(12 Nov. 1856-4 March 1945), farmer, public servant. (J. Lockie Wilson, Lockie Wilson; known also as Jim and, in boyhood at least, as Jimmie; the public seems to have known him as Lockie Wilson, but the frequency with which J. Lockie Wilson is used in print suggests he preferred that form ). Born at Alexandria, GC. Parents: Robert Wilson and his wife Agnes Logie (sic–not Lockie as in her son’s name). Lockie Wilson attended the separate school at Alexandria, at a time when there was no public school, and Alexandria High School. Before Alexandria had regular Protestant church services of its own, the Wilsons attended church at St. Elmo, where the Rev. Daniel Gordon was minister. In Lockie Wilson’s unpublished memoirs he speaks of the minister’s prank-loving sons, the “Gordon boys, ” with whom the Wilson boys seem to have been involved in good-natured juvenile strife. One of the Gordon boys, of course, was the future “Ralph Connor.” A few anecdotes are added about Mr Gordon himself.

     In his mid-twenties Lockie Wilson got a contract, along with his uncle John Logie of Greenfield, GC, to provide fencing along the line of the Canada Atlantic Railway. Lockie Wilson gives the value of the contract as $200,000. Wilson adds that this “good big contract… gave me a start in life.” (Technically, the obligation was broken into more than one contract.) Already by this time, and indeed from his late teens, Lockie Wilson was involved in farming. He became over the years one of the best-known and most-successful Ayrshire breeders in Eastern Ontario. He also raised Shropshire sheep, Berkshire pigs and carriage horses. His farm was in the 3rd Concession of Kenyon, just west of Alexandria. He was sufficiently near the town to remain, in some sense, one of the Alexandria townsfolk, and was highly active in Alexandria and GC affairs, including Lord Dundonald’s visits. Lockie Wilson was a justice of the peace for many years, having been first appointed when a young man. He was elected an elder of the Presbyterian church, Alexandria, in 1888. (20 Years Ago column, Cornwall Freeholder 28 Feb. 1908) Clarence Ostrom saw him as the man most responsible, about a dozen years later, through his vigour and determination, for the building of the Presbyterian church hall (the MacLaren Hall) in Alexandria, and Wilson also donated the land on which the hall was built. Among community services and kindnesses, it may be noted that he and his wife annually entertained the non-resident high school students, i.e., those whose homes were in the country but who boarded in Alexandria to attend the high school. (Cornwall Freeholder 10 March 1899)

     Lockie Wilson became involved in the farmers’ movement known as the Patrons of Industry, which also operated as a political party. In the federal election of 1896, he ran for the GC constituency as the Patrons’ candidate against the Conservative incumbent MP, R. R. (Big Rory) McLennan. In the election, McLennan had the advantage that he had secured the commitment of the Conservative government to building a boys’ reformatory at Alexandria–a splendid gift for the town and county. In turn Lockie Wilson, though previously a Conservative in his own party allegiances, secured the backing of Wilfrid Laurier the Liberal leader for his candidature. Laurier came to Alexandria to support him during the campaign, and gave him an emphatic hug on the platform. (Ostrom) As it turned out, Lockie Wilson lost the election, and with it probably his one serious chance of a career equal to his talents. Afterwards, with the short-lived Patrons movement dwindling to nothing, Lockie Wilson returned to his old Conservative allegiances. His experience with the Patrons, however, had revealed that he was a talented campaigner. In 1905, he spent 2 1/2 months campaigning vigorously in Saskatchewan for F. W. Haultain. Likewise, he campaigned long and hard for the Conservative J. P. Whitney in the Ontario provincial election campaign that brought Whitney to the premiership early in 1905. At this time, Wilson is said to have addressed 50 public meetings in 40 days.

     In 1907 the provincial government appointed him superintendent of Agricultural and Horticultural Societies in Ontario. He gave up farming, and moved to Toronto, and settled down to a long and successful career as a public servant, and as a man associated with many organizations. Among other positions, he was managing director of the Ontario Vegetable Growers’ Association, secretary of the Fairs and Exhibitions Association, managing director of the Ontario Plowmen’s Association, secretary of the Ontario Horticultural Association, and president of the Ontario Civil Service Association. He retired at the end of 1932 as chief of the Fairs and Horticultural Branch, Ont. Dept. of Agriculture. (Glengarry News 23 Dec. 1932, Standard Freeholder 24 Dec. 1932) In 1936, he retired from another role, that of chief of the Ontario Plowmen’s Association. (SFH 7 Feb. 1936) He wrote for the Agricultural Gazette of Canada 1915-1923 on topics including plowing matches, Ontario fall fairs and seed fairs. Gregarious, affable, a good talker, an inveterate joiner, he was one of the most widely-known Glengarrians of his generation. Nevertheless, Hector Charlesworth, who admired him, thought him a largely forgotten figure by the time of his death. Wilson attended the celebration, at Alexandria, on Francis Costello being named a judge (Cornwall Freeholder 2 Oct. 1929). However, soon after leaving Alexandria, Wilson had sold “his beautiful farm, Woodbine, adjoining the town of Alexandria.” (GN 10 Jan. 1908, Cornwall Freeholder: QF 24 Jan. 1908)

     Lockie Wilson died at his home in Toronto. He was married, (1) in 1883 to Mary Hodge (d. 1925, five children), daughter of Andrew Hodge, the enterprising proprietor of a Cornwall woollen mill, and (2) to Mildred Galbraith. His son John Ruthven Wilson won the Military Cross in World War I. (Cornwall Standard 14 Nov. 1918) One of Lockie Wilson’s daughters marrried a Harkness, thus establishing a connection between the Wilsons and the Harknesses of the present dictionary.

     Lockie Wilson’s obituaries state that he was at one time the editor of the Glengarrian newspaper. At this stage, long after the Glengarrian had gone out of business, he may have been confused with Isaac Wilson, who was editor of the Glengarrian in the 1890s, when the public had to make “the distinction between Farmer Wilson and Editor Wilson.” (Glengarrian 16 Aug. 1895) Lockie Wilson had evidently been involved in some way in the founding or early fortunes of the Glengarrian, for the Ontario Gazetteer and Business Directory for 1884-5 actually listes James L. Wilson (presumably this was Lockie) as the proprietor of the Glengarry Review, which was the name of the Glengarrian in its first months. Later, as a Conservative party stalwart, Lockie Wilson may have turned his hand on occasion to editing the Glengarrian, especially at the time when that Conservative newspaper, sometimes troubled by changes of management, was in between regular editors.

     A GC-area ploughing trophy commemorates Lockie Wilson in his home county. He was one of the people who propagated the reputation and mystique of GC. An agricultural writer in 1930 referred to Glengarry as “made famous in song and story by Sandy Fraser [J. E. McIntosh] and J. Lockie Wilson.” (Farmer's Advocate 26 June 1930)

Globe & Mail (with editorial of tribute), Toronto Star 5 & 6 March 1945 (with portraits), Glengarry News 9 March 1945; also recollections by Hector Charlesworth, Hamilton Spectator 10 March 1945, and J. E. McIntosh, “A Memory of Lockie Wilson, Recalls Patrons of Industry,” Ottawa Farm Journal 20 March 1945 * folder of papers relating to Lockie Wilson photocopied 1976 by present author with kind permission of their owner Robert H. McNairn of Waterdown, Ont.; papers include obituaries, clippings from various periods of Lockie Wilson’s career, fragmentary typescript of Lockie Wilson’s valuable unpublished recollections of his boyhood in Alexandria and early days in public affairs * Morgan (1912) 1176, 1216 * Charlesworth 114-115 * Ostrom 8, 313, 345 * MacGillivray & Ross: index * marries, Cornwall Freeholder 23 March 1883 * death of 22-month old daughter, CF 22 Jan. 1886, cited DTL Standard Freeholder 25 Jan. 1947 * obituary of his 1st wife, Cornwall Standard 22 Oct. 1925 * “The Man from Glengarry,” Canadian Workman (Orillia), June 1916: biographical (with portrait) * C. B. Pyper, “Glengarry Days ‘Parritch’ Plus Shorter Catechism Best Ways to Keep Youth,” Toronto Telegram, 8 Feb. 1935: interview, biographical (with portrait) * “Lockie Wilson Still a Farmer Despite His Varied Career,” SFH 7 Feb. 1936: interview, biog., very valuable (with portrait) * Angus H. McDonell’s article on Al Malcomson, GN 12 Nov. 1986 (includes a few notes on Lockie Wilson) * W. C. Good, Farmer Citizen (1958) 66 (talents of Wilson as public speaker) * Cornwall Reporter, 23 & 30 April 1881, 14 May 1881, 11 June 1881, 15 Oct. 1881 (two refs.) for his Canada Atlantic fencing contract * A. B. Macdonald of Alexandria writes re squabbles of Alexandria Literary Society & criticizes Wilson, CF 17 Dec. 1880 * Wilson buys Ayrshire herd, CF 18 Oct. 1889, cited DTL SFH 15 Oct. 1949 * adds to his quality cattle, Glengarrian 14 Feb. & 9 May 1890 * plants 50 hard and soft maples along front of his farm, Glengarrian 2 May 1890 * report that he built first silo in Kenyon Township has to be qualified, two other farmers “having built last year,” Glengarrian 10 Oct. 1890 * one of speakers at picnic (attended by “upwards of 3000 people”) held by GC Patrons of Industry at Hamilton’s Island, Vankleek Hill Review 9 Aug. 1895 * almost killed in farm accident with corn cutter, Vankleek Hill Review 27 Sept. 1895 * mentioned as “the well known P. of I. orator,” Vankleek Hill Review 10 Dec. 1897 * The Canada Farmers’ Sun, many refs., but see esp. 14 Nov. 1893 (praised as farmer), 19 June 1895 (tribute to his powers as public speaker, quoted in MacGillivray & Ross 193-194), 3 & 10 July 1895, 17 June 1896; The Weekly Sun, 11 & 25 Feb. 1897, for the two fine drawings depicting him [these were newspapers of the Patrons of Industry] * interview with Lockie Wilson, and editorial on the interview, Toronto Globe 4 Dec. 1893 * altercation of Lockie Wilson with Toronto Globe as reported in Mail and Empire–Glengarrian 23 Dec. 1904 * involved in forming the Farmers’ Association (a successor to the Patrons of Industry), in Toronto, GN 12 Sept. 1902 * becomes president of the Farmers’ Association, GN 18 Sept. 1903 * Presbyterian congregation, Alexandria, has farewell reception for Wilsons who are leaving to reside in Toronto, GN 19 April 1907