Samuel Wilson
Encyclopedia
Samuel Wilson was a meat-packer from Troy, New York
whose name is purportedly the source of the personification of the United States known as "Uncle Sam
".
Samuel was born in historic Arlington
(known as Menotomy at the time), Massachusetts
, to parents originally from Greenock
, Scotland
. The Uncle Sam Memorial Statue
marks a site near his birthplace. As a boy, he moved with his family to Mason, New Hampshire
. In 1789, Samuel and his brother Ebeneezer moved to Troy, where they went into business. In 1797, Samuel married Betsey Mann of Mason and brought her back to Troy with him. They had four children and lived in a house on Ferry Street. Samuel Wilson died at the age of 87 in 1854 and was buried in Oakwood Cemetery in Troy.
At the time of the War of 1812
, Samuel Wilson was a prosperous middle-aged meat-packer in Troy. He obtained a contract to supply beef to the Army in its campaign further north, which he shipped in barrels. The barrels, being government property, were branded with the initials "U.S.", but the teamster
s and soldiers would joke that the initials referred to "Uncle Sam", who supplied the product. Over time, it is believed, anything marked with the same initials (as much Army property was) also became linked with his name.
The 87th United States Congress
adopted the following resolution on September 15, 1961: "Resolved by the Senate and the House of Representatives that the Congress salutes Uncle Sam Wilson of Troy, New York, as the progenitor of America's National symbol of Uncle Sam." Monuments mark his birthplace in Arlington, Massachusetts
, and site of burial in Oakwood Cemetery, Troy, New York
. Another sign marks "The boyhood home of Sam" outside his second home in Mason, NH. The first use of the term in literature is seen in an 1816 allegorical book, The Adventures of Uncle Sam in Search After His Lost Honor by Frederick Augustus Fidfaddy, Esq., also in reference to the aforementioned Samuel Wilson.
Troy, New York
Troy is a city in the US State of New York and the seat of Rensselaer County. Troy is located on the western edge of Rensselaer County and on the eastern bank of the Hudson River. Troy has close ties to the nearby cities of Albany and Schenectady, forming a region popularly called the Capital...
whose name is purportedly the source of the personification of the United States known as "Uncle Sam
Uncle Sam
Uncle Sam is a common national personification of the American government originally used during the War of 1812. He is depicted as a stern elderly man with white hair and a goatee beard...
".
Samuel was born in historic Arlington
Arlington, Massachusetts
Arlington is a town in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States, six miles northwest of Boston. The population was 42,844 at the 2010 census.-History:...
(known as Menotomy at the time), Massachusetts
Massachusetts
The Commonwealth of Massachusetts is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. It is bordered by Rhode Island and Connecticut to the south, New York to the west, and Vermont and New Hampshire to the north; at its east lies the Atlantic Ocean. As of the 2010...
, to parents originally from Greenock
Greenock
Greenock is a town and administrative centre in the Inverclyde council area in United Kingdom, and a former burgh within the historic county of Renfrewshire, located in the west central Lowlands of Scotland...
, Scotland
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
. The Uncle Sam Memorial Statue
Uncle Sam Memorial Statue
The Uncle Sam Memorial Statue is a statue commemorating Samuel Wilson, perhaps the original Uncle Sam, near his birthplace in the center of Arlington, Massachusetts, USA. It was sculpted by Theodore Cotillo Barbarossa...
marks a site near his birthplace. As a boy, he moved with his family to Mason, New Hampshire
Mason, New Hampshire
Mason is a town in Hillsborough County, New Hampshire, United States. The population was 1,382 at the 2010 census. Mason, together with Wilton, is home to Russell-Abbott State Forest.-History:...
. In 1789, Samuel and his brother Ebeneezer moved to Troy, where they went into business. In 1797, Samuel married Betsey Mann of Mason and brought her back to Troy with him. They had four children and lived in a house on Ferry Street. Samuel Wilson died at the age of 87 in 1854 and was buried in Oakwood Cemetery in Troy.
At the time of the War of 1812
War of 1812
The War of 1812 was a military conflict fought between the forces of the United States of America and those of the British Empire. The Americans declared war in 1812 for several reasons, including trade restrictions because of Britain's ongoing war with France, impressment of American merchant...
, Samuel Wilson was a prosperous middle-aged meat-packer in Troy. He obtained a contract to supply beef to the Army in its campaign further north, which he shipped in barrels. The barrels, being government property, were branded with the initials "U.S.", but the teamster
Teamster
A teamster, in modern American English, is a truck driver. The trade union named after them is the International Brotherhood of Teamsters , one of the largest unions in the United States....
s and soldiers would joke that the initials referred to "Uncle Sam", who supplied the product. Over time, it is believed, anything marked with the same initials (as much Army property was) also became linked with his name.
The 87th United States Congress
87th United States Congress
-House of Representatives :-Senate:* President: Richard Nixon , until January 20, 1961** Lyndon Johnson , from January 20, 1961* President pro tempore: Carl Hayden -House of Representatives:...
adopted the following resolution on September 15, 1961: "Resolved by the Senate and the House of Representatives that the Congress salutes Uncle Sam Wilson of Troy, New York, as the progenitor of America's National symbol of Uncle Sam." Monuments mark his birthplace in Arlington, Massachusetts
Arlington, Massachusetts
Arlington is a town in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States, six miles northwest of Boston. The population was 42,844 at the 2010 census.-History:...
, and site of burial in Oakwood Cemetery, Troy, New York
Troy, New York
Troy is a city in the US State of New York and the seat of Rensselaer County. Troy is located on the western edge of Rensselaer County and on the eastern bank of the Hudson River. Troy has close ties to the nearby cities of Albany and Schenectady, forming a region popularly called the Capital...
. Another sign marks "The boyhood home of Sam" outside his second home in Mason, NH. The first use of the term in literature is seen in an 1816 allegorical book, The Adventures of Uncle Sam in Search After His Lost Honor by Frederick Augustus Fidfaddy, Esq., also in reference to the aforementioned Samuel Wilson.