Meat packer, born in West Cambridge (now Arlington), Massachusetts, USA. A Revolutionary War veteran, he started a meat-packing plant in Troy, NY. The meat that he shipped to the army during the War of 1812 was stamped US. The US referred to US properties, but was then somewhat humorously said to stand for Uncle Sam Wilson. As the term Uncle Sam came into more widespread use as a symbol of the United States (after 1815), it has been generally claimed that it owes its origin to Samuel Wilson's nickname.
Samuel 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". Wilson's parents came from Greenock in Scotland and when Samuel was a boy, his family moved to Mason, New Hampshire, and another monument (a roadside marker) exists there. In 1797, Samuel married Betsey Mann of Mason and brought her back to Troy with him.
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". 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.
Samuel Wilson died in 1854 and is buried in Oakwood Cemetery in Troy.
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