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Rh January, 1866, Gen. Wilson was for four years engaged in the improvement of Mississippi river. He was commissioned lieutenant-colonel of the 35th infantry, 28 July, 1866, and brevetted to the grade of major-general, U. S. army, "for gallant and meritorious services " in the capture of Fort Pulaski, the battles of Chattanooga, the Wilder- ness, and Nashville, and capture of Selma, respect- ively. He was honorably discharged, at his own request, 31 Dec, 1870. He has been largely engaged in railroad and engineering operations since his retirement from the army. He is the author of "China: Travels and Investigations in the Middle Kingdom" and "Life of Andrew J. Alexander" (New York, 1887) : also, in conjunction with Charles A. Dana, " Life of Gen. U. S. Grant " (Springfield, Mass., 1868). — His brother, Bluford, served during the civil war as assistant adjutant-general of vol- unteers, and afterward was solicitor of the U. S. treasury during the " whiskey- ring" prosecutions.

WILSON, James Jefferson, senator, b. in Es- sex county, N. J., in 1775 ; d. in Trenton, N. J., 28 July, 1824. He received a common-school educa- tion, was for many years clerk of the New Jersey legislature, of which he was a member in 1809-'ll, and edited the " True American " at Trenton. He was also adjutant-general of the state in 1810— '12 and 1814, and captain of a company of infantry in service on the coast of New Jersey during the war of 1812-'15. . He was elected to the U. S. senate, and served from 4 Dec, 1815, till 1821, when he re- signed on being appointed postmaster at Trenton. He sat in the legislature in 1822, and in December of that year he sustained severe injuries while he was delirious from illness.

WILSON, John, clergyman, b. in Windsor, England, in 1588; d. in Boston, Mass., 7 Aug., 1667. He was the son of Dr. William Wilson, prebendary of St. Paul's, of Rochester and of Windsor, who had been chaplain to Edmund Grin- dall, archbishop of Canterbury, and grandnephew of Sir Thomas Wilson, secretary of state to Queen Elizabeth. Young Wilson was educated at Eton and at Cambridge, where he was graduated about 1606. He studied law three years at one of the inns of court, and took orders in the Church of Eng- land, but soon became conspicuous for his Puritani- cal leanings. He preached at Mortlake, Henley, Bumstead, Stoke, Clare, and Candish, and for sev- eral years was minister of Sudbury, Essex, where he was repeatedly suspended or silenced by the bishop's court for his opinions, but was befriend- ed by Robert Rich, Earl of Warwick. Becom- ing interested in the colonization of Massachu- setts, he and many of his neighbors embarked on 8 April, 1630, in the great fleet with John Winthrop and his associates of the Massachu- setts company. He landed at Salem on 12 June, and soon afterward removed to Charlestown, where he preached under a tree, and on 30 July organized what was subsequently the 1st church in Boston, to which place the majority of the mem- bers soon removed. He was ordained teacher of the church on 27 Aug. by imposition of hands by the several communicants. In 1631 he sailed for England, where he remained until May, 1632, and was ordained pastor in November of the latter year. He again visited England in the autumn of 1634, and remained absent a year. Soon after his return the Antinomian controversy arose in his congregation, and Gov. Winthrop and Wilson fought stoutly against the faction that was led by Anne Hutchinson. While this discussion was pending, an expedition was sent against the Pe- quots, and Mr. Wilson was selected by lot as its chaplain. For this service he received a grant of 1,000 acres of land in what is now Quincy. He also accompanied the Indian apostle, John Eliot, in his visit to the native settlements, and labored among the savages. He outlived two colleagues in the ministry, John Cotton and John Norton, and was left at the age of seventy-six with the entire charge of his congregation on his hands. He con- tinued in the active discharge of his duties until finally disabled by a fatal disease. Of his charac- ter Cotton Mather has said : " Indeed, if the pic- ture of this good and therein great man were to be exactly given, great zeal with great love would be the two principal strokes that, joined with ortho- doxy, should make up his portraiture." Besides many occasional productions, the titles of which are unknown, Mr. Wilson published " Some Helps to Faith," a theological treatise (London, 1625) ; " Famous Deliverances of the English Nation," a poem (1626; new ed., Boston, 1680); a Latin poem to the memory of John Harvard ; and a tract, " The Day Breaking, if not the Sun Rising, of the Gospel with the Indians in New England" (1647; new ed., New York, 1865).

WILSON, John, printer, b. in Glasgow, Scot- land, 16 April, 1802; d. in Cambridge, Mass., 3 Aug., 1868. Although of humble birth and enjoy- ing but meagre educational advantages, he became later in life a learned man, having mastered He- brew, Greek, Latin, French, German, and other lan- guages. He was apprenticed to a printer, and in 1846 removed to Boston, Mass., where he established himself in business, and became widely known for his excellent work. He subsequently removed to Cambridge, Mass., and was the founder of the pres- ent firm of John Wilson and Son, that, for several years, has had charge of the University press. Wilson was also a sturdy champion of Unitarian- ism, and wrote several books in its defence that have been highly commended. His principal pub- lication is connected with his art, being a "Trea- tise on Grammatical Punctuation " (Belfast, 1826 ; new ed., entitled "A Treatise on English Punc- tuation," Boston, 1850). Of this work, of which over twenty editions have been issued, it has been said that it " places punctuation on a clear and intelligible grammatical basis, and so com- pletely exhausts the subject as to leave nothing to be desired." He received the degree of A. M. from Harvard in 1866. He also prefixed an " Essay on the Character and Writings of Robert Burns" to an edition of that poet's works (Belfast, 1837), and delivered an " Address on Burns," which is con- tained in the "Report of the Burns Centenary Meeting " (Boston, 1859). His other publications comprise "Scripture Proofs and Scripture Illus- trations of Unitarianism " (1833; 3d ed., London and Manchester. 1846; abridged, Boston, part i.-; new ed., New York, 1847); "The Concessions of Trinitarians" (Manchester, 1842; Boston, 1845); " Unitarian Principles Confirmed by Trinitarian Testimonies" (Boston, 1855-7); and "The Ele- ments of Punctuation," an abridgment of the first-named work (1856).

WILSON, John Allston, civil engineer, b. in Phcenixville, Pa., 24 April, 1837. He was graduated at the Rensselaer polytechnic institute in 1856, and in 1857-8 served as topographer on surveys in Central America for the Honduras interoceanic railway. In 1858 he entered the service of the Pennsylvania railroad as assistant engineer, and in 1861-4 he was principal assistant engineer in charge of construction, after which he was chief engineer for the Pennsylvania railroad company on their main line or on affiliated roads until 1875.