Wilson Family Genealogy
Stories about William Armour Wilson
- Father as I Knew Him, by Juliet M (Wilson) Hill
- William Armour Wilson's Farms, from the Wilson Family Historian, 2011
- From Fern Eleanor (Cook) Lynn
William Armour Wilson first settled on the Slash (now Maple) Road in USA, NY, Niagara, Town of Wilson. An obituary for Orson Floyd Wilson says that William Armour built the "stone house" there in 1860. His second farm in New York was at Beebe's Corners, at the intersection of Chestnut and Beebe Roads, USA, NY, Niagara, Wilson.
William Armour also had a farm in Illinois. From court documents, it appears that he had leased this farm to Delight Tappen, sister-in-law of his first wife, Ruth Lamira Tappen, and her family. It further appears that there was a problem with payment of the rent, and William Armour foreclosed on the mortgage. More investigation is required, but it appears that William Armour got the farm back, because it is mentioned as an asset of his estate after his death. It is presently not known when and how the farm left his possession, although these questions are being investigated.
Story from Fern Eleanor (Cook) Lynn:
"This is the story I heard.
"William Armour Wilson gave each of the sons in his second family [with his second wife, Mary Barbara Sinsel] use of his farm on Slash Road [now Maple Road, USA, NY, Niagara, Wilson] for 5 years. Granddad [Benjamin Ernest Wilson] went on the farm in 1887. He and Grandma [Mary Catherine (Smoyer) Wilson] were married in 1888 and he brought her to the Slash Road farm, where mother [Florence May Wilson] was born. He left in 1892 and used the money he made on the Slash Road farm to buy the first 50 acres of his farm on Beebe Road. They moved over there, and my Uncles Armour [Armour Peter Wilson] and Dwight [Dwight Dewey Wilson] were born there.
"I don't know if Aunt Ellen [Eunice Eleanor "Ellen" Wilson (Capen)] got a turn, or whether it was just the boys. I also don't know if her father [William Armour Wilson] did anything else for her. I had thought that he bought her the farm on the corner of Beebe and Chestnut, but it appears that she and Willis Capen bought that farm themselves. [See letter from Benjamin Ernest Wilson to Stephen Melvin Wilson.]
"Uncle Frank [Frank Bodendorfer Wilson] was the next one on the farm. I was told that his daughter Mabel [Mabel Estelle Wilson] was born in the stone house on Slash Road. Mabel was born in 1898. Her older sister Emily [Emily Cook Wilson] was probably born there. If Mabel was born on Slash Road, either Granddad didn't leave until 1893; Uncle Frank didn't go on the farm immediately when Granddad left, if he left in 1892; Uncle Frank and Aunt Edith went back to the stone house for Mabel's birth; or Mabel wasn't born in the stone house. I don't know which.
"Uncle Walt [Walter Sinsel Wilson] never went on the farm. I don't know why. He and Aunt Nellie [Nellie Margaret Wright] lived in Niagara Falls.
"Uncle George [George Richmond Wilson], the youngest boy, said he didn't want to go on the farm, so that left only Uncle Henry [Henry Odell Wilson] and Uncle Lute [Luther Armour Wilson].
"Because of the closeness of their ages, there was a disagreement between Uncle Henry and Uncle Lute over use of the farm. William Armour Wilson determined the value of the farm - I don't know how or if someone else was involved in the determination. He told Uncle Henry and Uncle Lute that whoever could come up with the money for it could buy it from the other. Uncle Henry had the financial backing of the Shaws, his wife's family [Elsie Sears Shaw]. The Shaw farm was next to William Armour's farm. Uncle Lute had only his own resources, which weren't enough, so Uncle Henry bought out Uncle Lute. This left some hard feelings between Uncle Henry and Uncle Lute."
*****
Note from Wilson Association Historian: From information provided by Robert Walter Wilson, a descendant of William Tappen Wilson, It appears that William Armour Wilson made a similar arrangement for the children of his first wife, Ruth Lamira (Tappen) Wilson. However, Robert was told that the arrangement was that each child could use the farm until he had enough to buy his own farm. This differs from the 5-year period given to Mary's children. Robert also reports that he was told there was friction between Ruth's children and Mary, because Mary wanted her children to have priority in the use of the farm. Other descendants of Lamira have also reported tension between Ruth's children and Mary.
To date, what we have been able to glean from census records and known historical facts is:
1860 Census:
- William Armour Wilson, Ruth Lamira (Tappen) Wilson, and all of their seven surviving children (their eighth child, Stephen Wilson, died in 1855) were living on the Slash Road homestead.
Speculations and Questions:
- George Edwin Wilson, William and Ruth's oldest child, may have gone on the farm in or about 1861, when he turned 20 years old. This speculation is based on the known fact that Benjamin Ernest Wilson went on the farm when he turned 20. If George did this when he was 20, and spent 9 years or less on the farm, his tenure would have been between censuses.
- An obituary for Orson "Floyd" Wilson, son of Charles Alexander "Chick" Wilson, another son of William and Ruth says that William built the stone house on the Slash Road farm in 1860. Could he have done this in anticipation of the first of his children using the farm when he turned 20?
Historical facts:
- Ruth Lamira (Tappen) Wilson died on 15 Oct 1864. The story told to Robert Walter Wilson was that Mary Barbara Sinsel nursed Ruth during her final illness.
- William Armour Wilson and Mary Barbara Sinsel were married on 18 Nov 1865.
1870 Census:
- William Armour Wilson, Mary Barbara (Sinsel) Wilson, and their first two children, Benjamin and Ellen, were living on the Beebe Road farm and none of Ruth's children were listed with them;
- George Edwin Wilson was married to Esther Marion (Wilson) Wilson, and living in USA, NY, Niagara, Wilson, PO Ridge Road, with their children Glenn, Frank, Oscar, Orson, and Esther "Lulu";
- Juliet M (Wilson) Hill was married and living with her husband John Martin Hill in USA, MO, Jasper, Northfork;
- John Seeley "Jack" Wilson was living in USA, NY, Niagara, Wilson, PO Ridge Road, with the family of James Harrington, and working as a foundryman;
- William Tappen Wilson has not been positively identified in this census;
- Charles Alexander "Chick" Wilson and his sister, Ruth Lamira Wilson, were living together on the Slash Road farm;
- Stephen Melvin Wilson has not been positively identified in this census.
Speculation and Questions:
- Assuming that George Edwin went on the Slash Road farm in 1861 when he turned 20 and left before 1870, Jack, as the second son, should theoretically have been on the farm in 1870. It is possible that George Edwin could have been on the farm, left, and Jack have gone on and left, all between 1860 and 1870. However, this would have been a very tight schedule.
- Did Jack not want a turn? Was there some other reason why he did not go on the farm, if, in fact, he did not?
- Was anyone on the farm between 1870 and 1880?
1880 Census:
- George Edwin Wilson died in 1879, but his wife Esther and their children are listed together in Wilson;
- William Tappen Wilson was in USA, AR, Prairie County, with the family of Charles A and Mary Seeley (Charles A Seeley was the brother of Ida Mae Seeley, who, in 1883, married William Tappen);
- Charles Alexander "Chick" Wilson, his wife, Frances E (Reed) Wilson, and their daughter, Lela E, were living in Wilson.
- It is not clear whether any of William Armour's children were on the Slash Road farm. None of their names appear in the census near others on the Slash Road, such as Charles Shaw, who owned the farm next to William Armour's, or John J Cushing, who was a couple farms over.
Historical account:
- An obituary for Orson "Floyd" Wilson, son of Charles Alexander "Chick" Wilson, says that Floyd was born on the Slash Road farm in 1886. We know from the 1870 census that Chick was on the farm in 1870. Chick married Floyd's mother, Frances E Reed, in 1875. Their first child, Lela E Wilson, was born in 1876. There is a 16-year spread between 1870, when we know Chick was on the farm, and 1886, when Floyd was born. If Chick was on the farm all of the time between 1870 and 1886, it would appear that he stayed on the farm for a very extended period of time. If he was not on the farm all of this time, he may have been there on two different occasions.
Historical fact:
- Benjamin Ernest Wilson, the first child of William Armour's marriage to Mary Barbara Sinsel, moved onto the Slash Road farm in 1887, when he was 20 years old.
1892 NY Census, taken as of 16 Feb 1892 (1890 federal census was destroyed):
- William Armour Wilson, Mary Barbara (Sinsel) Wilson, and all of their children except Benjamin Ernest Wilson were living on William Armour's second farm at Beebe's Corners, the intersection of Chestnut and Beebe Roads;
- Benjamin Ernest Wilson, his wife Mary Catherine (Smoyer) Wilson, and their daughter Florence May Wilson, were living on the Slash Road farm.
Historical fact:
- In Mar 1892, Ben bought the first 50 acres of his farm on Beebe Road, several miles north of his father's farm at Beebe's Corners. He moved his wife and young daughter immediately to his new farm when he left the Slash Road farm.