witness very indscretely.
as the result proved, determined to have
| redress by lnt1lctlng personal chastisement,
ana watching an opportunity when Mr.
| llsOn was alone in his office went in and
| commenced an attack on him 1t was but
| the work OF Il moment for Mr. w to seize
MN by the coz ar and place him, not very
| gently, IN horizontal position on the
| floor he then very deliberately sat down
on HIM. A brother lawyer who happened
| to come IN at the moment and saw the con-
| dltlon OF the PROSTATE man, without any
| apparent sign life about him exclaimed
''Nhy, Wilson, the mans dead q Yes. -
replied Wilson. YES | am aware Of that,
and am the Coroper's Inquest sitting on
the body -
lie was naturally ol rather incident
| habit and was OF course member of 4
| Club existing here in the early part Of the
century called the Lazy Club, One of it,
unwritten bylaws provided that no mem
Der, under any circumstances, should run
| when he might just as we'll walk He was
discovered one day running leisurely down
| the steepest part OF the hill on which he
| lived, and the fact was reported to the
| Club. Being put upon trial he set up in
| defence that he had not violated the law.
| the intention of which was to prohibit I'M
necessary labor; for the reason OF his run
| ming was that it was less labor to run than
it was to hold back 1t does not appear
| OF record what the adjudication OF the
| Club was; the presumption is, from the
| well recognized precedents of the day
| tlletl lllC Ingenuity VI lllt AtltIIt WAS iLi
| mitted, but that the pound of flesh" was
| eXacted.
Neither fear favor, affection or the
| hope of reward ever influenced him to
| abandon a position which he held to be
| tenable consistently with truth and Justice,
nor to Withhold an opinion which he felt
| that duty required him to express. He
| was once witness in a cause when it be-
came important to prove by his testimony.
and that of others, that the reputation for
truth Of a material witness was not good
| In reply to the usual question, Mr. Will
son testified that the general reputation OF
| the witness tor truth was bad The en-
| phatic manner in which the word was
| spoken so irritated the witness that he
| broke in upon the Proceedings Ky saying
! Il suppose, Mr. Wilson, you'd swear that
| am the worst man that ever was :" mo.
| DOCTOR replied Mr. W. deliberately fold
| ing his arms across his breast as was his
| habit, II would not swear to that but
an ready to swear that YOU are the worst
man | ever knew or read OF
| He had a remarkable memory. No testi-
| mony in any case he tried escaped his
| notice when he came to the argument ;
| hence his arguments were always eXhaus-
| tive, but necessarily proliN and sometimes
| tedious to those not personally interested
A friend once asked him if it might not
| be that his arguments We're too long. Did
you ever hear any OF my clients complain
| of their length ~ was his reply
lie possessed a wonderful decree OF self
possession and torbearance No instance
is remembered in which he exhibited any
anger however much annoyed About
the last time he appearedint the Courthouse
he was arguing to the Judge presiding Il
question Of law, and having stated u legal
proposition the counsel on the other side,
Young member OF the profession.
in a rather contemptuous tone of voice
remarked "Who ever heard of such prn-
ciple OF law as that Mr. Wilson. with
out moving muscle, or exhibiting the
slightest resentment at the rude Interrupt
ton, or taking his eve from the Judge,
proceeded to say. My brother inquiries
who ever heard of such principle Of law
as that which have lust stated The OBJ
vious inference from the remark is that h.
never did but your Honor and heard of
it thirty years ago 1t is needless to add
that the interruption was not repeated
Daniel Webster was q member Of Con
gress at the same time with Mir Wilson
and stood deservedly high in his estima-
ton AS q lawyer and advocate. what
did YOU think of Mr.. Webster ?" said he
one day to 4 townsman who had Just re-
turned from Court at Wiscasset where Mr.
Webster had argued an important ease.
''Well,' was the reply, 81 liked him very
well; but he didn't say any thing more
than any lawyer in this place could have
said" Very likely said MIR. Wilson; u
he had only thought Of it?
This imperfect sketch Of the life and
character of q man who was one OF the
ablest intellectually who ever resided here
cannot have more fitting conclusion than
the resolution adopted at a meeting OF his
professional brethren on the day before
his funeral: Resolved that in the death of
Hon John Wilson, one of the earliest
members of the legal profession IN this
county, we deplore the loss oil an able
counsellor, q faithful friend, courteous
gentleman and an honest man
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