Emilio Wilson remembered (August 28th, 1911- July 5th, 2002)

Cultural, Historical, Environmental Foundations pay tribute to National Hero on the day of his birth

Emilio Johan Wilson was born in Santo Domingo on August 28th ,1911 to Marie Victorine Wilson of St. Maarten and John Nathaniel Molineaux of Tortola BVI. Emilio or simply "Milio" as he was known to his friends was brought home to his mother’s island at a very young age were he attended the "openbare" or public school in Little Bay before being transferred to the Oranje School in Philipsburg around 1920.

At the age of sixteen Emilio went to work in a tailor shop in Philipsburg. After having been trained and having worked as a tailor for a number of years Emilio quit and found work chopping wood to make charcoal and collecting rocks for construction purposes.  

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In 1929 the van Romondt-Rodenhuis family employed Emilio as a watchman at their Industry and Golden Rock estate in Dutch Cul-de-Sac. Emilio soon started delivering milk, butter and beef to people in Philipsburg and the surrounding areas. On August 10th,1954 Emilio Wilson bought the estate from the Romondt-Rodenhuis family for 25.00 guilders after which the family left the island. Subsequent to purchasing the Estate Emilio worked in town as a salesman in the Van Romondt’s grocery store and later worked for Charles T. Vlaun and Chester Wathey.

Mr. Wilson kept his estate intact and in relatively the same state as it had been in past centuries, for his entire life, never allowing anyone to build on his property or to destroy the many ruins present on the estate. Emilio Wilson’s generosity was apparent in the fact that he had over 80 Godchildren, raised at least ten children none of which where his own, his willingness to help out those in need by for instance allowing a "Tent Village" to be erected on his property for Hurricane Luis victims as well as in allowing the property to be used for social and agricultural projects.

Emilio loved St.Maarten and was a very well spoken, knowledgeable, intelligent, hard working and conservative man who strongly believed in the necessity to uphold the traditions of our ancestors and to protect his land and in so doing the Island’s Cultural, Historical and Natural Heritage for the benefit of current and future generations.

The island’s Cultural, Historical, Environmental Foundations consider Emilio Wilson to be a National hero and call upon all the island’s residents to honour his memory by helping to maintain and uphold his principles and by continuing to work towards the protection of the entire Emilio Wilson Estate.