William Hamilton Wilson >From "History of Davenport and Scott County" Vol. II by Harry E. Downer-S. J. Clarke Publishing Co. 1910 Chicago. Surnames: Wilson, Morgan, Griffeth, Grilk, Oliver, Willard, William Hamilton Wilson, engaged in law practice in Davenport since 1871 and now the senior partner of the firm of Wilson, Grilk & Wilson, is a native of western Pennsylvania. His father, James Wilson, also born in the Keystone state, was of Scotch-Irish descent. He spent his entire life in Pennsylvania, his record covering the years between the 19th of September, 1807 and 1886, in which year he was called to his final rest after long connection with agricultural interests. His wife, who bore the maiden name of Margaret Morgan, was born in Pennsylvania, January 2, 1815, and died July 25, 1873. William H. Wilson pursued his early education in the schools of western Pennsylvania and afterward attended Washington and Jefferson College at Washington, Pennsylvania, from which institution he was graduated in 1869 with the highest scholarship in a class of forty-nine members. He qualified for the bar in Mercer, Pennsylvania, his reading being directed by the Hon. Samuel Griffeth, and in September, 1871, he was admitted to practice. Believing that the west offered better opportunities, Mr. Wilson came immediately to Davenport, where he has continuously engaged in practice since November, 1871. He was alone until November 1, 1902, when the firm of Wilson and Grilk was formed and has since existed. In 1905, his son, Charles H., was admitted to a partnership under the firm style of Wilson, Grilk & Wilson. The two younger men are both graduates of Harvard College and of the Harvard Law School. William H. Wilson has from the beginning of his connection with the Davenport bar occupied a conspicuous position as one of the legal practitioners here and it is said of him that "he has probably saved more money to his clients through wise settlement of cases out of court than he has made for them in litigation." As the years have passed he has studiously and carefully and conscientiously increased the talents that were given him. In his practice he has ever been absolutely fair, has never indulged in artifice or c! oncealment and has never dealt in indirect methods. Mr. Wilson has found time and his success has given him the means to become interested in other matters aside from the law, and he is now financially connected with several of Davenport's important business enterprises. He has been called to the he presidency of the Davenport Loan, Building & Savings Association and is a director and attorney for the Davenport Savings Bank. He is also interested in the E. W. Gates Lumber Company, of Yellow Pine, Alabama. In 1874 Mr. Wilson was united in marriage to Miss Abbie F. Oliver, of Massachusetts, who in her childhood days came to Davenport with her parents, Albourne and Eliza (Willard) Oliver. The two children of this marriage were Amy and Charles H., but the former, born in 1876 died in 1884. Mr. Wilson is a member of the Presbyterian church and is much interested in all kinds of charitable work and in everything tending to elevate or ameliorate the condition of the masses. He has never found his happiness in self-centered interests but in those broader lines of life which lead to service for others and at the present time he is actively interested and associated with the Peoples Union Mission. The important economic and sociological questions of the present day find in him a close student and that he is a man of high character and genuine worth is indicated in the fact that he is held in the highest esteem wherever known. In connection with his business history the local press has said: "Application and hard work are the secret of the success which William H. Wilson has attained and surely if constant attention to business and an earnest endeavor for the best interests of his clients is surety of barristerial triumph he has deserved it, as his fellow members of! the bar acknowledge him to have been an indefatigable worker all his life." While he has gained distinction in his in his chosen profession, however, this is but one phase of his life, for his broad humanitarianism is constantly being evidenced in one line or another with the result that many lives are brightened by the sunshine which he sheds around him. ~~~~~~*~~~~~~ Elaine Rathmann ACC Scott Co, IA USGenWeb Project List Adm: *IA-CIVIL-WAR *IA-DANES