H. A. Wilson

Harvey Addison Alexander Wilson (born January 15, 1849 in Cassville, Georgia; died August 28, 1905 in Lomax) was an attorney, a federal official, and the editor and publisher of The Birmingham Times.

Wilson was raised in Mardisville as the youngest of eight children. He moved to Talladega as a young man and was elected City Marshal. He joined the Republican Party in 1870. In 1875 he moved to Selma as business manager of the Selma Republican, founded by R. A. Mosely. A year later he moved to Montgomery as business manager of another Republican newspaper published by Benjamin Gardner. In 1876 he married Gardner's daughter, Emily. The couple had one daughter, Myrtle.

Wilson was made a deputy U.S. Marshal in Montgomery and served under George Turner, who was also chairman of the Alabama Republican Party and later served as a U.S. Senator from Washington. Wilson resigned from the Marshal's Service to become Receiver of Public Monies for the Montgomery Land Office. He lost that position during Grover Cleveland's administration and began to farm on land he had acquired in Chilton County. He remained active in the Republic Party, attending state conventions and being recognized as "among those foremost in the movement for a lily white party in Alabama."

In 1888 Wilson came to Birmingham to speculate in real estate. He was admitted to the Alabama State Bar and began to practice as an attorney with Jesse Edwards in 1889. In 1893 Judge John Bruce swore him in as a United State Circuit Court Commissioner, and he retained that office under his successor Thomas Jones.

Around the same time he took over editorial duties, and then publishing duties, for the Republican newspaper The Birmingham Times. He continued to reside at his farm in Chilton County while operating his business in Birmingham. Wilson died at his home in Lomax in Chilton County from a stroke of apoplexy early on the morning of Monday, August 28, 1905. He was buried at Clanton Cemetery.

Despite his party status, Wilson was eulogized as a loyal and warm friend to those of all leanings, and was said to have supported the policies of President Theodore Roosevelt even after his split with the Republican Party.

References

"Harvey Addison Alexander Wilson" obituary (September 8, 1905) The Birmingham Times, p. 1