AUTOGRAPH LETTER SIGNED FROM W.H. WILSON, CHIEF ENGINEER'S OFFICE, PENNSYLVANIA RAIL ROAD, ALTOONA [PA], OCT. 10TH, 1864, TO L. WISTER, ESQ.: DEAR SIR, YOURS OF THE 22 ULT TO THE GENL SUPT HAS BEEN REFERRED TO ME - AND HAS RECEIVED ATTENTION - BUT I AM NOT YET PREPARED TO MAKE REPORT. WILL YOU DO ME THE FAVOR TO STATE FROM WHOM YOU PURCHASED THE PROPERTY UPON WHICH THE HOUSE IS SITUATED ABOUT WHICH YOU WROTE - ALSO AT WHAT TIME SUCH PURCHASE WAS MADE. WE ARE INFORMED BUT CANNOT YET SAY HOW CORRECTLY THAT THE PARTIES OWN AT AT THE TIME THE ROAD WAS CONSTRUCTED, WERE FULLY COMPENSATED. WE ARE DESIROUS TO OBTAIN ALL THE FACTS OF THE CASE.| RESPECTFULLY YOURS. W.H. WILSON
1864 · Altoona, PA
by Wilson, William H.
Altoona, PA, 1864. Broadside, 5" x 8". Manuscript letter on letterhead of the Chief Engineer's Office of the Pennsylvania Rail Road. Old folds, a few light spots of fox. Very Good.
William H. Wilson [1811-1902] was born in Charleston, S.C. His father, Major John Wilson, was an engineer during the War of 1812 and later was one of the early railroad builders and engineers of the United States. William moved with his family to Philadelphia in 1826, and in 1828 was working with his father in the surveying of the Philadelphia & Reading Railroad; by 1835 he had been appointed its Principal Assistant Engineer. He began working with the Pennsylvania Railroad Company in 1857 and was appointed its Chief Engineer in April of 1861. He later served as president of the Erie Railroad Co.; as head of the Real Estate Department of the Pennsylvania Railroad Co.; and as president of the Philadelphia & Erie, the Philadelphia & Trenton, the Belvidere & Delaware, and several other leased roads of the Pennsyvlania Railroad Company. [NATIONAL CYCLOPEDIA OF AMERICAN BIOGRAPHY. VOLUME XIV. J.T.White Co.: 1910. Page 506.]
L. Wister may have been Langhorne Wister [1834-1891] of Philadelphia. Wister was a Union Brevet Brigadier General in the Civil War, receiving his rank for meritorious services during the war and for distinguished gallantry at the battles of Gettysburg, Fredericksburg and Chancellorsville. (Inventory #: 31037)
William H. Wilson [1811-1902] was born in Charleston, S.C. His father, Major John Wilson, was an engineer during the War of 1812 and later was one of the early railroad builders and engineers of the United States. William moved with his family to Philadelphia in 1826, and in 1828 was working with his father in the surveying of the Philadelphia & Reading Railroad; by 1835 he had been appointed its Principal Assistant Engineer. He began working with the Pennsylvania Railroad Company in 1857 and was appointed its Chief Engineer in April of 1861. He later served as president of the Erie Railroad Co.; as head of the Real Estate Department of the Pennsylvania Railroad Co.; and as president of the Philadelphia & Erie, the Philadelphia & Trenton, the Belvidere & Delaware, and several other leased roads of the Pennsyvlania Railroad Company. [NATIONAL CYCLOPEDIA OF AMERICAN BIOGRAPHY. VOLUME XIV. J.T.White Co.: 1910. Page 506.]
L. Wister may have been Langhorne Wister [1834-1891] of Philadelphia. Wister was a Union Brevet Brigadier General in the Civil War, receiving his rank for meritorious services during the war and for distinguished gallantry at the battles of Gettysburg, Fredericksburg and Chancellorsville. (Inventory #: 31037)
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