During his lifetime, Charles Leonard Wilson (1863-1928) was notable in both his hometown of Peoria as well as here in Pekin, where he was one of the co-founders of the American Distilling Co.
C. L. Wilson was born 6 Aug. 1863 in Peoria, the son of John and Emily Jerusha (Woodruff) Wilson. His mother Emily was the daughter of one of Peoria’s pioneer settlers, George Woodruff. His father John was a cattle stock dealer, founder of the John Wilson & Co. stock firm that did business in both Peoria and Pekin. Another Wilson family business in Peoria was the Wilson Grocery Co. at 800-804 S. Washington St. C. L. Wilson got his start in business working for his father and working with his older brother Arthur W. Wilson (1857-1929).
Arthur and Charles moved to Burton, Kansas, in 1882, opening a mercantile store there called Wilson Bros. In 1884, Arthur sold his interest in the store and returned to Illinois, but Charles stayed on in Kansas until 1887. It was while he was living in Burton that Charles married on 11 Dec. 1889 to Georgia A. Easling (1868-1953), daughter of Burton physician Dr. Peter Easling. In 1887, Charles sold his store in Burton, Kansas, and he and Georgia moved to Pekin, where Charles was hired as bookkeeper for the Hamburg Distilling Co. In the autumn of 1892, Charles, along with his father John and older brother Everett Woodruff Wilson (1861-1938), purchased an interest in the distillery, which was reorganized as the American Distilling.
The company’s co-founding officers, as listed in the 1893 Pekin city directory, were E. W. Wilson, president, A. H. Purdie, vice president, and C. L. Wilson, secretary and treasurer. The 1974 Pekin Sesquicentennial volume, page 68, relates the founding of American Distillery in these words:
“In 1892, the American Distilling Company was born and erected a plant on the site formerly occupied by one of Pekin’s first distilleries, the Hamburg. The company expanded in 1908 by absorbing a conglomerate of three other distilleries, including the Hamburg.“
The 1949 Pekin Centenary says the Hamburg was Pekin’s first distillery, built in 1858 by Col. William Callendar. The Hamburg, and subsequently the American Distilling Co., was located on South Front Street near what was then the southern city limits of Pekin. The company’s first president E. W. Wilson, older brother of C. L. Wilson, twice served as Pekin mayor, in 1893-1894 and again in 1899-1900. Mayor Wilson’s home in Pekin is now Abts Mortuary on South Fifth Street. Charles and Georgia lived one street over, at 1105 S. Fourth St., a home he owned and lived in from 1887 to 1912. There they raised their only child, Edith (1890-1982), wife of Frederick Nickolas Albertsen (1882-1940) of Pekin.
During the years he lived in Pekin, C. L. Wilson was not only secretary and treasurer of the American Distilling Co., but also served on the board of directors of the German-American National Bank. He was also an active member of the Pekin Country Club until his death.
In 1912, Charles and Georgia sold their home at 1105 S. Fourth St. and moved to Peoria, where they lived for several years in the grand mansion at 1652 N. Glen Oak Ave. Once again a resident of his home town, Charles held the office of vice president of the Wilson Grocery Co. in Peoria, and he became a member of the Creve Coeur Club there. However, Charles’ business responsibilities and community involvement in Pekin brought him back over the Illinois River almost daily.
Toward the end of his life, Charles lived at 1505 Columbia Terrace in Peoria. That is where he was when suddenly died of a massive heart attack on the night of 4 May 1928, just 10 day after American Distillery was sold to new owners and Charles was preparing to enjoy his retirement. He, his wife Georgia, their daughter Edith, and their son-in-law Frederick are all buried in the Wilson family plot in Springdale Cemetery, Peoria.
C. L. Wilson’s biographical sketch was published in “Portrait and Biographical Record of Tazewell and Mason Counties” (1894), page 420, and is here reproduced in full:
“CHARLES L. WILSON, Secretary and Treasurer of the American Distilling Company, is one of the prominent business men of Pekin, where he is residing. His father, John Wilson, was born in Poughkeepsie, N. Y., of which state the grandfather, Henry Wilson, was also a native. The latter was an early settler in Peoria, near which city he was engaged in farming at the time of his decease. Though now somewhat retired from active duties, John Wilson is still interested in various important enterprises connected with the progress of Pekin and Peoria, his home being in the latter city. He has been successful as a cattle dealer, and is a stockholder in the American Distilling Company in this city and senior member of the John Wilson & Co. stock firm, also of Pekin. He married Miss Emily Woodruff, a native of the Buckeye State, and the daughter of George Woodruff, also an early settler of Peoria.
“Charles L., of this sketch, was born in the above city August 6, 1863, and was there reared to manhood, graduating from the high school. Later he took a course in the business college of that city, and in 1882 went west to Burton, Harvey County, Kan., where he was engaged in the mercantile business in company with his brother A. W., under the style of Wilson Bros. Two years later our subject purchased his brother’s interest in the store and continued alone, carrying on the largest enterprise in the place until 1887, when he sold out and came to Pekin. After his advent in this city he accepted a position as bookkeeper with the Hamburg Distilling Company, by whom he was employed until January of the following year, when the company sold out to the trust. He was still retained in the capacity of bookkeeper, however, until 1892, when, in the fall of that year, he purchased an interest in the American Distilling Company, and after its incorporation was elected Secretary and Treasurer of the same.
“In addition to the above enterprise, Mr. Wilson is extensively engaged in the cattle business with his father, owning fifteen acres of ground in the city, and cattle sheds which will accommodate four thousand animals. He is also interested in the wholesale house known as the Wilson Grocery Company, which is doing business with a capital of $100,000. The distillery has a capacity of five thousand bushels a day, and gives constant employment to one hundred men.
“In Burton, Kan., December 11, 1889, Charles L. Wilson married Miss Georgia Easly. Mrs. Wilson was born in that state, and is the daughter of Dr. Peter Easly, a prominent physician of Burton. Their union was blessed by the birth of a daughter, Edith. Our subject has been identified with the Republican party for many years, and is a leading factor in all worthy movements.”
Charles’ obituary was published at the top of the front page of the Pekin Daily Times, 5 May 1928, page 1, column 6, and is shown here:
