John, the youngest of six children, grew up in East Dover Hundred, near Dover, Delaware. His parents died of tuberculosis when he was ten. He thence lived with his older brother, Robert Harry Wilson Jr. ("Harry"), who was married and was a farmer. John had light brown hair, dark blue eyes, and at age twenty was tall and thin.
As a twelve-year-old, John kept a diary (see photo), which revealed him to be psychologically resilient after the death of his parents, and a very level-headed yet fun-loving and likeable boy. A very frequently appearing phrase in his diary was a variation of "I went to school today and had a fine time." He told of playing alone and with friends, visiting with family and friends, and the time he stayed with family members in Philadelphia, where he went to the moving pictures and to a ball game between the Phillies and Chicago.
He was also something of an entrepreneur, even at twelve. He would wash carriages and milk the cows for a small fee paid by his brothers Harry and Joshua Wharton Wilson ("Wharton"). John also sold pens and pencils to his classmates. He then meticulously kept a record in his diary of his sources of income, as well as his expenditures ("for collar button 5 cents, for stockings 25 cents, for haircut 15 cents").
In his diary John mentioned corresponding with Iris Charity Wilson, his five-year-older sister, who was in Philadelphia, Penna. Iris would die there at seventeen of tuberculosis the following year.
By eighteen, John himself had been diagnosed with tuberculosis, and therefore moved to Denver, Colorado. Colorado's fresh air, year-round sunshine, low humidity and higher elevation were thought to provide some relief from the symptoms, and a number of sanitariums also gave the state a reputation for being the place tuberculosis patients should be.
Initially John was able to work in the real estate firm Bennett & Myers, but became unable to work and within three years of moving to Denver succumbed to the disease, as had his parents and sister before him. He died before reaching his twenty-second birthday.
From twelve-year-old John's diary: "I went to Dover to-day and went to the moving picture show. We had a party at night. We had fun too. Did not get to bed until 12 o'clock. HA HA HA-A-A." Again: "I sprayed all day to-day and the sprayer blowed up and I jumped 2 feet in the air. Ha Ha Haa." And this: "I went to Dover in the morning and got some things. In the afternoon I went to the picnic and had a fine time. I was sorry when it was over."
Above bio written by Douglas Marshall-Steele, replacing an earlier
As a twelve-year-old, John kept a diary (see photo), which revealed him to be psychologically resilient after the death of his parents, and a very level-headed yet fun-loving and likeable boy. A very frequently appearing phrase in his diary was a variation of "I went to school today and had a fine time." He told of playing alone and with friends, visiting with family and friends, and the time he stayed with family members in Philadelphia, where he went to the moving pictures and to a ball game between the Phillies and Chicago.
He was also something of an entrepreneur, even at twelve. He would wash carriages and milk the cows for a small fee paid by his brothers Harry and Joshua Wharton Wilson ("Wharton"). John also sold pens and pencils to his classmates. He then meticulously kept a record in his diary of his sources of income, as well as his expenditures ("for collar button 5 cents, for stockings 25 cents, for haircut 15 cents").
In his diary John mentioned corresponding with Iris Charity Wilson, his five-year-older sister, who was in Philadelphia, Penna. Iris would die there at seventeen of tuberculosis the following year.
By eighteen, John himself had been diagnosed with tuberculosis, and therefore moved to Denver, Colorado. Colorado's fresh air, year-round sunshine, low humidity and higher elevation were thought to provide some relief from the symptoms, and a number of sanitariums also gave the state a reputation for being the place tuberculosis patients should be.
Initially John was able to work in the real estate firm Bennett & Myers, but became unable to work and within three years of moving to Denver succumbed to the disease, as had his parents and sister before him. He died before reaching his twenty-second birthday.
From twelve-year-old John's diary: "I went to Dover to-day and went to the moving picture show. We had a party at night. We had fun too. Did not get to bed until 12 o'clock. HA HA HA-A-A." Again: "I sprayed all day to-day and the sprayer blowed up and I jumped 2 feet in the air. Ha Ha Haa." And this: "I went to Dover in the morning and got some things. In the afternoon I went to the picnic and had a fine time. I was sorry when it was over."
Above bio written by Douglas Marshall-Steele, replacing an earlier
John, the youngest of six children, grew up in East Dover Hundred, near Dover, Delaware. His parents died of tuberculosis when he was ten. He thence lived with his older brother, Robert Harry Wilson Jr. ("Harry"), who was married and was a farmer. John had light brown hair, dark blue eyes, and at age twenty was tall and thin.
As a twelve-year-old, John kept a diary (see photo), which revealed him to be psychologically resilient after the death of his parents, and a very level-headed yet fun-loving and likeable boy. A very frequently appearing phrase in his diary was a variation of "I went to school today and had a fine time." He told of playing alone and with friends, visiting with family and friends, and the time he stayed with family members in Philadelphia, where he went to the moving pictures and to a ball game between the Phillies and Chicago.
He was also something of an entrepreneur, even at twelve. He would wash carriages and milk the cows for a small fee paid by his brothers Harry and Joshua Wharton Wilson ("Wharton"). John also sold pens and pencils to his classmates. He then meticulously kept a record in his diary of his sources of income, as well as his expenditures ("for collar button 5 cents, for stockings 25 cents, for haircut 15 cents").
In his diary John mentioned corresponding with Iris Charity Wilson, his five-year-older sister, who was in Philadelphia, Penna. Iris would die there at seventeen of tuberculosis the following year.
By eighteen, John himself had been diagnosed with tuberculosis, and therefore moved to Denver, Colorado. Colorado's fresh air, year-round sunshine, low humidity and higher elevation were thought to provide some relief from the symptoms, and a number of sanitariums also gave the state a reputation for being the place tuberculosis patients should be.
Initially John was able to work in the real estate firm Bennett & Myers, but became unable to work and within three years of moving to Denver succumbed to the disease, as had his parents and sister before him. He died before reaching his twenty-second birthday.
From twelve-year-old John's diary: "I went to Dover to-day and went to the moving picture show. We had a party at night. We had fun too. Did not get to bed until 12 o'clock. HA HA HA-A-A." Again: "I sprayed all day to-day and the sprayer blowed up and I jumped 2 feet in the air. Ha Ha Haa." And this: "I went to Dover in the morning and got some things. In the afternoon I went to the picnic and had a fine time. I was sorry when it was over."
Above bio written by Douglas Marshall-Steele, replacing an earlier
As a twelve-year-old, John kept a diary (see photo), which revealed him to be psychologically resilient after the death of his parents, and a very level-headed yet fun-loving and likeable boy. A very frequently appearing phrase in his diary was a variation of "I went to school today and had a fine time." He told of playing alone and with friends, visiting with family and friends, and the time he stayed with family members in Philadelphia, where he went to the moving pictures and to a ball game between the Phillies and Chicago.
He was also something of an entrepreneur, even at twelve. He would wash carriages and milk the cows for a small fee paid by his brothers Harry and Joshua Wharton Wilson ("Wharton"). John also sold pens and pencils to his classmates. He then meticulously kept a record in his diary of his sources of income, as well as his expenditures ("for collar button 5 cents, for stockings 25 cents, for haircut 15 cents").
In his diary John mentioned corresponding with Iris Charity Wilson, his five-year-older sister, who was in Philadelphia, Penna. Iris would die there at seventeen of tuberculosis the following year.
By eighteen, John himself had been diagnosed with tuberculosis, and therefore moved to Denver, Colorado. Colorado's fresh air, year-round sunshine, low humidity and higher elevation were thought to provide some relief from the symptoms, and a number of sanitariums also gave the state a reputation for being the place tuberculosis patients should be.
Initially John was able to work in the real estate firm Bennett & Myers, but became unable to work and within three years of moving to Denver succumbed to the disease, as had his parents and sister before him. He died before reaching his twenty-second birthday.
From twelve-year-old John's diary: "I went to Dover to-day and went to the moving picture show. We had a party at night. We had fun too. Did not get to bed until 12 o'clock. HA HA HA-A-A." Again: "I sprayed all day to-day and the sprayer blowed up and I jumped 2 feet in the air. Ha Ha Haa." And this: "I went to Dover in the morning and got some things. In the afternoon I went to the picnic and had a fine time. I was sorry when it was over."
Above bio written by Douglas Marshall-Steele, replacing an earlier
Bio by: Kit and Morgan Benson
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