Background
Samuel Wilson was born on September 13, 1766, in West Cambridge (now Arlington), Massachusetts, seventh of the thirteen children of Edward Wilson and Lucy Francis.
Samuel Wilson was born on September 13, 1766, in West Cambridge (now Arlington), Massachusetts, seventh of the thirteen children of Edward Wilson and Lucy Francis.
About 1780 the family moved to Mason, New Hampshire, and in 1789 Samuel and his brother Ebenezer set out on foot for Troy, New York, where the rest of Samuel Wilson's long life was spent. In Troy he engaged in several lines of business - making brick, building houses, running a farm, an orchard, a nursery, a distillery, a sloop line on the Hudson, and a general store. He was known as a man of the strictest integrity. Genial and friendly, he came to be called "Uncle Sam" Wilson to distinguish him from a younger man of the same name.
During the War of 1812, Troy was an important center for assembling munitions and food for the army. At this time, Ebenezer and Samuel Wilson were prosperous meat packers, advertising that they could slaughter and salt more than a thousand head of cattle a week. Among their customers was Elbert Anderson, an army contractor, who required that his purchases must be shipped in oak casks branded E A U S. An ignorant workman asking what the letters stood for got the jesting reply: "Why for Elbert Anderson and Uncle Sam here. " Many of the soldiers encamped near Troy who knew the Wilsons personally referred to their beef as "Uncle Sam's"; and eventually in the army and elsewhere the term personified the government itself. Samuel Wilson was uncle or great-uncle to over a hundred persons, but left few direct descendants. He died on July 31, 1854, in Troy and was buried in Oakwood Cemetery there.
Quotations:
"One of the biggest challenges to medicine is the incorporation of information technology in our practices. "
"As population susceptibilities are better understood, we will be in a better position than we are in today to make informed decisions about risk management. "
"There is no doubt that environmentally related diseases will continue to pose problems in the future. "
"The infrastructure for linking environmental health and public health is not working as well as it should. "
Large, well proportioned, and clean-shaven, in appearance Samuel Wilson did not resemble the usual caricatures of "Uncle Sam. "
Trojans testify that he was fond of a joke and that he quite enjoyed being reminded of his connection with the famous nickname.
On January 3, 1797, in Mason, Samuel Wilson married Betsey, daughter of Capt. Benjamin Mann. The couple had four children.