Warren W. WILLSON

1840 - 1891
Hometown: Bath, Steuben County, New York

Bath merchant who had stepped out of his popular store for his friends —Church & Obert—so they could run their store in March 1877 as he expanded and travelled to New York City to buy.

In June 1885 Willson was hit by the financial ruin of Thomas Warner, a lumberman in Cohocton, which destroyed the merchants in that village, including the Harris Brothers.

Myron W. and Marcus S. Harris were the siblings of Civil War Marine “Dora” Harris. After the war, Dora took to working at a store in Cohocton, so he must have been working with his brothers, who also ran the post office, ran a hardware store, and manufactured cigars.

A financial partner in the Harris company, W. W. Willson felt the fall, perhaps suggesting he make a turn to a government job for security.

According to the Prattsburgh News for June 4, 1885, the crash of the Morris Brothers was disturbing:

The excitement in Bath is intense, as it is expected that this failure will lead to others. This failure is the result of the Thomas Warner’s difficulty.

Prior to enlisting in the Marines, Josiah C. Gregg worked as a clerk for Willson, about two years, and then for about three months after his discharge.

W. W. Willson was the Steuben County Clerk for many years and a member of St. Thomas Episcopal Church, like the Brother Family. Willson was the same age and likely a schoolmate of Charley’s older sibling, H. H. Brother.

Willson married the former Susan F. Metcalf, daughter of Frank Metcalf, who was part of the old pioneering and tavern running family that helped raise and encourage Mary Ann Pratt, the mother of Civil War Marine Charles Brother. Another Mrs. Metcalf wrote to Charley Brother often while he was in the Civil War, keeping him aware of the movements of his Bath friends.