William Henry Jenks Wilson ^{1 2 3}

   FamilySearch ID: LKG6-WP6.

  Noted events in his life were:

1. Fact: Harness Racing Museum and Hall of Fame: biography of William H. Wilson, 1892. William H. Wilson was born in Whiteside County, Illinois in 1837, and grew up in Chicago. At the age of fifteen he made his way west where he split rails, rafted lumber, drove stagecoaches and became a self-made Western man. As he grew older he began to handle horses, and was successful in trading and commission dealing. He became a good trainer and occasionally drove in races.

In 1873, Wilson leased Hall of Fame Immortal George Wilkes from the Simmons Brothers. Wilson took him to Lexington where he stood the son of Hambletonian 10 for a $100 stud fee. In Wallace's Monthly it is noted that Wilson "was always far-seeing in all matters relating to the trotting horse and his bloodlines and never was this better illustrated than by his selection of George Wilkes to take to Kentucky, at a time when that stallion has absolutely no reputation as a sire."

In marketing George Wilkes, Wilson was tireless and innovative. He found brilliant ways to finance his breeding operations, at a time when Kentucky overflowed with high-bred horses. In that first season, Wilson brought no less than 82 mares to George Wilkes. It was an amazing feat. Seeing the stallion's new potential, the Simmons Brothers declined to renew Wilson's lease for a second year. It was because of Wilson's faith in George Wilkes, however, that the stallion became one of Kentucky's premiere sires.

Wilson built the Abdallah Park stock farm at Cynthiana, Kentucky, which became the home of Goldsmith's Abdallah and the site of trotting meetings, including the annual Harrison County Fair. In 1874, Wilson was instrumental in establishing the Kentucky Trotting Horse Breeders' Association, which John Hervey describes as "the most famous body of its kind ever known, as well as the most influential in the history of harness racing." In 1875, the Association staged its first race meeting at the track which is today known as The Red Mile. Wilson's greatest breeding triumph was Immortal McKinney, who was foaled at Abdallah Park in 1887.

William H. Wilson died in 1892 at the age of 54.

2. He has conflicting death information of 14 Jul 1892 and Cincinnati, Hamilton, Ohio, United States. ⁴

3. Book: Kentucky Pioneer and Court Records. Bio of Lydia Beecher Cook., 1929. ^{2 5}
Anna Eliza Cook (of Stephen B. Cook and Lydia Beecher) married William Henry Jenks Wilson Jan. 19, 1861, in Lexington, Ky. He was the son of Ranselear Jeremiah Jenks and Asenath Woodburn (of Moses Woodburn, Revolutionary soldier). W. H. Jenks ran away from home when a small boy and was adopted by Mr. Wilson, and was always known as Wilson instead of Jenks. He was a well known trotting horse owner, and built Abdallah Park, Cynthiana, Ky. Children: (1) Annie Laurie Wilson-Born Nov. 5, 1862; married R. B. James. (2) Stephen Henry Wilson-Born 1864; died July 26, 1865. (3) Martha Ednah Wilson-Born Feb. 25, 1866; married H. K. McAdams, Cynthiana, Ky. (D.A.R.. No. 238379). Later moved to Lexington, Ky.

William married Annie Eliza Cook, daughter of Stephen Beecher Cook and Lydia Beecher, on 19 Jan 1861 in Lexington, Fayette, KY. (Annie Eliza Cook was born on 19 Jun 1838 in , , PA,^{6 7} died on 12 Jul 1926 in Lexington, Fayette, KY ^{6 7} and was buried on 17 Jul 1926 in Cynthiana: Battle Grove Cemetery, Harrison, KY ^{6 7}.)