Samuel Wilson
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Image:Uncle Sam Wilson.JPGSamuel Wilson (Uncle Sam) (September 13, 1766 - July 31, 1854) was a meat-packer in Troy, New York. He is alleged to be the source of the personification of the United States known as "Uncle Sam". He was born in historic Menotomy, now Arlington, Massachusetts, where a monument marks his birthplace. When Samuel was a boy, his family moved to Mason, New Hampshire, and another monument (a roadside marker) exists there. Samuel and his brother Ebeneezer went to Troy in 1789 and went into business there. In 1797, Samuel married Betsey Mann of Mason and brought her back to Troy with him. They lived in a house on Ferry Street in Troy and had four children.
The origin of the Uncle Sam legend may be that at the time of the War of 1812, Samuel Wilson was a prosperous middle-aged meat-packer in Troy, known locally by the nickname "Uncle Sam". He obtained a contract to supply beef to the Army in its campaign farther north, and he shipped the meat salted, in barrels. The barrels, being Government property, were branded "U.S." and the teamsters and soldiers joked that the barrels were the initials of Uncle Sam himself. Later, anything marked with the same initials (as much Army property was) also became linked with Sam Wilson via his coincidental initials. So the story goes at least.
Image:Uncle Sam Wilson's grave.JPG Samuel Wilson died in 1854 and is buried in Oakwood Cemetery in Troy.
