Ever since I can remember I’ve been very interested in American military history, particularly the Civil War.

(Very interested being a way of saying I was infatuated.)

One character I portrayed while writing and speaking around Minnesota was Colonel John B. Sanborn, commander of the Fourth Minnesota Volunteer Infantry. The Fourth fought through Mississippi in the Vicksburg Campaign of 1863 and continued to the end of the war.

All this is to express my excitement when I met another “neighbor” who served in Company A of the Fourth Minnesota. B. F. Wilson resides across Ohio Street from me and I pass by his “place” on nearly every walk my wife and I take.

Mr. Wilson was born in Wheeling, Virginia (now West Virginia) in 1838; his family moved later to St. Louis, Missouri, where he lived and worked for 10 years as a miner.

He met Mary Jane Anderson and they were wed in 1864. Wilson was serving in the Veteran Reserve Corp because he was injured in a train wreck while part of the Fourth Minnesota. The couple moved to Oskaloosa, living there for several years before relocating in Webster City, by way of a year in Lehigh.

Arriving here in 1892, they lived out their years at 226 Bank Street while Mr. Wilson worked as a custodian in the county courthouse for more than 10 years. The Wilson family included two children: a boy and a girl.

There are several articles in the newspaper archives that mention B. F. Wilson. They paint a picture of a very sociable, hard-working man who held great respect from his fellow residents in Webster City. He was very active in the local veteran’s organization (GAR) and was proud of his service to his nation.

In May of 1907 he advertised for “an elderly lady to work for wages for a family of three. No coal to carry, ashes to empty, fires to build, or washing to do.” In October, his beloved Mary Jane passed after a lengthy illness. Another article tells of his having to be transported home from work when he became very ill in May of 1908.

Mr. Wilson retired shortly thereafter, in September, and his health deteriorated rapidly. The county presented Wilson with a gold ring for his decade of employment as custodian in the courthouse. At the time of his retirement, notices appeared in the local papers listing his property on Bank Street for sale. It mentions three lots, a house, barn and other outbuildings.

Wilson’s obituary states, “It was characteristic of him that when he realized he was nearing the end of life’s journey, he came down town and made all arrangements with an undertaker for his funeral and burial.”

B. F. Wilson passed on February 19, 1909, and joined his wife in Our Neighborhood.

I’m so glad to have learned a bit about Benjamin Franklin Wilson, his life, service to our nation and the years of life he spent following his time in war. He was well-respected and folks liked him, as a friend and neighbor. Both are attributes I hope to attain …