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(1862–1934)
"Instead of the use of force, what we
need is the spirit of justice, of fair play,
that will result in a permanent industrial
peace." — William B. Wilson
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William Bauchop Wilson was born in Blantyre,
Scotland, April 2, 1862, the third child of Adam
and Helen Wilson. In 1870, Adam (a miner) and
his family emigrated to Arnot, a small coal
mining village in Tioga County, Pennsylvania.
Wilson received less than two years of formal
schooling before joining his father in the mines,
where he worked until he was 16. At age 11,
Wilson joined the newly formed local of the
Miners and Laborers Benevolent Association as a
half member, a status reserved for workers under
16. By the time he was 16, he was secretary of the
local union. Eventually, Wilson was blacklisted in
Tioga County for his union activism and traveled
the country looking for work. On June 7, 1883,
Wilson married Agnes Williamson, an Arnot
resident and fellow Good Templar member. They
had eleven children.
During this period of labor activism, Wilson
traveled extensively assisting striking miners,
establishing joint conferences between operators
and miners, and organizing union locals. He
convinced the executive board of the Knights of
Labor to meet with the Progressive Union to fully
unite. Wilson became chair of the constitutional
and by-law committee and on January 25, 1890,
the United Mine Workers of America was formed.
He was elected a member of the UMWA National
Executive Board in 1891 and again in 1894.
In May 1900, John Mitchell, the legendary
president of the UMWA, appointed him to the
position of Secretary-Treasurer. Wilson was
elected to the position in uncontested races for the
next eight years. Soon after, the UMWA organized
a strike that included Tioga County. Mary Harris
"Mother" Jones came to Arnot to assist the
strikers. In her autobiography, she wrote the
following about Wilson’s actions during the
strike: "He knew every hardship that the rank
and file of the organization knew. We do not have
such leaders now."
In 1906, Wilson, a Democrat, was elected to the
U.S. House of Representatives, unseating
Republican millionaire Elias Deemer of
Williamsport by a margin of only 384 votes. He
served in Congress until March 3, 1913. On March
4, the Department of Labor was created by an act
of Congress and Wilson, as chair of the
Committee on Labor, was instrumental in its
passage. Wilson was appointed by President
Woodrow Wilson to be the first Secretary of the
new department, beginning March 5, and he
served in that position until March 5, 1921.
Wilson died aboard a train near Savannah,
Georgia, on May 25, 1934. Services were held June
3, 1934, at the family homestead in Blossburg.
Wilson is buried along side his wife in Blossburg's
Arbon Cemetery, surrounded by family.
For a more comprehensive biography of Wilson,
please visit www.blossburg.org.
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