By Linus Joseph Dewald Jr., Editor
Spring 2001 and Revised 30 Oct 2016
Update of 3 Apr 2015: This article has now been renamed Hawley Prentice Wilson of Westchester Co., NY, in view of #2(i) and #3.
With the valuable help of John Gartner, we have been helping Lori Botts in tracing the ancestry Hawley Prentice Wilson, her great-great-grandfather. Here is what we have so far:
1. Hawley Wilson (aka Willson) was b. c. 1794 in Westchester Co., NY (according to census records but there is some conflict; 1850 federal has him born in PA while 1855, '65 and '75 state census shows Westchester Co.). According to John Gartner's records, Hawley Prentice Wilson (#3, below) is Hawley Wilson's grandson. In Hawley Wilson's estate records (Case 11748 Steuben Co. Surrogate's Court), Hawley Wilson's Will (dated May 15, 1877) lists Midas H. Wilson, aged 68 years, of Galena, Delaware County, Ohio as his son. That would give Midas a birth date of c.1811 (but note that the NY State census for 1835 shows a birth date of 1816). He also lists son Prentis, aged 54, of Canisteo (so he was born c.1823). Midas, then, named his son Prentice after his brother Prentice.
John Gartner advises that Hawley mentioned in his 1877 Will his 2nd wife Margaret, son Midas, daughter Lucinda Upson, son John H. Wilson of Rochester, son Prentis, of Canisteo, daughter Nancy Rowley, also of Rochester, son Mark, of Bayfield Co., Ill., daughter Julia Hammer (deceased) and daugther Esther Streeter (deceased). It is unclear how Julia and Esther fit into the above list of children as they are not listed in the census records. All named children are based solely on state and federal census records and Hawley Wilson's estate file, both of which were compiled by a Ken Stevens who has been working on the Wilsons for some time.
Hawley m. 1st Nancy c. 1814-15. She might be Nancy Vanderlip who was born c. 1799, dau. of John Vanderlip (son of Willem Vanderlip, b. c. 1719 in Rotterdam, Holland) and Lucinda Tuttle. John Gartner advises that Nancy Vanderlip was born in Brantford, Ontario, on 1 Jan 1799 (her father must have been a Loyalist during the Revolution; he was born in Pa but died in Ontario. Brantford isn't too far over the line from Western NY and of course Canisteo is in Western NY; the allegation that Nancy Wilson and Nancy Vanderlip are the same person is in my mind yet unproven but certainly possible).
Known children of Hawley and Nancy were (per John Gartner, email, 28 Jun 2006):
- Midas H. Wilson, b. c.1816-17. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . [2]
- Lucinda Wilson, b. c. 1817 (John Gartner's great-great-great grandmother). She m. Mr. Upson.
- John H. Wilson, b. c.1823 and in 1877 lived in Rochester, NY.
- Prentice Wilson, b. c.1833, and in 1877 lived in Canisteo, NY
- Nancy Wilson, b. c.1837. She m. Mr. Rowle and in 1877 lived in Rochester, NY.
- Mark Wilson. In 1877 lived in Bayfield Co., IL
- Julia Wilson. She m. Mr. Hammer and was deceased by 1877.
- Esther Wilson. She m. Mr. Streeter and was deceased by 1877. A website by Perry Streeter at
Streeter shows Hawley's 2nd wife (see below)
Margaret Vanderlip, b. 15 Oct 1815 in Canisteo, Steuben Co., NY, not Canada. It does not give
a marriage date or place, but does show a daughter, Esther Wilson, b. c. 1829 in NY. Perry Streeter's
website has a lengthy descendancy table for Esther's descendants.
- Note: Perry Streeter's email of 16 Sep 2016 contains the following: "With respect to Esther
(Streeter) Wilson, daughter of Hawley and Nancy (Vanderlip) Wilson and wife of Richard2 Streeter
(Thomas1), please consider updating the content and linking it to the following article: Streeter, Perry,
Streeter Immigrants of Greene and Steuben Counties: The Common Origins of Elizabeth (Streeter) Faulkner,
Thomas Streeter, and William Streeter, at Dunnings Farm, East Grinstead, Sussex, England The New York
Genealogical and Biographical Record, 142:47-61, 117-130; A/C by author 145:313. The article is freely
available to all as www.perrystreeter.com/streeter.pdf."
After Hawley's 1st wife, Nancy, died, Hawley m. 2nd Margaret (probably Margaret Sammons) and had 2 or more children, including:
- Mark Wilson, b.1843
- Jane Wilson, b. 1849.
2. Midas H. Wilson, b. c. 1816-17, Canada.
He m. Elizabeth Stigers on 28 Sep 1839, Knox Co., OH (per LDS). She was b. c. 1817, PA. We do not know when Midas Wilson emigrated from Canada, but it would have been before 1839 when his son, Hawley, was born in NY. Midas and his wife, Elizabeth, appear in the 1850 census in the town of Howard, Steuben Co., NY, with their children:
- Hawley Prentice Wilson, b. c. 1839, NY. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . [3]
- Edmond Wilson, b. c. 1841, NY
- William Wilson, b. c. 1844, NY.
- Daniel Wilson, b. c. 1846, NY.
- Phebe Wilson, b. c. 1849, NY.
3. Hawley Prentice Wilson was b. c. 1840 in NY; his father was born in Canada and his mother was b. in Pennsylvania (per 1880 census in Jackson, Poweshiek, IA). Hawley m. Mary Ann Holles on 23 Jul 1863 in Knox Co., OH. Mary Ann was b. 29 Jul 1839 and died 25 Jan 1894. They appear in the 1870 census in Milford, Knox Co., OH.
One of our researchers, Pam, advises that Hill's 1881 "History of Knox County Ohio" mentions that a Prentice S. Wilson served as the postmaster in Liberty twp. It doesn't give the year, but it was sometime between 1832 and 1869.
Hawley Prentice Wilson appears in Ernie Moreland's book on Milford Church of Christ. Pam lived across the road from the church until she was 17 and Ernie Moreland lives across the road from, and directly behind, the church. Apparently, Hawley was a member of that church, along with several other Wilson's.
We don't know how long Hawley lived in Knox County, but the 1880 census shows him in the town of Jackson, Poweshiek Co., IA, and by 20 Jul 1880 he was living in What Cheer, Iowa, where one of his sons was born. He later appears in the 1900 census in Logan, Clay Co., IA, living with the family of his son, James. Descendants of Hawley Prentice Wilson:
- Oscar Wilson, b. c. 1864, OH (at home in 1870 census. Not in 1880 census.
- James Oscar. Wilson, b. 9 Jun 1865, Newark, OH, and d. 9 Feb 1927 in Dickens, IA (per 1880 Jackson, Poweshiek
Co., IA census and MaryLou Parks, email, 24 Feb 2007). 1900 census in Logan, Clay Co., IA with his wife and family.
He m. Emily Harriet Poole in Montezuma, IA, on 6 Mar 1887. She was b. 7 Jan 1868 at Freeport, IL,
and d. 28 Nov 1949, Dickens, IA, where she is buried. Children (per MaryLou Parks, email, 24 Feb 2007):
- Roy Ellis Wilson,
- Verna Irene Taylor,
- Maude Esther McConiga,
- John Ward Wilson,
- Rachel Ethel Wilson,
- Ida May Helena Reil.
- John A. Wilson was b. c. 1869, OH (per 1880 Jackson, Poweshiek Co., IA census). At home in 1870 and 1880.
- Carey Alonzo Wilson, b. 20 Jul 1880. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . [4]
4. Carey Alonzo Wilson, b. 20 Jul 1880 in What Cheer, Keokuk Co., IA and d. 1966 in Springfield, MO. He does not appear in the 1900 census. He may, or may not, be the Carey A. Wilson who appears in the 1930 census as an "inmate" at Fort Leavenworth, Leavenworth Co., KS.
He married Carrie Mae Watson on 28 Jun 1905 at Spencer, IA in Jan 1905. Children:
- Richard Prentice Wilson,
- Mary Amanda Wilson,
- Jasper Leroy Wilson,
- George Alvin Wilson,
- Paul Kenneth Wilson (died as an infant).
And why did he name a son "Prentice Wilson"?
An LDS search says Hawley Wilson's parents are Peter Willson and Hepzibah at LDS: https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:V89D-PGP . An Ancestor Chart for Peter Willson can be found at Ancestry.com tracing his family back to Robert Wilson, 1612, in Stonleigh, England.
As for the "Prentice" inclusion, one would think that it might come from a maternal line. Pamela Reed Munro relates that, in her research on Monros, she has found that a naming can include the midwife attending or a neighbor helpful in the birth. Others have suggested that a name might be in honor of a minister or family friend.
Correspondence: If you have any information about the folks mentioned in this article, please send your information to us at the Prentice Newsletter. Be sure to give the full title and date of this article in the Subject line of the email.
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