BIO: John B. WILSON, Beaver County, PA
    
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    BOOK OF BIOGRAPHIES.  This Volume Contains Biographical Sketches 
    of Leading Citizens of Beaver County, Pennsylvania.  Buffalo, N.Y., 
    Chicago, Ill.: Biographical Publishing Company, 1899, pp. 73-74.
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    JOHN B. WILSON. Among the enterprising and reliable business men of Beaver,
  Pa., is the gentleman whose name appears at the opening of this biography, who
  is the senior member of the well known firm of J. B. Wilson & Son, the largest
  hardware merchants in the community. Mr. Wilson also deals largely in real
  estate, owning several houses and lots out in the east end of Third avenue,
  which is now considered the most beautiful residence portion of Beaver. His
  ancestors were of Scotch-Irish descent, and his grandfather was pioneer of
  the family in this country. Industry township, Beaver county, Pa., is the
  birthplace of our subject, his birth occurring on February 2, 1839. He is a
  son of Thomas and Jane (Burnsides) Wilson.
    
    George Wilson, grandfather of John B., was a native of the northern part of
  Ireland and was of Scotch ancestry; in 1819, he came to this country with his
  family of five children, and took up a tract of fifty acres in Industry
  township. He sold this property, which is now the James Jackson farm, and
  then bought two hundred and forty acres of timber land. He erected a log
  house and had resided upon his newly purchased land but a short time when
  death claimed him; he was then about sixty years of age. He was married to
  Elizabeth Lindsey, also a native of Ireland, and their children were as
  follows: Thomas; James, settled in Hannibal, Mo.; George, deceased; Margaret,
  wife of William Sutherland of Hannibal, Mo.; and Catherine, who was wedded to
  William Humphrey. George Wilson and his wife were buried in the old Beaver
  cemetery.
    
    Thomas Wilson was born in Ireland in 1808, but was reared to manhood on his
  father's farm in Beaver county, and upon his father's death he took charge of
  the homestead; after attaining an advanced age, his son, George Wilson, took
  charge of the farm, and is still in possession of it. He was wedded to Jane
  Burnsides, also a native of Ireland, and a daughter of John Burnsides, who
  came to this country and located in Dresden, Ohio, where he carried on
  farming. Mr. Wilson died when eighty-three years old, while his wife departed
  this life in 1872, aged fifty-five
    
    74  BOOK OF BIOGRAPHIES
    
  years. They reared the following four children: George, who has the
  homestead; John B.; Margaret, the wife of C. A. Bowers of Beaver; and Eliza.
  Religiously, the family were Presbyterians; politically, Mr. Wilson was a
  Republican.
    
    John B. Wilson was reared on the old homestead and received his mental
  training in the public schools of that district; after teaching school two
  years, he went to Beaver to learn the plasterers' trade; he then engaged in
  contracting for about eight years, after which he located in Youngstown,
  Ohio, where he embarked in the grocery business for a period of ten years; on
  disposing of this he returned to Beaver and began the sale of agricultural
  implements; this was in 1875. The continual increase of his patronage made it
  necessary to seek large accommodations, and accordingly, in 1883, he bought
  the old Clark Hotel property, which is located on Third street. He turned the
  old building around and rebuilt it, putting on an additional story, and also
  building barns and a large warehouse. He stocked the concern with a complete
  line of hardware goods, and the business progressed satisfactorily until
  March 2, 1888, when the entire building was destroyed by fire. Mr. Wilson
  immediately built a brick building 30 by 100 feet, and also erected a
  warehouse. The other half of the lot he sold to Mr. Anderson. An extensive
  stock of hardware goods and implements was then put into the new structure
  and Mr. Wilson conducted the largest and best equipped store of its kind in
  the county. In 1897, the subject of our sketch took in his son as a partner,
  and the firm name was afterwards known as J. E. Wilson & Son; the capital
  stock of the firm has been increased to $10,000. Mr. Wilson purchased a
  square on Third and Wilson avenues, and on the corner lot erected a handsome
  brick residence; he has also built a double-house adjoining his home, and has
  sold many lots in the block. He is a progressive and loyal citizen;
  intelligent and well-read; and he has a host of acquaintances in the vicinity.
    
    Mr. Wilson and Matilda Eakin, a daughter of J. R. Eakin, were united in
  marriage, and they are parents of three children: Mary E.; Genevieve C.; and
  Royal Q.; the latter is connected with his father in the hardware business,
  and is one of the most promising young business men in Beaver; like his
  father, he has won the esteem and confidence of all. Mr. Wilson and family
  are all members of the Presbyterian church, the former having been a trustee
  of the church for the past twenty years; politically, he is a Republican.