Samuel Wilson (September 13, 1766 – July 31, 1854) was ameat-packer from Troy, New York whose name is purportedly the source of the personification of the United States known as "Uncle Sam". Samuel was born in a historic town, Arlington (known as Menotomy at the time, township of West Cambridge), Massachusetts, to parents Edward and Lucy Wilson. Samuel Wilson is a descendant of one of the oldest families of Boston, Massachusetts. 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. Read more...
