The father of my great grandmother, Frances Wilson Osborne, was Isaac Wilson (1822 - 1864). This note appears in Frankie's Diary, July 23, 1928 after a visit to see relatives in Ashe County, NC.
"Hiram Wilson was a son of John Wilson and John was a son of Charles; he come over in Mayflower from Irland (sp.). My father was Isaac, the son of Hiram."
Since I transcribed the above last year I have thought Frankie accurate about the four fathers. The local Watauga, NC historian John Preston Arthur stated the same in his writings and wrote that Charles Wilson immigrated from Pennsylvania to North Carolina. Another Wilson family from East Tennessee may have come over on the Mayflower but there is no evidence that our branch did so. More investigation is due this matter.
These photos are found on the web site of Johnson County, Tennessee historical society. The left photo is of Isaac Wilson in his 20s in the 1840s, when photographs has just been developed. The one of the right is probably about the time he was murdered in 1864. Notice his hair style has not changed through the decades. Isaac's son, William A. Wilson, the family genealogist and memoir writer, evidently had the original and made copies for his nieces and nephews.
The web site also reveals Isaac was in Company E, 37th Regiment NC Troopers. He was home on leave when bushwhacked by his neighbors the Potters and a Tom Stout, Union sympathisers. W.A. Wilson's story of the episode can be found at the Johnson County Tennessee Genealogy Page on the Internet.
Prior to 1750 - Charles Wilson immigrates from Pennsylvania to North Carolina. We do not know his birthplace or father's name.
1750 - John Wilson was born in North Carolina, and his wife Sara, unknown last name, in 1752, also in NC.
1770 - John Wilson and Sara marry.
1780 - Charles Wilson, according to John Preston Arthur, is killed at the Battle of Guildford Court House during the Revolutionary War, fighting as an officer under General Nathaniel Greene. We have no birth date on Charles, but according to Frankie, he is the father of John Wilson. Local historian, Arthur agrees with Frankie and even argues that Charles Wilson is relative by marriage to the legendary Nathaniel Greene. This writer has researched this and doubts this proposition.
1787, On 11/2/1787 in Rowan, NC, Hiram Wilson is borne, Frankie's grandfather. His wife, Nancy Smith was born about 1786, also in Rowan.
1799 - John Wilson dies.
1812 - Hiram and Nancy Smith Wilson marry on 9/12/1812 in Rowan, NC and settle at Cove Creek in Ashe County, NC in 1815.
1822 - Frankie's father, Isaac Wilson is born 12/16/1822. James Madison is president of the U.S. at this time.
1828 - Caroline Nancy Greer is born 12/10/1828 in Ashe Co.
1849 - Caroline and Isaac Wilson marry 3/25/1849.
1851 - 6/20/1851, Frances Wilson (Osborne) born in Ashe Co., NC.
1864 - 6/17/1864, Isaac Wilson shot from ambush. Frankie's father and two uncles die in Civil War. Hiram is present at his son's funeral and provides assistance to the now widowed Caroline Greer Wilson.
One of the assassins, Thomas Stout, was captured and held overnight in Cove Creek (Ashe County, NC) at Hiram's farm. The next day several relatives and friends recovered Tom Stout and started to Camp Vance in Morgantown, NC with him. Tom Stout never arrived. Several months later a noose was found on Rich Mountain, and after examination the remains of Stout were discovered in a shallow grave. His widow retrieved what was left of Stout and buried him in her family cemetery.
1867 - Frankie marries G.W. Osborne. (These are my generations' great grandparents.)
1879 - Hiram Wilson dies in Watauga Co., NC.
1911 - 8/9/1911, Caroline Greer Wilson dies and is buried in Wilson Cemetery, Oscar Cove, NC.
Next posting, we examine another branch of our Osborne/Wilson family tree....
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