John Wilson was born in 1741 in Renssalear County, New York to Hugh Wilson and Anna Townsley. He married Maryjte Bradt, who was a cousin to Catherine Bradt, wife of Colonel John Butler. John Wilson served in the Butler’s Rangers as Sergeant in Captain Andrew Bradt’s Company. As Sergeant, he was involved in one of the more active units, including expeditions into Ohio County and the raid on Wheeling, West Virginia, one of the last major actions of the American Revolution.
John, Mary and their six children moved to British North American by 1783 as they were listed on the provisions list for Niagara that year and again in 1786, when a seventh child was born, the first of Canadian birth. As a Sergeant, John Wilson was granted lots 73 and 74 in what is now known as Thorold, Beaver Dams ON. John was the axe man and chain bearer, when the area was surveyed in 1788. The standard instrument for surveying was the Gunther’s chain. By 1799 John Wilson was listed as “Pound Keeper” in the first municipal elections. He was a man who went forward in helping to develop his new community.
John and Mary lived in a volatile area leading up to the War of 1812. All of John’s sons were on the muster roll for the 2nd Regiment Lincoln Militia 1812 under Captain Chrysler. It is believed that John and Mary Wilson are buried in the Beaver Dams Cemetery in Thorold, though there are no stones to mark their resting places.