History of Bucks County, Pa Volume 3 by William H. Davis
Names and Page # Index

Joshua Wilson, great-grandfather of the subject of this sketch, was an early resident of Moreland township, He married Rachel Harding, daughter of Isaac and Phebe Harding, of Southampton, Bucks county, and a descendant of Thomas Harding, one of the earliest English settlers in Southampton.

Isaac Wilson, son of Joshua and Rachel (Harding) Wilson, was born 1801. He was a farmer in Moreland, and married Sarah Conrad, a descendant of Thones Kunders, one of the founders of Germantown, and they were the parents of six children: Emeline, Ebenezer C., Thomas, Joseph, Alfred and Charles. Of these Thomas married Mary Fell, daughter of Thomas and Sarah (Michener) Fell, and was a farmer for many years near Lahaska, Bucks county.

Ebenezer C. Wilson, eldest son of Isaac and Sarah (Conrad) Wilson, was born in Moreland township, Mongtomery county, Pennsylvania, November 17, 1828. His early education was acquired at Jenkintown, and at the age of sixteen years he went to learn the shoemaker’s trade with James K. Miller, later of Doylestown, and followed that trade for some years. He later engaged in farming near Jenkintown, where he followed that vocation for two years. He then removed to a farm near Dublin, Bucks county, where he resided for two years. In 1870 he removed to Doylestown, where he spent his remaining days. He was street commissioner of the town at the time of his death in 1892. He was a soldier in the rebellion, a member of Company C, Eighth Pennsylvania Calvary. He was wounded at Dinwiddy Court House, and was helped from the battle field by General Custin, who saved him from being captured. Mr. Wilson was in the hospital in Washington when President Lincoln was assassinated. He married in 1853, Sarah T. Fell, born May 1, 1832, who survives him and is living in Doylestown. She is a daughter of Thomas and Sarah (Michener) Fell, of Moreland, Montgomery county, Pennsylvania, the former born in 1802, died June 1, 1841, and the latter a daughter of Isaac and Mary (Dehaven) Michener, who came from England prior to 1690, and later settled in Moreland township; she was born January 4, 1803, and died in Bucks county, March 5, 1876. Thomas Fell, above mentioned, was a son of Phineas and Rachel (Coates) Fell, of Buckingham, the former born December 18, 1778, died 1818, was a son of Thomas Fell, born January 11, 1746, married April 18, 1770, Grace Parry, daughter of Philip and Rachel (Harker) Parry, of Buckingham, and a great-granddaughter of Thomas and Elinor Parry, who came from Wales in 1693. Thomas Fell was a son of Benjamin Fell, born in Cumberland, England, November 1, 1703, by his second wife Hannah Iredell, of Horsham. Ebenezer C. and Sarah T. (Fell) Wilson were the parents of four children: Emma, born April 14, 1856, wife of Morris Cloud, of Doylestown; Joseph Harrison, the subject of this sketch; Isaac Thomas, born July 2, 1858, married Priscilla Thompson, and resides in Philadelphia; and Elwood Conrad, born July 10, 1860, died 1882, leaving one son, Elwood, of Philadelphia.

Joseph Harrison Wilson was reared on the farm in Montgomery and Bucks counties and acquired his education in the public schools. He came to Doylestown with his parents in 1870, at the age of sixteen years, and two years later learned the trade of a plasterer, which he has since followed in Doylestown and vicinity, filling many large contracts, and employing a number of men. He has always taken an active interest in local affairs, and has served continuously in the borough council for nineteen years, being re-elected in February, 1905, for the seventh term of three years each. During nearly the whole of this period he has been one of the most active members of the board, serving continuously on the street and water committees.

He married, in 1876, Anna Shive, daughter of Levi Shive, of Doylestown, and they are the parents of two children: Carrie, wife of A. Harry Clayton, local editor of the "Daily Republican," and George Lorah. Mr. Wilson and his family are members of the Methodist Episcopal church. He is a member of Doylestown Lodge No. 94, I. O. O. F., of Doylestown Council, No. 166, A. O. U. A. M. and No. 214, I. O. R. M., of Doylestown. He is a Son of Veterans of Doylestown, a charter member of the Royal Arcanum.

Text taken from page 378

Davis, William W. H., A. M. History of Bucks County, Pennsylvania [New York-Chicago: The Lewis Publishing Company, 1905] Volume III

Transcribed July 2002 as part of the Bucks Co., Pa., Early Family Project, www.rootsweb.com/~pabucks/bucksindex.html

Published September 2002 on the Bucks County, Pa., USGenWeb pages at www.rootsweb.com/~pabucks/