Edgar Wilson

{{Infobox officeholder

| name = Edgar Wilson

| image name = Edgarwilson.PNG

| state = Idaho

| district = at-large

| term_start = March 4, 1895

| term_end = March 3, 1897

| preceded = Willis Sweet

| succeeded = James Gunn

| term_start1 = March 4, 1899

| term_end1 = March 3, 1901

| preceded1 = James Gunn

| succeeded1 = Thomas L. Glenn

| office2 = Delegate to the Idaho Constitutional Convention

| term_start2 = July 4, 1889

| term_end2 = August 6, 1889

| constituency2 = Ada County

| birth_date = {{birth date|1861|2|25}}

| birth_place = Armstrong County, Pennsylvania, U.S.

| death_date = {{death date and age|1915|1|3|1861|2|25}}

| death_place = Boise, Idaho, U.S.

| resting_place = Morris Hill Cemetery
Boise, Idaho, U.S.

| residence = Boise

| spouse = Laura Da Shiell

| alma_mater = University of Michigan

| profession = Attorney

| religion =

| party = Republican

| otherparty = Silver Republican (after 1898)

|}}

Edgar Wilson (February 25, 1861 – January 3, 1915) was a United States Representative from Idaho.

Born in Armstrong County, Pennsylvania, Wilson graduated from the University of Michigan, and headed west and became an attorney in Boise, Idaho. He was elected city attorney in 1887 and district attorney in 1888 and was a member of the state's constitutional convention prior to statehood in 1890. Wilson served as a Republican in the House from 1895 to 1897 and as a Silver Republican from 1899 to 1901, representing the state at-large.

Early life and family

Edgar Wilson was born February 25, 1861, to parents Ellen and Matthew Wilson.{{cite book |title=Who's Who in America |author=John William Leonard, Albert Nelson Marquis |publisher=Marquis Who's Who |date=1910 |page=2104 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=HiwzAAAAMAAJ&pg=PA2104 |access-date=December 22, 2018}} His family included two sisters and a brother.{{cite news |title=Death Comes to Edgar Wilson while Wife Is Being Called |newspaper=Idaho Statesman |location=Boise, Idaho |date=January 4, 1915 |page=3}}

Edgar's father, Matthew Wilson, joined the Union Army in 1862, and one account suggests he was wounded and captured at White Sulphur Springs, West Virginia, in 1863. He was promoted to captain while in prison, and he died a prisoner at Libby Prison in 1864.{{cite web |title=14th Pennsylvania Cavalry, Company M |publisher=PA-Roots |url=http://www.pa-roots.com/pacw/cavalry/14thcav/14thcavcom.html |access-date=December 22, 2018}}{{cite book |title=History of Armstrong County, Pennsylvania |author=Robert Walter Smith |chapter=Regimental Histories and Descriptive Roster: Company M |publisher=Waterman & Watkins |date=1883 |page=95 |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=oL-Sy4ZI11oC&pg=PA527 |access-date=December 22, 2018}} Another account is that Matthew Wilson was captured in the Battle of Turner's Gap in 1862, was taken to Libby Prison then moved to Charleston where he died of insufficient rations, inadequate clothing, and the deprivations of confinement 10 months after capture.{{cite news |title=An Agreeable Surprise |newspaper=Idaho Statesman |location=Boise, Idaho |date=October 16, 1894 |page=3}} Edgar Wilson would have been either two or three years old when his father died.

Wilson attended the University of Michigan and graduated with an LL.B. degree in law in 1884.

In 1890 he married Laura Da Shiell, and the couple raised two children in Boise, Laura and Maurice Edgar.

Career

After graduating from law school, Edgar Wilson moved to Boise, Idaho Territory, and with Fremont Wood he formed the law firm of Wood & Wilson in 1884.{{cite news |title=New Law Firm |newspaper=Idaho Statesman |location=Boise, Idaho |date=August 5, 1884 |page=3}}

Wilson became Boise City attorney in 1887,{{cite news |title=Local Intelligence |newspaper=Idaho Statesman |location=Boise, Idaho |date=April 20, 1888 |page=3}} and he was elected Ada County district attorney in 1888.{{cite news |title=Personal |newspaper=Idaho Statesman |location=Boise, Idaho |date=May 7, 1889 |page=3}} In 1889 he was elected as a delegate to the Idaho Constitutional Convention.{{cite news |title=Ada County Election |newspaper=Idaho Statesman |location=Boise, Idaho |date=June 11, 1889 |page=2}}{{cite book |title=Proceedings and Debates of the Constitutional Convention of Idaho |author=I.W. Hart |publisher=Caxton Printers, Ltd. |location=Caldwell, Idaho |date=1912 |page=7 |url=https://archive.org/stream/proceedingsdebat00idah#page/6/mode/2up |access-date=December 22, 2018}} By this time, Wilson had become an accomplished orator, and some of his speeches to local organizations were printed in the Idaho Statesman.{{cite news |title=The Fourth at Mountain Home |newspaper=Idaho Statesman |location=Boise, Idaho |date=July 6, 1886 |page=1}}{{cite news |title=Speech of Edgar Wilson, Esq. |newspaper=Idaho Statesman |location=Boise, Idaho |date=November 17, 1888 |page=3}}

In 1892 Wilson served as chairman of Idaho's Republican State Central Committee, and in 1894 the committee promoted William Borah for Congress. When Borah declined the nomination, Wilson replaced him,{{Cite news|last=Humanities|first=National Endowment for the|date=1894-08-11|title=The Kootenai herald. [volume] (Kootenai, Idaho) 1891-1904, August 11, 1894, Image 5|newspaper=The Kootenai Herald|url=https://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn86091083/1894-08-11/ed-1/seq-5/|access-date=2020-07-29|issn=2637-5745}} and that year Wilson was elected as Idaho's only representative in Congress.{{cite news |title=The withdrawal of W.E. Borah |newspaper=Idaho Statesman |location=Boise, Idaho |date=July 11, 1894 |page=2}} At the time, Idaho's population count was 84,385 persons.{{cite web |title=Official Congressional Directory, Volume 54, Issue 1, Part 1 |publisher=U.S. Government Printing Office |date=1896 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=y88-AAAAYAAJ&pg=PA31 |access-date=December 22, 2018}}

While in Congress, Wilson supported legislation to fund a federal building in Idaho, and he introduced measures providing for survey and irrigation of the Idaho desert for agricultural purposes. He also promoted funding for a soldiers' home in southern Idaho, and he supported an expanded version of the McKinley Tariff that would benefit Idaho's mining interests.{{cite news |title=Congressman Wilson |newspaper=Idaho Statesman |location=Boise, Idaho |date=July 7, 1896 |page=2}} Toward the end of his first term in Congress, Wilson joined the Silver Republican Party, and he unsuccessfully sought election to the Idaho Supreme Court.{{cite news |title=Sad Case of Mr. Wilson |newspaper=Idaho Statesman |location=Boise, Idaho |date=October 6, 1896 |page=2}}{{cite news |title=Republican Congress: Edgar Wilson's Fatal Error |newspaper=Idaho Statesman |location=Boise, Idaho |date=October 19, 1896 |page=2}}

Returning to Boise in 1897, Wilson promoted expansion of the railroad to include Boise, and he supported extension of the new Boise sewer lines.{{cite news |title=Necessity for the Main Line |newspaper=Idaho Statesman |location=Boise, Idaho |date=March 13, 1898 |page=1}}{{cite news |title=Meeting of the Council |newspaper=Idaho Statesman |location=Boise, Idaho |date=September 22, 1897 |page=3}} He ran for Congress again in 1898 and easily won election on the Fusion Ticket.{{cite news |title=Official Vote of Idaho |newspaper=The Silver Messenger |location=Challis, Idaho |date=December 13, 1898 |page=4 |url=https://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn88056158/1898-12-13/ed-1/seq-4/ |access-date=December 22, 2018}} His committee assignments related to public lands, mines and mining, and irrigation.{{cite news |title=Wilson's Assignments |newspaper=Idaho Statesman |location=Boise, Idaho |date=December 19, 1899 |page=5}} After his term ended in 1901, he did not seek office again in federal or state elections.

Wilson became a farmer in 1894, setting 50 acres of apple trees and later raising cattle.{{cite news |title=Local Brevities |newspaper=Idaho Statesman |location=Boise, Idaho |date=March 22, 1894 |page=6}}{{cite news |title=Cattle Sale |newspaper=Idaho Statesman |location=Boise, Idaho |date=December 18, 1903 |page=5}} In 1898, he presented a paper, the Apple Orchard, to the Idaho State Horticultural Society.{{cite news |title=Horticulturists Adjourn |newspaper=Idaho Statesman |location=Boise, Idaho |date=January 28, 1898 |page=6}} In 1901 he became vice president of the Southern Idaho Fruit Growers Association, and he negotiated rates for refrigerated rail car freight.{{cite news |title=Growers of Fruit |newspaper=Idaho Statesman |location=Boise, Idaho |date=April 14, 1901 |page=8}}

Among his other accomplishments, he organized the Boise Bank of Commerce and worked for other banking interests, and he served as president of the Boise school board. In 1900 he arranged a shipment of Idaho fruit to the Paris Exposition.{{cite news |title=Idaho Fruit Exhibit |newspaper=Idaho Statesman |location=Boise, Idaho |date=August 22, 1900 |page=6}} A frequent voice at city council meetings, Wilson successfully lobbied for macadamized streets in Boise.{{cite news |title=Routine Report |newspaper=Idaho Statesman |location=Boise, Idaho |date=June 7, 1901 |page=6}}

In 1905 Wilson attempted to change the name of the Snake River to Shoshonee, partly because "...the name Snake is repulsive, and the name of Shosho-nee is smooth and musical..."{{cite news |title=We are glad the name of the Snake River is not to be changed... |location=Blackfoot, Idaho |date=February 24, 1905 |page=9 |url=https://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn86091197/1905-02-24/ed-1/seq-9/ |access-date=December 22, 2018}}

Alcoholism and death

In 1913 Wilson shot and wounded a deputy sheriff who discovered Wilson had a gun while in custody awaiting a hearing and judgement of his mental condition.{{cite news |title=Harry Champlin Hurt |newspaper=The Meridian Times |location=Meridian, Idaho |date=September 5, 1913 |page=1 |url=https://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn89055004/1913-09-05/ed-1/seq-1/ |access-date=December 22, 2018}} After the hearing, Wilson was committed to the state asylum for two years,{{cite news |title=State and County News |newspaper=The Rathdrum Tribune |location=Rathdrum, Idaho |date=September 12, 1913 |page=1 |url=https://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn88056093/1913-09-12/ed-1/seq-1/ |access-date=December 22, 2018}} although he was released early in 1914. He then moved to Salt Lake City.{{cite news |title=Northwest Notes |newspaper=The Meridian Times |location=Meridian, Idaho |date=March 20, 1914 |page=6 |url=https://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn89055004/1914-03-20/ed-1/seq-6/ |access-date=December 22, 2018}}

In August, 1914, Laura Wilson filed for divorce in Boise,{{cite news |title=Brevities |newspaper=Evening Capital News |location=Boise, Idaho |date=August 26, 1914 |page=2 |url=https://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn88056024/1914-08-26/ed-1/seq-2/ |access-date=December 22, 2018}} and Edgar Wilson returned to Boise later that year to contest. While staying at the Owyhee Hotel, he developed a cold followed by pneumonia. He died January 3, 1915, in his hotel room.

After the death of her husband, Laura Wilson successfully contested his will, which left nothing to her nor to her son, Maurice Edgar Wilson. Evidence of her husband's longtime struggle with alcohol and drugs was presented along with allegations of marital infidelity,{{cite news |title=Vain Struggle to Overcome Bad Habits |newspaper=Idaho Statesman |location=Boise, Idaho |date=April 7, 1915 |page=8}} and family and friends testified that Edgar Wilson had become irrational, erratic, and mentally unsound.{{cite news |title=Believed Edgar Wilson to Be Irrational |newspaper=Idaho Statesman |location=Boise, Idaho |date=April 8, 1915 |page=7}}

In 1915 Laura Wilson donated her husband's library of 850 books to the College of Idaho.{{cite news |title=Fine Donation to College |newspaper=Idaho Statesman |location=Boise, Idaho |date=June 25, 1915 |page=7}} In 1977 the Edgar Wilson House (1904), 103 E Warm Springs Ave, became a contributing resource of Boise's West Warm Springs Historic District. The house was later demolished.