Benjamin J. Wilson was born in Belfast, Ireland on April 15 1823. He immigrated to the United States in 1841, settling first in New York, later Massachusetts where he received training as a machinist. Moving south he moved back and forth from Hancock County, Georgia and Alabama. He finally settled in Okufuske, Randolph County, Alabama in 1841. While he lived in Alabama, he acquired property and part ownership in the Okufuske Cotton Manufacturing Co. In 1866 he moved to Atlanta where he invested heavily in property, banking and land in the city and surrounding counties. He was also active in the Masonic Lodge and Presbyterian Church in Atlanta and West End. Although few details are available concerning the family genealogy, Wilson was twice married, to Miss Cheely and Miss Hill. He had six children: John B. Wilson (1875-1881), Robert E. Wilson (d. 1920), Will Wilson (d. 1898), Philip D. Wilson; and two daughters Carrie Wilson Tye (d. 1942) and Mary Dell Wilson Potts. Benjamin J. Wilson died on 15 February 1896 while in Colorado Springs, CO.