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Dr. John Wilson, Warden of the County of Norfolk |
| Dr. Wilson of Simcoe, has held the position of Warden for four years, and
has been in the Municipal Council of the Town of Simcoe eleven years as Reeve or
Councillor, during which period his services have been of much value to his native town.
He was born in 1838, received his earlier education at the Simcoe Grammar School, from
thence went to Upper Canada College, and finally Matriculated in Arts at the University of
Toronto. Having chosen the medical profession, he at first attended the Medical School of
McGill College in Montreal and subsequently completed his studies in London, England,
obtaining the Diploma of the Royal College of Surgeons in 1859. He then returned and
settled in Simcoe, and has always taken an active interest in all the movements undertaken
for the purpose of advancing the interests of the town, and has also contributed
materially to its appearance, having erected a large and substantial brick block on the
south side of Peel Street, consisting of seven stores and a Masonic Hall, altogether
forming one of the finest blocks in the place. The Doctor has also taken an active
interest in educational matters, and has been a member of the Board of Education for many
years. He is also a Past Master of Norfolk Lodge, No. 10, A.F. & A.M., Grand Registry
of Canada. His father, the late William Wilson, was a native of Niagara. He took part in the war of 1812, and removed to Simcoe in 1817, where he built a Grist Mill, to which he added a Saw Mill and Carding Factory, and carried on a large mercantile business for many years, acquiring by his generosity and kindness of heart the gratitude of a very large number of settlers in the County of Norfolk. He afterwards built the present Windham Mills, situated between the Air Line Station and the Town. In 1835 Simcoe was first laid out and surveyed, Mr. Wilson and Mr. Aaron Culver being the owners of the property upon which the survey was made, and in 1837 it became the District Town of the Talbot District, the Court House being erected in that year. Mr. Wilson represented the County of Norfolk in the old Legislature of Upper Canada until his health failed and he was obliged to retire, and he died in Simcoe in 1847. Dr. Wilson married in 1865 Miss Hunter, daughter of the late James Hunter, and niece of W. B. Hunter of New York, well and favorably known in this County. He has four children -- three daughters and one son. Having ample means he has used them liberally in improving his native town, and has placed a great amount of valuable time at the disposal of the public. |
 Enlargement |
| More of Dr. John Wilson from non-Atlas sources: Family update, his obituary, Simcoe Mayors |
| From page 62 of the Mika re-print of 1877 Illustrated Historical Atlas of Norfolk County Copyright 1998-2012 John Cardiff |