Wilson, John William
Lake Creek, Delta County, Texas
Marker Inscription
(October 3, 1841 - September 8, 1920) Beloved Methodist minister of early Delta County. Lived and farmed on land surrounding this site. Born in Tennessee. Enlisted in Missouri Infantry in 1862 to serve in Confederate Army during Civil War. Sustained severe wound in left leg at Battle of Corinth, October, 1862, and was left for dead. To survive, he ate grains of corn scattered over field. Leg was partially paralyzed for rest of his life. In 1866 he married Sarah Ann George. They had 12 children. Decided to serve church after his young daughter was miraculously revived after apparently drowning. In addition to preaching locally, he also rode a circuit. He continued farming, however, because pioneer preachers were paid only in goods. He once received a gallon of syrup for his services. Wilson built one of the first cotton gins in Delta County and in 1887 bought the old Cyrus C. Taylor homestead (250 ft. N), which was built in 1859. Throughout his long life, Wilson held the esteem of citizens all over county. His benevolent manner made him a popular "marrying parson." After eldest daughter was widowed, he took her and her six small children into his home. Wilson is remembered for his kindness and charity to his fellow man.
Erected by Texas Historical Commission
The Story
John William Wilson enlisted in a Missouri infantry unit for the Confederacy in 1862 and was gravely wounded and left for dead at the Battle of Corinth, surviving by eating scattered grains of corn in the field; his left leg was partly paralyzed for life. He built a new life in Delta County as a farmer and beloved Methodist circuit-riding preacher, often paid only in goods for his services. His acts of charity, from raising his widowed daughter's children to his renown as a "marrying parson," made him one of the county's most esteemed pioneers.
Why it matters
Wilson's story joins the hard experience of a Civil War soldier to the frontier faith and neighborliness that knit together early Texas communities.
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Related people
- · John William Wilson
- · Sarah Ann George Wilson
Related events
- · Battle of Corinth (1862)
Themes & tags
Nearby & related markers
Thomas Wilson Stegall
Lake Creek, TX
Thomas Wilson Stegall was born in North Carolina in 1832, served as a Confederate private late in the Civil War, and moved his large family through Tennessee and Mississippi before settling in Delta County, Texas, in 1873. A Baptist preacher remembered for his kindness—he once cut a gap in his prized rose hedge just to give a neighbor a shortcut—he built a blacksmith shop that became the gathering place at the heart of the new town of Lake Creek. From that community nucleus a town grew.
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