William M. Wilson (23 April 1838 – 30 April 1904) was an American politician. William M. Wilson was born near Greensborough, North Carolina, on 23 April 1838 to parents R. D. Wilson and Ruhama Spoon. The family settled in Mahaska County, Iowa, in 1853, where Wilson attended primary school. He enrolled at Oskaloosa High School in 1857. His family moved near New Virginia in 1860, and Wilson joined them there the next year, as the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union ("the North") and the Confederacy ("the South"), the latter formed by states th ...

began. Wilson served in Missouri during the conflict, alongside Company D of the First Iowa Cavalry. He was discharged in September 1864 and married Martha Fleming in February 1865. From 1865 to 1867, Wilson was a farmer and sawmill operator. Wilson then focused on reading law with Conklin and Chancy in Osceola. He subsequently passed the

Indianola Indianola may refer to: Places in the United States * Indianola, California (disambiguation) ** Indianola (Eureka), California * Indianola, Florida * Indianola, Georgia * Indianola, Illinois * Indianola, Iowa * Indianola, Kansas, a former settleme ...

bar in 1869 and began his legal career in Osceola. Wilson was licensed to practice law before the

Iowa Supreme Court The Iowa Supreme Court is the highest court in the U.S. state of Iowa. The Court is composed of a Chief Justice and six Associate Justices. The Court holds its regular sessions in Des Moines in the Iowa Judicial Branch Building located at 1111 E ...

by 1872. Wilson was a Republican. In 1875, he was elected mayor of Osceola. He contested the 1879 Iowa Senate election, and won election to the body as a representative of District 5. In 1882, Wilson was named to a commission convened by the

United States Department of the Interior The United States Department of the Interior (DOI) is one of the executive departments of the U.S. federal government headquartered at the Main Interior Building, located at 1849 C Street NW in Washington, D.C. It is responsible for the mana ...

to decide on a location for a post office in Council Bluffs. After stepping down from the

Iowa Senate The Iowa Senate is the upper house of the Iowa General Assembly, United States. There are 50 seats in the Iowa Senate, representing 50 single-member districts across the state of Iowa with populations of approximately 60,927 per constituency, . ...

, Wilson remained active with the Iowa National Guard, as first lieutenant of Company A. In December 1885, Wilson was elevated to major and judge advocate. He later moved to

Washington, D.C. ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...

to work in the federal government, which included a presidential appointment by Benjamin Harrison to serve within the Department of the Interior. Wilson was a Methodist and Freemason. He died on 30 April 1904, while visiting his daughter in

Perry, Iowa Perry is a city in Dallas County, Iowa, United States, along the North Raccoon River. The population was 7,836 at the time of the 2020 Census. It is part of the Des Moines–West Des Moines Metropolitan Statistical Area. Formerly a major rail ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Wilson, William M. Politicians from Greensboro, North Carolina American Freemasons 1838 births 1904 deaths United States Department of the Interior officials Benjamin Harrison administration personnel Methodists from Iowa 19th-century American legislators People of Iowa in the American Civil War Republican Party Iowa state senators Iowa lawyers 19th-century American lawyers Iowa National Guard personnel People from Osceola, Iowa People from Warren County, Iowa People from Mahaska County, Iowa Mayors of places in Iowa Farmers from Iowa