Annual Reunion of the Descendants of
Matthew WILSON, Sr.and Charity Wilson

Matthew WILSON was born in Ireland in 1717 and came to America with his wife, Charity Smith Wilson about 1745. They settled in present-day Catawba County, with a Granville grant of land in 1755. They were one of the earliest of English-Speaking people to settle in the Catawba Valley of North Carolina. They were progenitors of many noted Wilson families that populate Burke, Catawba and surrounding counties, and across the United States.

The Matthew Wilson homestead

Each year, on the second-Saturday of July, the descendants of Matthew and Charity Wilson gather together and reminisce and break bread. This small gathering of folks first met together in 1999, after the dedication of ancestor, Private, Daniel C. Wilson, Co. E, 32nd Regiment, NC Troops.

We also dedicated a marker to Private James Lawson Wilson, Company K, 46th Regiment, NC Troops. We hope to have another Wilson Dedication Ceremony next year, hopefully the day of our Wilson reunion.

We are truly fortunate to have so many wonderful cousins from so many places. Folks have been coming from farther and farther away each year.

The next Wilson reunion will be on
Saturday, July 8th 2006,
the Lord willing. Please mark it on your calendar.

It will be at Faith Lutheran Church, Conover, NC

Arrive by 10:00 for coffee and doughnuts

Welcome at 12:00 Noon

At 3:00 PM we will be dedicating memorials
to seven Wilson Confederate soldiers.
Click for a map to the cemetery

We will also offer an optional trip to the old
Wilson-Robinson Cemetery

On July 8th, 2006, a memorial ceremony will be held at the Jenkins/Startown Cemetery recognizing seven Confederate soldiers who died in battle or as a result of war wounds.. Their final remains were either neglected and forgotten or buried either in unmarked and mass graves. We invite the public to join us in this memorable ceremony. These fallen heros are:

Adolphus Lafayette WILSON	WILSON, ADOLPHUS LAFAYETTE, Private, Company A, 18th Regiment, NC Troops - Resided in Catawba County where he enlisted at age 30, August 14, 1862, for the war. Present or accounted for until wounded at Shepherdstown, Virginia, September 20, 1862. Died in hospital at Staunton, Virginia, November 1, 1862, of wounds. [NCT-6:321]
Benjamin Franklin WILSON	WILSON, BENJAMIN FRANKLIN, Private, Company C, 28nd Regiment, NC Troops - Resided in Catawba County and enlisted at Camp Fisher on September 10, 1861. Died in hospital at Lynchburg, Virginia, May 30, 1862, of "chr[onic] diarrhoea." [NCT-8:152]
David WILSON	WILSON, DAVID,Private,Company K, 46th Regiment, NC Troops - Born in Catawba County* where he resided as a farmer prior to enlisting in Catawba County at age 28, March 20, 1862. Present or accounted for until killed at Bristoe Station, Virginia, October 14, 1863. [NCT-11:239]
Joseph Henry WILSON	WILSON, JOSEPH HENRY, Private, Company A, 12th Regiment, NC Troops - Resided in Catawba County and was by occupation a railroad conductor prior to enlisting in Catawba County at age 27, April 27, 1861. Present or accounted for until wounded at Malvern Hill, Virginia, July 1, 1862. Died at home in Catawba County on or about October 13, 1862, of wounds. [NCT-5:130]
Matthew M. WILSON	WILSON, MATTHEW MARCUS, Sergeant, Company K, 46th Regiment, NC Troops - Born in Catawba County where he resided as a student prior to enlisting in Catawba County at age 18, March 13, 1862. Mustered in as Sergeant. Present or accounted for until he died in hospital at Richmond, Virginia, on or about December 12, 1862, of "pneumonia." [NCT-11:239]
Newton WILSON	WILSON, NEWTON, Private, Company E, 32nd Regiment, NC Troops - Resided in Catawba County where he enlisted at age 20, August 14, 1861. Present or accounted for until wounded in the back at Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, July 1-3, 1863. Died at Gettysburg on July 3, 1863, of wounds. [NCT-9:55]
Thomas W. WILSON	WILSON, THOMAS W., Captain, Company C, 28nd Regiment, NC Troops - Resided in Catawba or Cleveland counties and enlisted in Catawba County at age 26,June 6, 1861. Mustered in as Private and was detailed as Commissary Sergeant on October 24, 1861. Elected 2nd Lieutenant on or about April 16, 1862. Present or accounted for until captured in Maryland in September, 1862. Paroled at Baltimore, Maryland, and transferred to Aiken's Landing, James River, Virginia, where he was received October 12, 1862, for exchange. Returned to duty on an unspecified date and was promoted to 1st Lieutenant on November 3, 1862. Reported on duty as acting Captain of Company H of this regiment in January-February, 1864. Returned to duty with this company and was promoted to Captain to rank from May 6, 1864. Killed at Spotsylvania Court House, Virginia, May 10, 1864. [NCT-7:195]

REFERENCES:
NCT = North Carolina Troops - 1861-1865-A Roster, N.C. Dept. of Achives & History, North Carolina Troops - 1861-1865-A Roster (1983- )

 

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For more information or to be put on the Wilson Reunion Mailing List,
write Joe and Alice Brown, our host and hostess and keepers of the family.