TOMBSTONE TUESDAY: Dr. William Francis Wilson (1844-1919)

When researching someone from our past to introduce to you on Tuesdays, it is easy to fall into a rabbit hole finding others in the same family who have stories that are equally as interesting. That is how it was this week while researching the Wilson family of Calhoun County. I eventually settled on Dr. William Francis Wilson.

William Francis Wilson was born to Dr. B.F. and Elizabeth Wilson in Pickens County, Alabama on December 3,1844. Growing up in Alabama he received an education steeped in literary study. He then entered the United States Academy of West Point as a Cadet. In the opening days of the Civil War, he resigned his position and returned home to Alabama. 

 Upon arrival in Alabama, he joined the Confederacy in the infantry unit of the 11 Regiment of Alabama Volunteers. He served in this unit until November 26, 1861, when President Davis appointed him midshipman in the Confederate Navy where he passed midshipman C.S.N. and served during the whole war.  His first tour of duty was aboard the Confederate Ironclad ship the Merrimack. During one of the most historic battles at sea, the Battle of Hampton Roads, better known as the Battle of Ironclads Monitor and Merrimack, Wilson was aboard the Merrimack. The “Virginia” aka Merrimack was a headache for the Union Army because it sank Union Naval warships the Cumberland, the Congress, and ran the Minnesota aground after severely disabling the Monitor. 

Towards the end of the war, Wilson, along with fellow soldiers were captured at Sailors Creek, Virginia and held with fellow prisoners of war on Johnson’s Island in Lake Erie, Ohio. He was held as a prisoner there for two months until the end of the war. At the time of President Lincoln’s assassination, he was still a prisoner but soon after was released.    

When he finally made it home to Alabama, William studied medicine, after which he moved to Jefferson, Texas where he was a druggist, a teacher, and continued to study medicine. While there he met and on December 3,1868 married Sarah Burnside. In January 1874, he received his license to practice medicine and surgery. 

About that time the railroad came through northeast Texas and bypassed Jefferson. Many of the people living there moved away for better opportunities to build a successful business and make a better living. William and Sarah were among those who left. They made their new home in Ellis County home to the cities of Ennis, Corsicana, and Waxahachie. While there William practiced medicine and farmed to make a living. They lived, worked, and raised a family in Ellis County from 1876 until 1895. 

The Wilson family grew as they added 6 children to it. They were Eagon, born in 1870, and Willett were both born in Jefferson, while Gatewood (Rant), Benjamin F. III, Elizabeth (Bessie), and William Francis Jr., (1885), were all born in Ellis, County. Most of these children not only lived here in Port Lavaca but were also significant in promoting and improving life here. I hope to be able to introduce some of them to you in future posts. 

In 1895 Dr. Wilson bought 300 acres of land at Noble’s Point in Port Lavaca. William and Sarah packed up the family and moved to Port Lavaca in Calhoun County, Texas. They settled in on their acreage, and their son Eagon helped farm the land and William also practiced medicine. 

During that time there was still a need for “horse and buggy” doctors. He had an office that he shared his son Willett’s law office on the second floor of First National Bank located on the corner of Main and Guadalupe streets, but he  kept his horse well fed and his buggy wheels greased. 

Being a doctor at the turn of the 20th Century had its challenges and a rural doctor had many more to deal with. To begin with there were no phones so if someone was ill or injured and could not make it into town, someone had to ride in on horseback to fetch the doctor. The doctor had to go to them, and Dr. Wilson got a lot of use out of his phaeton. They were lightweight and had large narrow wheels for mobility, and a dashboard for protection. There was a space in back or under the seat for his medical bag and medical equipment, and a foldable top that gave protection during adverse weather. There were dirt roads, muddy if the weather was wet, and gates to farms and ranches to be opened. Dr. Wilson traveled to Long Mott, Roemerville, Six Mile and all over the radius of the county. 

If patients were sick enough, severely hurt, or a baby being born the doctor would stay the night. There were not any X-Ray machines, so doctors had a harder time finding where and how bones were broken. Lastly not everyone could afford to pay the doctor, there was no health insurance and so the doctor often had to accept payment in the form of goods or services. 

In 1901 William sold his acreage at Noble’s Point and moved his family to Portales, New Mexico. I could not find a reason for the move, but he had a drug store, practiced medicine there and he also had some acreage. He eventually sold the drug store and his land and left New Mexico moving back to Ellis County, Texas. Once again, he combined a medical practice and farming, his son Eagon moved back to Ellis County and helped him farm. 

By 1910 the U.S. Census shows William F. and Sarah Wilson living in Port Lavaca again. He bought lots 5 & 6 in Block 26 from his son Willett in Port Lavaca. He and Sarah built a home there at 203 S. Virginia Street that still stands today. He opened his doctor’s office in his home and was a doctor until his death on February 3,1919. He and Sarah are buried in Port Lavaca Cemetery with several of their children and grandchildren. 

William Frances Wilson lived an interesting and eventful life. He gave his best in whatever he did, and he changed many peoples lives through his chosen profession as a doctor. He and Sarah raised their children with the same values and interest in making changes that would leave the world around them a little better. I will introduce you to some of their children in future posts. Oh, I learned something new too. Did you ever hear of Noble’s Point? Did you know where it was located? Well, if you live in Bay Vista Estates, Jade Bay, or Brookhollow Estates, the story handed down through the Wilson generations is you live on Dr. Wilson’s Noble’s Point. 

Resources

U.S. Census 1890, 1900, 1910

Shifting Sands of Calhoun County