PILSON.
It is probable the Pilson family originally belonged to
Augusta County. In 1760 Richard of that name purchased
from Jean Kinkead two hundred and twenty-four acres lying
at the foot of the Blue Ridge. He appears to have died not
long after, and the property descended to his son Samuel.
In 1778 Samuel was living in Augusta, and in that year sold
the land to William Pilson. William sold it to Nathaniel
Harlow in 1783, and five years later it was the first purchase
of John Dettor, of York County, Pennsylvania. It is likely
that Samuel and William were brothers, and that Mary
Pilson, who became the wife of William Wallace in 1771,
was their sister.
John Pilson next appears, and was the son of Samuel.
He was a man of sterling character, sincere piety, and the
strictest integrity. He carried on the mercantile business in
partnership with his cousin William Wallace until the death
of William in 1809, and then conducted it alone for many
years. The store stood on the old Staunton Road on the
north side of the branch, opposite the house now owned by
Rev. Dabney Davis. He invested the earnings of his business
in the old Hardin property, which in 1837 he sold to
Thomas C. Bowen. He was appointed a magistrate in 1824,
and served for a time as ruling elder in the Mountain Plains
Church. He never married, but was once engaged to his
cousin Polly Wallace. Their union being opposed by friends
because of relationship, they quietly acquiesced, but withal
still loved and lived in each other's eyes until her death in
1845; and to her memory he remained constant until his own
death, which occurred ten years later. A nephew, Matthew
Pilson, from Augusta County, was for some years an assistant
in the store. After John's death he returned to Augusta,
where he died not long ago at an advanced age.
