J. W. Wilson, son of William I. and Obedience (Cardwell) Wilson, was born in Carroll County, Tenn., March 6, 1841. He was one of seven children (three of whom are living), and received his education at Bethel College. About this time the war broke out, and in 1861 he enlisted in Company I, Twenty-second Regiment Tennessee Infantry, and fought at Belmont, Shiloh, Richmond, in the Georgia campaign, and numerous minor engagements. He was wounded at Richmond and disabled for eighteen months. He was captured at Jonesboro, Ga., and retained a prisoner for thirty days. After the final surrender he returned home and began farming. In June, 1865, he came to Dyersburg, where he clerked for some time, and afterward became a partner with his brother, P. E. Wilson, in the firm. October 22, 1867, he married Mary Lou Harris, daughter of John and Clarissa Harris. Mrs. Wilson was born March 6, 1846. During the last fifteen years Mr. Wilson has been engaged in various kinds of enterprises, such as merchandising, speculating, and the commission business. He is a stockholder in the Forked Deer Milling company, which has a capital stock of $30,000, and a capacity of 100 barrels per day. The mill was erected by Mr. Wilson, and is five stories high, and is lighted by electric light, being one of the finest and best flour-mills in the State. Mr. Wilson is a Democrat, and a member of the I.O.O.F., and he and wife are members of the Cumberland Presbyterian Church. His father was born in Virginia in 1800, and his mother in the same State in 1805. They were married in their native State, and soon after moved to North Carolina, thence to Middle Tennessee. He was a farmer, and died in Carroll County in 1876, his wife dying one month later.