JAMES H. WILSON, one of the enterprising agriculturists whose attractive farm home is situated within the bounds of Haddon township, Sullivan county, Indiana, was born November 28, 1851, in Hancock county, Indiana, on his father's farm. He is the son of Jacob and Hannah (Emmons) Wilson. The father was a native of Kentucky and the mother of Pennsylvania. They came to Indiana with their respective parents and located in Hancock county. In that county the parents of James H. were united in marriage and there the father followed farming until 1863, when the family went to Knox county, locating in Widner township, where he bought eighty acres of land, upon which he and his wife lived the balance of their lives. He died in November, 1880, and the mother in January, 1875. Eight children blessed their marriage union: Samuel, deceased; Robert, residing in Carlisle; Lewis, also of Carlisle; James H., of this biographical narrative; Silas, of Pleasantville, Indiana; William, of Los Angeles, California; Paul, a twin to Silas, died at the age of eight years; and one who died in infancy.
James H. Wilson, of this sketch, was reared on a farm and early taught the need of frugality and industry. He obtained his education after moving to Knox county. When he was but fifteen years of age he commenced to farm for others by the month, continuing until about twenty-three years of age and then began farming for himself. He continued to till the soil of Knox county for three seasons, coming then to Haddon township, in which sub-division of Sullivan county he has farmed ever since. He now owns a seventy-seven acre farm, which is in two tracts. He lives, however, on leased lands and farms about three hundred acres, including his own place and the rented grounds. Politically, he is a supporter of the Democratic party and is a firm believer in the principles of pure Jacksonian Democracy. In his fraternal connections he is a member of the Ben Hur lodge at Carlisle.
He was married September 28, 1873, to Alice Phillippe, born in Knox county, near Brueeville, Indiana, June 4, 1855, a daughter of William Johnson and Sarah (Minich) Phillippe. Her father was born in Virginia, and her mother in Haddon township, Sullivan county. She is a sister of Pleasant A. Minich, whose family history will be found in the sketch of W. F. Minich, within this work. William Johnson Phillippe came with his parents when a small boy to Knox county and the family located north of Vincennes. William Johnson Phillippe and wife moved to Haddon township when Mrs. Wilson was a small girl and here they resided until their death. They had a family of six children, as follows: Alice, Mrs. Wilson; Flora, widow of James M. Harber, residing in Knox county; William A., of Haddon township; Franklin M., of Bruceville, Knox county; Martin J., of Oklahoma, now the editor of the Register, a local paper of Oklahoma; John M., of Los Angeles. California.
To Mr. and Mrs. Wilson were born the following children: Elvin, born August 12, 1875, married Eva McClure, and they reside in Haddon township and are the parents of four children; Denver, born December 28, 1876, married Lydia Kennedy, and they reside in Haddon township, and have one daughter; Earle, born January 19, 1879, is unmarried and at home; Vernie, born April 29, 1881, wife of John D. Prose, residing in Carlisle, and they are the parents of two children; Flora, born May 28, 1884, married Miles Curry, residing in Terre Haute, and they have one son. Mr. Wilson's children were all educated at Carlisle. Elvin graduated from the high school and the Vincennes College, after which he returned to the farm, which has been his vocation ever since. James H. Wilson is quite an extensive hog raiser, and markets about one carload annually. The family attend the Methodist Episcopal church, of which the parents are exemplary members.