Lester S. Willson

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Coordinates: 45°40′31.93″N 111°01′35.38″W / 45.6755361°N 111.0264944°W / 45.6755361; -111.0264944
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Lester Sebastion Willson
Fred Fielding Willson
(Son)
Other workMontana Merchant and
State Legislator

Brevet Brigadier General Lester Sebastion Willson, (June 16, 1839 – January 26, 1919), was a

U.S. Civil War officer in the Union Army, Assistant Quartermaster General of New York, and a Montana merchant and politician in Bozeman, Montana.[1][2][3]
He was married at Albany, New York, on March 2, 1869, to Miss Emma D. Weeks, a native of Vermont. He died in Bozeman, Montana, on January 26, 1919.

Early years

Lester Willson was born in Canton, New York, on June 16, 1839, the son of Ambrose and Julia Willson. He was one of seven children and had at least two brothers, Davis and George. His brother Davis would play a prominent role in Lester's later career as a businessman in Montana. He attended public schools in Canton and graduated from a prominent Academy before working as a clerk for two years and then volunteering for the Union Army in 1861.[4][5]

Civil War experiences

Willson in 1865

Willson enlisted in Company A, Sixtieth New York Volunteers, August, 1861, was enrolled second sergeant September 9, 1861, a lieutenant October 3, 1862, first lieutenant and

brevetted brigadier-general of volunteers "for gallant and meritorious services under General Sherman, resulting in the fall of Atlanta, Georgia."[2]

Campaigns

During the winter of 1861-62, Willson participated in guarding the

John Pope. He fought at the Battle of Antietam, September 17, 1862. On May 5, 1863, he was severely wounded at the Battle of Chancellorsville Virginia. He did not return to duty until September 1863 under General Joseph Hooker when the XI and XII Corps of the Army of the Potomac moved westward to reinforce the Army of the Cumberland around Chattanooga, Tennessee. There Willson participated in the battles of Wauhatchie, Lookout Mountain, Missionary Ridge, Peavine Creek, and Ringgold Gap.[2]

In 1864-65 he campaigned under General

Carolinas Campaign.[2]

As an aide, assistant inspector-general, and assistant adjutant-general, Willson was present at significant events during these campaigns. In Atlanta, his regiment, the 60th New York Volunteers share the honor of unfurling the union flag on top of the city hall with the

111th Pennsylvania Infantry. As assistant adjutant-general under the command of General John W. Geary he received the surrender of Savannah at the hands of its mayor R. D. Arnold, and was the first officer to enter the city at the head of his own regiment. The regiment entered the city unopposed and met the mayor and a delegation of the City Council instead of troops. Once Willson received the surrender his regiment quickly began providing protection to the citizens of Savannah from the mobs that had begun breaking into houses and plundering.[2]

Throughout the war Willson enjoyed the confidence of his superiors and on more than one occasion he was entrusted with intricate and dangerous duties by General Sherman. Major General George S. Greene credited him with being a most faithful and intelligent officer, and of his regiment (60th New York Volunteers) Greene has said, "It was one of the best in the service."[5]

New York State Militia

At the close of the war Willson held the rank of lieutenant colonel. His successful service and close association with many senior officers caused him to be appointed assistant quartermaster-general of the New York State Militia with the rank of colonel. For two years he was responsible for post-war dealings with the railroad companies regarding the transportation of troops, supplies, etc., the reconciliation of balances between the state and the general government, and the disposition of accumulated supplies belonging to the state.

Working alongside Lester was his cousin Charles Rich and army friend, Loren W. Tuller. In December, 1865 after hearing a presentation on the western U.S. by then

corral attached to the cabin and named it "Empire Corral". The business flourished as they freighted supplies to the mining camps in Bannack and Virginia City, Montana.[1]

By the spring of 1867, Lester Willson had found a prospective wife, Emma D. Weeks, and had finished his important postwar work for the New York State Militia. He resigned the office in March, 1867 to engage in business in Montana.[2]

Montana merchant

Tuller and Rich Store, Bozeman, 1866
Lester and Emma Willson's 1st home in Bozeman, 1869[7]
Willson House, built in 1886 by Lester Willson

Lester Willson left New York in April 1867 taking a much less arduous route to Bozeman. The

Thomas F. Meagher in Virginia City and arrived in Bozeman on May 22, 1867.[1] He became an active partner with his brother Davis, Rich and Tuller in running the mercantile business which was now flourishing because of the construction of Fort Ellis just west of town. In January, 1868 he returned to New York and proposed to Miss Emma D. Weeks. By May, he was back in Bozeman helping run the business. In January 1869, Willson returned to Albany, New York, to marry Miss Emma D. Weeks on March 2, 1869, and bring her back to Bozeman.[4] Returning via a Missouri River steamboat to Fort Benton, Montana, Lester, Emma and her piano were back in Bozeman by mid-May 1869. They soon moved into a remodeled cabin originally built by Daniel E. Rouse in 1864 in what was at the time one of the finest residences in Bozeman. Tuller left the business in 1868 and Davis Willson in 1870 to rejoin for a short period in 1872. Davis Willson eventually became a Presbyterian minister in the 1880s and the pastor of a small Gallatin Valley church.[1] Lester Willson sold "The Willson Company" in 1914 five years before his death in 1919.[8]

In August 1870, Lester and Emma had the opportunity to entertain the civilian members of the

Yellowstone.[9]

Willson was a board member on the first executive board of the

Agricultural College of Montana when it was established in 1893.[10]

In 1882, along with Nelson Story, J.E. Martin, Broox Martin, and Edwin Lewis, Willson helped capitalize one of the first banks in the county, the Gallatin Valley National Bank. The bank failed during the Panic of 1893 and never reopened.[11]

Montana politician

While serving in New York, Willson became active in the Union Party (Republican), politics which he brought with him to Montana. Shortly after arriving in Bozeman, Willson was instrumental in the establishment of a Bozeman chapter of the Union League, a quasi-ritualistic, patriotic society (Republican) in the hope that Montana politics would soon be dominated by Republicans. Willson soon became a Union Party elector for the 1867 federal elections. In September, 1868 he won a seat in the Montana Territorial Legislature representing Gallatin County, Montana.[1]

Willson was a

Mason and a member of Bozeman Lodge No. 18, A. F. & A. M. He was charter member of the William English Post No. 10, Grand Army of the Republic and was a department commander of Montana. Willson also belonged to the Military Order of the Loyal Legion of the United States in New York, and to the Republican Club of the city of New York. In 1883-86 he served as territorial quartermaster-general with the rank of brigadier-general.[4]

Legacy

Willson family plot at Sunset Hills Cemetery. Lester S. Willson headstone is in the right rear.

In 1886 Lester and Emma built a home at 504 Central Avenue, just blocks from downtown. It still stands today on Willson Avenue, a major residential thoroughfare intersecting Bozeman's West Main Street. After his death, the city renamed Central Avenue to Willson Avenue.[12]

Emma and Lester Willson had three children. Only one,

Gallatin County High School
, which was named Willson School in his honor when the building was converted from a high school to a middle school. The building now serves as the administrative hub for Bozeman Public Schools.

Lester Willson died on January 26, 1919.

Notes

  1. ^ a b c d e f g Scott, Kim Allen (Spring 1999). "Montana Episodes-The Willson Brothers Come To Montana". Montana: The Magazine of Western History. 49 (1): 58–70.
  2. ^ a b c d e f William H. Powell, ed. (1893). Officers of the Army and Navy (Volunteer) Who Served In The Civil War. Philadelphia, PA: L.R. Hamersly and Co. p. 50.
  3. ^ "Collection 1407 - Lester S. Willson Family Papers, 1861-1922". Montana State University Libraries. Retrieved 2011-01-25.
  4. ^ a b c Sanders, Helen Fitzgerald (1913). A History of Montana Volume II (PDF). Chicago and New York: The Lewis Publishing Company. p. 946.
  5. ^ a b Progressive Men of the State of Montana (PDF). Chicago: A.W. Bowen and Co. 1900. pp. 1871–72.
  6. ^ the original document states March 13, 1865, and was recorded march 12 1867
  7. ^ Leeson, Michael A. (1885). History Of Montana, 1739-1885. A History Of Its Discovery And Settlement, Social And Commercial Progress, Mines And Miners, Agriculture And Stock-Growing, Schools And Societies, Indians And Indian Wars, Vigilantes, Courts Justice, Newspaper Press, Navigation, Railroads And Statistics, Histories Of Counties, Cities, Villages And Mining Camps; Also, Personal Reminiscences Of Great Historic Value; Views Of The Territory In Our Times, And Portraits Of Pioneers And Representative Men In The Professions And Trades. Chicago: Warner Beers and Company. p. 1211. Archived from the original on 2011-09-29.
  8. ^ "Collection 1018 - Willson Company Collection, 1912-1951". Montana State University Library. March 3, 2009. Retrieved 2014-07-21.
  9. ISBN 978-0-8061-3800-8
    .
  10. ^ Stout, Tom (1921). Montana Its Story and Biography--A History of Aboriginal and Territorial Montana and Three Decade of Statehood (PDF). Chicago: American Historical Society. p. 547. Retrieved 2009-06-24.
  11. ISBN 1-56044-540-8
    .
  12. ^ Historic Neighborhood Walking Tour (Map). Bozeman Convention and Visitors Bureau. 2007.
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