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He was born in 1854 at Lowell, Wis., and is a son of James S. Wilson, a contracting carpenter. He lived at Clifton Park until twelve years of age, when he came to Waterford and assisted his father (who died in 1894. and his mother in 1891).
He came to Cohoes in 1868, and in 1878 became engaged with Leggett & Son, paper box manufacturers, with whom he remained until May, 1885, when he purchased the business and has since successfully conducted the same.
In 1893 he organized the Continental Knitting Co., of which he served as president until he severed his connection with the company in December, 1894.
In 1875 he married Adelaide Delanoy, by whom he had two children. The daughter, Frances D., died in 1892 at the age of sixteen; she was a talented musician and highly respected. The son, William J., was born in 1887.
James H. Wilson is one of the foremost temperance leaders in the city of Cohoes and a faithful member of the Baptist church, in which he has served as trustee for the past three years, and as superintendent of the Sunday school he has been very successful. He is prominent in the I. O. G. T., and assisted in organizing the Temple of Honor in 1873, and was a charter member of both organizations. He is also a member of the A. O. U. W., and is serving as a trustee. As a director of the Y. M. C. A. he is serving his fifth year, and also does mission work on Van Schaick's Island, where he was one of the early settlers. In politics he is a Republican, and is serving his third term as school commissioner, and is also a valued member of the Masonic fraternity.