William Wilson (April 27, 1794 – April 29, 1857) was an American jurist. Born in

Loudoun County, Virginia Loudoun County () is in the northern part of the Commonwealth of Virginia in the United States. In 2020, the census returned a population of 420,959, making it Virginia's third-most populous county. Loudoun County's seat is Leesburg. Loudoun C ...

, Wilson studied law in

Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States, between the Atlantic Coast and the Appalachian Mountains. The geography and climate of the Commonwealth ar ...

. In 1812, he served in the

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, cla ...

under General

Andrew Jackson Andrew Jackson (March 15, 1767 – June 8, 1845) was an American lawyer, planter, general, and statesman who served as the seventh president of the United States from 1829 to 1837. Before being elected to the presidency, he gained fame as ...

New Orleans, Louisiana New Orleans ( , ,New Orleans
Merriam-Webster. ; french: La Nouvelle-Orléans , es, Nuev ...

during the

War of 1812 The War of 1812 (18 June 1812 – 17 February 1815) was fought by the United States of America and its indigenous allies against the United Kingdom and its allies in British North America, with limited participation by Spain in Florida. It bega ...

. In 1817, Wilson moved to

Kentucky Kentucky ( , ), officially the Commonwealth of Kentucky, is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States and one of the states of the Upper South. It borders Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio to the north; West Virginia and Virginia to ...

and then settled in

Carmi, Illinois Carmi is a city in and the county seat of White County, Illinois, United States, along the Little Wabash River, where the population was 5,240 at the 2010 census. History Carmi post office has been in operation since 1817, and then a WPA oil on ...

. Wilson was admitted to the Illinois Bar. In 1819, Wilson was elected to the

Illinois Supreme Court The Supreme Court of Illinois is the state supreme court, the highest court of the State of Illinois. The court's authority is granted in Article VI of the current Illinois Constitution, which provides for seven justices elected from the five ap ...

and served until 1848 when the Illinois Constitution of 1848 went into effect. He served as chief justice of the supreme court. Wilson was a Whig and later a

Democrat Democrat, Democrats, or Democratic may refer to: Politics *A proponent of democracy, or democratic government; a form of government involving rule by the people. *A member of a Democratic Party: **Democratic Party (United States) (D) **Democratic ...

. In 1848, Wilson resumed his law practice. He died in Carmi, Illinois.'History of White County, Illinois,' Inter-State Publishing Company, Chicago, Illinois: 1883, Biographical Sketch of William Wilson, pg. 504-506

Notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Wilson, William 1794 births 1857 deaths People from Loudoun County, Virginia People from Carmi, Illinois United States Army personnel of the War of 1812 Illinois lawyers Illinois Democrats Illinois Whigs 19th-century American politicians Chief Justices of the Illinois Supreme Court 19th-century American judges 19th-century American lawyers Justices of the Illinois Supreme Court