WILSON, James William (1876 - c. 1940), the son of the James L. Wilson, a remarkably prolific architect who lived and worked in Chatham, Ont. James William Wilson was born in Bozanquet Township, Lambton County on 2 April 1876 and he likely trained under his father from c. 1893 onwards. In 1896, his father invited him to become a partner in the new firm of James L. Wilson & Son, Architects, and he assisted with the preparation of drawings for dozens of institutional, ecclesiastical, commercial, industrial and residential projects produced by that office between 1896 and 1907. In June 1907, they were joined by Everett B. Arnold, another local architect who may have trained under T.J. Rutley. Their firm continued to produce designs for more than forty projects throughout western Ontario between 1907 and 1909. Despite this apparent success of their office, for unknown reasons James William Wilson decided to move to Fairgrove, Michigan (near Bay City) in 1909, and the following year, in July 1910, Arnold moved to Detroit to continue his own career. His father, James L. Wilson, followed his son to Fairgrove, Mich. in 1911, and remained there for the rest of his life. Only a few references to the works by James W. Wilson in Michigan have been found.
A biography of both father and son was published in Who’s Who and Why in Canada, 1915-16, 1265-66. An essay on the career and work of Wilson & Son, Architects, written by Peter D. Charles, was published in a book illustrating the architectural heritage of Chatham, entitled At The Forks: An Architectural Book on the City of Chatham, 1979.
DETROIT, MICH., The Parkhurst Apartments, a large 7 storey apartment block, Parker Avenue at Agnes Avenue, 1921-22 (Detroit Free Press, 13 Nov. 1921, 19, illus. & descrip.; inf. Ian Mason, Sarnia)