A Brick Wall Revisiter

 

Revisiting the Mystery of Amos Wilson 1767-1866

My 4th great grandfather

 

Amos Wilson 1767-1866
Rossville Cemetery, Rossville, Vermilion, Illinois
Photo taken May 2018 Nancy Ann Simmons Roberson 4x great granddaughter

The year 1806 marked a pivotal shift for my 4th great grandfather, Amos Wilson. He left the rolling hills of Loudoun County, Virginia, behind, he joined the great western migration, and settled his young family in Jefferson County, Ohio. By this time, Amos was an established cabinet maker, a trade likely mastered during that 1786 apprenticeship to Samuel Wilson. Yet, as any genealogist knows, the moment you find a footprint in a new state, the trail often splits in unexpected directions.

The decade following his arrival in Ohio was defined by both expansion and profound personal loss. While the 1806 tax lists place him in Jefferson County, by 1815, Amos was a widower navigating the challenges of frontier life with young children. It is here we find the first major shift in his domestic life: his marriage to Beulah "Buley" Stigler in Belmont County.

The silence of the records between these marriages suggests a difficult transition. Catherine Myers, the mother of his eldest children, likely succumbed to the harsh realities of the era—perhaps the very "childbirthing" complications so common at the time. Amos and Buley added five more children to the growing Wilson brood, but tragedy struck again. By October 1822, Amos was once more standing before a minister, this time in Washington County, Ohio, to wed Elizabeth "Betsy" Perrin.

 Amos was never one to stay stagnant. In 1824, the family uprooted again, moving further west to Vermilion County, Illinois. This move wasn't merely a change of scenery; it was a commitment to a new community. He was an active participant in local civic life, notably signing a petition in 1824, signaling his intent to help shape the growing settlement.

 His occupation as a cabinet maker likely made him a vital member of the Vermilion community. In an era where furniture was a luxury and functionality was paramount, his skill with wood provided both a livelihood and a legacy. One can imagine his workshop in Rossville—a place of cedar shavings and precise joinery—where he spent his final decades. He lived to see the world transform, surviving long enough to see the end of the Civil War before passing away on March 25, 1866, at nearly 99 years old. He rests today in Rossville Cemetery, a long way from his Virginia beginnings.

 Breaking the Brick Wall: New Strategies

Despite this rich timeline, the "Samuel Wilson" apprenticeship remains the tantalizing, unresolved clue. To move past this 1786 wall, I must look beyond direct vital records and into the social fabric of Loudoun County.

 

• The Samuel Wilson Link: Was Samuel an uncle? An older brother? I need to track Samuel’s land deeds and probate records in Loudon County. If Amos was an apprentice, there may be a formal Indenture Bond filed in the county court that lists a guardian or surviving parent.
• Cluster Research (FAN Club): Many of the families Amos lived near in Belmont County, Ohio, likely migrated with him from Virginia. By researching the neighbors on that 1806 tax list, I may find the Wilson parents hiding in a neighbor's will or a joint land venture.

Amos Wilson’s life spanned the birth of a nation to its greatest internal struggle. While his parents remain in the shadows, every record found is a chisel stroke against the brick wall. The search continues.