| Notes |
- . His Oath of Allegiance on 11 March 1805 in York
“John Willson of Gwillimbury, Yeoman, 23 Years old a Protestant, Dark Brown Hair & Hazel Eyes 5 feet 6 Inches high."
. 1810 Jun 30 - Sept 4 - Advertisement: For sale freight or charter, the handsome & very fast sailing brig Franklin, burthen 156 Tons, lying at Pier No. 10. She was built at Portland during the present year, of the best White Oak & bone of the first workmen in the country. She is now in compleat order for sea. For terms & view of inventory apply to: Wm Codman, 28 South St.
. 1811 Jan 22 Arrived. Brig Franklin has coal, logwood & cotton to Strong & Davis.
. 1811 Feb 1 - By James Seton, Tomorrow, at 1 o'clock at the to mine coffee House, The Brig Franklin, burthen 165 5 95 tons - a substantial built & superior sailing vessel about 10 months old, well found & may be sent to sea with trifling expense. In venture & Terms attire of sale.
. 1811Jun 24 - Cleared NY harbor. Below. lat. 40, 15, long 70, spoke brig franklin from Kennebunk for the W. Indies, 8 days out.
marine List cleared. Brig Franklin, 10 days from St. Bartholomews, to Strong & Davis - gone up to Amboy [NJ].
. 1812 May 28 - cotton - 176 bales prime Upland Cotton, landing from brig Franklin, Coffee House slip & 200 blues do. in store, For sale by Post & MKinnie, 56 South St., NYC.
Ref: NY Evening Post newspaper. [there are many other reports & advertisement.]
. 1840 Census Sugar Grove Twp., Warren Co., Pennsylvania
John Willson, 1 Males bet 5-10y; 3 males bet 20-30; 1 male bet 50-60; 2 female bet 15-20; 2 females bet 40-50. Total 10 people. One Employed in Agriculture.
. 1844 Feb 23 - Public Meetings. Pursuant to public notice, a meeting of the citizens of Sugar-Gove Twp. was held at the school house in said village on the 17th ins. & organized by the appointment of J I Willson, chairman. The object of the meeting being stated we have received information from authentic sources that a citizen of Pennsylvania has recently been seized, ironed & removed from this state to New York State. It is alleged that the instigators of this outrage are persons residing in NY state who are governed more by a love of money than for the public good. Therefore we entirely disapprove of all in the rent arrest of a man by the name of Hires, a citizen of Penn & taking him without authority of law beyond the limits of this state. We approve of the course pursued by the people of Crawford County in holding meetings where Hires resided.
Signed, J I Willson, Chairman.
Ref: Jamestown Journal, NY.
. History of Sugar Grove Twp.
Sugar Grove Twp. was organized in 1821. The soil in the valleys is principally a gravelly loam, & on the highlands chestnut. The surface was originally covered with a dense growth of forest. Another prominent pioneer of this town & country was Captain John I. Willson. He was born at Pleasant Valley, Dutchess Co., NY., on the 15th of August, 1781. His wife, Mary Elliott, whom he married in New York City in 1807, was born in that metropolis on the 29th of August, 1789.
Captain Willson's ancestors were from Ireland; Mrs. Willson' parents were Scotch.*
Note*: XRef: His mother Catherine Kuhn's, surname is German.
Inclined to a seafaring life, he engaged on board a vessel sailing from New York when he was about 18 years of age. Commencing as a cabin boy, he rose to the command of the Brig Franklin, sailing from NY to the Bermudas, of which he also became part owner. After the enactment of the embargo on commerce & navigation under Jefferson, he left the ocean, & with his young wife removed to Upper Canada, where his elder brother, David Willson, had preceded him, & where he cultivated a small farm, & taught school winters. In 1819 he removed with his family to Sugar Grove. About 1821 he there opened a public house (which he purchased of Robert Miles, & which still forms a part of the present hotel), & made it for many years the most popular resort for travelers in that section of the country.
Having retained his fondness for navigation, in 1825 he bought an interest in the schooner Milan, of Buffalo, & took charge of her as master in the lake trade. When the steamer Chautauqua, on Chautauqua Lake, was built he took charge of her for one or two seasons. Then, having purchased an interest in the schooner Nucleus, on Lake Erie, he was made master. As this was before the era of steamboats on Lake Erie, the Nucleus participated largely in carrying passengers, & was fitted up specially for that business. In 1836 he disposed of his interest in the vessel, abandoned navigation, & returned to his family & home at Sugar Grove. He was a moral & an upright citizen, temperate in all his habits, & enjoyed the fullest confidence of the community. He had been educated in the Society of Friends, but was tolerant & friendly towards other societies. He read much & was a man of intelligence & culture.
The children of Captain Willson were Catharine Elliott, married to Charles Doane, of Aurora, Ontario, & residing there; Martha Clinger, who died in 1869, unmarried; Mark Willson, and Eliza Willson, who resides at Winona, unmarried. John I. Willson died on February 16, 1859; his wife died on the 9th of June, 1854. Both are buried in the village cemetery at Sugar Grove.
. Hotels - The only hotels of any prominence in the village of Sugar Grove have been that of John I. Willson & his successors, & that of Samuel Hall - the last building having been destroyed by fire about 13 years ago [1874], though it had not been kept as a hotel for some time previous to that date. As stated in the sketch of Captain Willson, he purchased the hotel (of Robert Miles) about 1821, & retained the property until about the year 1857, when he sold out to James Patterson. The Post Office was a little to the west of Willson's Hotel.
Ref: History of Warren Co., Penn., 1887.
. History of Capt. John I Willson: [varies slightly from the above]:
Capt. John I Willson was born August 15, 1781 in Pleasant Valley, Dutchess County, New York, d. February 16, 1859 in Sugar Grove, Warren County, Pennsylvania. Both John & Mary were buried in the Village of Sugar Grove Cemetery.
Mary's brother James Elliott was the first person buried in that cemetery about 1820. (He first went to sea at age 15 with relatives on, on The Farmer & was later pressed into service by the British & served 3 years. Rising from cabin boy he rose to command the brig, The Franklin, sailing from NY to the Bermudas of which he also became a part owner. The Brig Franklin was captured by Morocco in 1802 were 8 Americans were captured. No evidence that he was on board that ship then.
After the enactment of embargo on commerce by President Jefferson [1807] he left the sea & moved to Sharon, Ontario where his older brothers lived. He taught school & had a small farm. In 1818 he moved to Sugar Grove PA to a small farm he had purchased. In 1821 he opened a hotel there which was the most popular hotel in the region for many years. In 1825 he bought an interest in the schooner, The Milan, in Buffalo as was her master. After the steamer, Chautauqua was built on Chautauqua Lake he was her captain for two seasons. He then bought an interest in the schooner, The Nucleus, on Lake Erie & he was master. In 1836 he disposed of the The Nucleus & returned home to Sugar Grove.
He married Mary Ann Elliott, married 1807 in New York City, New York, U.S., b. August 29, 1789 in New York City, New York, U.S., (daughter of Mr. Elliot) d. June 19, 1854 in Sugar Grove, Warren County, Pennsylvania, U.S. Mary: burial: Sugar Grove Cemetery: Sugar Grove, Warren County, Pennsylvania, U.S.
. Children:
i. Martha Clinger Willson, b. in Chautauqua County, New York, d. 1869. never married.
ii. Elisa Willson, b. in Sugar Grove, Warren County, Pennsylvania, U.S., d. in Winona, Minnesota, U.S. never married.
iii. Catherine Elliott Willson, b. November 3, 1809 in Sugar Grove, Warren County, Pennsylvania, U.S., d. in Aurora, York, Ontario, Canada. Married Charles Doan, who was the husband of her cousin Mary Willson who died in childbirth. She married Charles Doan, b. November 6, 1808 in Sharon, Ontario, (son of John Doan & Elizabeth Stockdale) d. June 18, 1895 in Aurora, Ontario.
iv. Mark Willson b. 1815.
Ref: History of Chatuaqua, NY, Andrew W Young, 1875.
Obituary:
. 1859 Feb 16 - died, Capt. John I. Willson. Age 77. Resident of Sugar Grove, Pa. & father of Mark Willson, Esq.
Resided in Sugar Grove more than 40 years. Kept the only hotel there.
Born Poughkeepsie, 1781.
Removed to NYC where he married Mary Elliot. Early in life he was a mariner...it will be remembered he was the commander of the first steamboat on Chautauqua Lake & commanded a vessel several years on Lake Erie.
Ref: Condensed History of Chautauqua County, Jamestown Journal 1850 Jan 17.
Research & transcriptions by PJ Ahlberg. Thank you. - - -
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1781 - 1859 (77 years)