Levin Wilson (1820 - 1900)

Born 6 Jan 1820 in Gibson County, Indiana, United States

Ancestors

Husband of Henrietta (McReynolds) Wilson — married 16 May 1839 in Posey County, Indiana

Descendants

Died 8 Nov 1900 at age 80 in Gibson County, Indiana, United States

Problems/Questions Profile managers: William Knowles [send private message] and Leland McCleary [send private message]

Biography

Levin Wilson was born 6 Jan 1820 in Gibson County, Indiana, the son of Joshua Wilson and Comfort Knowles. On 16 May 1839, he married Henrietta McReynolds, and they had a large family. Those of their children who lived beyond infancy are:^[1]

1. Anna Electa P. (Wilson) Connet (1841-1927)
2. Comfort Elizabeth Wilson Zeigler (1843-1914)
3. Polly Aurelia (Wilson) Redman (1846-1880)
4. James C. Wilson (1849-1925)
5. Arminda Z. (Wilson) Massey (1851-1921)
6. Zilla (Wilson) Smith (1856-1943)
7. Levin Eli Wilson (1859-1870)

After Henrietta died in 1883, the following year, at age 65, Levin married Lydia A. Partridge, twenty years his junior, with whom he may have had a daughter, Lydia, who died in infancy.

Levin was a minister of the Cumberland Presbyterian Church until he left the denomination in 1855.^[2] The story of how Levin and his brother Lewis left the church is told by William Robert Black. In 1854, a fellow minister, Thomas McCormick, announced that he was “connected with the underground railroad and I do not care who knows it.” In response,

Indiana Presbytery resolved that it was “not expedient to discuss the question of American Slavery from the pulpit.” Seventeen ministers voted for the resolution; only McCormick and the brothers Lewis and Levin Wilson voted against it. ... The three men continued preaching against slavery, and at the next presbytery meeting in the spring of 1855 one of the Wilson brothers moved that slavery be declared “a great moral evil, contrary to the spirit of the Gospel.” The resolution went nowhere. Instead the presbytery deferred to the General Assembly’s resolution of 1851 and warned that further “agitation of the subject” might “result in severing the body of Jesus Christ.” In protest, the Wilson brothers and McCormick withdrew from the presbytery.^[3]

The Wilson brothers were given "letters of dismission", but McCormick was treated more severely and "suspended from the ministry". The three then formed an independent presbytery "forsaking communion with slaveholders or the abettors of slaveholders".

Among Levin's other accomplishments was writing a history of the Knowles family.^[4] Levin died 8 Nov 1900 and is buried with both wives at Wilson Cemetery, Gibson County, Indiana.

Research Notes

1. ↑ INGenWeb's Wilson Cemetery page lists three Wilson infants, two of whom were born in 1840 and 1855 respectively, and attributed to Levin and Henrietta. The third Wilson infant, said to be born in 1882, is tentatively called a "son" of an unnamed Wilson. That it is a male can not confirmed by an inspection of the headstone, and if "1882" is accurate, it could not be Levin's son, whose wife Henrietta would have been 64 at the time. However, the date could also be read as "1887", in which case it could possibly refer to the "Lydia Wilson" mentioned below, born to Levin's second wife, Lydia, who would have been 46.
2. ↑ Note left by Susan Knight Gore on 15 Nov 2016 at Levin's Find a Grave memorial. Tartt (1884, p. 143) cites an article by Rev J. E. Jenkins which names Levin Wilson as one of the ministers of the Oakland City congregation of the Cumberland Presbyterian Church, Gibson County.
3. ↑ Black, 2018, p. 135-136. (PDF)
4. ↑ Wilson (1898) is an address delivered to a reunion of the Knowles family, published two years before the author's death.

Sources

• Black, William Robert. No Northern or Southern Religion: Cumberland Presbyterians and the Christian Nation, 1800-1877. Doctoral thesis, Rice University, Houston, Texas, 2018. [PDF available at Rice Research Repository].
• FamilySearch Details page for Rev. Levin Wilson (1820-1900).
• Find A Grave: Memorial #30162574 for Levin Wilson (1820-1900).
• Indiana Death Index, 1882-1920. (FamilySearch database [no image]). Death of Levin Wilson, 8 Nov 1900, age 80, Montgomery Township, Gibson County.
• Indiana Marriages, 1811-2019. (FamilySearch database [no image]). Marriage of Levin Wilson and Henrietta McReynolds, 16 May 1839. Officiator, Wm Lynn. [Place unstated].
• INGenWeb > Gibson County > Wilson Family Cemetery, with photographs and notes by Dan Elliott.
• Slevin, Ruth M. Posey County Indiana Marriages, Book 2 (1832-1846). Unpublished typescript, 1900. Part 1 (Grooms), p. 36 and Part 2 (Brides), p. 22, record #824. Marriage of Henrietta McReynolds and Levin Wilson, 16 May 1839.
• Tartt, James T. History of Gibson County, Indiana, with illustrations descriptive of its scenery, and biographical sketches of some of its prominent men and pioneers. Edwardsville, IL: Jas. T. Tartt & Co., 1884. p.143, 211 and 236.
• Turman, Robert E. Genealogy Newspaper Columns of Robert E. Turman. (Ed. by Bettie Anne Cummings Cook). Evansville, IN: Tri-State Genealogical Society and Willard Library, 1981. p. 283-284.
• US Census, Indiana. FamilySearch database with images.
  • 1850, Gibson County, Montgomery Twp, p. 61-A (image 35), family 798, lines 14-21. Family members: Leven Wilson (30 IN, merchant), Henrietta (32 TN), Annie E (8 IN), Comfort E (6), Polly A (4), James C (1), Mary A Knowles (10), David L Knowles (22).
  • 1860, Gibson County, Montgomery Twp, p. 799 (image 37), family 252, lines 20-28. Family Members: Elvan Wilson (40, clergyman), Herieta (42 TN), Anna E P (18), Comfort E (16), Polly R (14), Jas C (11), Arminta Y (9), Tirpy T (4), Levinia (1).
  • 1870, Gibson County, Montgomery Twp, p. 262-B (image 28), family 199, lines 27-31. Family members: Levin Wilson (50, farmer), Henrietta (51), James (21), Arminda (20), Tebayila [sic] (14), Eli (11).
  • 1880, Gibson County, Montgomery Twp, ED 110, p. 276-C (image 3), family 22, lines 34-38. Family members: Levin Wilson (60, minister), Henrietta (61), Armuda Z (29), Debazillia [sic] B (23).
  • 1900, Gibson County, Montgomery Twp, ED 8, sheet 122-A (image 26), family 300, lines 42-44. Family members: Levin Wilson (80-Jan1820, Lydia A (60-Jan1840), Aurelian (19-Nov1880, grandson).
• Wilson, Levin. Reunion of the Knowles Family of the United States: Historical Address. Princeton, IN: Press of the Clarion, 1898. [Available for viewing at Archive.org].