John Wilson (1807 – January 10, 1876) was an immigrant from

Ireland Ireland (, ; ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe. Geopolitically, the island is divided between the Republic of Ireland (officially Names of the Irish state, named Irelan ...

to the United States who held positions in the

United States Department of the Treasury The Department of the Treasury (USDT) is the Treasury, national treasury and finance department of the federal government of the United States. It is one of 15 current United States federal executive departments, U.S. government departments. ...

and

United States Department of the Interior The United States Department of the Interior (DOI) is an United States federal executive departments, executive department of the Federal government of the United States, U.S. federal government responsible for the management and conservation ...

Biography

John Wilson was born in

and settled in the

District of Columbia Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and Federal district of the United States, federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from ...

at an early age. He held a clerkship in the

United States Post Office The United States Postal Service (USPS), also known as the Post Office, U.S. Mail, or simply the Postal Service, is an independent agency of the executive branch of the United States federal government responsible for providing postal serv ...

and

. He was appointed

Commissioner A commissioner (commonly abbreviated as Comm'r) is, in principle, a member of a commission or an individual who has been given a commission (official charge or authority to do something). In practice, the title of commissioner has evolved to incl ...

of the

United States General Land Office The General Land Office (GLO) was an Independent agencies of the United States government, independent agency of the United States government responsible for Public domain (land), public domain lands in the United States. It was created in 1812 ...

in 1852, and held that office until 1855. He later practiced law in

Chicago Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...

before returning to Washington to serve as Third Auditor of the Treasury, a post he held from 1864 to 1869. Wilson remained in Washington to work as a claim agent and attorney. He died in Washington on January 10, 1876, at age 68, and was buried at

Rock Creek Cemetery Rock Creek Cemetery is an cemetery with a natural and rolling landscape located at Rock Creek Church Road, NW, and Webster Street, NW, off Hawaii Avenue, NE, in the Petworth (Washington, D.C.), Petworth neighborhood of Washington, D.C., across ...

in Washington. Wilson's brother, Joseph S. Wilson, also served as Commissioner of the General Land Office. Wilson was the nephew of Congressman James Shields (1762-1831), and the cousin of Senator James Shields (1806-1879).

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Wilson, John 1807 births 1876 deaths Commissioners of the United States General Land Office Lawyers from Washington, D.C. Irish emigrants to the United States Burials at Rock Creek Cemetery 19th-century American lawyers