Individual Details
Samuel David Wilder
(1 Apr 1851 - 6 Apr 1930)
"S. D. Wilder, 79, old pioneer, died at the family home, 920 south Avenue F at 11:30 p. m. Sunday.
Mr. Wilder was stricken a month ago with bronchitis, other complications resulting in an illness, which soon became critical. Hopes for his recovery were abandoned a week ago. For the past several days he had been in a state of semi-unconsciousness and when the end came Sunday night with children at his bedside he died quietly.
Funeral services will be conducted at the Methodist church Tuesday at 3:30 p. m., the Rev. C. K. Smith, pastor, officiating. Interment will be in the Crowley cemetery, where other members of the family are buried.
Samuel David Wilder, son of Joseph Wilder and Susan Spears Wilder, was born April 1, 1851, at Vienna, Pickens county, Alabama. His parents had migrated from North Carolina to Alabama and were among the pioneers of the latter state, settling in the farming community along the Tombigbee River.
Too young for active service during the early days of the Civil war, the close of that struggle found Wilder mustered in the home guards, called to duty in the wake of devastation wrought by the northern invaders. Horses, mules and cattle, along with provisions and grain, were given up as part of the toll that war exacted from the state and its people and the Wilder lands and farm property were not excepted.
The death of the elder Wilder at the close of the war brought the son sternly to face the realities of reconstruction days and formed part of the chain of circumstances that carried the young man to Louisiana. It was in 1872 that he, his mother, and his sister's four children, orphaned by the war, settled near the town of Rayne, at that time situated somewhat south of the present community. They had traveled by train to New Orleans and thence to Morgan City, eastern terminus of the Morgan railway. Bed clothing , their apparel and other necessities were carried in bales, compressed in an Alabama gin as a means of making transportation possible in the primitive conveyances of the day. From Morgan City the route had wound by boat through the coastal waterways and thence up the Vermillion river to a landing from which the site of the home was within easy reach by wagon. One of the first jobs he held in Louisiana was that of manager of a cotton gin owned by a Mr. Bernard, a position he obtained when the owner learned that in Alabama he had been familiar with their operation. Business opportunities in the then undeveloped and sparsely populated country were few , however, and the young man left for Texas, where he spent about two years in the employ of a cattle man engaged in making shipments of cattle from Texas to Louisiana, overland, by boat and by train.
Returning to Louisiana, he married Alice Hoffpauir, daughter of Manassas (sic) and Octavia Hoffpauir, in 1879. To this union were born three children, two dying in infancy, a son, Jesse Wilder, surviving. Mrs. Wilder died six years after her marriage. In 1887, shortly after the town of Crowley had been laid out, he married Esther James Merriman, daughter of Benjamin Henry Merriman of Virginia and Julia Singleton Merriman of Virginia pioneer stock. To this union were born six children, all of whom survive. The second Mrs. Wilder died in 1907.
After homesteading land near Crowley, which he was convinced would some day be an important town, Mr. Wilder was active and successful as a farmer. In addition, he found time for service at various times as member of the police jury and of the school board from the sixth ward and for other work of that nature, while his private ventures carried him into business activities related to farming. He was one of the organizers of the Union rice mill, a director in the First National Bank, and a member of the wholesale grain and feed concern of Simon, King & Wilder.
He was one of the organizers of the first parish fair and had a leading part in supervising the construction of the buildings, taking particular pride in the half-mile track, built under his direction and at one time considered one of the best in the state. None of these things, however, held for him the live interest that farming itself stimulated in his labors and imagination. He urged investment in Acadia lands and advised young people to remain on the farms. Many younger farmers found his advice helpful, while some regarded him with genuine affection, which they voiced in tributes today. Not until illness forced him to his bed did he give up his almost daily visit to his farms and, even then, until his condition became critical, his mind was hourly concerned with their affairs.
Surviving are five daughters and two sons, their names being as follows: Mrs. Walter E. Barnes of Birmingham, Alabama; Mrs. Warren F. Stewart of Shreveport, Louisiana; Mrs. August M. Dinkler of Waterbury, Connecticut; Miss Callie Wilder of Crowley, Louisiana; Mrs. Cyril Leech of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; Jesse A. Wilder of Crowley and David Wilder of Biloxi, Mississippi. In addition there are eleven grandchildren, two great-grandchildren and many nieces and nephews.
Mr. Wilder was a lifelong member of the Methodist church." (The Crowley Daily Signal, Crowley, Louisiana, April 7, 1930)
Sam's house, which he built, is located at 1028 S. Avenue F, Crowley, Louisiana. Also, he built 926 S. Avenue F. He built 912, 914, 916, & 918 S. Avenue F as rental houses.
Sam helped start the First National Bank, Crowley, Louisiana.
Mr. Wilder was stricken a month ago with bronchitis, other complications resulting in an illness, which soon became critical. Hopes for his recovery were abandoned a week ago. For the past several days he had been in a state of semi-unconsciousness and when the end came Sunday night with children at his bedside he died quietly.
Funeral services will be conducted at the Methodist church Tuesday at 3:30 p. m., the Rev. C. K. Smith, pastor, officiating. Interment will be in the Crowley cemetery, where other members of the family are buried.
Samuel David Wilder, son of Joseph Wilder and Susan Spears Wilder, was born April 1, 1851, at Vienna, Pickens county, Alabama. His parents had migrated from North Carolina to Alabama and were among the pioneers of the latter state, settling in the farming community along the Tombigbee River.
Too young for active service during the early days of the Civil war, the close of that struggle found Wilder mustered in the home guards, called to duty in the wake of devastation wrought by the northern invaders. Horses, mules and cattle, along with provisions and grain, were given up as part of the toll that war exacted from the state and its people and the Wilder lands and farm property were not excepted.
The death of the elder Wilder at the close of the war brought the son sternly to face the realities of reconstruction days and formed part of the chain of circumstances that carried the young man to Louisiana. It was in 1872 that he, his mother, and his sister's four children, orphaned by the war, settled near the town of Rayne, at that time situated somewhat south of the present community. They had traveled by train to New Orleans and thence to Morgan City, eastern terminus of the Morgan railway. Bed clothing , their apparel and other necessities were carried in bales, compressed in an Alabama gin as a means of making transportation possible in the primitive conveyances of the day. From Morgan City the route had wound by boat through the coastal waterways and thence up the Vermillion river to a landing from which the site of the home was within easy reach by wagon. One of the first jobs he held in Louisiana was that of manager of a cotton gin owned by a Mr. Bernard, a position he obtained when the owner learned that in Alabama he had been familiar with their operation. Business opportunities in the then undeveloped and sparsely populated country were few , however, and the young man left for Texas, where he spent about two years in the employ of a cattle man engaged in making shipments of cattle from Texas to Louisiana, overland, by boat and by train.
Returning to Louisiana, he married Alice Hoffpauir, daughter of Manassas (sic) and Octavia Hoffpauir, in 1879. To this union were born three children, two dying in infancy, a son, Jesse Wilder, surviving. Mrs. Wilder died six years after her marriage. In 1887, shortly after the town of Crowley had been laid out, he married Esther James Merriman, daughter of Benjamin Henry Merriman of Virginia and Julia Singleton Merriman of Virginia pioneer stock. To this union were born six children, all of whom survive. The second Mrs. Wilder died in 1907.
After homesteading land near Crowley, which he was convinced would some day be an important town, Mr. Wilder was active and successful as a farmer. In addition, he found time for service at various times as member of the police jury and of the school board from the sixth ward and for other work of that nature, while his private ventures carried him into business activities related to farming. He was one of the organizers of the Union rice mill, a director in the First National Bank, and a member of the wholesale grain and feed concern of Simon, King & Wilder.
He was one of the organizers of the first parish fair and had a leading part in supervising the construction of the buildings, taking particular pride in the half-mile track, built under his direction and at one time considered one of the best in the state. None of these things, however, held for him the live interest that farming itself stimulated in his labors and imagination. He urged investment in Acadia lands and advised young people to remain on the farms. Many younger farmers found his advice helpful, while some regarded him with genuine affection, which they voiced in tributes today. Not until illness forced him to his bed did he give up his almost daily visit to his farms and, even then, until his condition became critical, his mind was hourly concerned with their affairs.
Surviving are five daughters and two sons, their names being as follows: Mrs. Walter E. Barnes of Birmingham, Alabama; Mrs. Warren F. Stewart of Shreveport, Louisiana; Mrs. August M. Dinkler of Waterbury, Connecticut; Miss Callie Wilder of Crowley, Louisiana; Mrs. Cyril Leech of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; Jesse A. Wilder of Crowley and David Wilder of Biloxi, Mississippi. In addition there are eleven grandchildren, two great-grandchildren and many nieces and nephews.
Mr. Wilder was a lifelong member of the Methodist church." (The Crowley Daily Signal, Crowley, Louisiana, April 7, 1930)
Sam's house, which he built, is located at 1028 S. Avenue F, Crowley, Louisiana. Also, he built 926 S. Avenue F. He built 912, 914, 916, & 918 S. Avenue F as rental houses.
Sam helped start the First National Bank, Crowley, Louisiana.
Events
| Birth | 1 Apr 1851 | Vienna, Pickens County, AL |  | ||
| Marriage | 3 Jul 1877 | St. Landry Parish, LA - Alice Hoffpauir | | ||
| Marriage | 5 Jun 1887 | Crowley, Acadia Parish, LA - Esther James Meariman | | ||
| Death | 6 Apr 1930 | Crowley, Acadia Parish, LA | | ||
| Burial | Old Crowley Cemetery, Crowley, LA | |
Families
| Spouse | Alice Hoffpauir (1854 - 1885) |
| Child | Jesse Albert Wilder (1880 - 1955) |
| Spouse | Esther James Meariman (1855 - 1907) |
| Child | Susan Beatrice Wilder ( - ) |
| Child | Sarah Frances Wilder ( - ) |
| Child | Caledonia Esther Wilder ( - ) |
| Child | Blanche Elizabeth Wilder ( - ) |
| Child | Julia Annett Wilder (1888 - ) |
| Child | Benjamin David Wilder (1890 - 1973) |
| Father | Joseph Green Wilder (1801 - 1864) |
| Mother | Susan Spears (1811 - 1884) |
| Sibling | James William Wilder ( - ) |
| Sibling | Rufus Green Wilder ( - ) |
| Sibling | Julian Wilder ( - ) |
| Sibling | Sarah F. Wilder ( - ) |
| Sibling | Martha C. Wilder ( - ) |
| Sibling | Fannie Wilder ( - ) |
| Sibling | John E. Wilder ( - ) |
| Sibling | Susie Wilder ( - ) |
Endnotes
1. Tombstone Inscription.
2. Donald J. Hébert, SWLR Vol 13, 260.
3. Stephanie Foreman.
4. Tombstone Inscription.
5. Pointe de l'Eglise Geanealogical and Historical Society, Cemetery Listings, Acadia Parish, LA Vol III, 227.