The greater portion of the Wilson papers, acquired through Col. Fred B. Rogers, were given to the Bancroft library by Mrs. Evva M. Cooper in 1948 and 1949. A few items were purchased from Col. Rogers in 1951 and Mrs. Lucile B. Bradley gave some additional material in 1952.
John Wilson, born in 1790, came to California in 1849 as Indian Agent, then as Navy Agent in San Francisco. He soon settled down to practicing law in San Francisco, becoming somewhat of a specialist in land claim cases. Tremendously interested in the Whig party in California, he was active politically. These two aspects -land claims and politics -form the backbone of the incoming correspondence, spanning for the most part the years 1849 to 1860. Some letters and vouchers relate to Wilson's position as Indian Agent and later as Navy Agent. The few outgoing letters, mainly in draft form and some incomplete, include a contemporary copy of a letter to Hon. T. Ewing, Department of the Interior, concerning the state of the Indians; a partial description of difficulties of trip from Missouri to San Francisco, 1849; Whig politics; and a discussion of the wealth of Nevada mines. Among the miscellaneous personal papers, related largely to his legal practice, is to be found William B. Ide's proclamation to the people of Sonoma of June 15, 1846.
There are also a few papers of members of the Wilson family -his wife, Ann Robertson (Pulliam) Wilson; his son Micajah D.; and his daughter, Mary Elizah (Wilson) Wakeman. A scrapbook assembled by a grand-daughter, Katharine (Wakeman) Cooper and various papers relating to members of the Cooper family, with legal papers of Ferdinand O. Wakeman, round out the collection.