Joseph G. Wilson

Joseph Gardner Wilson (December 13, 1826 – July 2, 1873) was a U.S. Republican politician in the state of Oregon. A native of New Hampshire, he served as a state circuit court judge and as a justice of the Oregon Supreme Court, and was elected to the United States House of Representatives. Wilson died shortly after assuming office in the House.

Early life Joseph Wilson was born in Acworth, New Hampshire on December 13, 1826. His family moved to Cincinnati in Hamilton County, Ohio in 1828 and then on to a farm near Reading where Joseph attended the local schools. In 1840, he left the public schools and enrolled at Cary's Academy where he studied until 1842. At that time the justices also rode circuit as trial judges, with Wilson holding court in The Dalles. Wilson won election to a full six-year term on the court in 1864, before resigning from the court in May 1870.

Congress and death He ran for Congress in 1870, but did not win the seat. Wilson was elected as a Republican to the United States House of Representatives from Oregon in 1872 and served from March 4, 1873, until his death in Marietta, Ohio, on July 2, 1873, at the age of 46.

Death and burial He died while moving to Washington, DC, to assume office, just before he was scheduled to give a speech at his alma mater, Marietta College. Joseph Gardner Wilson was buried in The Dalles, Oregon, at Pioneer Cemetery. His cousin James W. Nesmith filled the vacancy in the House.