JAMES J. WILSON.  

	For nearly thirty-five years James J. Wilson, a locomotive engineer,
has been running a train out of Moose Jaw on the Canadian Pacific line.
He is, therefore, the possessor of one of the longest records of continu-
ous service in the company and a veteran member of his profession. A
genial disposition and friendly spirit have made him one of the best
known and most popular of the engineers on his road and he is always
sure of a hearty welcome wherever trainmen are gathered.  His popu-
larity is not confined to railroad circles, however, for he has hosts of
friends in Moose Jaw and, indeed, it would be hard to mention the name
of any other citizen who is more widely known.
	James J. Wilson was born in Nova Scotia, on the 12th of March,
1865, and is the son of the late James and Elizabeth (Barss) Wilson.
James Wilson was a son of Erin who came to Canada in early life and
there engaged in agricultural pursuits until his death. A stanch Orange-
man, he was always active in that order, while politically he supported the
Conservative party. His religious faith was that of the Church of Eng
land, but his widow is a Baptist. Mrs. Wilson now makes her home in
Bergen, Genesee county, New York, United States of America. She was
a native of Nova Scotia, where she grew to womanhood and lived all her
married life. She is the mother of seven children, six of whom are liv-
ing, the third child in the family being James J. Wilson of this review.
	James J. Wilson grew up on his father's farm and was given a gen-
eral education in the schools of his native province. At the age of eight-
een he set out to make his own way in the world and chose for his occupa-
tion that of a machinist. Entering the employ of the Canadian Pacific
Railway he learned the trade in its shops and worked at it for ahout two
years and a half, when he went to firing for the railroad and in this con-
nection came as far west as Manitoba. In 1889 he came to Moose Jaw to
reside and the same year witnessed his promotion to the position of loco-
motive engineer. Since then he has been continuously engaged in running
engines out of this city and is now the engineer on the Soo local from
Moose Jaw to Portal.
	In 1891 Mr. Wilson was married to Miss Elizabeth Watson, a native of
Ontario, and they have become the parents of two children, a son and
a daughter. The son, Stuart, is engaged in farming; while the daughter,
Clarice, is the wife of R. C. Johnson, who travels for Robin Hood Mills.
Mr. and Mrs. Wilson belong to the Presbyterian church, in which Mrs.
Wilson is quite active as a worker in the various women's societies of
the congregation. Mr. Wilson is a fourteenth degree Mason and an Odd
Fellow. In politics he follows an independent course, voting according
to the dictates of his judgment, rather than in line with any regular party
program. Throughout the long period of his residence here Mr. Wilson
has ever been in sympathy with those movements that make for the ad-
vancement of Moose Jaw and in many ways has shown himself to be
one of the substantial, public-spirited citizens who form the "backbone"
of every prosperous community.



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