Identity elements
Reference code
Name and location of repository
Level of description
Collection
Title
Joseph P. Wilson Papers
Date(s)
- 1851 - 1869 (Creation)
Extent
0.42 linear feet
Name of creator
Biographical history
Joseph P. Wilson was born in Columbia Falls, Maine on March 16, 1823. Wilson, along with George F. Brott and C.T. Stearns, purchased and platted the land that would become Lower Town of St. Cloud, Minnesota. Wilson studied law in Geneva, Illinois and in 1846 enlisted for the Mexican War as part of an Illinois regiment. After the war, Wilson married Mary P. Corbett and moved to St. Anthony Falls, Minnesota in 1850. Upon arriving in Minnesota, Wilson became involved in real estate, purchasing property in what is now northeast Minneapolis and in St. Anthony Park. Wilson also purchased property in what would become St. Cloud. He also worked in the lumbering, mercantile, and railroad business. He served as a Ramsey county commissioner from 1852 to 1855, was a member of the 1858 Minnesota constitutional convention, and served as a Minnesota state senator from 1864 to 1865.
Wilson was an original landowner in the new city of St. Cloud, Minnesota.
He moved to St. Cloud in 1863 and built a house in East St. Cloud in 1888. It was here that he platted more city lots and lived until his death on February 18, 1900. His wife Mary and their five children survived him - Justus A. Wilson (1851), Ida Wilson Van Cleve (1854), Franklin B. Wilson (1859), Edith Wilson Thompson (1861), and Helen Wilson Schwartz (1865). Wilson is buried in St. Cloud's North Star Cemetery.
Joseph was the brother of one of St. Cloud's founders, John L. Wilson.
Content and structure elements
Scope and content
This collection contains materials related to Joseph P. Wilson. The majority of the collection are letters written between 1851 and 1869 to Joseph P. Wilson, from Joseph P. Wilson, or about his business interests. The letters include a proposal written by Wilson to the president of the Northern Pacific Railroad Company about the St. Cloud and Minneapolis railroad, references to Wilson’s involvement with the James L. Fisk expeditions to Montana in the early 1860s, and information relating to his business in mercantile and railroads. In addition, there is mention of the aftermath of the U.S.-Dakota War of 1862 in Minnesota.
A number of the letters detail the legal counsel Wilson provided to his brother-in-law, William A. Corbett, regarding a land dispute in St. Augusta, Minnesota. The collection of letters also contains information about the platting of land in and around St. Cloud. Other authors besides Wilson include William A. Corbett, [sister?] A. B. Wilson, and brother John L. Wilson.
The collection also includes transcriptions of all the letters transcribed by Kasey Solomon. Information that is torn, faded, or otherwise unclear is noted with brackets and a question mark.
All documents were scanned and are available for download. Also included for download are the letter transcriptions.
System of arrangement
The materials are arranged in chronological order.
Records are located at 35D.7d.
Conditions of access and use elements
Conditions governing access
There are no access restrictions.
Physical access
Technical access
Conditions governing reproduction
Permission to publish, quote, and reproduce must be secured from copyright holder.
Languages of the material
Scripts of the material
Language and script notes
Finding aids
Acquisition and appraisal elements
Custodial history
Immediate source of acquisition
1975 Gift from the Minnesota Historical Society
Appraisal, destruction and scheduling information
Accruals
Related materials elements
Existence and location of originals
Existence and location of copies
Related archival materials
Related descriptions
Notes element
Specialized notes
Alternative identifier(s)
Description control element
Rules or conventions
Sources used
Archivist's note
These records were reprocessed by Kasey Solomon in March and April 2018. The letter transcriptions were also done by Kasey Solomon.