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Jasper County, Iowa
Historical and Genealogical Data Exchange
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Jeremiah W. Wilson Mr.
Jeremiah W. Wilson was born on August 8, 1834, in Lawrence County, Pennsylvania.
When a boy he attended an academy at Poland, Ohio, and afterwards entered
Mt. Union College, in the same state. Early
in life he evinced a laudable ambition to follow the legal profession and began
reading Blackstone and other
authorities with McSweeney & Given, in the City of Wooster, Ohio, one of the
strongest law firms in the north part of the state in those days.
He made rapid progress and was admitted to the bar at Medina, Ohio,
September 21, 1855. The following
year he moved to Newton, Iowa, where he continued to reside until his death on
May 6, 1887. His widow has
continued to live there in her attractive and neatly kept home, which is
regarded by her many friends as a place of hospitality and good cheer. Mr.
Wilson was an attorney who ranked second to none in this part of the state,
being well grounded in the principles of jurisprudence and very painstaking and
vigilant in his research. He took
an abiding interest in public affairs and in October 1861, he was elected County
judge of Jasper County, which high office he held with much credit to himself
and to the satisfaction of all concerned until in August of the following year
when he resigned to offer his services in defense of the Union, enlisting in
Company K, Twenty-Eighth Iowa Volunteer Infantry.
He proved to be a very faithful and gallant soldier, and for meritorious
service he was promoted to the rank of adjutant of his regiment in 1864, which
rank he held until the close of the war, winning the hearty approval of his
superior officers and the admiration of his men. After being honorably
discharged he returned to Newton and resumed the practice of law.
On January 1, 1878, he was appointed aide-de-camp to Governor Kirkwood of
Iowa, with the rank of lieutenant colonel, and he remained as such while the
administration of Governor Kirkwood lasted, giving, as usual, the utmost
satisfaction. Mr.
Wilson had taken a great interest in Masonry.
From the annals of the grand lodge of Iowa in 1878 we take the following
exactments by Hon. H. S. Winslow, gives the Masonic history of the deceased
brother Wilson: His Masonic history is a most honorable one; he was initiated in
Newton Lodge No. 59, January 28, 1858; he passed July 3ist of that year and
joined on August 28th following. The
Royal Arch degree was conferred upon him in Gebal Chapter No. 12, October 21,
1869. He was knighted in
Oriental Commandery No. 22, March 22, 1872.
His daily life indicated that he attempted to carry out the lofty
precepts of this worthy and time-honored order. Mr.
Wilson was united in marriage in 1859 to Mary M. Helphrey, a lady of culture and
refinement and the representative of an excellent old family. She was born in
Utica, Licking County, Ohio, and she was the daughter of Jacob and Catherine
Helphrey, who moved to Newton, Iowa, where they were residing when the subject
was married. To this union three
children were born, namely: Mrs. W. W. Fenlon, of Clinton, Iowa; Mrs. P. W.
Newell, of Los Angeles, California; Mrs. Dollie Baum, of Newton, Iowa.
They were all well educated and are very comfortably situated in life and
highly respected wherever they are known, each reflecting the wholesome home
atmosphere in the midst of which they were reared. Mrs.
Wilson, whose cozy and attractive home is located at No. 221 South Vine street,
Newton, is spending her declining years in the midst of plenty and she has a
host of warm loyal friends who delight in her genial company. Past and Present of Jasper County Iowa, Gen. James B. Weaver, Editor-In-Chief, B.F. Bowden & Company, Indianapolis, IN, 1912, p. 951. |
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