Personal Background
Wilson was born in Ayrshire, Scotland, on August 16, 1835. One of 14 children, he grew up in a farming community near the birthplace of Robert Burns.
His family emigrated to America in 1852, settling in Connecticut before moving to Iowa in 1855, establishing a farm near Traer in Tama County. He attended the public schools and Iowa College (now Grinnell College) in Grinnell, Iowa.
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