Lester S. Willson
Brevet Brigadier General Lester Sebastion Willson, (June 16, 1839 – January 26, 1919), was a U.S. Civil War officer in the Union Army, Assistant Quartermaster General of New York, and a Montana merchant and politician in Bozeman, Montana.[1][2][3] He was married at Albany, New York, on March 2, 1869, to Miss Emma D. Weeks, a native of Vermont. He died in Bozeman, Montana, on January 26, 1919.
Lester Sebastion Willson
Lester Sebastion Willson
June 16, 1839
Canton, New York, US
January 26, 1919 (aged 79)
Bozeman, Montana, US
U.S. Army Volunteers
1861-1865
Brevet Brigadier General
60th New York Volunteers
Battle of Atlanta
Emma D. Weeks (Wife)
Fred Fielding Willson (Son)
Montana Merchant and
State Legislator
Early years[edit]
Lester Willson was born in Canton, New York, on June 16, 1839, the son of Ambrose and Julia Willson. He was one of seven children and had at least two brothers, Davis and George. His brother Davis would play a prominent role in Lester's later career as a businessman in Montana. He attended public schools in Canton and graduated from a prominent Academy before working as a clerk for two years and then volunteering for the Union Army in 1861.[4][5]
Montana politician[edit]
While serving in New York, Willson became active in the Union Party (Republican), politics which he brought with him to Montana. Shortly after arriving in Bozeman, Willson was instrumental in the establishment of a Bozeman chapter of the Union League, a quasi-ritualistic, patriotic society (Republican) in the hope that Montana politics would soon be dominated by Republicans. Willson soon became a Union Party elector for the 1867 federal elections. In September, 1868 he won a seat in the Montana Territorial Legislature representing Gallatin County, Montana.[1]
Willson was a Mason and a member of Bozeman Lodge No. 18, A. F. & A. M. He was charter member of the William English Post No. 10, Grand Army of the Republic and was a department commander of Montana. Willson also belonged to the Military Order of the Loyal Legion of the United States in New York, and to the Republican Club of the city of New York. In 1883-86 he served as territorial quartermaster-general with the rank of brigadier-general.[4]