Joseph Ruggles Wilson facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Joseph Ruggles Wilson |
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| Born | February 28, 1822 in Steubenville, Ohio, U.S. |
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| Died | January 21, 1903 (aged 80) in Princeton, New Jersey, U.S. |
| Church | Presbyterian Church in the United States |
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| Spouse | Jessie Janet Woodrow |
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| Parents | James Wilson |
Joseph Ruggles Wilson Sr. (born February 28, 1822 – died January 21, 1903) was an important Presbyterian minister. He was the father of Woodrow Wilson, who later became a U.S. President. He also had another son, Joseph Ruggles Wilson Jr., who was an editor for the Nashville Banner newspaper, and a daughter, Anne E. Wilson Howe.
In 1861, Joseph Ruggles Wilson helped start the Presbyterian Church in the United States. This church was also known as the Southern Presbyterian Church. He served as its main leader, called a clerk, for 37 years.
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Life of Joseph Ruggles Wilson
Joseph Ruggles Wilson was born in Steubenville, Ohio. His parents, Mary Anne (Adams) and James Wilson, had moved from Northern Ireland. He went to Jefferson College in Canonsburg, Pennsylvania, and finished his studies in 1844. After college, he taught literature at Washington & Jefferson College.
Wilson married Jessie Woodrow. He then worked as a professor at Hampden-Sydney College. He left this school before his son, Thomas Woodrow Wilson, was born in Staunton, Virginia. In Staunton, he became the pastor of the Presbyterian Church from 1855 to 1857. In late 1857, he moved his family to Augusta, Georgia, where he continued his work as a Presbyterian pastor.
Life During the Civil War
Joseph and Jessie Wilson moved to the Southern United States in 1851. They came to strongly support the South. They moved deeper into the region as Wilson was called to be a minister in Georgia and South Carolina.
During this time, Joseph Wilson owned enslaved people. He also supported the practice of slavery. He even set up a Sunday school for the enslaved people he owned. Wilson and his wife sided with the Confederacy during the American Civil War. They helped care for wounded soldiers at their church. Wilson also worked briefly as a chaplain for the Confederate States Army.
Church Leadership
In 1861, Wilson was one of the people who helped create the Southern Presbyterian Church in the United States (PCUS). This church formed after it separated from the northern Presbyterian churches. He was the first permanent clerk of the PCUS General Assembly. He held this important role for over 30 years, from 1865 to 1898. In 1879, he was also the Moderator of the PCUS General Assembly. He served as the minister of the First Presbyterian Church in Augusta, Georgia, until 1870.
In 1870, Wilson became a professor at Columbia Theological Seminary in Columbia, South Carolina. He later moved to become the pastor at the First Presbyterian Church in Wilmington, North Carolina, in 1874. While in Wilmington, he led many important changes. These included paying off the local church's debts and changing how people contributed money to the church. In 1885, he became a professor of theology at Rhodes College. At that time, the college was known as Southwestern Presbyterian University in Clarksville, Tennessee.
Wilson's Children
- Thomas Woodrow Wilson (December 28, 1856 – February 3, 1924): He became a professor and later the President of Princeton University (1902-1910). He also served as the Governor of New Jersey (1911-1913) and the President of the United States (1913-1921).
- Joseph Ruggles Wilson Jr. (1867 – 1927): He was an editor for the Nashville Banner newspaper.
- Annie Josephine Wilson Howe (1854 – 1916)
