Augustus E. Willson - Early Life

Early Life

Augustus Willson was born on October 13, 1846 in Maysville, Kentucky, the second child of Hiram and Ann Colvin (née Ennis) Willson. A year following his birth, his father moved the family to Covington. In 1852, the family moved again, this time to New Albany, Indiana. In 1856, Willson's mother died. Three years later, his father also died, leaving him an orphan at age twelve. He and his younger sister went to live with their grandmother in Allegany County, New York. Willson then moved to Cambridge, Massachusetts to live with his brother Forceythe, a poet of some renown. There, he was exposed to men of letters such as Ralph Waldo Emerson, Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, Oliver Wendell Holmes, and James Russell Lowell.

Willson took a preparatory course of study at Alfred Academy in New York. Later, he enrolled for one year at a preparatory school in Cambridge before matriculating to Harvard University in 1865. Forceythe became terminally ill during Augustus' sophomore year, and Augustus took a brief hiatus from his studies to care for him. Following Forceythe's death, Augustus resumed his studies, and received a Bachelor of Arts degree in 1869.

After graduation, Willson studied at Harvard Law School, receiving a Master of Arts degree in 1872. He also studied in the law firm of Lothrop, Bishop, and Lincoln in Boston. He returned to New Albany in 1870, where he lived with Indiana congressman Michael C. Kerr and was admitted to the bar. In 1874, Kerr wrote a letter of introduction for Willson when he applied for a position in the Louisville law firm of John Marshall Harlan. Harlan described Willson as "one of the brightest young fellows I ever met." The two became lifelong friends, and Willson's association with Harlan deepened his support of the Republican Party. Willson became a junior partner in Harlan's firm, continuing there until Harlan's appointment as a Supreme Court justice in 1877.