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Black Hawk County >> 1915 Index History of Black Hawk county, Iowa, and Its
People W Unless otherwise noted, biographies submitted by Dick Barton. JOSEPH P. WHITE was born at Heath, Massachusetts , on November 2, 1821 , and came to Black Hawk County in 1856, and bought farm land. He came to Waterloo in 1893. His farms were in West Waterloo and Orange townships and also in Hudson . C.
T. WILSON
is a general contractor and builder of Waterloo, with office at the
corner of Bridge and Commercial streets. He has made thoroughness and efficiency
his watchwords in connection with business, and by reason of the results
attained thereby has secured a gratifying patronage. He was born in Washington
township, Black Hawk county, in 1866, a son of Seth and Sarah Parnell
(Hitchcock) Wilson. The grandparents were pioneer settlers of Washington
township, but the parents were both born in Illinois prior to the establishment
of the Wilson and Hitchcock families in this county. Both the paternal and
maternal grandfather entered land from the government and the paternal
grandparents remained upon their claim until called to their final rest. Mr.
Wilson having in the meantime converted the place into a highly improved farm.
The maternal grandfather operated his farm for a time, but in his later years
removed to Cedar Falls, where both he and his wife passed away. Both families
were closely associated with a number of the early events that shaped the
pioneer history of the county, and Grandfather Wilson served on the first jury
ever impaneled in Black Hawk county. In early days he sawed wood for the
Illinois Central Railroad to use in their engines. At first Dubuque was their
nearest market. Both
Seth Wilson and Sarah Hitchcock were reared in this county and were here
married. They began their domestic life upon a farm, and Mr. Wilson continuously
carried on general agricultural pursuits until 1904, when he removed to
Waterloo, where he still makes his home at the age of seventy-two years. His
wife, however, passed away in 1912. In their family were three children: C. T.;
Mrs. Richards, who is living in Butler county, Iowa; and Carrie, who is employed
by the Leavitt & Johnson Trust Company of Waterloo.
C.
T. Wilson acquired his education in the public schools of Parkersburg and lived
upon the home farm until twenty-one years of age, during which period he taught
school for two years. He afterward spent five years in Cornell College, Iowa,
and was graduated therefrom in 1893 on the completion of a course in civil
engineering. He followed that profession until 1912, and during the last nine
years was city engineer of Waterloo. Previously he had done survey work in
connection with railroad building. In 1912 he embarked in contracting, building
and general construction work and has since been active along that line in
Waterloo and northeastern Iowa, where many important contracts have been awarded
him. Evidences of his skill and handiwork can be seen in many places, and he is
widely recognized as one of the leading general contractors of his section of
the state. As the years have passed on he has prospered in his undertakings and
is now the owner of a number of residence properties and vacant lots in
Waterloo, together with the fine home which he occupies. In
1894 Mr. Wilson was united in marriage to Miss Clara Goodale, a native of New
York, who came to the west with her parents in her childhood days and settled in
Butler county, where both her father and mother passed away. Mrs. Wilson is one
of the three children of the Goodale family who still survive, the others being:
Oren E., of Los Angeles, California; and Annie C., who is a trained nurse of
Iowa City. To Mr. and Mrs. Wilson have been born six children: Dorothy, who was
born in 1895 and is now attending college in Mount Vernon; Anna, who was born in
1897 and is at home; Clarence, who was born in 1899 and is now a student in the
high school; Clara B., who was born in 1901 and is a high-school pupil; Donald,
born in 1907; and Florence, born in 1912.
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