Editing Samuel Wilson (section)

==Biography==
Wilson was born in the historic town of [[Arlington, Massachusetts]], (known as Menotomy at the time, township of West Cambridge), to parents Edward and Lucy Wilson. Wilson is a descendant of one of the oldest families of [[Boston]]; through direct heritance of his grandfather Robert Wilson, originally from [[Greenock]], [[Scotland]], he was Scottish with a Massachusetts background. As a boy, he moved with his family to [[Mason, New Hampshire]].<ref name=hmdb>{{cite web |url=http://www.hmdb.org/marker.asp?marker=45367 |title=Uncle Sam's House |website=The Historical Marker Database}}</ref>

===Continental Army===
While living in Mason at the young age of fourteen, Wilson joined the [[Continental Army]] on March 2, 1781. His duties while enlisted consisted of guarding and caring for cattle, and mending fences, as well as slaughtering and packaging meat; guarding meat was a priority during the war. It was not uncommon for enemies to tamper with and poison food sources. Wilson's service to the Army most likely came to an end around October 19, 1781, with the surrender of [[Charles Cornwallis, 1st Marquess Cornwallis|Cornwallis]] at the [[Siege of Yorktown]].<ref name="William, Bartlett 1936"/>

===Move to New York===
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In 1789, at the age of 22, Samuel and his older brother Ebeneezer, age 27, relocated, by foot, to [[Troy, New York]]. The Wilson brothers were amongst the first pioneer settlers of the community, and Troy was attractive to earlier settlers for its proximity to the Hudson River. Samuel and his brother Ebeneezer partnered together and built several successful businesses.  Both were employees of the city as well as successful entrepreneurs.

After his relocation to Troy, Samuel drew upon his prosperous location.  He purchased property on Mount Ida (now [[Prospect Park (Troy, New York)|Prospect Park]]), closely located to the [[Hudson River]].  The combination of natural elements produced exceptional clay, ideal for brick making.  This began a new business venture for Samuel Wilson.  His bricks were the first native bricks of Troy.  Many historical buildings in Troy include bricks made by Wilson.  This was revolutionary during the 18th century.  Many bricks during this period were imported from the [[Netherlands]].

On March 8, 1793, Samuel and his brother Ebeneezer leased the western half of lot 112, now 43 Ferry Street, from Jacob Vanderhyden for 30 [[shilling]]s a year. This was the year the Wilson brothers began E & S Wilson, which was the Wilson brothers' introduction to the profitable meat business. Their [[slaughterhouse]] was located between Adams (now Congress) Street and Jefferson Street. The brothers took advantage of their prime location and built a dock at the foot of what is now Ferry Street.  Having such access to the Hudson River enabled E & S Wilson to prosper.

===Marriage and children===
Wilson returned to Mason, New Hampshire, in 1797, to marry Betsey Mann, daughter of Captain Benjamin Mann.<ref name="William, Bartlett 1936">William, Bartlett. "Life Story of Uncle Sam." Times Record [Troy] July 3, 1936, n. pag. Print.</ref>  Samuel and Betsey were parents to four children, Polly (1797–1805), Samuel (1800–1807), Benjamin (1802–59), and Albert (1805–66).

Wilson not only was a pioneer of Troy, he was active in the community, as well as an employee of the city.  On April 12, 1808, he took an oath as Office Assessor.  Four days later he took an Oath of Office as Path Master (now more commonly known as road commissioner).<ref name="William, Bartlett 1936"/>

===War of 1812===

Wilson's career role during the [[War of 1812]] is what he is most noted for today.<ref name="Smith">{{cite magazine |last=Smith |first=Philip R. Jr. |date=March 1979 |title=Who is Uncle Sam? The Legend and the Reality |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=h3uYQHPls8MC&pg=RA1-PA38 |magazine=Soldier |location=Washington, DC |publisher=U.S. Army Chief of Public Affairs |pages=37–38 |via=[[Google Books]]}}</ref> As troops gathered in camps for equipping and training, the demand for a supply of meat for the troops had significantly increased.<ref name="Smith"/> [[United States Secretary of War|Secretary of War]] [[William Eustis]] made a contract with Elbert Anderson Jr. of New York City to supply and issue all rations necessary for the United States forces in New York and New Jersey for one year.<ref name="Smith"/> Anderson ran an advertisement on October 6, 13, and 20 looking to fill the contract.<ref name="Smith"/> The [[Troy, New York]] firm of Ebenezer & Samuel Wilson secured the contract for 2,000 barrels of pork and 3,000 barrels of beef for one year.<ref name="Smith"/>

Wilson was subsequently appointed meat inspector for the [[United States Army|U.S. Army.]]<ref name="Smith"/> His duties included checking freshness and packaging, and ensuring that the barrels were built and packed according to specifications.<ref name="Smith"/> Each barrel was marked "E.A.-U.S.", indicating "Elbert Anderson, United States".<ref name="Smith"/> The majority of E & S Wilson's meat was shipped to a camp of 6,000 soldiers in [[Greenbush, Rensselaer County, New York|Greenbush, New York]], where soldiers from Troy who were acquainted with Samuel Wilson and his nickname "Uncle Sam" made an association between Wilson and the "U.S." stamp.<ref name="Smith"/> Over time, any army property marked U.S. also became linked with Wilson's name, and "Uncle Sam" became a figure of speech to describe the United States.<ref name="Smith"/>