Rufus Rockwell Wilson

Born in Troy, Pennsylvania, on March 15, 1865, Rufus Rockwell Wilson became a newspaper man early in life and served as an associate editor of the Elmira Telegram. After leaving that post in December 1890, he worked for several New York newspapers and increasingly turned to writing books.

Wilson went on to publish and edit a wide range of historical works, including biographies and books on American places and events. Library of Congress records confirm his role as editor of Heath's Memoirs of the American War and an edition of Andrew Burnaby's Travels through the Middle Settlements of North America, and surviving catalogs show a steady output of history-focused titles.

Later in life he returned to Elmira, New York, where he and his wife, Anna Otilie Erickson Wilson, operated the Primavera Press. He was recognized as a Lincoln scholar and received an honorary doctorate from Lincoln Memorial University in 1943. Wilson died in Elmira on December 14, 1949.