An Illustrated History of Central Oregon, Western Historical Publishing Company,
Spokane, WA. 1905, page 351.

JOSEPH A. WILSON, a substantial and enterprising business man of Hood River, is
at present the owner of a fruit warehouse and a waterpower plant. He was born in
Indiana county, Pennsylvania, on October 17, 1854. His father was William
Wilson, a native of the north of Ireland and of English parentage. His mother,
Letitia (MacDugh) Wilson, was born in Washington county, Pennsylvania. The
father came to the United States in 1828 and died in Pennsylvania, in 1883. The
mother's parents were from old Highland Scotch stock and descended from the
Cameron clan. Joseph A. was reared and educated in Pennsylvania, and when thirty
came to Oregon. He was graduated from the state normal school at Millersville,
Lamerton county, Pennsylvania, and taught thereafter until he went to Oregon.
The well known Brooks, the author of a series of mathematical text books, was
principal of the normal and Mr. Wilson received exceptionally good instruction.
He followed the lumber business and in the spring of 1884, took the journey
west. He engaged on the government survey here after the winter of 1884, well
remembered on account of its deep snow, which accumulated to the depth of five
feet, and worked all the following summer on the survey. The next year he bought
land and has followed farming and surveying considerably since.      

Mr. Wilson's mother died in 1871 and his father passed away in 1883. On
September 20, 1893, occurred the marriage of our subject and Gertrude M.
Kinports, a native of Pennsylvania and the daughter of Porter and Margaret B.
(Mahaffey) Kinports, natives of Pennsylvania. The father followed merchandising
for fifty years and is now president of the First National Bank in Cherrytree,
Pennsylvania, where the mother was born. They are highly respected people. The
wedding of Mr. and Mrs. Wilson occurred in Cherrytree and they have one son,
Porter K., with his grandparents in Pennsylvania. Mr. Wilson has one brother,
Thomas S. and one sister, Mary C. Mrs. Wilson died in Pennsylvania, on February
21, 1898. Mr. Wilson is independent in political matters and is free and
untrammeled to view all issues and questions without party bias.      

He is greatly interested in the fruit business and packed the fruit that took
the grand prize for the state of Oregon and Wasco county at the World's Fair in
St. Louis.      

In the fall of 1904, Mr. Wilson built a million gallon reservoir on the hill
above town and brought water in from the Indian creek. Water is piped to the
city for power purposes. He is also interested in the formation of a milling
company, being a stockholder. They have erected a fine flour mill plant with a
daily output capacity of one hundred barrels.

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Submitted to the Oregon Bios. Project in January 2005 by Jeffrey L. Elmer. 
Submitter has no additional information about the person(s) or family mentioned
above.